2025 Highlights

Math quiz: How many physicists does it take to eat a 4 pound, 12 ounce apple-berry pie in 3 minutes and 9 seconds? Amazingly, only five, as the Stanford Physics Department team proved at the first annual Math vs. Physics Pi Eating Contest, which took place on Pi Day, March 14, 2025.

See more photos here. 

Bill Fairbank was a Stanford Professor of Physics from 1959 until his death in 1989. He was an avid runner and inspiring presence. In his honor, Stanford's Physics Department holds this event every year and it is open to the public.Bill Fairbank was a Stanford Professor of Physics from 1959 until his death in 1989. He was an avid runner and inspiring presence. In his honor, Stanford's Physics Department holds this event every year and it is open to the public.

2025 Winner: Javier Reynoso 

The Robert Hofstadter Memorial lectures were established in 1993 by the Stanford Physics Department. The lectures traditionally focus on one or more of the four main areas of physics that the late Prof. Hofstadter pursued in his career:  high-energy particle physics, high-energy astrophysics, particle detectors and medical physics. Each year, an eminent speaker is invited to give an evening lecture followed by an afternoon colloquium. 

The 2025 Robert Hofstadter Memorial Lecture: Professor Steven Cowley- "Fusion Energy: Why, How and When"