Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

Our home phone has been ringing off the hook in response to this press release from the IgNobellians:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Nobel Physicist Makes Operatic Debut
— Frank Wilczek Plays Amorous Atom in the Alps–
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ALPBACH, AUSTRIA, August 18, 2006 — Frank Wilczek already has a Nobel Prize, but on August 25 he will be honored on an even higher level — topographically higher, that is. In the Austrian mountain village of Alpach, elevation 1,000 meters above sea level, Wilczek will sing the lead role in the the opera “Atom & Eve.”

This will be Frank Wilczek’s operatic singing debut, as well as the first time “Atom & Eve” has been performed in Austria. The opera recounts the romance between a humble oxygen atom and the beautiful female chemist who spies him one day in her microscope. In the great tradition of operatic lovers from Tristan and Iseult to Rudolph and Mimi, Atom and Eve have some obvious difficulties to overcome. Professor Diane Shooman of Vienna will co-star, in the role of Eve. Pianist Paul Luggar of the Innsbruck Conservatory will accompany the singers.

Wilczek is Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2004 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics, for work on subatomic particles indicating that distance makes the quarks grow fonder (or at least increases their attraction). Diane Shooman teaches at the FH Technikum-Wien in Vienna, and at the University of Art in Linz.

“Atom & Eve” is a featured part of the 2006 Alpbach Technology Conference. The conference brings business, government, science and other leaders from around the world together for several days, high up in the tiny town once voted “the most beautiful village” in Austria. Conference speakers and attendees debate the significance of technological developments for the business world and society, as well as living standards, quality of life, and competitiveness.

“Atom & Eve” debuted in 2003 at the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony at Harvard University. The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. Marc Abrahams, organizer of the Ig Nobel Prizes, wrote the opera’s libretto. Abrahams is also the editor of the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research. Abrahams will deliver a talk about the opera, and about the Ig Nobel Prizes, and improbable research in general. A past Ig Nobel Prize winner — Karl Schwärzler, the entrepreneur who made it possible to rent the entire nation of Liechtenstein for corporate conventions, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other gatherings — will also give a brief talk.

The “Atom & Eve” performance, together with talks by Marc Abrahams and Karl Schwärzler, will be webcast live on Friday, August 25, 2006, beginning at 7:00 pm Austria time.

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WEBCAST DETAILS:

WHEN: Friday, August 25, 2006, beginning at 7:00 pm (Austria time)

WHERE ON THE WEB:
The webcast will be streamed in both German and English:
GERMAN:
http://www.alpbach.org/deutsch/forum2006/technologie.htm
ENGLISH: http://www.alpbach.org/English/forum2006/technologie.htm
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OTHER INFO:

Alpbach Technology Forum: <http://www.alpbach.org/>

Annals of Improbable Research: <http://www.improbable.com/>

Frank Wilczek:
<http://web.mit.edu/physics/facultyandstaff/faculty/frank_wilczek.html>

Libretto of “Atom & Eve”:
<http://www.improbable.com/ig/2003/atom-eve-libretto.html>