Brian Foster is professor of Experimental Physics at Oxford, the European Director of the Global Design Effort for the International Linear Collider (the next major project proposed in particle physics) and is currently engaged in another project at CERN. He is also an accomplished violinist.

Jack Liebeck is a young solo violinist from the UK with a long list of credits and performances to his name. He has performed in more than 16 countries and his debut CD earned him a nomination for a young British Classical Performer of the Year award in 2005. He is also keen on all kinds of scientific invention, building his own computer while still at school. If you add Einstein to the mix (well yes, we all know about the famous theory but perhaps less about his interest in music) you begin to see how Superstrings evolved.

In partnership with the RDS, the University of Limerick and the Institute of Physics in Ireland, and as part of Science Week, British Council Ireland was delighted to welcome Superstrings to Ireland. Having performed at the RDS on Tuesday 14 November and at the University of Limerick and St John’s Square on Wednesday 15 November, Superstrings incorporated a lecture linking Einstein’s favourite instrument, the violin, with many of the concepts of modern physics that he did so much to found. During the lecture we were provided with a basic resumé of Einstein’s ideas, a bit about his early life and where his ideas have got us to, where we are now and of course, the superstrings. The lecture began with music and music punctuates each subsequent section, referring to what Einstein himself might have played and including some of his favourite pieces. A recital by Jack Liebeck followed the lecture.

Superstrings aims to bring the world of sub-atomic particle physics to a broader public through combining science lecture with music recital.