"From Oratory to Laboratory and Back Again" by Rev Fr Prof Andrew Ekpenyong, Catholic Priest and Professor of Physics at Creighton University, Omaha, USA.

Reconciling Faith and Science Conference, held at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

Abstract.
From Oratory to Laboratory and Back Again
Fr Andrew Ekpenyong, PhD, Associate Professor of Physics, Creighton University.

Abstract

Having had the privilege of studying physics in the same university (University of Cambridge, UK) that produced the father of the Big Bang Theory, Fr Georges Lemaitre, having celebrated Holy Masses in the same chapel where he also celebrated (St Edmund’s College Chapel), I am now faced daily with some of the same questions he faced, such as, “Father, how can you be a physicist and a priest at the same time?” “How do you handle the dichotomy between scientific truths and religious truths such as evolution and the 6-day creation account in Genesis?”. In this presentation, I will share some of the insights I have been granted in my attempt to live out my personal motto, namely, “From the Oratory to the Laboratory and Back Again”. Among such insights, I have found that in many cases where science and faith appear to disagree, it is actually scientists and people of faith who disagree. Another insight is that some scientists try to answer existential and philosophical questions using natural science, which is itself an abuse of science. And many people of faith are also guilty of trying to use the Bible as a textbook of natural science, the way some consult zodiac signs in order to win lotteries. Of course, majority of scientists and people of faith I have met live happily and respond positively to the uplifting tension that the truths of faith and science present to us.

1. Fr. Dr. Andrew Ekpenyong, 5 th April 2024 Reconciling Faith and Science Conference Catholic Priest, Associate Professor of Physics, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA From Oratory to Laboratory and Back Again

2. From the Oratory: Matriculation in the Chapel 2 As set out in the College’s Statutes, the Master of St Edmund’s presides over the College “as a place of education, religion, learning and research” within the University of Cambridge. The Master will be a champion of our core values of open-mindedness, inclusiveness and integrity. Our Matriculation Ceremony in the Chapel.

3. To the Laboratory: The Cavendish Laboratory 3 ‘The works of the Lord are great; sought out of all them that have pleasure therein’. Psalm 111:2 This is at the door of the 2 nd and current Cavendish Laboratory ( built 1973 ), Department of Physics, University of Cambridge

4. To the Laboratory: The Cavendish Laboratory 4 30 Nobel laureates at the Cavendish John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (Physics, 1904) Sir J. J. Thomson (Physics, 1906) Ernest Rutherford (Chemistry, 1908) Sir William Lawrence Bragg (Physics, 1915) Charles Glover Barkla (Physics, 1917) Francis William Aston (Chemistry, 1922) Charles Thomson Rees Wilson [15] (Physics, 1927) Arthur Compton (Physics, 1927) Sir Owen Willans Richardson (Physics, 1928) Sir James Chadwick (Physics, 1935) Sir George Paget Thomson [16] (Physics, 1937) Sir Edward Victor Appleton (Physics, 1947) Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett (Physics, 1948) Sir John Cockcroft [17] (Physics, 1951) Ernest Walton (Physics, 1951) Francis Crick (Physiology or Medicine, 1962) James Watson (Physiology or Medicine, 1962) Max Perutz (Chemistry, 1962) Sir John Kendrew (Chemistry, 1962) Dorothy Hodgkin [18] (Chemistry, 1964) Brian Josephson (Physics, 1973) Sir Martin Ryle (Physics, 1974) Antony Hewish (Physics, 1974) Sir Nevill Francis Mott (Physics, 1977) Philip Warren Anderson (Physics, 1977) Pyotr Kapitsa (Physics, 1978) Allan McLeod Cormack (Physiology or Medicine, 1979) Mohammad Abdus Salam (Physics, 1979) Sir Aaron Klug [19] (Chemistry, 1982) Didier Queloz (Physics, 2019) The inscription “Magna opera Domini exquisita in omnes voluntates ejus ” (Psalm 111:2). was placed over the doors of the 1 st Cavendish Laboratory ( opened 1874 ) By James Clerk Maxwell , the Lab’s 1 st Director and 1 st Cavendish Professor of Physics

5. To the Laboratory: The Cavendish Laboratory 5 30 Nobel laureates at the Cavendish John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (Physics, 1904) Sir J. J. Thomson (Physics, 1906) Ernest Rutherford (Chemistry, 1908) Sir William Lawrence Bragg (Physics, 1915) Charles Glover Barkla (Physics, 1917) Francis William Aston (Chemistry, 1922) Charles Thomson Rees Wilson [15] (Physics, 1927) Arthur Compton (Physics, 1927) Sir Owen Willans Richardson (Physics, 1928) Sir James Chadwick (Physics, 1935) Sir George Paget Thomson [16] (Physics, 1937) Sir Edward Victor Appleton (Physics, 1947) Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett (Physics, 1948) Sir John Cockcroft [17] (Physics, 1951) Ernest Walton (Physics, 1951) Francis Crick (Physiology or Medicine, 1962) James Watson (Physiology or Medicine, 1962) Max Perutz (Chemistry, 1962) Sir John Kendrew (Chemistry, 1962) Dorothy Hodgkin [18] (Chemistry, 1964) Brian Josephson (Physics, 1973) Sir Martin Ryle (Physics, 1974) Antony Hewish (Physics, 1974) Sir Nevill Francis Mott (Physics, 1977) Philip Warren Anderson (Physics, 1977) Pyotr Kapitsa (Physics, 1978) Allan McLeod Cormack (Physiology or Medicine, 1979) Mohammad Abdus Salam (Physics, 1979) Sir Aaron Klug [19] (Chemistry, 1982) Didier Queloz (Physics, 2019)

6. To the Laboratory: “Physics and Psalms” 6 https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/churches/church-resources/posts/172/ The passage was placed there at the suggestion of Andrew Briggs, a PhD student at the time Briggs now Professor of Nanomaterials , Oxford University Briggs appreciated the Latin inscription of Ps 111:2 carved on the doors of the 1st Cav Lab, at the instance of the James Clark Maxwell He suggested it should be put up , in English , at the entrance of the new building Incident described by AB Pippard, former Cav. Prof in the University of Cambridge, in the European Journal of Physics . A B Pippard 1987 Eur . J. Phys. 8 231 DOI 10.1088/0143-0807/8/4/001 ‘The great oak doors opening on the site of the original building had carved on them, by Maxwell’s wish, the text from Psalm 111 Magna opera Domini exquisita in omnes voluntates ejus . Shortly after the move to the new buildings in 1973 a devout research student suggested to me that the same text should be displayed, in English, at the entrance. I undertook to put the proposal to the Policy Committee, confident that they would veto it ; to my surprise, however, they heartily agreed both to the idea and to the choice of Coverdale’s translation, inscribed here on mahogany by Will Carter.’

7. To the Laboratory: “Physics and Psalms” 7 https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/churches/church-resources/posts/172/ A great example of how open-minded Cambridge science departments can be, and their willingness to recognise the Christian heritage that was so important in the development of modern science. It’s also an example of what a student can achieve if they put their mind to it. https://grahamchipps.com.au/physics-psalms-and-the-visible-glory-of-god/ Dr Barbara Drossel, Prof of Theoretical Physics at the Technical Univ of Darmstadt, Germany, and a fellow of the Faraday Institute at Cambridge Univ The Faraday Institute is a think-tank for Christians and scientists to explore the relationship between science and faith . “Physics is not causally closed” Dr Barbara Drossel

8. To the Laboratory: “Physics and Psalms” 8 https://grahamchipps.com.au/physics-psalms-and-the-visible-glory-of-god/ “Physics is not causally closed” Dr Barbara Drossel

9. To the Laboratory: At Work at the Cavendish Laboratory 9 Inside the Lab in the Physics of Medicine Building James Maxwell’s desk in the Cavendish, Cambridge, UK Physics of soft matter Physics of complex systems Microfluidics Viscoelastic properties of blood stem cells Physics of cancer Physics of living matter Applied optics, Etc

10. Lemaître’s 80 th Anniversary Conference in Cambridge 10 To the Laboratory: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/the-georges-lemaitre-anniversary-conference/ “Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes . Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.” Pope John Paul II to Fr. George Coyne, S.J., then director of the Vatican Observatory. 1 June, 1988. Fr George V. Coyne, SJ, presenting on Lemaitre: Science and Religion , April 7-10, 2011 (80 th Anniv of Lemaitre’s papers https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1988/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19880601_padre-coyne.html

11. 11 To the Laboratory: “Physics is not causally closed” Einstein’s greatest blunder Lemaitre’s ‘faith’ probably ‘saved’ science Lemaître’s 80 th Anniversary Conference in Cambridge 1927, Un univers homogène de masse constante et de rayon croissant, rendant compte de la vitesse radiale des nébuleuses extragalactiques “ A homogeneous universe of constant mass and increasing radius accounting for the radial velocity of extra-galactic nebulae ” Lemaître calculated the exact solutions of Einstein’s field equations by assuming a positively curved space provided the first interpretation of cosmological redshifts in terms of space expansion 1929, E. Hubble, A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae , Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 15 , 168 (1929). 1931 translation of Lemaître’s 1927 paper sponsored by Arthur Eddington M. Livio , Mystery of the missing text solved , Nature, 479 , 171 (2011). G. Lemaître, Un univers homogène de masse constante et de rayon croissant, rendant compte de la vitesse radiale des nébuleuses extra-galactiques , Ann. Soc. Sci . Bruxelles, série A 47 , 49 (1927). G. Lemaître, A homogeneous universe of constant mass and increasing radius accounting for the radial velocity of extra-galactic nebulae , M.N.R.A.S. 41 , 483 (1931).

12. Einstein’s Field Equations Framework of 4 fundamental forces General relativity: gravitational waves confirmed by LIGO in 2016 Breakdown of general relativity Simulated gravitational waves Einstein’s Field Equations To the Laboratory:

13. Einstein’s Greatest Blunder. Why? Framework of 4 fundamental forces Breakdown of general relativity Einstein’s Field Equations (EFE) Space-time curvature as described by EFE Curvature of space-time stress–energy–momentum content of spacetime. Notice Einstein’s “greatest blunder”? Main challenge is that EFE is non-linear By Mysid - Own work. Self -made in Blender & Inkscape., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45121761 To the Laboratory:

14. As the field equations are non-linear, they cannot always be completely solved (i.e. without making approximations) The study of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations is one of the activities of cosmology It leads to the prediction of black holes and to different models of evolution of the universe Einstein’s Greatest Blunder. Why? To the Laboratory: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/10/29/this-is-why-einsteins-greatest-blunder-really-was-a-tremendous-mistake/?sh=6bb8b8a550f4

15. 15 Fr Dr Michael Heller, Templeton Prize Recipient, 2008 To the Laboratory: Basic “resolutions” of this Conference Monsignor Georges Lemaître, the first to propose that the universe is expanding, using theoretical model + data the first to derive what is now known as the Hubble- Lemaître law, the first to estimate what is now called Hubble’s constant, which he published two years before Hubble's article, and author of the Big Bang theory Lemaître’s 80 th Anniversary Conference in Cambridge Anglican priest physicist, the Rev Dr John Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS (16 Oct 1930 – 9 March 2021)

16. 16 To the Laboratory: “To honor the intellectual integrity and the supremely significant discovery by Georges Lemaître, the IAU is pleased to recommend that the expansion of the universe be referred to as the Hubble–Lemaître Law ,” Oct. 29. 2018 Of the 4,060 voting astronomers, 78% favored of this change. Lemaître’s 80 th Anniv . Conference had effects Hubble: 1929: …linear velocity-distance relation v = Hr with H = 600 km/s/ Mpc . Lemaître: 1927: …on trouve une distance moyenne de 0,95 millions de parsecs et une vitesse radiale de 600 km/s, soit 625 km/s à 10 6 parsecs. Nous adopterons donc R'/R = v/ rc = 0,68.10 -27 cm -1 (Eq. 24) Hubble’s Law renamed Hubble-Lemaitre Law

17. Faith and Science in dialogue and healthy tension 17 And Back Again Lighthill , James, et al. “The Recently Recognized Failure of Predictability in Newtonian Dynamics [and Discussion].” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences , vol. 407, no. 1832, 1986, pp. 35–50. JSTOR , http://www.jstor.org/stable/2397780. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024. “Physics is not causally closed” Einstein’s greatest blunder Lemaitre’s ‘faith’ probably ‘saved’ science Faith and Science in healthy dialogue, mutually benefitting Take-home message

18. At the University of Cambridge Over 90 Nobel Laureates from the University of Cambridge 30 Nobel Laureates from the Physics Department Discovering new physics Inventing tools and equipment Solving problems in medicine, chemistry, etc 18 And Back Again

19. In Galilei Galileo’s house (prison) Florence, Italy Galileo’s courtyard Galileo’s “cell” And Back Again

20. In Dresden, Germany And Back Again

21. Acknowledgements: Scientific Research Groups I’ve worked with: USA, UK, Germany, etc Prof Dr Jochen Guck, TUD Prof Michael Nichols, CU Clinical Collaborators at Addenbrooke’s Hosp , UK Prof Edwin Chilvers Dr Christine Fiddler Uniklinikum , TUD Dresden, Germany Prof Dr Reinhard Berner Back to Creighton: my research group, 2018/2019

22. Education/work: Nigeria, USA, UK, Germany 22 Physics, Philosophy and Theology B. A. (1 st Class, Uyo, Nigeria, 1998) B.Phil. (1 st Class, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana, Rome, 1998) B.D. (1 st Class, Pont. Univ. Urbaniana, Rome, 2003) M. S., Physics, (Creighton, Nebraska, USA , 2008) Medical Physics at ECU, NC, USA, 2008-2009 PhD (Physics), Univ. of Cambridge, UK, 2009-2012 Post-doctoral scientist, TUD, Dresden, Germany, 2012-14

23. At East Carolina University, training in medical physics Therapeutic radiological Physics Clinical and medical dosimetry Light scattering research for cancer diagnosis Radiobiology 23

24. And back home in Nigeria: Mission and Scholarship https://www.juhri.org/

25. JUHRI Site 1: As on July 31st, 2022,13,144 patients received free health care (352 in July) First surgeries at JUHRI, Afua , 28 th June, 2019. Surgery patients in the Male Ward post-surgery. Drone footage at 1 st Anniversary Commissioning: June 6 th , 2018 JUHRI Site 1: 4 yrs of giving 100% free healthcare to all patients 1. Name : Joseph Ukpo Hospitals & Research Institutes (JUHRI): https://www.juhri.org/ 2. Where : Poor rural areas of South-South, Nigeria, 3. Founder : Rev Fr Andrew Ekpenyong 4. Mission : Bringing the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of it .

26. Sited in rural areas, JUHRI gives 100% free & high-quality healthcare to all patients. Website: www.juhri.org   JUHRI Site 2, Esuk Mbat, Akpabuyo. Phone: [phone] Dr Marcus Inyama & Nurse Kokomma : consulting/treating patients Ultrasound Scanning Nurse/Lab Scientist/Ext Health Worker at work JUHRI Site 2: Commissioned June 11 th , 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrvtNlA3398 Video clips of the Commissioning Ceremony, on Youtube