An honorable doctorate and an open lecture of prof. Paul Davies in Szczecin.
On October 14, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., a ceremony conferring an honorary doctorate upon the quantum physicist, cosmologist, and science communicator Professor Paul C. W. Davies will take place in the Senate Hall of the University of Szczecin.
On this occasion, on October 15 at 5:00 p.m., Professor Davies will deliver a public lecture entitled “Navigating the quantum wonderland” at the “Teatr Polski” theatre in Szczecin, 5 Swarożyca Street, Banucha Hall. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
Professor Paul Davies directs the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, which he founded at Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States. He was awarded the 1995 Templeton Prize “for progress in religion,” recognizing achievements in research and scientific discovery concerning the spiritual dimension of human existence. He is also the recipient of more than 20 other prestigious awards, including the Robinson Prize in Cosmology, the Michael Faraday Medal of the Royal Society, and the American Institute of Physics Award for Writing in Physics.
His scientific output includes more than 200 publications in scientific journals and 31 specialist and popular-science books translated into 20 languages, including 10 books translated into Polish—among them God and the New Physics (1983), The Last Three Minutes (1994, 2019), The Eerie Silence (2010), What Eats the Universe? (2021), and Quantum Revolution 2.0 (2026).
Professor Davies is the author of an unambiguous definition of the quantum vacuum in curved de Sitter spacetime, shaped by Einstein’s cosmological constant, which is known as the Bunch–Davies vacuum. His work on black-hole thermodynamics brought him recognition for, among other things, applying a thermodynamic approach to cosmological horizons by analogy with black-hole horizons, as well as for formulating a generalized second law of thermodynamics for the Universe. Professor Davies has also studied the physical and biological aspects of life on Earth and in space, particularly the search for traces of extraterrestrial civilizations in the Universe, supporting the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program. Professor Davies understands reality through the human being and their living and non-living environment, extending all the way to the most fundamental laws governing the distant Universe, including in the context of the so-called anthropic cosmological principles.
Throughout his career, he has led numerous research grants worth tens of millions of dollars, including a grant commissioned by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and carried out through the Center for Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology, which he established at ASU.
For more than a decade, Professor P. Davies has directly and indirectly supported the scientific and science-communication activities of the Szczecin Cosmology Group—an international research team operating within the Institute of Physics at the University of Szczecin.
More information on the scientific career of prof. Davies:
„Beyond” center at Arizona State University:
Wikipedia: