Beecroft Building, University of Oxford

Saturday Morning of Theoretical Physics: Ising is Everywhere

18 Apr 2026
Alumni events
Time
-
Venue
Martin Wood Lecture Theatre
Martin Wood Complex, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU
Speaker(s)

Professor Siddharth Parameswaran, University of Oxford

Professor Fabian Essler, University of Oxford

Professor Paul Fendley, University of Oxford

Knowledge of physics?
Yes, knowledge of physics required
For more information contact

Jordan Summers, Theoretical Physics Administrator, at tpadmin@physics.ox.ac.uk

Ising is Everywhere (in Science and in Oxford)

Just over 100 years ago, Ernst Ising solved a simple model for a one-dimensional ferromagnet in his PhD thesis. In the century since, the Ising model has come become one of the best-studied models in physics: a conservative estimate is that nearly a quarter of a million papers discuss it or its variants, in fields ranging from statistical mechanics to lattice gauge theory, and from neural networks to social dynamics. 

In this series of three lectures, Profs. Siddharth Parameswaran, Fabian Essler, and Paul Fendley will attempt to convey some idea of why the model continues to fascinate physicists to this day, illustrate how it informs our ideas about quantum phases of matter, and sketch some of the beautiful mathematical ideas that underpin its exact solution in two dimensions. Along the way, they will highlight the role it has played in the work of physicists associated with the RPC, from Rudolf Peierls and Roger Elliott to David Sherrington and John Cardy.

Further details of the individual talks will be published here in due course. In the meantime, secure your place by registering now.