The State Theatre Modesto, CA
Dr. Jim Hetrick
Physics Department Chair, University of the Pacific
Another Earth— Does your duplicate exist in a parallel universe?
Program Description
A discussion of the physics and astronomy in the film and the possibility of meeting yourself in another universe.
Presented At
The State Theatre Modesto, CA
Film Synopsis
On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar System, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a bright young woman accepted into MIT's astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. A brilliant composer, John Burroughs (William Mapother), has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child with his loving wife (Meggan Lennon). On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined. Estranged from the world and the selves they once knew, the two outsiders begin an unlikely love affair and reawaken to life. But when Rhoda is presented with the chance of a lifetime to travel to the other Earth and embrace an alternative reality, she must make a difficult choice.
About the Speaker
Dr. James Hetrick is a professor and chair of the Physics Department at the University of the Pacific. After finishing his bachelor's degree in physics from Case Western Reserve University, he spent 13 months at the South Pole Station in Antarctica studying cosmic rays, the solar wind, the auroras, and the earth's magnetosphere. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in theoretical particle physics, and went on to hold postdoctoral research positions at ETH in Zürich, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Arizona, and Washington University in St. Louis, before coming to the University of the Pacific.