Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. Brad Orr
Professor of Physics, University of Michigan
Moneyball— The physics of baseball
Program Description
Dr. Brad Orr discussed the physics of baseball, including why a curve ball drops and what happens at the crack of a bat. Dr. Orr’s presentation included live demonstrations using a beach ball and a leaf blower, as well as some extra video content featuring a highlight reel of Detroit Tigers pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and the scientifically impossible home run scene from The Natural.
Presented At
Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Film Synopsis
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane attempts to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.
Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is the general manager of the struggling Oakland A's. Faced with a tight budget, Beane must reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs. Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labeled as flawed, but have game-winning potential. It’s a strategy that challenges old-school traditions and puts him in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul of the game. Based on the book by Michael Lewis, this film received six Academy Award nominations.
About the Speaker
Dr. Brad Orr is a physics professor at the University of Michigan. Professor Orr’s research centers on systems where the properties are controlled by the characteristics of surfaces or interfaces. As designed structures become ever smaller, their surface characteristics begin to influence, or even control, their behavior. Often the research involves scanning probe microscopies such as STM and AFM. Specific examples of research interests include: studies of molecules adsorbed on Si and Au surfaces; the molecular origin of negative differential resistance in metal-insulator-metal devices; the mechanism for composition modulation in compound semiconductors grown by molecular-beam epitaxy; and the development of multifunctional nanoparticles as therapeutics for cancer treatment.