Peter T. Cummings will present "Nanoscience: The Ultimate Playground for Theorists?" at the annual Sigma Xi banquet and lecture 6-9 p.m., Thursday, April 19, in the Roaden University Center Executive Dining Room.

Cummings, the John R. Hall Professor of Chemical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Nanomaterials Theory Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, holds a doctorate in math from the University of Melbourne.
His research focuses on computer-based modeling of chemical, biological and materials systems, with particular recent emphasis on nanoscience and nanotechnology applications of such systems.

Cummings, an elected fellow of the American Physical Society, has authored more than 270 refereed journal papers on these topics that have appeared in such publications as the Journal of American Physics, the Journal of Chemical Physics and Physical Review Letters. He is a frequently invited speaker at international meetings throughout the world.

He edits the publication Fluid Phase Equilibria, one of the world's prominent engineering thermodynamics journals, and has frequently served at the national level on advisory committees planning future research focuses for federal funding of research.

Reservations are required for the banquet, but anyone may attend the lecture at no charge following the meal.

For more information, contact Sigma Xi president-elect Ahmed ElSawy at AElSawy@tntech.edu.