Michael Seifert

In addition to his research on Lorentz symmetry, Michael Seifert is interested in the physics of music and sound, as well as the interface between physics and philosophy. He teaches Classical Mechanics, Electromagnetic Theory and General Physics (Lab).

Professor Seifert's research deals with Lorentz symmetry, the symmetry between space and time first discovered by Einstein in his theory of special relativity. This symmetry has several interesting consequences, among them the existence of a cosmic 'speed limit' and the equivalence between mass and energy described by the famous equation E = mc². Since its discovery, Lorentz symmetry has been successfully tested in many different areas of physics. However, it is unknown whether Lorentz symmetry is an exact symmetry of nature, or whether future, more sensitive experiments might find small violations of this symmetry.

In his research, Prof. Seifert investigates how we could model violations of Lorentz symmetry in a mathematically self-consistent way, and explores the observational consequences of these models.

Seifert is a member of the American Physical Society, the Topical Group on Gravity and Anacapa Society.

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Majoring in Physics.