Flamsteed Lecture: The Secrets of Gravity

Gravity is the overarching miracle connecting everything, everywhere, forever in the Universe. It has been tested with impeccable agreement in the most challenging environments, from the edges of black holes to the weakest strain of gravitational waves. Yet, at the core of all its successes, its most profound feature yet is that it predicts its own fall. 

Join groundbreaking physicist Claudia de Rham as she uncovers the downfall of gravity, pushing the limits of knowledge. She'll argue that navigating through the foundations of gravity may underpin the origin and fate of the Universe, while naturally explaining its accelerated expansion without postulating the need for a new kind of ad hoc and unknown dark energy.

Meet the speaker

Claudia de Rham is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London, where she is also the Director of the Abdus Salam Centre of Theoretical Physics. Her research challenges our understanding of the laws of nature, in particular that of gravity, in pursuit of a more fundamental description of our Universe and the laws that govern it. Her work has provided new perspectives to understand the origin of the Universe, its accelerated expansion and the fundamental nature of gravity. 

Professor de Rham is ranked among the most impactful researchers in fundamental physics of the past decade, and her contributions to science have been recognised by numerous grants and awards. In April 2024 she joined forces with Princeton University Press to publish her first popular science book The Beauty of Falling – A Life in Pursuit of Gravity.

Main image: Instant and Eternal © Zhang Yanguang - ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 People and Space