Physicist, Ohio State alumnus Lars Bildsten to deliver summer commencement address

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Physicist, Ohio State alumnus Lars Bildsten to deliver summer commencement address

Ceremony to be held Aug. 9 at Schottenstein Center

Lars Bildsten, the Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics and director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will deliver The Ohio State University's summer commencement address. An Ohio State alumnus, Bildsten is the 2026 recipient of the university's Joseph Sullivant Medal.

Approximately 1,700 degrees will be awarded at the Aug. 9 ceremony at the Schottenstein Center. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m.

"As one of the world's foremost physicists, Lars Bildsten has dedicated his career to scientific research and discovery that has transformed our understanding of the universe. He embodies the world-class talent developed here at Ohio State, as well as the commitment to excellence and consequential work of our alumni," said Ohio State President Ravi V. Bellamkonda. "Dr. Bildsten's record of impact and service is an inspiration, and we're looking forward to the message he'll share with our graduates at summer commencement."

The Sullivant Medal was created in 1920 by Thomas Mendenhall, one of Ohio State's founding faculty and a professor of physics and mechanics. Its namesake, Joseph Sullivant, was a member of the university's first Board of Trustees and greatly influenced the university's development and educational character.

Awarded just once every five years, the medal is one of the most prestigious honors Ohio State bestows on its alumni and current faculty, recognizing extraordinary scholarly achievement.

Bildsten is a theoretical astrophysicist recognized for his work on the properties and behavior of stars, both when they burn their thermonuclear fuel for billions of years and when they explode as supernovae or emit gravitational waves.

He grew up in Chillicothe before moving to Worthington. He started taking classes at Ohio State as a high school student. He earned his undergraduate degree in engineering physics from Ohio State in 1985 and has maintained close ties with the astronomy and physics departments over many years.

He regularly contributes support to the department's endeavors, including hosting a public lecture on "Hearing the Stars" in March 2025.

Bildsten was the 2000 Edwin Salpeter Lecturer at Cornell University, the 2004 Biermann Lecturer at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, the 2010 Beatrice M. Tinsley Centennial Visiting Professor at UT Austin, the 2014 Bishop Lecturer at Columbia University and the 2023 J. Robert Oppenheimer Lecturer at UC Berkeley.

He was awarded the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics in 2017, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2026. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society.

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