The history of the telegraph and new discoveries in quantum physics are the topics of two upcoming university forum lectures at UNLV.

Elliot West, distinguished professor of history at the University Arkansas, will present "Wired to the World: The Telegraph and the West" on March 11. During the lecture, he will examine the commercial, religious, and military uses of the telegraph in the settlement of the West, as well as the region's connection to the emerging global economy.

On March 12, Ronald Walsworth, a lecturer of astronomy at Harvard University and physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, will present "The Story of 'Stopped Light.'" Walsworth will discuss the potential applications of this new manifestation of known physical principles to ultra-fast quantum computers and ultra-secure quantum communication.

Both lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History. All University Forum lectures are free and open to the public.

The University Forum lecture series is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and is underwritten by The Jerry Kalafatis Lodge Charitable Foundation and the UNLV Foundation.