Black Holes in the Cosmos, the Lab, and in Fundamental Physics (1/3)

Black holes present the extreme limits of physics.  They are ubiquitous in the cosmos,  and in some extra-dimensional scenarios they could be produced at colliders.  They have also yielded a puzzle that challenges the foundations of physics.  These talks will begin with an overview of the basics of black hole physics, and then briefly summarize some of the exciting developments with cosmic black holes.  They will then turn to properties of quantum black holes, and the question of black hole production in high energy collisions, perhaps beginning with the LHC.  I will then overview the apparent paradox emerging from Hawking's discovery of black hole evaporation, and what it could be teaching us about the foundations of quantum mechanics and gravity.