We are excited to announce that Professor Christian Weinheimer from the Institute for Nuclear Physics at the University of Münster will be visiting the UNC Department of Physics and Astronomy and the CosMS Institute. He will be delivering a colloquium on the topic of “The Dark Matter Experiment XENONnT and First WIMP Results”. The colloquium will take place on April 5th at 3:30 pm in Chapman 201, followed by a reception. We warmly invite all interested members of the academic community to attend this event and engage in an insightful discussion with Professor Weinheimer.

Discover more information about the XENONNT at https://xenonexperiment.org/ 

Professor Edward (Rocky) Kolb, the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, will visit UNC and CosMS Institute on March 27th and 28th, as the New Horizon’s Distinguished Speaker. And on the 28th he will deliver a speech to the general public. As a renowned physicist and cosmologist, Dr. Kolb’s insights and perspectives are sure to be of great interest to a wider audience of science and universe lovers. All are welcome to attend this event and share this opportunity with colleagues, friends, and networks.

 

About Professor Edward (Rocky) Kolb

Edward W. Kolb is a professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. He was the founding head of the NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In addition to more than 200 scientific papers, he is a co-author of The Early Universe, the standard textbook on particle physics and cosmology. His book for the general public, Blind Watchers of the Sky (winner of the 1996 Emme Award from the AAS), is the story of the people and ideas that shaped our view of the universe. Kolb was awarded the Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers.

 

Speech Title and Abstract

Title – The Quantum and the Cosmos

Abstract – Quantum laws rule the microscopic world. In the Big Bang era our world was subatomic and governed by quantum phenomena which generated all the cosmic structures, from galaxies to light, around us today. This connection between the quantum and the cosmos may explain the nature of dark matter holding together our galaxy and the mysterious dark energy tearing apart our universe.

Time: 6:00 P.M., March 28th, 2023

Location: Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, 250 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

 

 

Celebrating the 2019 Physics Nobel Prize: COSMOLOGY and EXOPLANETS

Thursday, November 14 | 6:00 pm Morehead Planetarium Full Dome Theater

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded “for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos” with one half to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology”, the other half jointly to Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.” Join UNC faculty, Prof. Laura Mersini-Houghton, Prof. Adrienne Erickcek, and Prof. Nick for a lecture celebrating the 2019 Physical Nobel Prize. The talk is sponsored by the COSMS Institute, UNC Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

Thursday, November 14 | 6:00 pm Morehead Planetarium Full Dome Theater

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded “for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos” with one half to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology”, the other half jointly to Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.” Join UNC faculty, Prof. Laura Mersini-Houghton, Prof. Adrienne Erickcek, and Prof. Nick for a lecture celebrating the 2019 Physical Nobel Prize. The talk is sponsored by the COSMS Institute, UNC Department of Physics and Astronomy, and the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.

 

On October 15th at 5:30 in Chapman Hall at UNC,

Prof. Virginia Kilborn, Dean of Science at Swinburne University of Technology, will take us on a journey of the unseen parts of our galaxy and others like it.

 

Abstract:

Atomic hydrogen gas is one of the main components in a galaxy like our own Milky Way – but we can’t see it when we gaze into the night sky. I will take you on a journey of the unseen parts of our Galaxy – and others like it – using sensitive observations taken with the world’s best radio telescopes. I will explain how astronomers use observations of atomic hydrogen gas to determine the history, and predict the future, of galaxies in the universe. A whole new generation of radio telescopes is under construction, and I will show the latest results from these telescopes, and discuss how we plan to use them to observe the very beginnings of the Universe.

 

Bio:

Professor Virginia Kilborn is Dean of Science at Swinburne University of Technology. Her primary research interests include tracing galaxy evolution by studying the neutral hydrogen gas in galaxies, and she is now working towards preparations for surveys with the next generation radio telescopes, such as the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the SKA.  Virginia undertook her PhD studies at the University of Melbourne, and following a post-doc at Jodrell Bank observatory in the UK, returned to Melbourne and has been at Swinburne since 2003. Virginia is active in the Australian Astronomical community and has been President of the Astronomical Society of Australia (2015-2017) and is currently Deputy Chair of the National Committee for Astronomy for the Academy of Science. Virginia is a leader in gender equity initiatives at Swinburne and beyond, co-leading the Swinburne-wide Women’s Academic Network, and she is a steering committee member and co-founder of the Women ATTaining Leadership (WATTLE) program, a multi-university leadership program for women. Virginia is a leader of the SHINE project where high school and university students send experiments to the International Space station, and she is strategic lead of the Swinburne Space Office.

Kilborn_flyer

On October 15th at 5:30 in Chapman Hall at UNC,

Prof. Virginia Kilborn, Dean of Science at Swinburne University of Technology, will take us on a journey of the unseen parts of our galaxy and others like it.

 

Abstract:

Atomic hydrogen gas is one of the main components in a galaxy like our own Milky Way – but we can’t see it when we gaze into the night sky. I will take you on a journey of the unseen parts of our Galaxy – and others like it – using sensitive observations taken with the world’s best radio telescopes. I will explain how astronomers use observations of atomic hydrogen gas to determine the history, and predict the future, of galaxies in the universe. A whole new generation of radio telescopes is under construction, and I will show the latest results from these telescopes, and discuss how we plan to use them to observe the very beginnings of the Universe.

 

Bio:

Professor Virginia Kilborn is Dean of Science at Swinburne University of Technology. Her primary research interests include tracing galaxy evolution by studying the neutral hydrogen gas in galaxies, and she is now working towards preparations for surveys with the next generation radio telescopes, such as the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the SKA.  Virginia undertook her PhD studies at the University of Melbourne, and following a post-doc at Jodrell Bank observatory in the UK, returned to Melbourne and has been at Swinburne since 2003. Virginia is active in the Australian Astronomical community and has been President of the Astronomical Society of Australia (2015-2017) and is currently Deputy Chair of the National Committee for Astronomy for the Academy of Science. Virginia is a leader in gender equity initiatives at Swinburne and beyond, co-leading the Swinburne-wide Women’s Academic Network, and she is a steering committee member and co-founder of the Women ATTaining Leadership (WATTLE) program, a multi-university leadership program for women. Virginia is a leader of the SHINE project where high school and university students send experiments to the International Space station, and she is strategic lead of the Swinburne Space Office.

 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this lecture has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule Dr. Weiss’ visit to Spring 2019.

 

Dr. Rainer Weiss, Professor of Physics Emeritus at MIT and 2017 Nobel Laureate, will discuss “Probing the Universe with Gravitational Waves.” The observations of gravitational waves from the mergers of compact binary sources opens a new way to learn about the universe, as well as test General Relativity in the limit of strong gravitational interactions — the dynamics of massive bodies traveling at relativistic speeds in a highly curved space-time.

Dr. Rainer Weiss, Professor of Physics Emeritus at MIT and 2017 Nobel Laureate, will discuss “Probing the Universe with Gravitational Waves.” The observations of gravitational waves from the mergers of compact binary sources opens a new way to learn about the universe, as well as test General Relativity in the limit of strong gravitational interactions — the dynamics of massive bodies traveling at relativistic speeds in a highly curved space-time.

 

Holographic Heat Engines For Fun and Profit

Abstract:   New work has shown how to complete the correspondence between the physics of black holes and the laws of thermodynamics by incorporating volume and pressure into the formalism. This results in a change in the thermodynamic interpretation of the black hole’s mass, and may give a new handle on understanding aspects of theories of gravity with non-vanishing cosmological constant. The concept of the “holographic heat engine”, where a black hole acts as the working substance for a heat engine, arises naturally in this framework, and further connects ideas from traditional thermodynamics, quantum gravity, and field theory. This talk will try to motivate and explain some of these developments and show some potential applications.

April 11 at 4:00 in Chapman Hall 201

Astronomy on Tap will have its next event on March 6th at Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, led by 2 CoSMS members.

• Dr. Chris Clemens (UNC-CH) will discuss all the ways the world can end.
• Dr. Nick Law (UNC-CH) will talk about how to find extrasolar planets with tiny telescopes.

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Astronomy on Tap events are meant to provide a venue for short outreach talks (~20 min with plenty of time for questions) in a relaxed setting over beers — they are free, open to all ages, and start at 7 pm. Some more details about the event can be found at the link here:

https://astronomyontap.org/2018/02/astronomy-on-tap-triangle-6-tuesday-march-6-2017/