Posted 2:16 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. Eighty years later, the space telescope that bears his name is being used to study an even more surprising phenomenon: that expansion is speeding up.
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Nobel Laureate Adam Riess[/caption]
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. Eighty years later, the space telescope that bears his name is being used to study an even more surprising phenomenon: that expansion is speeding up.
The 2011 Nobel Prize winner in physics who helped make this astounding discovery will give a public lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall.
Nobel Laureate Adam Riess will describe how his team studied several dozen exploding stars, called supernovae, to reveal the acceleration of the universe. Riess’ discovery implies that the universe is being pushed apart by an unknown energy embedded in the fabric of space. This “dark energy” makes up more than 70 percent of the universe. During his lecture, Riess will explain how understanding the nature of dark energy presents one of the greatest remaining challenges in astrophysics and cosmology.
Reiss will also give a physics seminar on "Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant and PASS" at 1:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, in 1309 Centennial Hall.
Riess is the 15th Nobel Prize Winner in Physics to speak at UW-L as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics. Each year the series brings a world-renowned physicist to La Crosse whose significant accomplishments and communication skills can inspire and enrich the careers of students, faculty and others.
"We feel privileged to have such high-profile physicists visit our campus each year and interact with students, faculty and community members,” says Gubbi Sudhakaran, Physics Department chair. “The Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics has brought recognition to our program and has been instrumental in our program receiving state and national awards."
Riess is the Thomas J. Barber Professor in Space Studies at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, a distinguished astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
In 2011, he was named a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and was awarded the Albert Einstein Medal for his leadership in the High-z Supernova Search Team's discovery, named by Science magazine in 1998 as "Breakthrough Discovery of the Year."
His accomplishments have been recognized with a number of other awards including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, the Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize in 2007 (shared) and the Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2006.
The UW-L Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics is co-sponsored by the UW-L Foundation, the Department of Physics, the College of Science and Health and Wettstein's.
If you go —
What: Nobel Laureate Adam Riess gives public lecture on his discovery that universe expansion is speeding up
Where: Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall
When: 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2
Admission: Free
What: Physics seminar "Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant and PASS"
Where: 1309 Centennial Hall
When: 1:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3
Admission: Free
More information on the physics seminar:
The Hubble constant remains one of the most important parameters in the cosmological model, setting the size and age scales of the universe. Present uncertainties in the cosmological model including the nature of dark energy, the properties of neutrinos and the scale of departures from flat geometry can be constrained by measurements of the Hubble constant made to higher precision than was possible with the first generations of Hubble Telescope instruments. Streamlined distances ladders constructed from infrared observations of Cepheids and type 1a supernovae with ruthless attention paid to systematics now provide 3.5 percent precision and offer the means to do much better. While the new Wide Field Camera (WFC3) has helped open this new route, its full exploitation can come from a new technique, Parallel Astrometric Spatial Scanning (PASS), to measure parallax distances beyond a kiloparsec. Riess will review recent and expected progress.
Nobel Laureate Adam Riess[/caption]
In 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. Eighty years later, the space telescope that bears his name is being used to study an even more surprising phenomenon: that expansion is speeding up.
The 2011 Nobel Prize winner in physics who helped make this astounding discovery will give a public lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall.
Nobel Laureate Adam Riess will describe how his team studied several dozen exploding stars, called supernovae, to reveal the acceleration of the universe. Riess’ discovery implies that the universe is being pushed apart by an unknown energy embedded in the fabric of space. This “dark energy” makes up more than 70 percent of the universe. During his lecture, Riess will explain how understanding the nature of dark energy presents one of the greatest remaining challenges in astrophysics and cosmology.
Reiss will also give a physics seminar on "Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant and PASS" at 1:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, in 1309 Centennial Hall.
Riess is the 15th Nobel Prize Winner in Physics to speak at UW-L as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics. Each year the series brings a world-renowned physicist to La Crosse whose significant accomplishments and communication skills can inspire and enrich the careers of students, faculty and others.
"We feel privileged to have such high-profile physicists visit our campus each year and interact with students, faculty and community members,” says Gubbi Sudhakaran, Physics Department chair. “The Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics has brought recognition to our program and has been instrumental in our program receiving state and national awards."
Riess is the Thomas J. Barber Professor in Space Studies at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, a distinguished astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
In 2011, he was named a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and was awarded the Albert Einstein Medal for his leadership in the High-z Supernova Search Team's discovery, named by Science magazine in 1998 as "Breakthrough Discovery of the Year."
His accomplishments have been recognized with a number of other awards including a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008, the Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize in 2007 (shared) and the Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2006.
The UW-L Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics is co-sponsored by the UW-L Foundation, the Department of Physics, the College of Science and Health and Wettstein's.
If you go —
What: Nobel Laureate Adam Riess gives public lecture on his discovery that universe expansion is speeding up
Where: Skogen Auditorium, 1400 Centennial Hall
When: 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2
Admission: Free
What: Physics seminar "Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant and PASS"
Where: 1309 Centennial Hall
When: 1:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3
Admission: Free
More information on the physics seminar:
The Hubble constant remains one of the most important parameters in the cosmological model, setting the size and age scales of the universe. Present uncertainties in the cosmological model including the nature of dark energy, the properties of neutrinos and the scale of departures from flat geometry can be constrained by measurements of the Hubble constant made to higher precision than was possible with the first generations of Hubble Telescope instruments. Streamlined distances ladders constructed from infrared observations of Cepheids and type 1a supernovae with ruthless attention paid to systematics now provide 3.5 percent precision and offer the means to do much better. While the new Wide Field Camera (WFC3) has helped open this new route, its full exploitation can come from a new technique, Parallel Astrometric Spatial Scanning (PASS), to measure parallax distances beyond a kiloparsec. Riess will review recent and expected progress.