Researchers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) strive to make leaps in humanity’s understanding of the universe.
In this next edition of LIVE@Frost Science on Wednesday, February 8, Professor Lisa Kewley, Director, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), will present Oxygen: Breathing the Universe. She is Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Director of the Harvard College Observatory, and Professor of Astrophysics at the Harvard Department of Astronomy. During the talk, guests will go on a journey with oxygen from the formation of the first oxygen in the infant universe shortly after the Big Bang, to the oxygen on Earth today. Professor Kewley will describe how current ground and space telescopes are helping us measure and understand the origins of the oxygen atoms that we breathe on Earth, and how the next generation of telescopes, including the Giant Magellan Telescope, will revolutionize our understanding of oxygen on planets outside our solar system. Breathe deeply. We are going on a tremendous ride!
Professor Kewley oversees about 800 Harvard and Smithsonian staff in eight scientific divisions across CfA’s nine major scientific facilities and institutes, which include the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona, the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, and the Chandra X-Ray Center in Massachusetts. She is a world leader in the theoretical modeling and observation of star-forming and active galaxies. Her foundational contributions include understanding the gas physics in star-forming galaxies, investigating galaxies containing actively accreting supermassive black holes and tracing the star-formation and oxygen history of galaxies over the past 12 billion years.
The evening will begin with an introduction by Frost Science Trustee Dr. Richard Kurin, Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large.
Admission is complimentary. Tickets are limited to four per transaction. Program will take place inside the Frost Planetarium.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Program starts promptly at 7:00 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-served. Food and beverage will be available for purchase prior to the event.
Please note registration to the event does not include museum admission. Museum exhibitions close at 6:00 p.m. Onsite parking is available in the museum garage for $8 flat rate starting at 6:00 p.m.
Professor Lisa Kewley
Lisa Kewley is Director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She is Director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Director of the Harvard College Observatory, and Professor of Astrophysics at the Harvard Department of Astronomy.