Physics Department Colloquia |
Events During the Week of April 27th through May 4th, 2008
Monday, April 28th, 2008
- No events scheduled
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
- No events scheduled
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
- No events scheduled
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
- Winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award 2008
- Exoplanet Detection and Characterization: Status and Prospects
- Time: 5:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 4:30 pm)
- Speaker: Wesley A. Traub, Jet Propulsion Lab
- Abstract: Nearly 300 exoplanets have been discovered in the past 13 years. We know the approximate mass and orbit of each of these, and for a few we have additional information about radius, composition, and temperature. However for most exoplanets we do not know these properties, nor do we know how they were formed, or whether any may have evolved like the Earth. The discovery of these unexpected exoplanets has ignited a whole new field of inquiry in astrophysics as well as physics and planetary science. One of the attractions is the prospect of finding an Earth-like planet, and searching for signs of life. Another attraction is the sheer joy of discovering and understanding a whole new part of our universe. In this talk I will outline the current measurement techniques and discoveries to date, but focus on future measurement techniques and what we may learn from them.
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
- H.T. Richard Lecture
- Neutrino Oscillations: Recent Triumphs and Future Challenges
- Time: 4:00 pm
- Place: 2241 Chamberlin Hall (coffee at 3:30 pm)
- Speaker: Bob McKeown, Caltech
- Abstract: Recent studies of neutrino oscillations have established the existence of finite neutrino masses and mixing between generations of neutrinos. The combined results from studies of atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, reactor antineutrinos and neutrinos produced at accelerators paint an intriguing picture that clearly requires modification of the standard model of particle physics. These results also provide clear motivation for future neutrino oscillation experiments as well as searches for direct neutrino mass and nuclear double-beta decay. I will summarize the status of experimental and theoretical work in this field and discuss the future opportunities that have emerged in light of recent discoveries.
- Host: Heeger