The annual William C. Shaw Lecture presented by SIUE’s Physics Department will pair up with the 2013 season of Arts & Issues to present Dr. John C. Mather, one of the world’s most prominent astrophysicists, on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom.
Mather, co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics, is a senior astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and specializes in infrared astronomy and cosmology.
He was the Project Scientist for NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which measured the spectrum (the color) of the heat radiation from the Big Bang, discovered hot and cold spots in that radiation, and hunted for the first objects that formed after the great explosion. He and co-researcher George Smoot were awarded the Nobel Prize for this work.
Mather currently serves as Senior Project Scientist for the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the great Hubble Space Telescope
Mather’s presentation titled “History of the Universe from the Beginning to End” will discuss the history of the universe in a nutshell, from the Big Bang to now, and on to the future. He will tell the story of how we got here, how the Universe began, how it could have produced an Earth where sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history.
In addition, Mather will explain Einstein’s biggest mistake, how Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe, how the COBE mission was built and how the COBE data supports the Big Bang theory. He will discuss NASA’s plans for the next great telescope in space, the James Webb Space Telescope that will look even farther back in time than the Hubble Space Telescope, and will peer inside the dusty cocoons where stars and planets are being born today.
Tickets for the general public are $15. Tickets for SIUE faculty, staff, retirees, alumni and seniors 65 or older are $10. Admission is free for students. For ticket information, visit www.artsandissues.com.
The William C. Shaw Lecture is presented by SIUE’s Department of Physics. It features outstanding scientists who speak on primarily astronomy-based topics. The series commemorates the teaching career of Professor William Shaw, who taught at SIUE between 1959 and 1973 and passed away in 1977. The talk is also the kickoff event for Arts & Issues’ 2013-14 season.
Photo: Dr. John C. Mather.