Distinguished Lecture Series in Physics
The UW-L DLS series in Physics is co-sponsored by the UW-L Foundation, Inc., the Department of Physics, the College of Science and Health, and Wettstein's. The purpose of the series is each year to bring to La Crosse a physicist whose significant accomplishments and communication skills can inspire and enrich the careers of students, faculty, and the community in general. Lectures are open to the public. Previous lectures
2012 DLS Speaker:
Dr. John Mather
2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics
Senior Astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight Center
Senior Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope
Public Lecture
5 PM Thursday, September 13, 2012
Skogen Auditorium A, Room 1400, Centennial Hall
History of the Universe from the Beginning to End
The history of the universe in a nutshell, from the Big Bang to now, and on to the future – John Mather will tell the story of how we got here, how the Universe began with a Big Bang, how it could have produced an Earth where sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history. Mather was 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 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 support the Big Bang theory. He will also show NASA’s plans for the next great telescope in space, the James Webb Space Telescope. It 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. It is capable of examining Earth-like planets around other stars using the transit technique, and future missions may find signs of life.
Physics Colloquium
Open to the Public!
3:20 PM Friday, September 14, 2012
Skogen Auditorium A, Room 1400, Centennial Hall
Engineering Challenges and Scientific Capabilities of the James
Webb Space
Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is planned for launch in 2018 as the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It extends the scientific discoveries of the HST into the infrared band, covering 0.6 to 28 µm, with extraordinary sensitivity to reach far closer to the Big Bang, to look inside dust clouds where stars and planets are forming today, and to observe exoplanetary atmospheres through the transit technique. The 6.5 m telescope mirror is made of 18 beryllium hexagons, all of which are now polished, gold-coated, and tested. Using algorithms developed for the Hubble repair, the JWST will be focused after launch to achieve diffraction-limited performance at 2 µm. The telescope is protected by a 5-layer deployable sunshield the size of a tennis court to enable it to cool to about 40 K and to reduce its thermal emissions. I will outline the new concepts and technologies needed for the mission and the scientific observations that are likely with the new observatory.
For a printable version of this year's DLS brochure, click here.
For a printable version of this year's DLS poster, click here.
For more information, contact :
Dr. Gubbi Sudhakaran, Chair
UW-L Department of Physics
(608) 785-8431
sudhakar.gubb@uwlax.edu