Lectures & Colloquia
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Colloquia
The Astronomy Department has regular, weekly colloquia during the fall and spring terms by distinguished scientists and scholars covering essentially all aspects of current astronomy, astrophysics, and space sciences - observations, theory, simulations, instrumentation, and history of astronomy.
The colloquia are held every Thursday afternoon 4-5 pm in room 105 of the Space Sciences Building and are preceded at 3:30 pm by tea, coffee, and cookies. The public is welcome.
| Date | Topic | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 5, 2019 |
"Getting Under Europa’s Skin" |
Britney Schmidt, School of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech | |
| September 12, 2019 |
"The Globular Cluster System of NGC 4258: A Relic of Cosmic High Noon?" |
Rosa Gonzalez - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | |
| September 19, 2019 | "What have we learned about binary neutron stars since the discovery of GW170817?" | Duncan Brown, Syracuse University | |
| September 26, 2019 | “Exploring the Transient Sky with the Dark Energy Survey" |
Masao Sako - University of Pennsylvania | |
| October 3, 2019 | TBA | TBA | |
| October 10, 2019 |
"The Mystery of Methane on Mars: Fact, Folly or Figment?" |
John Moores - York University | |
| October 17, 2019 | "Pulsar Timing Arrays: The Next Frontier of Gravitational Wave Astronomy" | Stephen Taylor, Vanderbilt University | |
| October 24, 2019 |
"Fundamental Physics with the Simons Observatory" |
Brian Keating - UC San Diego | |
| October 31, 2019 | "Ocean Worlds of the Outer Solar System" | Kevin Hand - JPL, California Institute of Technology | |
| November 7, 2019 | "Deciphering the Engines Behind Fast Radio Bursts" | Salpeter Lecture: Brian Metzger - Columbia University | |
| November 14, 2019 | "The Magnetic Interstellar Medium in Three Dimensions" | Susan Clark - Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton | |
| November 21, 2019 | "A Schmorgas Board of Exodelights" | David Kipping - Columbia University | |
| December 5, 2019 | TBA | Katerina Chatziioannou - Flatiron Institute |
Planetary Lunch
The Planetary Lunch Seminar Series (PLunch) is an informal seminar series with talks that are relevant to everybody with an interest in planetary science. Speakers include both members of the Cornell community and visitors. Talks are aimed to appeal to and presented by faculty members, research associates, and both graduate and undergraduate students from various academic departments. The seminar is every Monday during the term at 12:15 pm in Space Sciences room 622. Lunch and refreshments are not provided.
|
Date
|
Topic
|
Speaker
|
|---|---|---|
|
August 12, 2019
|
Effects of a Rogue Star on Earth’s Climate
|
Harini Chandramouli (Graduate Student University of Minnesota)
|
|
August 20, 2019
|
A wide-field CMOS Camera "Tomo-e Gozen" and the IR optimized telescope TAO
|
Dr. Mamoru Doi (University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory)
|
|
September 9, 2019
|
The timing of planetary events and the origin of RNA-based Darwinism
|
Dr. Steven Benner
(Senior Fellow at the Ffame Foundation) |
|
September 16, 2019
|
Blues Clues: Looking for Earth 2.0 in the Near-U
|
Thomas Ditto (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and founder of 3DeWitt LLC)
|
|
September 23, 2019
|
Data-Driven Dynamics of Planetary Systems
|
Sarah Millholland (Yale University)
|
|
September 30, 2019
|
'Oumuamua | Darryl Seligman (Graduate Researcher at Yale University) |
| October 7, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| October 14, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| October 21, 2019 | Dynamics of a planet in a complex evolving architecture: the benchmark system HD 106906 | Dr. Laetitia Rodet (Astronomy, Cornell University) |
| October 28, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| November 4, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| November 11, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| November 18, 2019 | TBD | Dr. Wei Zhu (CITA) |
| November 25, 2019 | TBD | Peiyu Wu (EAS, Cornell University) |
| December 2, 2019 | Probing Saturn’s Carbon Cycle with Cassini VIMS Stellar Occultations | Andrew Foster (Astronomy, Cornell University) |
| December 9, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
| December 16, 2019 | TBD | TBD |
Astrophysics Lunch
Astrophysics Lunch is a series of informal talks on topics related to theoretical astrophysics, gravitational physics, and cosmology. Speakers are free to present their own research or present papers that they find of particular interest. The audience consists of faculty members, research staff, as well as graduate and undergraduate students, so talks should be at a level accessible to most. Astrophysics Lunch is open to talks from all members of the Cornell community, as well as to visiting scientists. We will reschedule a local speaker in order to accommodate visitors.
Astrophysics Lunch is held every Wednesday during the academic year at 12:15 PM in Space Sciences 622.
Bring your own lunch.
| Date | Topic | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| September 4, 2019 | Surpassing Subtle and Overt Biases as Women in Science | Ruxandra Bondarescu |
| September 11, 2019 | Black hole ringdown: the importance of overtones | Matt Giesler (Caltech) |
| September 18, 2019 | TBA | TBD |
| September 25, 2019 | TBA | TBD |
| October 2, 2019 | TBA | TBD |
| October 9, 2019 | TBA | Michelle Vick |
| October 16, 2019 | TBA | Hui Li (LANL) |
| October 23, 2019 | TBA | Zhong-Zhi Xianyu (Harvard) |
| October 30, 2019 | TBA | Vijay Varma (Caltech) |
| November 6, 2019 | The Key Roles of Shocks in Classical Novae | Brain Metzger (Columbia) |
| November 13, 2019 | TBA | Phil Armitage (CCA/Stony Brook) |
| November 20, 2019 | TBA | Almog Yalinewich (CITA) |
| December 4, 2019 | TBA | Katerina Chatziioannou (CCA) |
Galaxy Lunch
The Galaxy Lunch Series is held every Tuesday during the academic year, at 12:15pm, in Space Sciences room 622. In general, there will be an hour-long talk/discussion on topics related to galactic and extragalactic astronomy, and large-scale structure. The audience consists of faculty members, research staff, as well as graduate and undergraduate students, so talks should be at a level accessible to most. Galaxy Lunch is open to talks from all members of the Cornell Astronomy department, as well as to visiting scientists and speakers from different disciplines/departments.
Bring your own lunch.
The Thomas Gold Lecture Series
On the occasion of the retirement of the world famous astrophysicist, Tommy Gold, the University established the Thomas Gold Lectureship in Astronomy to bring outstanding scientists to Cornell for brief visits.
Former Thomas Gold Lecturers:
- 1987-88: Peter Goldreich (Caltech)
- 1988-89 Joseph Taylor (Princeton)
- 1989-90 Martin Rees (University of Cambridge)
- 1990-91 Dennis Sciama (University of Oxford)
- 1991-92 Gordon Pettengill (MIT)
- 1992-93 Tony Hewish (University of Cambridge)
- 1993-94 Irwin Shapiro (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
- 1994-95 Wallace Sargent (Caltech)
- 1995-96 Lyman Spitzer (Princeton)
- 1996-97 Igor Novikov (Theoretical Astrophysics Center, Copenhagen)
- 1997-98 David Schramm (University of Chicago)
- 1998-99 Mal Ruderman (Columbia University)
- 1999-00 Bohdan Paczynski (Princeton)
- 2000-01 Clifford Will (Washington University)
- 2001-02 Frank Shu (UC Berkeley)
- 2002-03 Vera Rubin (Carnegie Institution of Washington)
- 2003-04 Charles Townes (UC Berkeley)
- 2004-05 Geoff Marcy (UC Berkeley)
- 2005-06 Roger Blandford (Stanford University)
- 2006-07 Andrew Lyne (University of Manchester)
- 2009-10 Don Brownlee (University of Washington)
- 2010-11 Rashid Sunyaev (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics)
- 2011-12 Maria Zuber (MIT)
- 2012-13 David Jewitt (UCLA)
- 2013-14 J. Richard Bond (University of Toronto)
- 2014-15 Reinhard Genzel (Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics)
- 2015-16 Simon White (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics)
- 2016-17 Adam Burrows (Princeton)
- 2017-18 Renu Malhotra (U.Arizona)
- 2018-19 Bruce Draine (Princeton)
The Salpeter Lecture Series
The Salpeter Lecture Series was established in 1998 to honor Professor Edwin E. Salpeter, one of the most important astrophysicists of the 20th century. Under the auspices of the lectureship, distinguished astronomers and astrophysicists are invited to visit Cornell for one to two weeks.
Former Salpeter Lecturers:
- 1999 Sterl Phinney (CalTech)
- 2000 Lars Bildsten (Univ. California-Berkeley)
- 2001 Dave Stevenson (CalTech)
- 2002 John Carlstrom (Univ. Chicago)
- 2003 Shri Kulkarni (CalTech)
- 2004 Andrea Ghez (UCLA)
- 2005 Victoria Kaspi (McGill)
- 2006 Avi Loeb (Harvard)
- 2007 Jonathan Lunine (Univ. of Arizona)
- 2008 Alexei Filippenko (Univ. California-Berkeley)
- 2009 Gilles Chabrier (ENS Lyon)
- 2010 David Spergel (Princeton University)
- 2011 Sara Seager (MIT)
- 2012 Elliot Quataert (UC Berkeley)
- 2013 Eve Ostriker (Princeton)
- 2014 Adam Showman (University of Arizona)
- 2015 Daniel Eisenstein (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
- 2016 Fiona A. Harrison (California Institute of Technology)
- 2017 Alyssa Goodman (Harvard)
- 2018 Fred Rasio (Northwestern)
The Yervant Terzian Lecture Series
On the occasion of Yervant Terzian's 70th birthday, the University established the Yervant Terzian Lectureship in Astronomy to bring outstanding scientists to Cornell for brief visits. The Lectureship was endowed by a generous gift from Friend of Astronomy Charles Mund, Jr.
Former Terzian Lecturers:
- 2010 Nobel Prize Winner, John C. Mather (NASA/GSFC)
- 2011 Mario Livio (Space Telescope Science Institute)
- 2012 Michel Mayor (University of Geneva, Switzerland)
- 2013 Jay Pasachoff (Williams College)
- 2014 Bruce Balick (University of Washington)
- 2015 Ken Kellermann (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
- 2016 Kip Thorne (California Institute of Technology)
- 2017 Shri Kulkarni (Director Caltech Optical Observatories) (Watch Dr Kulkarni's Lecture The Restless Universe (Palomar Transient Factory)
- 2018 Silvia Torres-Peimbert (National Autonomous University of Mexico)