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Modern Genesis: The Amazing Story of our Cosmic Origins

Worsham Theater on the UK Campus Map

Presented by the Department of Physics & Astronomy, professor Sandra Faber of the University of California will speak on "Modern Gensis: The Amazing Story of our Cosmic Origins". Less than one hundred years ago, astronomers did not know about galaxies or that the Milky Way is a galaxy in a vast, frothy sea of galaxies. Today, astronomers have made remarkable progress in understanding how galaxies form in our expanding universe and the crucial role that they play in how the elements we are made of were built, and even how our planets and our solar system came to be.  This lecture will distill a century of dramatic cosmic discoveries to present a comprehensive yet digestible account of why we are here and where we are going...cosmically speaking.

Sandra Faber is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Interim Director of the UCO/Lick Observatory.  She is an observational astronomer with primary research interests in cosmology and galaxy formation. Some of her major discoveries include the first structural scaling law for galaxies (called the Faber-Jackson relation), the discovery of large-scale flow perturbations in the expansion of the universe, and the ubiquity of massive black holes at the centers of galaxies.  In 1984, she and three colleagues presented the first detailed treatment of galaxy formation based on “cold dark matter,” which has since become the standard paradigm for galaxy formation in the universe.  Faber was one of three astronomers who diagnosed the optical flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope, and she played a major role in its repair.  From 1994-2005 she was Principal Investigator of the DEIMOS spectrograph, a large optical multi-object spectrograph for the Keck telescope that is the most powerful instrument of its kind in the world.  She and colleagues used DEIMOS to conduct the DEEP redshift survey of the distant universe, which collected spectra of 50,000 distant galaxies and exploited the immense power of Keck to see and study galaxy formation 10 billion years back in time.  She now leads the CANDELS project, the largest project in the history of the Hubble Space Telescope, to extend our view of galaxy formation back nearly to the Big Bang.  In 2009, she was awarded the Bower Award for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and in 2012 she received the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the Russell Prize of the American Astronomical Society, both for lifetime scientific achievement. Most recently, she received the National Medal of Science from President Obama in February 2013.

 

Date:
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Location:
Worsham Theater, UK Student Center

Succeed In Sociology

If you are taking SOC 101 this semester, you will want to participate in this discussion of how to excel in sociology by learning to see the world through a sociological lens. Like all other disciplines, sociology has a lot of specific content, but the students who do best are those who develop the ability to use sociological insights to look at the world in a different way. For that reason, courses in sociology often put considerable emphasis on the development of a "Sociological Imagination". Come meet faculty and gain insight on how to succeed in sociology courses while using them as a basis for the meaningful exploration of new ideas.

Date:
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Location:
231 Student Center

Don't Blow Yourself Up: Surviving Chemistry

Are you taking chemistry courses this year? Meet one of our fantastic General Chemistry professors and learn key ways to succeed in chemistry. You will hear tips for the best studying and test-taking practices. If you are enrolled in chemistry this year, you won't want to miss this insider information.

Date:
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Location:
Worsham Theater, Student Center

WRD Graffiti Wall and "Real World" Recording

The department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (WRD) encourages all new students to paint, draw, tag, and create one word on the graffiti wall that represents their own perspective on the coming year at UK. The graffiti wall will be displayed in the WRD hallways throughout the year. We provide the wall and tools. You provide the creativity.

Date:
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Location:
Outside Whitehall Classroom Building
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