Dear All

For any of you who cannot make the Monday lecture (or would like to  
hear it again!), please note that Joel and Nancy will be giving the  
same talk at Queen Mary College (Mason Lecture Theatre, Bancroft  
Building) at 6.30pm the next day (Tuesday 10th October). Since this  
is a public lecture, there will be a charge for people not at Queen  
Mary.  However, if you let me know in advance, I'll try to get any  
London cosmologists exempted as well!

Best wishes, Bernard Carr

On 29 Sep 2006, at 14:59, Anais Rassat wrote:



> Dear London Cosmology,
>
> The Astrophysics Group at UCL cordially invites you to attend a  
> public lecture by:
>
>         Joel Primack and Nancy Abrams
>         "The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering our  
> Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos"
>
> The lecture will take place on **Monday 9th Oct 4pm** in the  
> Archaeology Lecture Theatre, Gordon Square.
> Entrance is free but on a first come, first serve basis.
>
> The lecture is accessible to both beginners and experts in the  
> field, and will have a particular relevance for undergraduates in  
> both Physics and
> Astronomy.
>
> A synopsis of the lecture is as follows:
>
> Cosmology is going through a scientific revolution that is creating  
> humanity's first picture of the universe that might actually be  
> true. This lecture
> explains and visualizes the evolution of the Universe, the fact  
> that the universe is made mostly of dark matter and dark energy  
> with visible matter
> making up only about half a percent of the total, and the  
> remarkable fact that humans - and indeed intelligent life anywhere  
> in the universe - must have
> a size that is in the middle of all possible size scales. Joel and  
> Nancy alternate frequently during the presentation, presenting  
> scientific and
> philosophical viewpoints. They show spectacular new images and  
> videos, using both updated ancient symbols and the latest  
> astronomical data and
> simulations. They also use humorous cartoons to illustrate how  
> cosmological ideas have widespread cultural implications. The talk  
> is both entertaining
> and educational, and it can be enjoyed by everyone from people who  
> know nothing about modern astronomy to experts in the field.
>
> Joel Primack, Professor of Physics at UCSC, is one of the world's  
> leading cosmologists and an originator and developer of the theory  
> of evolution of the
> Universe. He and his team use some of the world's biggest  
> supercomputers to simulate the evolution of the Universe, and they  
> compare the results with
> observational data.
>
> Nancy Abrams is a lawyer, writer, and former Fulbright scholar,  
> with a long-term interest in the history, philosophy, and politics  
> of science. While
> working on the staff of the U.S. Congress, she co-created a novel  
> method by which government agencies can make wise policy decisions  
> in cases involving
> scientific uncertainty.
>
>