Seminar Date:
Wednesday, September 4th, 2013
Speaker:
Dr. Amanda Bauer
Super Science Fellow at the Australian Astronomical Observatory
Sydney, Australia.
Title:
A Long Time Ago in Galaxies Far, Far Away
Abstract:
Galaxies found in the distant, early universe look and behave differently from those in our local universe. In this talk, I investigate the build up of stars in galaxies over time, which depends strongly on the galaxies and the neighborhoods in which they live.
Seminar Date:
September 25th, 2013
Speaker:
Dr. Rabiah Mayas
Director of Science and Integrated Strategies,
Museum of Science and Industry
[Addendum: Click here for Dr. Mayas' slides from her seminar talk.]
Title:
Your Title is What?? Science and Integrated Strategies at MSI
Abstract:
Since the formation of the Center for the Advancement of Science Education at MSI several years ago, there have been several organizational changes designed to more strategically and effectively advance the Museum's mission and vision. Among these was the formation of the Science and Integrated Strategies department in 2010, which absorbed a number of existing initiatives and was charged with developing several new ones.
In total, the department focuses on five primary areas: public programming, engineering and innovation education, evaluation and research, STEM professionals engagement, and interdisciplinary science learning. The department's initiatives are almost exclusively collaborative (internally and externally), experimental and exploratory, and connected directly to scientific research and practice.
This talk will highlight the the programs, initiatives, and studies currently underway, the Museum context within which they sit at MSI, and plans for the future, including possible opportunities for partnerships with Adler and other science centers.
Seminar Date:
Wednesday, October 2nd
Speaker:
Dr. Neal Evans
Centennial Professor in Astronomy
The University of Texas at Austin
Title:
Low Mass Star Formation
Abstract:
I will review recent progress in understanding the formation
of individual low mass stars and their planetary systems. In
particular, I'll focus on recent results from Spitzer and Herschel.
Seminar Date:
Wednesday, October 16th, 2013
Speaker:
Dr. Konstantin Batygin
Institute for Theory and Computation
Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Title:
Disk-Driven Migration in Hot Jupiters
Abstract:
The existence of gaseous giant planets whose orbits lie in close proximity to their host stars (“hot Jupiters") can naturally be accounted for by protoplanety disk-driven (type-II) migration, associated with viscous evolution of the nebulae. Recently, observations of this effect during planetary transits have revealed that a considerable fraction of detected hot Jupiters reside on orbits that are misaligned with respect to the spin-axes of their host stars. This observational fact has cast significant doubts on the importance of disk-driven migration as a mechanism for production of hot Jupiters, thereby reestablishing the origins of close-in planetary orbits as an open question. Here we show that spin-orbit misalignment is a natural consequence of disk-driven migration.
Seminar Date:
November 13th, 2013
Speaker:
Dr. Fred Ciesla
Geoscience Faculty,
University of Chicago
Title:
Collisions in the Early Solar System
Abstract:
Meteorites provide us with important clues about the conditions present and processes that occurred during the birth of our Solar System. Deciphering these clues, however, requires a detailed understanding of how the meteorites would have been shaped by the various events known to have occurred during these stages of evolution. I will discuss recent work we have carried out to understand the roles that collisions among meteorite parent bodies would have played in shaping the specimens in our collections, and how this could relate to understanding of planet formation in general.
Wednesday, September 4th, 2013
