Featured Event

Speaker: David Cruz-Uribe (OFS, Math Department chair, University of Alabama) Title: Swipe Right for Mathematics:  an Overview of Research in the UA Math Department Mathematicians and physicists have had a long and productive relationship, with real world problems being at the foundation of whole fields of mathematics, and with mathematicians providing the tools needed to

Speaker: Yanou Cui (UC, Riverside) Title: Probing the Dark Side of the Universe with Gravitational Waves Deep questions remain about our Universe: What is dark matter? What is the origin of matter antimatter asymmetry? What happened during the first second after the Big Bang? In this talk I will discuss the prospect of using the

Speaker: Igor Fedin (University of Alabama, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) Title: Enhanced Emission from the Bright Exciton and Locating the Dark Exciton in Asymmetrically Strained CdSe/CdxZn1–xSe Quantum Dots Colloidal CdSe/CdxZn1-xSe quantum dots (QDs) designed with a high degree of asymmetric internal strain have recently been shown to host a number of desirable optical properties

Speaker: Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil (University of Chicago) Title: The Smallest and Faintest Galaxies: The New Frontier in Dark Matter and Galaxy Formation Studies Abstract: The smallest and faintest galaxies around the Milky Way are the most ancient, most metal-poor, and most dark-matter-dominated systems known. These extreme objects offer unique access to small scales where the stellar and dark matter content can be studied simultaneously. They hold

Speaker: Chris Ashall (University of Hawai'i) Title: The Variety of Thermonuclear Supernova Abstract: Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) mark the demise of white dwarfs (WD). These cosmic explosions release as much luminous energy as the sun produces over its entire lifetime. As cauldrons of nucleosynthesis, SNe Ia provide the interstellar medium with Fe-group elements and

Speaker: David Nataf (Johns Hopkins University) Title: On the Milky Way’s Extinction Curve and Oldest Stellar Populations Abstract: The study of Galactic astronomy is being revolutionized by the plethora of incredible data from various new surveys, facilities, and the use of modern probabilistic methods.  In this talk of two parts, I first describe efforts to

Speaker: Svea Hernandez (Space Telescope Science Institute) Title: Uncovering the History of Galaxies and Metals by Exploiting the Power of Nearby Laboratories Abstract: Precise metallicities and chemical abundances of the different components in galaxies are critical for understanding galaxy formation, feedback and interstellar/intergalactic chemical enrichment. I take advantage of the unique FUV spectroscopic capabilities of

Speaker: Chao-Chin Yang (UNLV) Title: From Pebbles to Planets: A Tale of Protoplanetary Disks and Planetsimal Formation Abstract: Even though thousands of extrasolar planetary systems have been detected, a comprehensive picture of how planets are formed from their natal protoplanetary disks remains to be drawn.  One of the most challenging stages is the formation of kilometer-scale planetesimals from