Astronomy at the Intersection of Industry and Fundamental Research
Astronomy at the Intersection of Industry and Fundamental Research
Monday, May 6, 12-1:00pm
Join Northwestern University’s Corporate Engagement team for a webinar led by Dr. Vicky Kalogera, the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University. Dr. Kalogera will be joined by Dr. Shane Larson, Research Associate Professor and Associate Director of CIERA
Who Should Participate
Those interested in learning more about the broad areas of interdisciplinary work in Astronomy and how it ties to the needs of the corporate and industrial sectors. Additionally, anyone interested in bolstering their workforce with students skilled in coding, complex problem solving, and handling large sets of data.
Summary
Astronomy is a fundamental research area at the frontier of modern science. It is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor that requires close collaboration between astronomers, engineers, computer scientists, data analysts, high performance computing specialists, and physicists. The research unveils extraordinary discoveries about the Universe by harnessing the latest advances in data science, image processing, massive structural engineering, complex system integrations, and overlapping knowledge between basic disciplines like chemistry, biology, and physics. At the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) we build teams and collaborations that knit these areas together to produce the discoveries that capture headlines around the world. As a University Research Center, we are also deeply engaged in our educational mission to produce the next generation of scientists and leaders in astronomy, as well as making the implications of our discoveries accessible to the rest of society. There is also a natural synergy with industrial applications of the knowledge we develop, and there is a strong pipeline that leads our students and early career scientists into jobs with companies outside the University.
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Vicky Kalogera is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the co-founder and the current Director of CIERA at Northwestern University. She is an expert in the astrophysics of compact objects, black holes and neutron stars, the death remnants of stars, studying their formation and evolution especially in systems of multiple stars. For her research she has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Bethe Prize of the American Physical Society (2016), the Heineman Prize for Astrophysics by the American Institute for Physics and the American Astronomical Society (2018), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2021). In 2018 she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and in 2021 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Shane Larson is a Research Professor and Associate Director of CIERA. Dr. Larson’s research interests are primarily in gravitational wave astrophysics and data analysis, but he is also interested in various aspects of cosmology, binary star evolution, gravitational dynamics in exoplanetary systems, and Earth’s climate.