Beginning with Joel Stebbins' pioneering development of the photoelectric photometer in the early 1900s, and especially since the building up of the modern department by George McVittie and Icko Iben, the U. of I. has conducted forefront astronomical research. The centennial lectures will illustrate some of the fascinating issues that our astronomers, astrophysicists and engineers are tackling, and describe some of the advanced techniques being employed in that research. Through advances in instrumentation, computer simulation and our understanding of modern physics, the case for the Big Bang is stronger than ever. We are closing in on the cosmological parameters that describe the age, shape and fate of our universe. The next 10 years will witness the determination of these parameters to high precision, as well as the reconstruction of the complete evolutionary history of the astronomical universe.
Acetic acid is one step short of the simplest amino acid, glycine.
All that is needed to form glycine is to combine acetic acid and ammonia, which was discovered in interstellar space in 1969. So it is plausible that simple amino acids do form in space. Black holes, mysterious objects where gravitational fields are so strong that nothing can escape their pull, not even light, will be the topic of a talk on March 9 by Stuart Shapiro, who is also a professor of physics. Modern supercomputers represent a new kind of telescope that allow astrophysicists to 'observe' black holes and study their strange behavior in the laboratory. The U. of I. is at the forefront of supercomputer simulations of black holes and other relativistic phenomena.