The participants come from 27 countries, a record level of attendance for any stellar pulsation conference. The first review talk was presented by John Castor of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who reviewed Cox's career by tracking the key papers Cox has authored or co-authored. He noted that Cox has studied, and written papers about, every type of variable star. His extraordinary energy has inspired all of us in the room.
Stars can pulsate in brightness, temperature and other ways.
Studying their variability helps researchers understand more about their life cycle and place in the evolution of the cosmos. Ten other review talks were scheduled during the week, along with about 55 other talks and 85 posters in two sessions. An evening banquet in honor of Cox will be held in Santa Fe Thursday. Cox, who first came to Los Alamos as an undergraduate student in 1947 and joined the Laboratory as a staff member in 1953, organized the first stellar pulsation conference in the series in 1971. In recognition of his scientific accomplishments and contributions, he was selected as a Laboratory fellow in 1983.