Dr. Vera Rubin. Credit: Public DomainA symposium in honor of Dr. Vera Rubin is being held at Georgetown University, June 24-26, 2019.
Dr. Rubin (1928-2016) was one of the most important astrophysicists of the 20th and 21st centuries. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1954, and pioneered the study of galaxy rotation rates that provided definitive evidence for the existence of Dark Matter. Dr. Rubin was also a fierce and effective advocate for women in science. This symposium honors her legacy by bringing together astrophysicists whose research was made possible by Dr. Rubin’s discoveries; they will discuss the latest developments in the field, and the connections with Dr. Rubin’s discoveries.
Symposium organizers expect some sessions will be particularly interesting to those involved in educating the next generation of scientists and scientifically engaged citizens.
Some of the lectures/discussions include:
Keynote lecture by Dr. Abigail Fraeman from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – she will discuss the exploration that she leads of the Vera Rubin Ridge on Mars with the Curiosity Rover.
A panel discussion including Dr. Fraemen and Prof. Pearl Sandick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah. The panel will be followed by round-table discussions and work sessions to develop individual action plans to address critical issues facing educators, researchers, and industry leaders.
Dark Stars by Prof. Pearl Sandick
The Dark Side of the Universe by Dr. Neta A. Bahcall, Professor of Astrophysics, Princeton University.
The Broad Implications of Dr. Rubin’s Science by Dr. France Córdova, Director of the National Science Foundation.
Also presenting will be Prof. Katherine Freese, the Chair of the Symposium Organizing Committee and recipient of the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize “for ground-breaking research at the interface of cosmology and particle physics, and her tireless efforts to communicate the excitement of physics to the general public.”
These remarkable women will talk about their science, their personal journeys, and the challenges of increasing the representation of women in Physics and Astronomy.
A full agenda is available at the Vera Rubin Symposium website. The symposium is being recorded – videos will be available on the website in a couple weeks. We’ll follow-up with another post about the symposium, and include links to those videos.
Posts about Vera Rubin on the VOF Sacred Space Astronomy blog.
Posts about Vera Rubin on the VOF Faith and Science Archive website.
