Brinson Lecture: The Extreme Universe
The Extreme Universe
How the study of black holes and neutron stars expands our appreciation of physical science
When: Thursday, May 19, 2025
Time: 6:00 pm–7:30 pm | Doors open at 5:30 pm
Where: Adler Planetarium’s Johnson Star Theater
The universe is full of black holes, from which light cannot escape, and neutron stars, as heavy as the sun yet smaller than Chicago. Remarkable astronomical discoveries have revealed the varied ways in which they behave. They expand the physics of the laboratory and everyday life into new territory characterized by extremes of energy, density, temperature, magnetism, and so on. Understand what we have learned from astronomical observations, and how the study of black holes and neutron stars expands our appreciation of physical science.
Explore these ideas in this free public lecture at the Adler Planetarium, “The Extreme Universe,” with Roger Blandford. After the lecture, there will be a short question-and-answer portion of the event.
How To Reserve Tickets
To attend this free event, tickets must be reserved online in advance of your visit. Your event reservation ticket only includes access to the lecture. The museum will not be open to explore exhibits or experiences.
Who Is Roger Blandford?
Roger Blandford took his BA, MA, and PhD degrees at Cambridge University. Following postdoctoral research at Cambridge, Princeton, and Berkeley, he took up a faculty position at Caltech in 1976, becoming the Tolman Professor in 1989. In 2003, he became the first Director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology at Stanford and is currently the Director of the Simons Collaboration on Extreme Electrodynamics of Compact Sources. With Kip Thorne, he co-authored Modern Classical Physics.
His research interests include compact sources, cosmic rays, cosmology, and astrobiology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society, and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences. He chaired the 2010 Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
He was awarded the 1998 AAS Heineman Prize, the 2013 RAS Gold Medal, the 2016 Crafoord Prize for Astronomy, and the 2020 Shaw Prize for Astronomy.
Thanks To Our Sponsors
This program is brought to you by the Brinson Foundation and the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
