Listen to an expert on cosmology

This project must be done by individuals.

One of the world's experts on the expansion of the universe is astronomer Wendy Freedman. She has devoted her career to measuring the rate at which our local-ish universe is expanding. I've been reading her work since I was a graduate student, and I've enjoyed every one of her talks that I've attended.

During March, 2023, Freedman will give a set of three talks at Cornell.

• flyer describing the talks and how to watch them
  • Monday, March 20, 4:00 PM: The Hubble Tension
  • Tuesday, March 21, 4:00 PM: Measuring the Hubble Constant
  • Wednesday, March 22, 7:30 PM: How fast is the Universe expanding?

Note that the first two are likely to be rather technical, while the third is a public lecture and so is likely be simplified. All three talks will be livestreamed, so there is no need to travel to Cornell to watch them.

You may choose any one or two of these lectures. In order to earn extra credit, you must

1. listen/watch to the lecture
2. keep notes as you watch, in your own way
3. afterwards, write a 1-2 paragraph summary of the talk
4. write one question that you wish you could ask Dr. Freedman
5. submit the summary, question, and notes in a neat format (hardcopy or electronic)

You will earn up to two percent of extra credit for each lecture that you watch and summarize, up to a maximum of two lectures.

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.