Agenda:
7:00 - 7:15 General Meeting & Announcements
7:15 - 7:30 Short topic presentation by a club member
7:30 - 7:45 Refreshment break
7:45 - Public Presentation
Speaker: Dr. Brian Lee, Associate Professor of Physics, Santa Fe College
Title:
Exoplanets
Abstract:
Since the advent of wide-field, space-based planet transit surveys such as the Kepler Space Telescope (launched 2009, deactivated 2018) and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (launched 2018; mission ongoing), astronomers have confirmed the presence of thousands of planets around other stars. Combined with data from other planet detection methods such as radial velocity planet searches, this wealth of exoplanet discoveries has enabled astronomers to discern trends in planetary systems that we never expected until we discovered planets outside of our own solar system. In this presentation, based on recent statistics, I provide an update on the intriguing connections that have emerged, both regarding correlations between planets and their host stars, but also correlations between one planet and another within the same planetary system.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Lee has been teaching physics and astronomy at Santa Fe College since 2014. Born in Vancouver, Canada and raised in Victoria, Canada, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics & Astronomy from the University of Victoria in 2001, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Toronto in 2007. He conducted postdoctoral research with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at the University of Florida from 2007-2012, and at the University of Washington from 2012-2013. From 2020-2023, he served as president of the Florida Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Research Interests:
Dr. Lee’s Ph. D. thesis work was on searching for exoplanets in open clusters using the transit method with ground-based telescopes. As a postdoctoral researcher, he continued to work on exoplanet searching for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, but using the radial velocity method. He is also interested in characterizing brown dwarfs and binary stars. His pedagogical research interests include active learning strategies and the cultivation of growth mindset in students.
