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: Jessica Li - UF Astronomy
Title: The Universe in Ultraviolet
Abstract:
The universe glows in ultraviolet light, but most of that light never reaches Earth’s surface. By observing from high-altitude balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites above the atmosphere, astronomers can capture this hidden radiation and uncover parts of the cosmos invisible to our eyes. Ultraviolet light reveals the youngest stars being born, the violent deaths of aging stars, and the faint gas linking galaxies across the universe. It also shows how starlight sculpts the atmospheres of distant planets and shapes their potential for life. This talk explores how viewing the universe in ultraviolet light helps us see its most energetic and dynamic side—and how new technologies are opening fresh windows onto the cosmos.
About the Speaker:
Jess received her B.Eng. with a triple major in physics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering in 2015, and her M.S. in mechanical engineering in 2016 from Stony Brook University. At Brookhaven National Laboratory, she worked as a mechanical design engineer for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, and the Short Baseline Near Detector. Jess graduated with a Ph.D. in Physics and worked on a combination of UV astrophysics and instrumentation. Her thesis projects included: 1) analyzing Palomar Cosmic Web Imager data to understand the circumgalactic medium around quasars, 2) developing the Faint Intergalactic Medium Redshifted Balloon Telescope calibration system, 3) working on the Aspera SmallSat mission's grating characterization testing, and 4) measuring novel small-scale gratings manufactured with electron beam lithography for technology development in UV spectroscopy (collaboration with UIowa). She is continuing to work in UV astrophysics and instrumentation here as a postdoc with Keri Hoadley.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member's Corner Speaker: Warren Schmitt
Topic: My Work with Skylab
