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Invited Speakers |
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Leslie Looney Friday banquet speaker The youngest protostars hold the secrets to the initial conditions of star formation, as well as containing the deeply embedded circumstellar disks, both of which are setting the initial conditions for planet formation. With the increase in sensitivity that the Spitzer (IR space telescope) and CARMA (millimeter array) observatories have provided, we have made great inroads in understanding the earliest structures of star formation. I will present some of the results of these new observations, limitations, and new hope on the horizon. |
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Thushara Perera Friday afternoon, April 3 Why are millimeter wavelengths ideal for exploring the early universe? How have we, and how will we overcome the technical difficulties related to the fact that our surroundings, like the atmosphere or the ground, make up the majority of emission? The talk will address these questions and provide examples where millimeter wavelengths are helping understand the physics of the early universe. |
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Benjamin McCall 9:30-10:15 am, Saturday, April 4 Astrochemistry is an emerging area of interdisciplinary research at the intersection between physics, chemistry and astronomy. The central theme of astrochemistry is that fundamental knowledge of the chemical physics of molecular spectra and interactions from experiments and theory can shed light on the physical and chemical conditions in interstellar space. I will present an overview of the field, and give some specific examples from our work with H3+, the simplest polyatomic molecule. |