When: Thursday, Sept. 18
Where: Love Library Auditorium, 13th and R streets
Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 16, 2003 -- Tim Slater, associate professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, will give a general audience talk, "The Search for Life in the Universe," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 in the Love Library Auditorium at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 13th and R streets. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Slater will talk about astrobiology, which can be defined as the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and destiny of life in the universe. It defines itself as an interdisciplinary science existing at the intersection of astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. Discoveries from this field have dramatically changed our view of the potential for life in the universe.
For example, at least 10 times as many planets have been discovered outside our solar system as there are within it. Perhaps even more impressive is that life has been found to exist under conditions previously thought impossible. This includes organisms that thrive in temperatures above the boiling point and below the freezing point of water, in extreme acidic and basic conditions, thousands of feet below the Earth's surface and on the ocean floor, and in the extreme radiation conditions of outer space. As a result, our understanding of the limits on life has forever been changed. These discoveries are being made simultaneously with discoveries that suggest that liquid water oceans exist under the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa and that running water was likely present on the surface of Mars in the past.
Slater and his graduate students in the astronomy department at Arizona conduct research on the teaching and learning of astronomy at K-12 and higher education levels. He is the director of the University Science and Mathematics Education Center and the Education and Public Outreach Lead Scientist for the Arizona Astrobiology Institute. In addition to teaching large-enrollment courses in introductory astronomy, he also teaches courses for pre-service and in-service science teachers that focus on the pragmatic aspects of teaching science as inquiry.
CONTACT: Kevin Lee , physics and astronomy, 402-472-3686
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Posted by Tom Simons, Office of University Communications
Phone: (402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825