Northwestern University will be inaugurating a new astrophysics research center, named CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics). One of the main targeted areas of research will be at the interface between astrophysics and planetary sciences. Please visit again soon, as more details about innaugural events become available we will post them here.



INAUGURAL EVENTS

CIERA INAUGURAL KEYNOTE LECTURE
Date: February 5, 2010
Time: 3:30PM
Location: Technological Institute Building, Ryan Auditorium
Keynote Speaker: Geoff Marcy (University of California, Berkeley)
Title: The Race for Habitable Worlds and Life in the Universe

Science Fiction has deluged us with images of our Milky Way Galaxy teeming with habitable planets and populated by advanced civilizations engaged in interstellar communication, commerce, and conflicts. Back in our real universe, Earth-like planets and extraterrestrial life have proved elusive. None has been found. This year, 2010, astronomers are launching the first searches for Earth-like worlds around other stars, using extraordinary telescopes on the ground and in space. A worldwide race for the first habitable worlds and extraterrestrial life has begun.




Screen-Resolution PDF of Poster