CIERA Annual Public Lectures

Photo Credits: Kennedy Space Center, CIERA, MIT News

CIERA’s Annual Public Lecture series brings campus and the Chicagoland community together to hear a prominent astronomer speak on a fascinating, timely topic.

Past speakers have included Nobel laureates: Rainer Weiss and Kip S. Thorne; astronomer, author, and science communicator: Phill Plait; along with others of utmost renown.

These lectures are aimed at audiences of all ages interested in astronomy. They are free and open to all. Events are typically held on weeknight evenings.

Many of our Annual Public Lectures have been made possible with support from

The Alumnae of Northwestern University

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	CIERA 15th Anniversary Annual Public Lecture “The Jazz of Physics” Dr. Stephon Alexander Thursday, November 14th, 2024 @ 7:30pm Northwestern’s Lutkin Memorial Hall
	2023 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “The Day We Found the Universe: A Centenary Celebration” Marcia Bartusiak Thursday, October 5th, 2023 @ 5:30pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
	2022 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Cassini to Saturn: The Journey and the Legacy” Dr. Carolyn Porco Thursday, October 6th, 2022 @ 5:30pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
	2021 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Strange New Worlds: Is Earth Special?” Dr. Phil Plait The Bad Astronomer Thursday, October 14th, 2021 @ 5:30pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
	2020 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “A Storm of Stars: A Living History of the Milky Way” Dr. Shane Larson Research Associate Professor, Associate Director of CIERA Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 @ 7:00pm
Photo credit: Michael Marsland	2019 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Cartography of the Cosmos: Mapping the Unseen” Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan Professor of Astronomy & Physics, Yale University Thursday, October 24th, 2019 @ 5:30pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
Photo Credit: Eileen Molony	2018 CIERA Anniversary Annual Public Lecture “The NU Astronomy of Stars, Black Holes, and Cosmic Explosions” Dr. Vicky Kalogera Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University Director, CIERA Thursday, October 11th, 2018 @ 5:00pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
Photo Credit: TED	Fall 2017 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “The Unexpected Universe: Astronomical Telescopes Continue to Reveal New Surprises” Dr. Wendy Freedman John & Marion Sullivan University Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics Thursday, October 5th, 2017 @ 7:30pm Northwestern’s Cahn Auditorium
Photo Credit: Ken Richardson	Spring 2017 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Beginning the Exploration of the Universe with Gravitational Waves” Dr. Rainer Weiss Professor of Physics, Emeritus Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on behalf of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017 @ 6:00pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Room LR3
Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images	Fall 2015 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “New Horizons and the Exploration of the Pluto System” Dr. Alan Stern Associate Vice President and Special Assistant to the President at the Southwest Research Institute Leader of NASA New Horizons Mission Thursday, November 5th, 2015 @ 5:00pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium
Photo Credit: CIERA	Spring 2015 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “This Just In: Latest Discoveries in the Universe” Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Astrophysicist and Frederick P. Rose Director Hayden Planetarium American Museum of Natural History Thursday, May 14th, 2015 @ 8:00 pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium Special thanks to all of the sponsors who contributed funds to make this talk possible: Northwestern University’s Society of Physics Students, Contemporary Thought Speaker Series, Space Technology and Rocketry Society, Norris Special Events, Office of the President, Weinberg Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Alumnae of Northwestern University, and RSG Research Communication.
Photo Credit: MIT News	2014 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Old Moon, New Moon” Dr. Maria Zuber E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics Vice President for Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thursday, April 3rd, 2014 @ 4:00pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium
Photo Credit: Kennedy Space Center	2013 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Science@NASA” Dr. John M. Grunsfeld Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Thursday, February 19th, 2013 @ 4:00pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium
Photo Credit: HubbleSite	2011 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe: Einstein’s Blunder Undone” Dr. Robert Kirshner Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 @ 4:00pm Northwestern’s Technological Institute, Ryan Family Auditorium
Photo Credit: Jon Rou	2010 CIERA Annual Public Lecture “The Warped Side of our Universe: From the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves” Dr. Kip S. Thorne Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology Monday, October 18th, 2010 @ 4:00pm Northwestern’s Fisk Hall