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 Fifteenth Annual Public Lecture“The Day We Found the Universe: A Centenary Celebration”Thursday, October 5th, 2023 @ 5:30pm |
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CIERA Fourteenth Annual Public Lecture“Cassini to Saturn: The Journey and the Legacy”Thursday, October 6th, 2022 @ 5:30pm |
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CIERA Thirteenth Annual Public Lecture“Strange New Worlds: Is Earth Special?”Dr. Phil Plait Thursday, October 14th, 2021 @ 5:30pm |
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CIERA Twelfth Annual Public Lecture“A Storm of Stars: A Living History of the Milky Way”Dr. Shane Larson Wednesday, October 28th, 2020 @ 7:00pm |
CIERA Eleventh Annual Public Lecture“Cartography of the Cosmos: Mapping the Unseen”Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan Thursday, October 24th, 2019 @ 5:30pm |
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![]() Photo Credit: Eileen Molony |
CIERA Tenth Annual Public Lecture“The NU Astronomy of Stars, Black Holes, and Cosmic Explosions”Dr. Vicky Kalogera Thursday, October 11th, 2018 @ 5:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: TED |
CIERA Ninth Annual Public Lecture“The Unexpected Universe: Astronomical Telescopes Continue to Reveal New Surprises”Dr. Wendy Freedman Thursday, October 5th, 2017 @ 7:30pm |
![]() Photo Credit: Ken Richardson |
CIERA Eighth Annual Public Lecture“Beginning the Exploration of the Universe with Gravitational Waves”Dr. Rainer Weiss Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017 @ 6:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images |
CIERA Seventh Annual Public Lecture“New Horizons and the Exploration of the Pluto System”Dr. Alan Stern Thursday, November 5th, 2015 @ 5:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: CIERA |
CIERA Sixth Annual Public Lecture“This Just In: Latest Discoveries in the Universe”Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Thursday, May 14th, 2015 @ 8:00 pm Special thanks to all of the sponsors who contributed funds to make this talk possible: |
![]() Photo Credit: MIT News |
CIERA Fifth Annual Public Lecture“Old Moon, New Moon”Dr. Maria Zuber Thursday, April 3rd, 2014 @ 4:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: Kennedy Space Center |
CIERA Fourth Annual Public Lecture“Science@NASA”Dr. John M. Grunsfeld Thursday, April 3rd, 2014 @ 4:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: HubbleSite |
CIERA Third Annual Public Lecture“Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe: Einstein’s Blunder Undone”Dr. Robert Kirshner Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 @ 4:00pm |
![]() Photo Credit: Jon Rou |
CIERA Second Annual Public Lecture“The Warped Side of our Universe: From the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves”Dr. Kip S. Thorne Monday, October 18th, 2010 @ 4:00pm |