Harvard-Kyoto

Monday, 12 April 2010 Time: 5pm - 7.45pm Venue: The University of Manchester Speaker: Lord Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, Master of Trinity College and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, University of Cambridge. Our Cosmic Enviornment - Atoms, Galaxies and Life Astronomers have made astonishing progress in probing our cosmic environment, thanks to advanced technology. We can trace cosmic history from some mysterious 'beginning' nearly 14 billion years ago, and understand in outline the emergence of atoms, galaxies, stars and planets and how, on at least one planet, life emerged and developed a complex biosphere of which we are part. But these advances pose new questions: What does the future hold? How widespread is life in our cosmos? and Is physical reality even more extensive than the domain that our telescopes can probe? This illustrated lecture will attempt to address such issues. Lord Rees was appointed Astronomer Royal in 1995. In 2005 he was appointed to the House of Lords and became President of the Royal Society in the same year. Master of Trinity College and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, Lord Rees has worked and travelled extensively overseas and has been a Visiting Professor at many universities including Harvard, Berkeley and Kyoto. He has also served on many bodies connected with education, space research, arms control and international collaboration in science. Lord Rees is the author or co-author <b>...</b>