Isaac Newton ~ Professor Robert Iliffe

Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) was one of the greatest mathematical and scientific geniuses to have ever lived.  His theories laid the foundations for modern science ~ foundations which still form the basis of much of our understanding of the Universe.  Professor Iliffe will discuss a complex man who devoted more time to the study of alchemy and theology than rational science ~ and whose beliefs had a large impact upon Europe’s political, intellectual and religious landscape.

The Planet Discovery Process ~ Karen Collins

Karen is an astrophysics graduate student in the Physics and Astronomy department at the University of Louisville. Her research interests are protoplanetary disks and extra-solar planets. She is currently working with Dr. Gerard Williger of the University of Louisville and Dr. Carol Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

They are currently working with imagery and spectroscopy from Apache Point Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, Gemini North and South observatories, and the VLT. There current targets of interest are the Herbig Ae stars HD 169142 and HD 100453. Both stars are about 10 Myr old and have protoplanetary disks which are believed to be in the active planet forming phase of stellar evolution.

Her work is supported by a graduate fellowship from the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium.