Baylor Welcomes Spring CASPER Seminar Speakers

by Lauren Venegas, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
The Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University will host several seminars and theory group meetings highlighting new technology and approaches to space development and research. The seminars are held from 2 to 3 p.m. in room A.326 of the Baylor Sciences Building. CASPER is an official Baylor research center formed by a partnership between Baylor and Texas State Technical College-Waco.
This semester-long series begins Jan. 23 as Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu of University of Texas at Austin will speak on "The 5-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Interpretation." He will discuss implications for dark matter, dark energy, neutrinos, cosmic reionization, and inflation.
On Jan. 30, the series continues with Baylor graduate student Andreas Tziolas, speaking on "Colliding 3-branes and Formation of Spacetime Similarities in String Theory."
Baylor graduate student Qiang (Bob) Wu will speak on "The Late Cosmic Transient Acceleration of the Universe in the Horava-Witten Heterotic M Theory" on Feb. 6.
Dr. Roger Bentson of the University of Texas at Austin will speak on April 3 and Mr. Brad Walter, of the Central Texas Astronomical Society, will discuss "CCD Photography with Small Telescopes" on April 17.
The series will conclude with Dr. David Hough, chair of physics at Trinity University, on April 24.
CASPER is a fully interdisciplinary center with connections to the department of physics, the School of Education and the School of Engineering at Baylor University. There are currently four primary research groups within CASPER, the Astrophysics and Space Science Theory Group (ASSTG), the Early Universe Cosmology and Strings Group (EUCOS), the Gravity, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Group (GCAP) and the experimental group which operates CASPER's Hypervelocity Impacts and Dusty Plasmas Lab (HIDPL) and the Space Science Lab (SSL).
Space research within CASPER has a proud heritage dating back to the 1960s, including flight projects from Explorer I forward. Personnel within the Center have been actively involved on a number of NASA and ESA flight missions. For more information on CASPER, visit www.baylor.edu/CASPER/.