Our final speaker of the spring was PhD candidate, Cameron Hummels, who traced the path of energy through the Universe from the Big Bang to everyday processes here on Earth. In his usual enthusiastic style, Cameron reviewed the different forms energy can take using both himself and an array of props to demonstrate his points. Laying down the gauntlet for future speakers, Cameron capped his discussion of the conservation of energy with the legendary physics pendulum demo in which he released a x pound weight, attached to the ceiling of the lecture hall, and shut his eyes tightly as it swung away and then back to within millimeters of his chin. A great time was had by all 250+ audience members.
The skies mostly cooperated for visitors to observe some familiar targets such as Mars, Saturn and the Mizar and Alcor star system in the handle of the Big Dipper. Back indoors, graduate student Yuan Li led a discussion on brown dwarfs in the solar neighborhood and graduate student Jana Gcrevich ran our 3D Astro Wall.
On a closing note, Cameron is one of the founders of our outreach program. It's his blood, sweat, and tears that got his fellow graduate students and members of the department motivated to share their knowledge of the Universe with the public, teachers, and students of New York City. Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for the world of astronomy), Cameron is graduating this summer and leaving Columbia for the southwest where he will begin a post-doc at the University of Arizona on galaxy evolution. We wholeheartedly thank him for all his hard work and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Our summer event series kicks off Friday, June 1st. Stay tuned for more details…
--Summer
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