Dark universe and Rubin Observatory will be explored in public lecture

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Dark universe and Rubin Observatory will be explored in public lecture

Oct. 3 event will feature Harvard experimental physicist Christopher Stubbs

Christopher W. Stubbs, an astronomer and experimental physicist at Harvard University, will deliver the 2025 CIERA Annual Public Lecture at Northwestern University this week.

During his 90-minute talk, Stubbs will discuss new information hidden within the unprecedented amount of data flowing from the recently launched Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The torrent of data will fuel discoveries from tracking hazardous asteroids to remapping the history of the universe's expansion. It also could reveal new insights into dark matter - the mysterious substance that comprises 90% of the mass in the Milky Way galaxy - and dark energy, the mystifying force driving the runaway expansion of the universe.

The lecture, "A New Eye on the Universe Opens: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory," will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Ryan Family Auditorium in the Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston. The event is free and open to the public.

Members of the media must RSVP with Amanda Morris at [email protected].

Working at the interface among particle physics, cosmology and gravitation, Stubbs was part of a team that first discovered the dark energy by using supernovae to trace the universe's expansion. Stubbs also has played major roles in the Rubin Observatory. He performed scientific management roles during the construction of the camera, was architect of the flux calibration system and served on the Rubin Project Science Team, the project's most senior technical management group.

About CIERA

CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics) promotes research and education in astrophysics through support of independent postdoctoral fellows, advanced graduate and undergraduate research, a vigorous visiting researchers program, and multi-faceted seminars, education and public outreach programs. Special emphasis is given to interdisciplinary connections with computer science, applied math, statistics, electrical and mechanical engineering, planetary science, education and the arts.