May 22, 2007: Astrophysicist and Cosmologist Dr. Roger Blandford to speak at UAA

Free public lecture to address Black Holes: End of Time or a New Beginning?

For years, black holes have amazed and intrigued us.  These bodies of gravity are so intense that even light cannot escape from them.  For years, astrophysicists have studied the role these strange objects play in the formation and fate of the Universe.  A leading expert in the field of cosmology, Dr. Blandford will give a free public lecture entitled, "Black Holes: End of Time or a New Beginning?" on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. in UAA's Fine Arts Building, room 150.

Roger Blandford is a native of England and earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Cambridge University. Following postdoctoral research at Cambridge, Princeton and Berkeley, he took a faculty position at Caltech in 1976. In 2003, Blandford moved to Stanford University to become the first director of the Kavli Institute of Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. His research interests include black hole astrophysics, cosmology, gravitational lensing, cosmic ray physics and compact stars. Blandford has been a featured expert on PBS's NOVA, and his work on black holes and other issues has been featured in several national publications, including Science, Nature, Physics Today, The Astrophysical Journal, Science News, New Scientist, among many others.

Dr. Blandford is visiting Alaska to take part in an international astrophysical conference on the topic of extragalactic jets. The conference is co-sponsored by UAA and the National Science Foundation. To schedule an interview with Dr. Blandford, or for additional information about his lecture, please call 786-1263.