The Cosmic Mystery and History of Fast Radio Bursts: St. Louis Astronomical Society March Meeting
A "Fast Radio Burst" (FRB) is a brief, intense burst of radio waves originating from deep space, considered a cosmic mystery due to their unknown origin, with current theories suggesting they likely come from extremely dense objects like neutron stars or magnetars, possibly caused by violent events within their turbulent magnetic fields; while the exact mechanism is still debated, recent observations have allowed scientists to pinpoint some FRBs to specific galaxies, providing crucial clues to their source
Duncan Lorimer and Maura McLaughlin, professors in the WVU Department of Physics and Astronomy were awarded the prestigious Shaw Prize in Astronomy in 2023 for the discovery of fast radio bursts, along with their collaborator, Matthew Bailes. Since they discovered the first one in 2007, several thousand of these mysterious cosmic flashes have been spotted.
While at WVU, Lorimer has received a Cottrell Scholar Award (2008) from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement and has received both College and University awards for excellence in teaching (2009, 2010) and for research as a Benedum Scholar (2019). From 2019 to 2024, he served the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences as Associate Dean for Research. Lorimer has been a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society since 1994 and in 2018 was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in recognition of his contributions to our understanding of pulsars, and for the discovery of fast radio bursts.
The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org.
Free parking will be available.