06 March 2025, 17:30 – 19:00
The Thouless Natural Sciences Lecture: Looking back to the Big Bang
- LocationLecture Theatre, Trinity Hall
- CostFree of charge
- Booking closing dateWednesday, 05 March 2025 12:00pm
- Event typeLecture
This is the inaugural Thouless Natural Sciences Lecture, established in honour of alumnus and Nobel prize-winner Professor David Thouless (1952), and first event in the Trinity Hall Spotlights: Space series.
We are grateful to Beth Sufian and alumnus James Passamano (1998), whose generosity has made this event and future Thouless Natural Sciences Lectures possible.
When we look out into space we look back in time.
Join Honorary Fellow Professor Jo Dunkley (1997) as she discusses our quest to understand the history of the universe from the Big Bang to today, by studying distant light coming from the earliest moments in time.
Using telescopes high in the Chilean desert tuned to measure millimetre-wavelength light, we are asking questions about how fast space is growing, how space started to grow, and how much of the cosmos is made of invisible dark matter. By surveying half the sky every couple of days, we also hope to see new types of astronomical events in distant parts of the universe.
All are welcome at the drinks reception beforehand.
Programme
17:30-17:45 Drinks reception in the Terrace Room
17:45-19:00 Lecture in the Lecture Theatre
Speaker
Professor Jo Dunkley
Jo Dunkley is the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. She read Natural Sciences at Trinity Hall from 1997-2001, and is an Honorary Fellow of the College. Her research is in cosmology, studying the origins and evolution of the Universe. She plays leading roles in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and Simons Observatory projects. She has been awarded the Maxwell Medal, the Rosalind Franklin award and the New Horizons prize for her work on the cosmic microwave background, and she shared the Breakthrough Prize with the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) team. Dunkley’s book for the general public, Our Universe: An Astronomer’s Guide, was published in 2019, and she speaks regularly to public audiences. In 2019 she received an OBE for services to science, and in 2024 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Booking and cost
There is no charge to attend, however, booking is required. Spaces are available on a first come, first served basis.
Please note that the booking deadline is 12pm on Wednesday 5 March.
Trinity Hall Spotlights: Space
This event forms part of Trinity Hall Spotlights: Space, a series which will bring insights into the latest research into cosmology and physics which is helping us understand more about what lies beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Through different academic perspectives, lectures and discussions, we hope you will be awe-struck, excited and better informed about these areas of knowledge, fascinating for their own sake and for how they help us reflect on our own place in the universe.
Photography
We like to take photographs at our alumni events to use in our digital and print communications. If you do not wish to have your photo taken, please let us know in advance or on the day.
Location
The Lecture Theatre, Trinity Hall, Trinity Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1TJ.
Please visit the Porters’ Lodge on arrival where they will direct you to the venue.
Cancellations
Please let us know as soon as possible if you find you are no longer able to attend, as we have limited capacity for this event. Please email the office or call +44 (0)1223 332555 at the earliest opportunity.
Contact
If you have any queries, please contact Rebecca Horner on developmentevents@trinhall.cam.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1223 763010. If you have any questions about events in general, please see our event FAQs.
