Dr. Luis Alvarez-Gaume on “News from the Cosmos: The Unsettling Universe”

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Clara Tran

On September 14, 2021, Dr. Luis Alvarez-Gaume presented the first lecture of the fall 2021 STEM speaker series at the University Libraries.

Dr. Alvarez-Gaume talked about the interconnection of the microscopic and macroscopic world of the universe. He discussed the physics of the life and death of stars, and further explained through an animated simulation how a bigger black hole was formed by merging two spiral black holes, radiating gravitational waves during the process. The gravity was so strong that light could not escape from the black hole. There are still many questions about the universe, but the rich content of the lecture provided us with a glimpse of the unknown universe that we will continue to explore.

This in-person event attracted a large audience of students and faculty to attend. Students came from various disciplines such as Physics, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, among others. Dr. Alvarez-Gaume engaged students with interesting questions after the intriguing lecture.