Perched on a ridge in the remote polar desert of Ellesmere Island sits an atmospheric research facility, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL). Surrounded by vast, rugged, and beautiful Arctic scenery, a small team of Canadian scientists use sophisticated instruments at PEARL to measure and investigate a wide range of atmospheric science topics. From this strategic location, research is conducted to better understand climate change, ozone depletion chemistry, pollution transport, and the high Arctic atmosphere.

Get an up-close and personal take on the several Gravitational Waves discoveries that have changed science for the better. With the discovery of gravitational waves in 2015 and the recent observation of a binary neutron star, the LIGO-VIRGO collaboration and partners have broken records in physics, astronomy, and interferometry – with still more to come.

Have you ever looked up in the starry sky and felt small and insignificant compared to the vastness of the cosmos? What you will learn in this talk is that you are actually made of the exact same material as these sparky dots up there and essentially everything else in the universe. Stars produce the elements that compose everything you see – yourselves included – while they are born, live and die in the cosmic ocean. You are literally a living part of the universe, made out of stardust!

Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn will be discussing how to prepare and plan for a night of imaging with special consideration to location, time, weather and sky quality considerations. She will also be discussing how to interpret weather forecasts and use various websites, apps and desktop software in order to optimize your night out under the stars. Her talk will also be applicable to those who aren’t interesting in photography.

The Welsh Lectures in Physics have been held annually since 1975 in honour of H.L. Welsh, a distinguished former faculty member in the Physics Department. They are the major public event in the life of the Department of Physics and are intended to celebrate discoveries in physics and their broader impact.   They are intended to be broadly accessible to an audience drawn from across the university, other academic institutions and the interested public. The Welsh Lecturers for 2014 are:

A science-based variety show aimed at blending knowledge, music and comedy

Solar System Social is a space-themed speaker series that brings exciting ideas and research from the field of planetary science to the general public in the form of short, informative, and interesting talks that last about 20 minutes each.

What is the sound of a twinkling star? Can planets keep a beat? How loud was the big bang?

Dr. Laura Parker will give an overview of the techniques used to map the universe on the largest scales, which have enabled us to measure dark energy and dark matter.

With Alanna Mitchell, acclaimed science journalist, author and contributor to CBC Radio’s Quirks & Quarks.