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.

Magnetars are some of the most extreme objects in the known universe. Though small in size, they possess the strongest magnetic fields in the universe and are the densest objects known. In this talk, we’ll go over the incredible behaviour seen in these rare objects — from tiny explosions to outshining the rest of the X-ray sky combined.

This is the 15th Annual Symposium organized by ASX and this year's theme is: "Into the Unknown: The Future of Space Exploration"

As light pollution impacts the abilities of amateur astronomers to view with their telescopes anything faint in cities or the suburbs, they are forced to drive greater distances to reach dark sites. But what if it were possible to observe faint deep sky objects from the heart of the city or suburb light domes? This presentation will show how astro-video technologies can take you beyond the ordinary eyepiece views in light-polluted skies.

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.