The Department of Physics invites faculty, students and the public to our 40th annual celebration of physics. 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 wider impact. They are intended to be broadly accessible to an audience drawn from across the university, other academic institutions and the interested public.

Speaker: Lauren Hetherington In 1572, astronomers around the world saw a brilliant supernova which outshone every other star in the sky. It faded from view over the following two years and yet, today, we can still detect light from this ancient stellar explosion. How can this be? The answer lies in light echoes: light reflected by dust far from the initial explosion. Join us for the May AstroTour talk to discover what can we learn from these radiant echoes in space and how it is that they often look like they’re moving faster than the speed of light.

The visionary Oscar-winning writer and director of Gravity introduces Stanley Kubrick's science-fiction masterpiece.

Dr. Lisa Esteves, University of Toronto

Amanda Peet, University of Toronto Four decades ago, Stephen Hawking posed a paradox about black holes and quantum theory that still challenges the imaginations of theoretical physicists today. One of the most promising approaches to resolving the "information paradox" (the notion that nothing, not even information itself, survives beyond a black hole's point-of-no-return event horizon) is string theory, a part of modern physics that has wiggled its way into the popular consciousness.

Is our universe the only one? How do we prevent a zombie plague? Will biometrics eliminate privacy altogether? Will climate change put fish in hot water? Should we trust the machines? Join York University professors Matthew Johnson, Jane Heffernan, Demian Ifa, Sapna Sharma and Edward Jones-Imhotep in a conversation with CBC Radio’s The Current host Anna Maria Tremonti on five big questions for the next 50 years.

A space-themed concert of choral music, directed by Tom Bell, and featuring visuals and commentary by astronomer John Percy (University of Toronto). ASLAN Space Concert promo video (YouTube)

Kipp Cannon is a Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. His research is in the field of gravitational wave astronomy, which is the use of minute warps in space and time to learn about the collisions of black holes and other compact objects deep in the universe. He is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and is the Principle Investigator for the Canadian effort in this project.

Join us at the Ontario Science Centre for our monthly Solar Observing on the TelusScape observing pad. This is the area in front of the Science Centre's entrance. We use specialized telescopes that are safe to aim at the Sun. Check our home page on the Friday prior for go/no-go calls as this event is weather dependent.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Gravity binds the universe together. From the hundreds of billions of stars dancing around our Milky Way galaxy, to the moons orbiting Jupiter, to satellites that circle overhead, gravity is present everywhere and shapes our existence. Join us for an evening exploring this wondrous force of nature. Your show will be approximately 50 minutes long. All of our shows are presented live and in person by University of Toronto astronomers. Plenty of time is allocated for questions from the audience.

Explore the universe with members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Large telescopes will be set up to give you amazing views of our Moon, the planets and more! Meet at the Chappell House Lawn. In case skies are not suitable for star-gazing on the scheduled date, the event will take place on Wednesday, April 29 at the same time.

Join the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers from 8:00 to 11:00pm for a view of the cosmos! Who can attend: EveryoneFee: FreeReservations: Not requiredOrganized by: Hamilton Amateur AstronomersLocation: Bayfront Park, Harbour Front Dr. at Bay St. N. in Hamilton http://www.amateurastronomy.org/club-events/