Class Details
Our Dynamic Universe: Compact Objects, Explosive Events, and Our Journey Through Time and Space
We live in exciting times! Recent developments in astrophysics include the first-ever detection of gravitational waves as well as elusive classes of objects including pulsars and fast radio bursts. These topics exemplify some of the most exotic phenomena that we are part of. In this course, we will learn about some of these exciting developments and consider some of the amazing consequences for our understanding of the very nature of space and time. No prior astronomical background is needed and we will cover every essential physical concept as we go. No matter where your career will take you in life, it is my goal in this class to inspire you to be life-long learners of the Universe we live in, and even other ones!
Enrollment
Enrollment through your home campus
OSLEP provides all required reading materials at no additional cost – NO books to buy!
Housing and meals provided
Scholar
Duncan Lorimer
West Virginia University
Duncan Lorimer received his PhD. in 1994 from the University of Manchester (UK). Since then he has held positions at the University of Manchester; the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy; Cornell University; University of Manchester and currently is at West Virginia University. While at WVU, Prof. Lorimer has served as Associate and Interim Chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Along with his wife and fellow astrophysicist Maura McLaughlin, Lorimer has helped establish the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology. Among his notable research achievements are many contributions to our understanding of the population of pulsars and the discovery of Fast Radio Bursts. Since 1994 Prof. Lorimer has been a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and in 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society.