How it all began – The series of public talks on the Big Bang

What is our Universe made of?

Does it have a beginning and an end? How were the elementary particles created and how do we find new ones? What is dark matter and what happened during the Big Bang? Answers to these questions are provided by the latest findings in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology.

In exciting lectures and lively discussions, scientists from the Cluster of Excellence Quantum Universe of Universität Hamburg and from the DESY research center will report on their research in gravitational waves, particle detectors, plasma technology, artificial intelligence and black holes.

The big question is: What is the origin of the Universe and what are the fundamental forces that hold it together?

Next public talk

• EINSTEIN'S UNIVERSE

  Prof Dr Brian Foster, experimental physicist

  Tue, Jan. 16, 7 pm
  

  The public lecture explores Einstein's love of music and his favourite instrument, the violin, with many of the concepts of modern physics that he did so much to found. It introduces Einstein's life and involvement with music and how his ideas have shaped our concepts of space, time and the evolution of the universe. The second half describes how Einstein’s ideas still shape our understanding of the universe and how the elementary particles and forces that govern its evolution are explored in particular at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva.

  Prof Dr Brian Foster, born in the United Kingdom in 1954, graduate Student at the University of Oxford, 1975-1978. Research Associate, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, 1978-1982. Research Associate, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, 1982-1984. Various positions in the Department of Physics, Bristol University, 1984-2003. Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Oxford, Subdepartment of Particle Physics, Oxford, United Kingdom since 2003. Winner of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Humboldt Research Award, 1998. Member of the Royal Society, London, since 2008. He was selected to become an Alexander von Humboldt Professor in 2010 and took up his position as a professor for experimental physics at the University of Hamburg from 2011 until 2018. The appointment was made jointly with DESY in the context of their collaborative Partnership for Innovation, Education and Research (PIER).

Ask the Scientist!

After the talks, we invite you to talk to our scientists in person over a drink: What are quarks and what are Higgs particles? What excites you about space telescopes, particle collisions and supersymmetry? Our researchers are looking forward to the exchange!

Location

Alfred Schnittke Akademie International
Max-Brauer-Allee 24
22765 Hamburg

The entry is free!
Duration of the public talk about one hour, no registration necessary. Please note: The public talk is held in English!

Following public talks

• This is the last public talk in our series for the time being. However, we are planning to continue the series, information will follow here.