A Journey from the Big Bang to Earth

Professor Alexie Leauthaud (UC Santa Cruz) will discuss some of the largest challenges to our understanding of the universe and its basic ingredients. She will focus on some of the latest research on the nature of dark energy and will explain why recent results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Collaboration (DESI) collaboration made international headline news earlier this year. She will speculate on what the new research might mean for the future of our Universe. Zooming into planet Earth, Professor Leauthaud will discuss some of the top challenges facing the profession of astronomy, including the political headwinds from recent attacks on science and funding, and why astronomers are increasingly becoming involved in the fight against climate change. In the process, she will share her own journey in recognizing the predicament of life on this blue planet.

Dr Alexie Leauthaud is a Professor at the University of California Santa Cruz and studies the nature and evolution of the Universe.