Astronomy 24, Section 1
Cosmology and the Early Universe (1 unit, P/NP)
Professor Steven Beckwith
Thursday 3:00-5:00, 544 Campbell Hall, CCN: 06656

This seminar will meet the first ten weeks of the semester. Food for Thought dining arrangements will be discussed in class.

The course will discuss the modern theory of the origin of the universe, how the early evolution of matter shaped the universe we see today, and why we believe it is all true. This course will use an interplay of observations and theory to explore how science helps us understand our own origins. It will introduce the students to quantitative reasoning on a grand scale without relying on advanced mathematics. We'll explore predictions of the standard Big Bang cosmology and how our most powerful telescopes see the evolution of matter from early times. My aim is to introduce interested students to modern cosmology and give them the tools to reason about the universe. I welcome students from all backgrounds and interests who are curious about the cosmos and prepared to embrace new concepts and tools to satisfy their curiosity. Although we will not use advanced mathematics, we will stress quantitative reasoning and the use of numbers and numerical predictions as a method of understanding nature. This seminar is part of the Food for Thought Seminar Series.

Steven Beckwith is the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies for the UC system and a Professor of Astronomy at Berkeley. He came to Berkeley most recently from Baltimore, Maryland, where he was the Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, responsible for the science operations of the Hubble Space Telescope, and a Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Johns Hopkins University for nine years. Previously, he was Director of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany for seven years and a Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University for thirteen years. His research interests include the creation of galaxies in the early universe, the formation of planets around other stars, and the detection of life on extrasolar planets. Website: http://www.ucop.edu/research/beckwith.html