Duncan Lecture 2014: “Solving the Quasar Mystery: A 50-Year Quest”

The College of Sciences and Mathematics Invites you to the 2014 Duncan Lecture, “Solving the Quasar Mystery: A 50-Year Quest,” presented by Bradley M. Peterson, professor and chair of astronomy at The Ohio State University. Quasars are among the most distant and intrinsically brightest objects in the universe, but also surprisingly small and dense. They are powered by spectacularly massive “black holes,” objects so dense that not even light can escape from them. Peterson will tell the story of how quasars and supermassive black holes and their role in the cosmos have come to be understood.

Peterson has pioneered innovative techniques to study the near environments of the supermassive black holes that power quasars, including methods for measuring black hole masses. He is a member of the NASA Advisory Council’s Science Committee and chair of the Astrophysics Subcommittee. He is also a member of the James Webb Space Telescope Advisory Committee at Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

The lecture is open to the public and there is no cost to attend.