COSAM News Articles 2016 May Duncan Lecture presented by Dr. John Mather, Nobel Prize winner, now available to watch online

Duncan Lecture presented by Dr. John Mather, Nobel Prize winner, now available to watch online

Published: 05/25/2016

By: Candis Birchfield

Video by: Phillip Coxwell

The College of Sciences and Mathematics’ annual M.M. "Dunc" Duncan Jr. Memorial Lecture was held last month and featured Nobel Prize winner John Mather, PhD, senior astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The lecture, “From the big bang to now: observing the universe with the James Webb Space Telescope,” is now available to watch online.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the next giant step in space astronomy, planned for launch in 2018. Larger and more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope, the JWST can analyze Earth-like planets orbiting other stars and determine if they have enough water to produce oceans. In his talk, Mather explains how Hubble discovered the expanding universe in 1929, how he measured cosmic heat with the COBE satellite (for which he earned a Nobel Prize), and how the JWST will extend our knowledge even further.

The Dr. M.M. "Dunc" Duncan Jr. Memorial Lecture was established in 2012 by Dora Duncan in memory of her husband, an Auburn graduate, astrophysicist and active amateur astronomer. For more information on supporting the annual lecture, contact Sherri Rowton at rowtosj@auburn.edu or 334.844.1235.