Dr. Darren Williams, associate professor of Physics and Astronomy at Penn State, Behrend College, will be giving an illustrated public lecture, 鈥淥ceans of Water on Distant Earth-like Planets,鈥漚t 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, in McEwen Hall Room 202 at SUNY Fredonia.
The talk is designed for general audiences, and the public is invited to attend the free event.
Dr. Williams is the author/co-author of more than 10 research papers on the origin and evolution of habitable planets, and his research has been featured in Nature, National Geographic, Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, and Discover magazines.聽His talk will be followed (weather permitting) by a telescopic sky gazing session that will include views of the planets Saturn and Mars, and other heavenly objects.
Dr. Michael Grady, professor of physics at SUNY Fredonia noted, 鈥淥ur Earth is basically a 鈥榳aterworld鈥 unlike the other planets in our solar system. It stands to reason that similar water-planets would be the best places to look for life. Dr. Williams will talk about strategies to detect such planets around other stars, which will soon be possible.鈥
Dr. Williams' presentation has been organized by the departments of Physics, Geosciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry, and is sponsored by the Phyllis and Lawrence Patrie Endowment for the Sciences of the Fredonia College Foundation.
