Astronomers host Dr Tamara Davis
Horowhenua
Astronomical
Society
www.horoastronomy.org.nz
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday 22 August 2014
The Horowhenua
Astronomical Society is delighted to be hosting Dr
Tamara Davis, a distinguished astronomer from the
University of Queensland, Australia. Dr Davis will be in
New Zealand speaking at six locations as part of the Royal
Astronomical Society of New Zealand 2014 Beatrice Hill
Tinsley Lecture series and Levin has been chosen to host one
of them.
Dr Davis is a cosmologist who spends her time
investigating why the expansion of the universe is
accelerating and was part of the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey,
which made one of the largest ever maps of galaxies in the
universe using supernovae to measure the properties of "dark
energy". Dr Davis is an avid science communicator with a
knack for turning complex concepts into everyday language.
She enjoys making science accessible to the public and
regularly gives popular talks of this nature. She will
also address students at Waiopehu College while she is here.
The details of the public talk are as
follows:
Title: “Cosmological
Confusion”
Date and Time: Monday
September 22nd, at 7:00 pm
Venue: School
Hall, Waiopehu College, Bartholomew Road, Levin
5540
Admission is by a Gold Coin Donation.
Despite her relative youth she is already in the top 1% of most highly cited astrophysicists in the world. She has received many honours including the 2009 Louise Webster award from the Astronomical Society of Australia and, in the same year, she received the L’Oréal Women in Science award for Australia. She was named the Australian Institute of Physics’ 2011 Women-in-Physics Lecturer.
HASI President, Steve Chadwick, said “following the
success of the visit by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell in June it
is tremendous for our area again to attract a top flight
astrophysicist. This young woman is at the sharp end of her
research speciality and is an excellent, engaging
communicator with the gift of making advanced science
relevant to young inquisitive minds”.