Explore the history and journey of the Hubble telescope Feb. 9 at College of DuPage
Learn about the Hubble Space Telescope's history and discoveries during at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Health and Science Center, Room 1234, on the College of DuPage Glen Ellyn campus, 425 Fawell Blvd.
The event, part of the college's STEMinar series, is free and open to the public.
COD Astronomy Professor Joseph DalSanto will lead attendees on a journey through the Hubble Space Telescope's history highlighting some of its greatest achievements and discoveries.
Since 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has been the premier astronomical observatory providing our clearest views of the planets, the birth, life and death of stars, countless galaxies and the origin and fate of the universe, and revolutionizing our understanding of astronomy.
Following a 15-year career in IT, DalSanto followed his passion for the stars which led to presentations for astronomy clubs and an invitation to perform public outreach and oversee the observatory at Waubonsee Community College. Subsequently, an increasing interest in teaching inspired DalSanto to earn a master's degree in astronomy. He has been a full-time faculty member at COD since 2012.
For more information about this event, contact College of DuPage STEM Outreach Coordinator Sara Spaniol at (630) 942-3021 or email mccubbinss@cod.edu.
This talk also is part of the Sage Series through the College's Continuing Education program.
The series is free, but registration is required. Please register online at www.cod.edu/academics/conted/ or call Continuing Education at (630) 942-2008.
The STEMinar Series at College of DuPage consists of free talks covering a variety of topics related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math throughout the fall and spring semesters.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the STEMinar will feature "The Power Behind Maps: Geographic Information Systems" by Argonne National Laboratory's Emily Zvolanek at 4 p.m. She is a Senior GIS Analyst in the Environmental Science Division. Our daily lives are filled with spatial data, but the topic is not well known to the average person. Geographic Information Systems, the powerhouse set of tools and skills that allow people to analyze spatial data and extract useful information, is an even bigger mystery. This presentation will give a brief overview of GIS and highlight some of the many ways it is used in daily life. She also will go into depth on her work at Argonne, explaining how GIS is applied to environmental science.
On Friday, March 15, DePaul University's Sheena Erete will present "Taking an Assets-Based Approach to Designing Technology with Resource-Constrained Communities" at 7 p.m. She is an assistant professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media.
On Friday, April 5, "Songs from the Stellar Graveyard: Probing the Cosmos in Gravitational Waves" will be presented by Northwestern University's Shane L. Larson at 7 p.m. Virtually everything known about the universe has been discovered from the study of photons - light in all its myriad forms from radio waves, to visible light, to X-rays and beyond. At the dawn of the 21st century, advanced technology is providing access to the cosmos through detection of ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself. These ripples in spacetime, called gravitational waves, carry information not in the form of light or particles, but in the form of gravity itself. Over the past two years, the first gravitational wave signals from the cosmos have been detected here on Earth, revealing a dynamic and energetic Universe that has previously only been speculated about. Gravitational wave observations have revealed black holes dancing a death spiral billions of lightyears from Earth, and neutron stars ripping themselves apart in a titanic burst of light and gravitational energy. This talk will explore what gravitational waves are and how it is measured, and what the experts are learning from their detection.
View videos of previous STEMinars at COD.
The college's STEM offerings continue April 27 at the fourth annual STEMCON, the college's interactive, family-based celebration of all things STEM. The free event features a broad range of activities and events, including expert speakers, hands-on experiences and interactive exhibits and STEM experts.
The goal of STEM at College of DuPage is to enhance the quality of STEM instructional and outreach programs and to help current and future students prepare for careers in STEM fields. COD offers a broad range of academic programs designed to provide students with the educational background and training needed to successfully pursue an advanced degree or career in STEM.