Four Local Experts Discuss Recent Discoveries In Astronomy At Nature On Tap Thursday

Submitted by Chris Clark
on July 4, 2017
- 2:40 pm

PEEC News:

The community is invited to discuss the latest findings in astronomy Thursday at Nature on Tap.

Local astronomers and astrophysicists Dr. Joyce Guzik, Dr. Paul Arendt, Dr. Galen Gisler and Dr. Steve Becker will provide an engaging discussion about black holes, the upcoming solar eclipse, NASA’s latest probes, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, the night sky and upcoming planetarium shows.

Nature on Tap is part of a series of conversations about art, history, nature and science. PEEC is hosting Thursday’s talk 5:30-7 p.m. at UnQuarked in Central Park Square.

Joyce Guzik is a research scientist and Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She received her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Iowa State University and has been investigating the interior structure and evolution of the Sun and other stars since 1986.

Paul Arendt has a PhD in Physics from Ohio State University. His working career has been spent in Applied Research & Development of materials at LANL and also in commercial manufacturing. Arendt’s research interests, patents, and publications have been in glass manufacturing, nuclear reactor fuels, ultraviolet and optical coatings, microwave cavities, superconductors, semiconductors, and carbon nanotubes. Arendt’s current interests include the history of astronomy, volunteering in the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium, and outdoor activities.

Galen Gisler was born under the dark and starry skies of eastern New Mexico and he eventually found his way back to his home state. With a Bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge (England), Galen went on to postdoctoral positions at the Leiden University Observatory (Netherlands) and Kitt Peak National Observatory (Arizona). He spent two years at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he met his wife Susan. In 1981 he began a 25-year career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Galen has been involved in a variety of activities including extragalactic jets, particle beams, plasmas, astronomical transients, adaptive processing, and hydrocode simulations of impact processes and tsunamis. In 2006 he and Susan moved to Norway where Galen held a senior research position at the Center for the Physics of Geological Processes at the University of Oslo. They returned to Los Alamos late in 2012 to enjoy the mountains. Although semi-retired, Galen works as an Associate at LANL on ways of defending the Earth against asteroid impacts. Galen and Susan have two children, Andy who lives in Boulder and works as an aerospace engineer, and Ellie who lives in New Jersey and works in music arts management.

Steve Becker received a BA degree from Northwestern University in 1972 and a MS degree from Case Western University in 1974 before going on for his PhD in astronomy from the University of Illinois, Urbana (1979). After visiting Los Alamos for several years as a visiting scientist, he joined the Lab in 1983. As a result of his astrophysical training he noticed and studied a connection between the astrophysical neutron capture r-process and the heavy-element production that occurred in nuclear tests, where new elements and isotopes were discovered. Steve has received numerous awards for his research through the years, and became a Laboratory Fellow in 2009. Steve is still committed to his scientific interest in astronomy, serving as president of the Pajarito Astronomy Club. He is a member of both the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union. He has presented shows at the Los Alamos PEEC planetarium on a variety of astronomical topics. Steve’s hobbies include piloting small planes, flying aerobatic planes in Santa Fe, history, photography, and travel. He has photographed local interests and wildlife and traveled around the world to photograph total solar eclipses. In 1995, he made it as far as the interview stage of the astronaut selection process.

Nature on Tap, hosted by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC), is part of an informal discussion series started by the Los Alamos Creative District. At each Nature on Tap event, the topic is introduced by a facilitator before being opened up to the group for informal discussion.