For Immediate Release—Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007

Contact:
Tony Hoppa
Assistant Vice President for Communications
(585) 245-5516
thoppa@geneseo.edu

Authors to Discuss Cosmology, Meaning and Future of Space Astronomy Oct. 18-19 at SUNY Geneseo

GENESEO, N.Y.— World-renowned cosmologist Joel Primack and his wife, philosopher and writer Nancy Ellen Abrams, will lead a multimedia presentation based on their book, The View From the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19 in 202 Newton Hall at the State University of New York at Geneseo. The event is free and open to the public.

A reception will be held in Milne Library afterwards, followed by stargazing (weather permitting) from the roof of the Integrated Science Center. Participants may also tour the library's Heavens Above exhibit, featuring photos from the Hubble Space Telescope. 

The Primack and Abrams lecture will explain the evolution of the universe and discuss mankind's place in it, presenting scientific and philosophical viewpoints. The presentation includes spectacular new images and videos, using both updated ancient symbols and the latest astronomical data and simulations. The talk is entertaining and educational, suitable for those unfamiliar with modern astronomy as well as experts.

In addition, Primack will lead a colloquium at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18 in 104 Milne Library titled "Restarting the Exploration of the Universe: The National Academy's Beyond Einstein Report and the Future of Space Astronomy." The colloquium, aimed at regional scientists but especially astrophysicists and astronomers, is open to the public.

Primack is a member of the committee formed in 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences to provide Congress with recommendations on how to restart NASA's 2003 Beyond Einstein program, which includes ambitious space missions to understand the universe. He also is a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has done foundational research in cosmology and is an originator and developer of Cold Dark Matter, a theory of the structure and evolution of the universe.   

Abrams is a lawyer, writer and former Fulbright scholar with a long-term interest in the history, philosophy and politics of science. For more than a decade, Primack and Abrams have co-taught a course at UC Santa Cruz called "Cosmology and Culture."

For more information, contact Tracy Paradis at Milne Library at (585) 245-5159 or paradis@geneseo.edu.

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