- Nov. 15, 2019, 8:00 pm US/Central
- Fermilab Ramsey Auditorium
- Various
- Tickets: $8
- Purchase tickets »
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Hosted byShane Larson, this is the highlight of the Fermilab Arts & Lecture Series where multiple scientists each try their hardest to impress and dazzle you in just 10 minutes as they compete for the title of Slam Champion! Previous contenders have used Elvis impersonations, claymation, rap, and Dr. Who references to make the most compelling case. Who will be this year’s winner?
Our contenders:
Fernanda Psihas: High Energy Failure
What does it take to be a successful scientist? Some might say it takes natural talents and strong academics, or a strong sense of wonder and an appetite for pursing the unknown. But what about failure? Join Fermilab physicist Fernanda Psihas as she recounts a tale of how a massive failure put high energy physics on the path to discovery, and what we have learned about our own successes through the revealing lens of failure.
Fernanada Psihas works at Fermilab, using particle detectors and artificial intelligence to study the mysterious neutrino particles. In 2011 she moved to the US from Mexico City, where she did her bachelors degree at Universidad Iberamericana. Psihas has a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington and a Masters from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Valerie Higgins: Where in Time is Fermilab’s Archivist?
Follow Fermilab’s archivist on a journey through time as she returns artifacts from Fermilab’s history to their proper homes. We’ll visit milestones from the lab’s history like the groundbreaking, the dedication ceremony, and the completion of the Main Ring accelerator. Valerie Higgins is Fermilab’s Archivist and Historian. She received her MLS from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2010. She was Assistant Archivist at the Art Institute of Chicago before coming to Fermilab in 2012.
Joe DalSanto: How Big IS the Universe?
During the 20th century astronomers discovered how large the Universe really is. We hear that it is “billions of light-years” to the most distant galaxies. But how can we grasp its enormity? Have we found an “edge” to the universe? Travel with Joe DalSanto as he takes us on a journey outward from our solar system, through our Milky Way galaxy, past clusters of galaxies and quasars to the farthest reaches of the universe. How big is the universe? You just might be surprised! Joe DalSanto is Associate Professor of Astronomy at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. A lifelong amateur astronomer, he has developed and teaches four astronomy courses ranging from planetary science to stellar and galactic astronomy to observational astronomy. He has written an observational astronomy textbook, has developed innovative laboratory manuals for each course, and has also authored a book on binary stars. He loves sharing his passion for astronomy when he presents a free lecture for the public each term at the College of DuPage campus. You can view his past lectures on YouTube.
Eduard Pozdeyev: Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) — Accelerating the Future of High Energy Particle Physics
The PIP-II particle accelerator will be the new heart of the Fermilab accelerator complex, featuring a brand-new, 800-MeV, leading-edge superconducting linear accelerator. Its high intensity proton beam will power a broad range of particle physics experiments for decades to come, and maintain Fermilab’s leadership as one of the world’s premier particle physics
laboratories. PIP-II will enable the most intense high-energy neutrino beam for the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE), a Fermilab-hosted, international project to study neutrinos — tiny particles that could revolutionize our understanding of the universe.
Eduard is the PIP-II Project Scientist responsible for making sure the PIP-II design meets its programmatic goals. Eduard received his Ph. D. in accelerator physic from Michigan State University and spent more that 25 years at different US and international accelerator facilities, building and operating particle accelerators.
Pedro Machado: The Life of a Neutrino
