Presenter
Dr. Jonathan McDowell
Dr. Jonathan McDowell is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA. A staff member of the Chandra X-ray Center, he studies black holes, quasars and X-ray sources in galaxies, as well as developing data analysis software for the X-ray astronomy community. He has a B.A in Mathematics (1981) and a Ph.D in Astrophysics (1986) from the University of Cambridge, England, and has previously worked at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the Jodrell Bank radio observatory and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Dr. McDowell's scientific publications include studies of the cosmological extragalactic background light and the possibility that massive black holes contribute to the dark matter problem; the X-ray emission from the merging galaxy Arp 220; the nature of the broad emission line region in quasars, and the broad-band spectral energy distrubtions of quasars. He helped design the CIAO data analysis package and the software infrastructure for the Chandra X-ray Observatory data processing pipelines.
Summary:
Renowned astrophysicist and space historian, Dr. Jonathan McDowell, shares his unparalleled insights and expertise on the evolution of space exploration. In this captivating talk, Dr. McDowell will guide us on a journey through time, uncovering the key milestones, groundbreaking discoveries, and awe-inspiring achievements that have shaped humanity’s venture into the cosmos.
