Hitchcock LECTURE SERIES

What Is Our Universe Like in the Large, and How Did It Get That Way?

Triumphs and Challenges for Modern Cosmology

P. James E. Peebles, Albert Einstein Professor of Science Emeritus, Princeton University

October 11, 2006
International House Auditorium, 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley

James Peebles, one of the world's foremost cosmologists, explores the universe. Like fossils, thermal radiation carries information about the past, in this case the nature of the early universe. This information has confirmed ideas about the expanding universe, and it has presented us with new challenges. In particular, dark matter and dark energy.

About P. James E. Peebles

James Peebles is one of the world's foremost cosmologists. For over 40 years, his research and foresight have helped to transform cosmology into a focused and rapidly advancing science. Peebles laid the foundations for many modern cosmological investigations by predicting the existence of cosmic background radiation, popularizing the notion of "dark matter" in the universe, and developing a theory of how the universe evolved into galaxies. He also pioneered statistical tests to track and quantify the motions of matter in the cosmos. Peebles continues to study the related issues of cosmological tests, the nature of dark matter, and the origin of the galaxies. In 1984 he became the Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton. Peebles retired from teaching in 2000, and continues to research the workings of the universe as an emeritus professor.

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