13-14 May 2007	The Future of Very High Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy
6-8 June 2007	Life Beyond the Gaussian Workshop
7-9 November 2007	KICP Workshop: Baryogenesis Confronts Experiment
3-6 December 2007	KICP Workshop: Cosmic Cartography: Mapping the Universe from the Big Bang to the Present
5 December 2007	Cosmic Cartography Journey Through the Universe
7-9 December 2007	A Cosmology Short Course for Museum & Planetarium Staff: Chicago Maps the Cosmos

The Future of Very High Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy

13-14 May 2007

Downtown Chicago, IL Wyndham Hotel

Life Beyond the Gaussian Workshop

6-8 June 2007

The University of Chicago, KICP - LASR 152

We believe the time is right for researchers in different areas to share their insights into "Life Beyond the Gaussian". The workshop will be based on the theme of cosmological non-Gaussianity; we focus on three separate but connected areas:

1. primordial non-Gaussianity theory
2. non-Gaussianity from the non-linear evolution of structure: theory
3. observations of non-Gaussianity in the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure

Our aim is to bring together researchers to exchange ideas -- of a theoretical and observational nature -- in the course of an intensive three-day workshop.

Online Materials

KICP Workshop: Baryogenesis Confronts Experiment

7-9 November 2007

LASR Conference Room 152

One of the most outstanding open questions in cosmology and particle physics is the origin of the observed asymmetry between matter and anti-matter. There are several scenarios which explain such an asymmetry, which rely on physics that ranges from the QCD scale to energies close to the GUT scale.
In this workshop we will analyze these scenarios and discuss their possible tests at present or near future experiments.

Contact E-mail: cwagnertheory.uchicago.edu

KICP Workshop: Cosmic Cartography: Mapping the Universe from the Big Bang to the Present

3-6 December 2007

Gleacher Center

Cosmic maps chart the evolution of the universe from the epoch of recombination 380,000 years after the bang until today. "Cosmic Cartography" will be the first conference devoted to making cosmic maps, as well as the interpretation and analysis of the maps. Topics will include cosmic microwave background, large-scale structures etc.

Cosmic Cartography Journey Through the Universe

5 December 2007
7:00 pm

Rubloff Auditorium Art Institute of Chicago

Join University of Chicago Cosmologists Rocky Kolb and Michael Turner for a cosmic magical mystery tour from Chicago to the edge of the visible universe. Visit observatories around the globe (virtually) and meet people who are mapping the Dark Matter that holds galaxies together and discovering the nature of the Dark Energy, which pulls space apart.

See also "Cosmic Cartography Journey Through the Universe" at the Chicago Maps Festival website.

Contact E-mail: randykicp.uchicago.edu

A Cosmology Short Course for Museum & Planetarium Staff: Chicago Maps the Cosmos

7-9 December 2007

KICP at the University of Chicago

This three-day, intensive short course will highlight cartography on the grandest scales: mapping the cosmos. It will explore the ethereal science of cosmology in the concrete terms of the observed hierarchical structure of the universe - which we have only recently come to understand. Chicago Maps the Cosmos will explore our current understanding of the cosmos from the perspective of those who are at the forefront of investigating it, and it will provide participants with the tools they need to bring the excitement of discovery back to their home institutions. Chicago Maps the Cosmos will also encompass the broader themes of Festival of Maps: Chicago - cartography, discovery, exploration, inspiration and showcasing the local riches of the city of Chicago.

Contact E-mail: randykicp.uchicago.edu

10 January 2007	Cafe Scientifique: David Archer, "Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast"
13 January-30 March 2007	South Pole Telescope Exploratorium Web cast
24 March-2 June 2007	65th Compton Lectures: Elizabeth Hays, "The Quest for Gamma Rays: Exploring the Most Violent Places in the Universe"
28 March 2007	Cafe Scientifique: Stephan Meyer, "Measuring the Big Bang: Still Confused After All These Years"
30 March-1 April 2007	KICP at NSTA National Conference "A River of Connections"
15 April 2007	Bruce Winstein, Panofsky Prize Talk: Measurements of Direct CP Violation in the Decays of Neutral Kaons at Fermilab
14-16 May 2007	SPT Analysis Working Group Meeting
17-18 May 2007	SPT Full Collaboration Meeting
1 June 2007	John Carlstrom, The South Pole Telescope
18 June 2007	Cafe Scientifique: Mark Osadjan, "Is it in the Genes or Just the Jeans? The Biology of Gender"
5-6 July 2007	SPT Collaboration Meeting
27 July 2007	Defense of Ph.D Thesis: Kendrick Smith, Cosmic Microwave Background Analysis for CAPMAP and Future Experiments
24 September 2007	Big Bang Smackdown
29 October 2007	Cafe Scientifique: Jake Socha, "How Flying Snakes Fly a.k.a. Functional Morphology & Biomechanics"
29 October 2007	Defense of Ph.D Thesis: Douglas Rudd, Scatter in the Galaxy Cluster Mass-Observable Relations
17 December 2007	Cafe Scientifique: Clem Pryke, "The Biggest Map in the Universe - the Afterglow of the Big Bang"

Cafe Scientifique: David Archer, "Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast"

10 January 2007
7:00 pm

MapRoom - 1949 N. Hoyne, Chicago

South Pole Telescope Exploratorium Web cast

13 January-30 March 2007
12:00 pm

Jan 13, 2007 12:00 CST
Mar 30, 2007 12:00 CST

KICP South Pole Telescope project collaborates with the Exploratorium to bring Live Web-Casts from the South Pole about the historic deployment of the 10 meter South Pole Telescope. Watch live on the web, in the studio audience at the Exploratorium or the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. View the Web archive at anytime. Visit the SPT website to: see pictures of Antarctica, the telescope and the team; learn about the telescope and how it will be used to explore the universe, and to read blogs from the science team on the ice.

65^th Compton Lectures: Elizabeth Hays, "The Quest for Gamma Rays: Exploring the Most Violent Places in the Universe"

24 March-2 June 2007
11:00 am

Room 106, Kersten Physics Teaching Center, 5720 S. Ellis Ave.

Nine free lectures at the University of Chicago will explore how black holes, remnants of exploded stars and other exotic celestial objects emit streams of powerful gamma rays.

March 24, 2007 11:00 am
March 31, 2007 11:00 am
April 7, 2007 11:00 am
April 14, 2007 11:00 am
April 28, 2007 11:00 am
May 5, 2007 11:00 am
May 12, 2007 11:00 am
May 19, 2007 11:00 am
June 2, 2007 11:00 am

Cafe Scientifique: Stephan Meyer, "Measuring the Big Bang: Still Confused After All These Years"

28 March 2007
7:00 pm

The Map Room 1949 N. Hoyne

Since its discovery 40 years ago, the fossil radiation from the Big Bang has been used unlock the secrets of the universe: how it came to look like it does today and what it is made of. As the measurements have gotten better, the picture has become clearer but not necessarily more understandable. Some of what we have learned is surprising and may be pointing to the fact that there is much yet to be learned (e.g., new physics). We will discuss the nuts and bolts of how cosmology measurements are made, what they tell us about the universe, and where this may be leading us.

What is Cafe Scientifique?
"Cafe Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Meetings take place in cafes, bars, restaurants and even theatres, but always outside a traditional academic context."
see Cafe Scientifique

Contact E-mail: randyoddjob.uchicago.edu

KICP at NSTA National Conference "A River of Connections"

30 March-1 April 2007

St. Louis, MO

At the 2007 NSTA Conference in St. Louis, members of the University of Chicago KICP outreach community presented workshops on physics and astronomy education and the public presentation of astronomical information.

Contact E-mail: randykicp.uchicago.edu

Bruce Winstein, Panofsky Prize Talk: Measurements of Direct CP Violation in the Decays of Neutral Kaons at Fermilab

15 April 2007
3:15 pm

2007 APS April Meeting, Jacksonville, Florida

For many years after its discovery, CP Violation appeared to be a phenomenon isolated from the rest of physics. The first goal was to see if tCP violation was due to a "superweak" interaction in neutral kaon mixing ("indirect" CP violation) or if there were a "direct" effect which would be manifest in the kaon decays themselves. For years, it seemed to be an interaction of the former kind, one that might not have any additional manifestations. A few years after the discovery, Sakharov realized that CP Violation in the very early Universe, in particular direct CP Violation, could lead to the matter-antimatter imbalance. A key development was the Kobayashi-Maskawa model which provided a framework in which to think about the problem, connecting it to quark mixing. This motivated a series of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation experiments to isolate the predicted direct effect. This talk will review how the problem was addressed in 3 Fermilab- based experiments spanning a 20 year period which culminated in a definitive detection of the effect by KTeV. The motivation and technical approaches to isolate this tiny effect with good control of systematic uncertainty will be reviewed together with the results and future prospects.

SPT Analysis Working Group Meeting

14-16 May 2007

LASR 152

SPT Full Collaboration Meeting

17-18 May 2007

LASR 152

John Carlstrom, The South Pole Telescope

1 June 2007
6:00 pm

LASR, 933 East 56th St, Chicago

Join us for a slideshow by Professor John Carlstrom, S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics and the College, about the telescope his team recently built at the South Pole. His research involves looking for clues in the cosmic microwave background that will unravel the mysteries of the nature and origin of dark energy.
To learn more visit The South Pole Telescope website.

Dinner: 7 - 9 pm
Be sure to register in advance. The ticket price ($20 per person in advance, $30 at the door) includes a buffet dinner. To register, visit Alumni Weekend.

Cafe Scientifique: Mark Osadjan, "Is it in the Genes or Just the Jeans? The Biology of Gender"

18 June 2007
7:00 pm

The Map Room 1949 N. Hoyne

Do we learn to be male/female, or are we programmed that way? Anatomical differences are obvious, but an increasing body of research also shows that the sexes think differently, perceive pain differently, and even encode memories differently. In the next Cafe Scientifique we will discuss the biology of the sexes, from genes to behavior and beyond. We will explore what research says about how these distinctions arise from the moment of conception on. Is it just an X or Y chromosome? Who is smarter? More emotional? How does attraction work? Is there a gay gene? What about hermaphrodites? Should men worry about plastics in landfills? Join us to see what science says about these questions and more.

Contact E-mail: randykicp.uchicago.edu

SPT Collaboration Meeting

5-6 July 2007
1:30 pm

LASR 152

Defense of Ph.D Thesis: Kendrick Smith, Cosmic Microwave Background Analysis for CAPMAP and Future Experiments

27 July 2007
11:00 am

LASR Conference Room

Big Bang Smackdown

24 September 2007
12:00 pm

AAC 123

WHEREAS we already have too many seminars, journal clubs, and such
WHEREAS adding another will be in the noise
LET IT BE RESOLVED that there should be a weekly
*** BIG BANG SMACKDOWN ***
Organizational meeting at High-Noon, Monday, September 24, in AAC 123.

If you are interested in early-universe cosmology, the SMACKDOWN is for you!!! Even observers are welcome.
Spread the word.

Rocky Kolb

Contact E-mail: Rocky.Kolbuchicago.edu

Cafe Scientifique: Jake Socha, "How Flying Snakes Fly a.k.a. Functional Morphology & Biomechanics"

29 October 2007
7:00 pm

The Map Room: 1949 N. Hoyne, Chicago

Think about animals that are least likely to be able to fly, and the phrase "when pigs fly" may come to mind. Snakes seem equally unlikely to take to the sky, but that's just what one group of specialized snakes is able to do. Technically, flying snakes glide and can't fly upward, but it's amazing just the same. We'll discuss the science of how they do it and the struggles of research involved in trying to make stubborn animals perform. See videos in advance at http://www.flyingsnake.org/

Contact E-mail: randyoddjob.uchicago.edu

Online Materials

Defense of Ph.D Thesis: Douglas Rudd, Scatter in the Galaxy Cluster Mass-Observable Relations

29 October 2007
3:00 pm

AAC 123

Cafe Scientifique: Clem Pryke, "The Biggest Map in the Universe - the Afterglow of the Big Bang"

17 December 2007
7:00 pm

The Map Room: 1949 N. Hoyne, Chicago

In honor of the Festival of Maps

Come and hear how scientists at the South Pole are making maps of the ancient Universe 80 billion light years across. These enormous maps are of incredibly cold light that once was too hot to handle, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The CMB is a faint radio hiss left over from a time when the entire Universe was hotter than the sun. Carefully mapping this now cold glow gives us a baby picture of the universe that reveals both its history and fate.

Please, follow the link if you want to be added to the 'Cafe Scientifique' mail list.

Contact E-mail: randyoddjob.uchicago.edu