[AstroNet] Invitation from the Deputy Vice Chancellor Wits University, Professor R Moore

[Robert Groess]

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & Partnerships), Professor R. Moore,
warmly invites you to attend a public lecture:

Title:  Dark Matter in Galaxies

Lecturer: Professor KC Freeman, FRS, "father" of dark matter in our Universe.

DATE: Thursday, 29th October, 2009

TIME: 18h00

VENUE: SENATE ROOM, 2nd floor, Senate House, Jorissen Street (on the
      WITS CAMPUS).

Abstract: About 90% of the mass of galaxies is INVISIBLE.
We know it is there from its gravitational field - but we do not yet know
what it is.

Numerical simulations on computers make definite predictions about the
properties of dark matter in galaxies, but many of these predictions
appear to be at odds with what we actually observe.


I will talk about what we know about the mysterious dark matter in
galaxies, and describe some of the observational and conceptual problems
which astronomers face.


BIOGRAPHY:


Ken Freeman FRS - father of dark matter in the Universe - is soon to visit
the School of Computational & Applied Mathematics at WITS, during the
International Year of Astronomy.

Freeman, one of the world's most highly cited scientists, wlll deliver a
public lecture at the invitation of two Deputy Vice-Chancellors on
Thursday, Oct 29, as per details above.

Appointments and Honours
 a.. 1972 Pawsey Medal of the Australian Academy of Science
 b.. 1981 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
 c.. 1990 Aaronson Lecturer at the University of Arizona
 d.. 1994 Oort Professor at Leiden University
 e.. 1997 Visiting fellow at Merton College Oxford
 f.. 1998 Fellow of the Royal Society of London
 g.. 1999 Dannie Heineman prize of the American Institute of Physics and
the American Astronomical
Society

 a.. 2001 Tinsley Professor at the University of Texas
 b.. 2001 Bishop Lecturer at Columbia University.
 c.. 2001 Named by ISI as one of Australia's 35 most highly cited
scientists (ranked number 5)
 d.. 2001 Gave the Robert Ellery Lecture for the Astronomical Society of
Australia
 e.. 2002 Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2002
 f.. 2003 Blaauw professor at the University of Groningen and he received
the
 g.. 2003 Centenary Medal from the Australian Government
 h.. 2004 Awarded the Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Lecture and Medal at the
University of Texas.


The 2004 Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Memorial Lecturer

The eleventh award of the Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Memorial Lectureship and
Medal honors the distinguished Australian astrophysicist Professor Ken
Freeman of The Australian National University in Canberra.
Professor Freeman earned a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of
Western Australia in 1962, and a Ph.D. in theoretical astrophysics from the
University of Cambridge in 1965. Following his Ph.D., he was the W.J.
McDonald Postdoctoral Fellow working with Antoinette and Gérard de
Vaucouleurs at The University. After a year as a Research Fellow at Trinity
College, Cambridge, he returned to Australia to a long highly distinguished
career at The Australian National University where he is currently the
Duffield Professor in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of
the Institute of Advanced Studies.


Professor Freeman's research has concentrated on the formation, dynamics,
and evolution of globular clusters and galaxies, including the Milky Way
galaxy. His ground-breaking work on spiral galaxies has spawned an industry
trying to understand how these galaxies acquire their mass. His
observational work on the components of our own Milky Way galaxy is of
fundamental importance to theoretical models for its formation. He has also
led significant efforts trying to measure the dark halo content in galaxies
of all masses. Freeman was one of the first astronomers to point out that
spiral galaxies are rich in dark matter. By synthesizing results over all
galaxy types, Professor Freeman places himself in a unique position to make
advances into one of the most important problems of our times: the nature of
dark matter. He is clearly one of the most important figures in astronomy,
advancing understanding of how galaxies form and evolve. His publications
total more than 400 and are very frequently cited. The Information Sciences
Institute (ISI) named him as one of Australia's most cited scientist from
all surveyed sciences. The ISI lists him in their list of 250 most
highly-cited researchers in the space sciences.

Professor Freeman was elected in 1981 a Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Science, and in 1998 the American Astronomical Society and the American
Institute of Physics awarded him the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics.
He has held numerous prestigious visiting appointments and lectureships
including the Aaronson Lectureship at the University of Arizona (1990), the
J.H. Oort Professorship at Leiden University in The Netherlands (1994), the
Beatrice Tinsley Professorship at The University of Texas at Austin (2001),
Visiting Member at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton (1984,
1988), and appointment as Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the Space
Telescope Science Institute from 1988 to the present.


Freeman will be a guest of Professor David Block (SH1156), with whom he has
collaborated over many years.


PARKING: SECURE PARKING WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE BASEMENT OF SENATE HOUSE.

THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE.