Caltech physicist Carroll speaks on time, Big Bang, evolution

Noted California Institute of Technology physicist, Discover magazine Cosmic Variance blogger and frequent television guest scientist Sean M. Carroll will discuss the scale of life and evolution of the universe during a program taking place from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

The program is free and open to anyone curious about the magnitude of the universe. However, due to limited seating, registration is required.

The program begins at 7 p.m. with two short videos offering stunning visuals of magnitude in the universe. Morgridge Institute for Research Medical Devices Director Rock Mackie will introduce and provide commentary about the films.

At 7:30 p.m., Carroll, who has appeared on the History and Science channels, as well as Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” will present his lecture, “The Arrow of Time and the Evolution of the Universe.” Patty Loew, professor of life sciences communication at UW–Madison, will moderate and facilitate discussion with Carroll.

Carroll’s research focuses on theoretical physics and cosmology, in particular the origin and constituents of the universe. He has written several books and many scientific publications, as well as recorded a set of lectures called “Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The Dark Side of the Universe.”

This program is held in conjunction with UW–Madison’s MathBio4: SCALE Symposium, which is organized by the Morgridge Institute for Research and UW–Madison’s Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation (LOCI) and Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. GE Healthcare is the symposium’s platinum sponsor with other support provided by Nikon, Prairie Technologies, Promega, UW–Madison Division of Information Technology and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.