02/15/2021
By Joanne Gagnon-Ketchen
To join by Zoom, email Joanne_GagnonKetchen@uml.edu for invitation
“Nuclear Astrophysics in the New Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy,“ Jorge Piekarewicz, Distinguished Research Professor, Florida State University
Abstract: The historic detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two neutron stars is providing fundamental new insights into the nature of neutron-rich matter and the astrophysical site for the creation of the heaviest elements through the r-process. Neutron stars are cosmic laboratories uniquely poised to answer some of the most fundamental questions about the dynamics of neutron-rich matter. In turn, the study of exotic nuclei at experimental facilities will help elucidate the underlying dynamics of the r-process and the structure, dynamics, and composition of neutron stars. It is the strong synergy between heaven and earth that will be the main focus of this presentation.
Bio: Jorge Piekarewicz obtained a B.Sc. in Physics from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania. His research is in theoretical and computational physics with applications in astrophysics, condensed-matter and nuclear physics. He joined Florida State University as an Assistant Scientist at the Supercomputer Computations Research Institute in 1990, he joined the Physics Department at Florida State University as an Assistant Professor in 1998 and became Professor in 2005. In 2016 he was appointed Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University. He is the author of more than 150 refereed publications and an Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society. He has been continuously funded by the DOE since 1992 and served as a member of the DOE/NSF Nuclear Science Advisory Committee. He was awarded the Jesse W. Beams Award, Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, “For his achievements in nuclear structure and many-body nuclear theory, and in particular, for his outstanding contributions to the theory of neutron-rich matter and to our understanding of neutron star structure”.