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From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies? We look to how scientists and scholars have studied eclipses, dark matter, deep-space transmissions from intelligent life and more, all in the hopes of painting a clearer picture of a vast and invisible universe. Original Air Date: August 19, 2017 Interviews In This Hour: How Eclipse Chasing Inspires Generations of Scientists — How Do We Investigate The Invisible Parts of the Universe? — Search For Life In All The Wrong Places — What Can You Hear In Space? — The Universe Is Under No Obligation To Make Sense To Us Guests: David Baron, Priya Natarajan, Seth Shostak, Don Gurnett, Neil deGrasse Tyson Further Reading: NASA: 2024 Eclipse Explorer Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Sad news for all of us: producer Rachael Cusick— who brought us soul-stirring stories rethinking grief (https://zpr.io/GZ6xEvpzsbHU) and solitude (https://zpr.io/eT5tAX6JtYra), as well as colorful musings on airplane farts (https://zpr.io/CNpgUijZiuZ4) and belly flops (https://zpr.io/uZrEz27z63CB) and Blueberry Earths (https://zpr.io/EzxgtdTRGVzz)— is leaving the show. So we thought it perfect timing to sit down with her and revisit another brainchild of hers, The Cataclysm Sentence, a collection of advice for The End. To explain: one day in 1961, the famous physicist Richard Feynman stepped in front of a Caltech lecture hall and posed this question to a group of undergraduate students: “If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence was passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words?” Now, Feynman had an answer to his own question—a good one. But his question got the entire team at Radiolab wondering, what did his sentence leave out? So we posed Feynman's cataclysm question to some of our favorite writers, artists, historians, futurists—all kinds of great thinkers. We asked them “What's the one sentence you would want to pass on to the next generation that would contain the most information in the fewest words?” What came back was an explosive collage of what it means to be alive right here and now, and what we want to say before we go. Featuring: Richard Feynman, physicist - The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (https://zpr.io/5KngTGibPVDw) Caitlin Doughty, mortician - Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs (https://zpr.io/Wn4bQgHzDRDB) Esperanza Spalding, musician - 12 Little Spells (https://zpr.io/KMjYrkwrz9dy) Cord Jefferson, writer - Watchmen (https://zpr.io/ruqKDQGy5Rv8) Merrill Garbus, musician - I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life (https://zpr.io/HmrqFX8RKuFq) Jenny Odell, writer - How to do Nothing (https://zpr.io/JrUHu8dviFqc) Maria Popova, writer - Brainpickings (https://zpr.io/vsHXphrqbHiN) Alison Gopnik, developmental psychologist - The Gardener and the Carpenter (https://zpr.io/ewtJpUYxpYqh) Rebecca Sugar, animator - Steven Universe (https://zpr.io/KTtSrdsBtXB7) Nicholson Baker, writer - Substitute (https://zpr.io/QAh2d7J9QJf2) James Gleick, writer - Time Travel (https://zpr.io/9CWX9q3KmZj8) Lady Pink, artist - too many amazing works to pick just one (https://zpr.io/FkJh6edDBgRL) Jenny Hollwell, writer - Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe (https://zpr.io/MjP5UJb3mMYP) Jaron Lanier, futurist - Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now (https://zpr.io/bxWiHLhPyuEK) Missy Mazzoli, composer - Proving Up (https://zpr.io/hTwGcHGk93Ty) Special Thanks to: Ella Frances Sanders, and her book, "Eating the Sun" (https://zpr.io/KSX6DruwRaYL), for inspiring this whole episode. Caltech for letting us use original audio of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. The entirety of the lectures are available to read for free online at www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu.All the musicians who helped make the Primordial Chord, including: Siavash Kamkar (https://zpr.io/2ZT46XsMRdhg), from Iran Koosha Pashangpour (https://zpr.io/etWDXuCctrzE), from Iran Curtis MacDonald (https://zpr.io/HQ8uskA44BUh), from Canada Meade Bernard (https://zpr.io/gbxDPPzHFvme), from US Barnaby Rea (https://zpr.io/9ULsQh5iGUPa), from UK Liav Kerbel (https://zpr.io/BA4DBwMhwZDU), from Belgium Sam Crittenden (https://zpr.io/EtQZmAk2XrCQ), from US Saskia Lankhoorn (https://zpr.io/YiH6QWJreR7p), from Netherlands Bryan Harris (https://zpr.io/HMiyy2TGcuwE), from US Amelia Watkins (https://zpr.io/6pWEw3y754me), from Canada Claire James (https://zpr.io/HFpHTUwkQ2ss), from US Ilario Morciano (https://zpr.io/zXvM7cvnLHW6), from Italy Matthias Kowalczyk, from Germany (https://zpr.io/ANkRQMp6NtHR) Solmaz Badri (https://zpr.io/MQ5VAaKieuyN), from IranAll the wonderful people we interviewed for sentences but weren't able to fit in this episode, including: Daniel Abrahm, Julia Alvarez, Aimee Bender, Sandra Cisneros, Stanley Chen, Lewis Dartnell, Ann Druyan, Rose Eveleth, Ty Frank, Julia Galef, Ross Gay, Gary Green, Cesar Harada, Dolores Huerta, Robin Hunicke, Brittany Kamai, Priya Krishna, Ken Liu, Carmen Maria Machado, James Martin, Judith Matloff, Ryan McMahon, Hasan Minhaj, Lorrie Moore, Priya Natarajan, Larry Owens, Sunni Patterson, Amy Pearl, Alison Roman, Domee Shi, Will Shortz, Sam Stein, Sohaib Sultan, Kara Swisher, Jill Tarter, Olive Watkins, Reggie Watts, Deborah Waxman, Alex Wellerstein, Caveh Zahedi.EPISODE CREDITS Reported by - Rachael Cusick (https://www.rachaelcusick.com/)Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org Leadership support for Radiolab's science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
There is so much we don't know about our universe. But our curiosity about the unknown shouldn't blind us to the incredible progress we have made in cosmology over the last century. We know the universe is big, expanding, and accelerating. Modern cosmologists are using unprecedentedly precise datasets to uncover more details about the evolution and structure of galaxies and the distribution and nature of dark matter. Priya Natarajan is a cosmologist working at the interface of data, theory, and simulation. We talk about the state of modern cosmology, and how tools like gravitational lensing are providing us with detailed views of what's happening in the distant universe.Support Mindscape on Patreon.Priya Natarajan received her Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge. She is currently professor of astronomy at Yale University, the Sophie and Tycho Brahe Professor at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, and an honorary professor for life at the University of Delhi, India. She is an Affiliate at the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University and an Associate Member of the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute in New York. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and other publications. Among her awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, the India Abroad Foundation's “Face of the Future” Award, and an India Empire NRI award for Achievement in the Sciences. She is the author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos.Web siteYale web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsArticles at the New York Review of BooksWikipediaTwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Experienced new technology innovator, product manager and product marketeer. Proficient at identifying market trends and customer needs, segmenting customers, developing new business ideas to address their needs, incubating, and marketing them. Proven ability to step into any situation and any technology, distinguish signal from noise, and create a vision with clear actionable steps to success and lead teams to execute to completion. Public speaker with effective influencing skills that improves the team morale and invokes a strong following of people who go out of their way to help the business and team succeed. Diverse experience spans start-ups to large companies, enterprises to service providers, products to managed services, hardware to software, R&D to manufacturing, strategy to operations and hyper growth to mature markets. This diversity enables a rare blend of strategic thinking, technical expertise, and operational experience to straddle both big picture and execution simultaneously. Infectious get it done attitude that leaves no stone unturned, finds creative means to accomplish the goal despite obstacles. Disruptive thinker who asks the right questions to diagnose issues and implement solutions that drastically improve productivity and enable new business opportunities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Specialities: Demonstrated expertise in managed services, cloud, virtualization, SDN, NFV, and Security. Professional and Technical services Data Center, cloud infrastructure services Network management, SaaS, Cloud Experienced in Product Marketing, Product Management, Sales Enablement, Sales Operations, Launch management, Pre-sales business development, Go To Market strategies, and International Business for Service Provider, Enterprise and Commercial segments.
Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan is an expert on the strangest things in physics: warped space, dark matter, dark energy, and even questions from our listeners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aarna's News | Inspiring and Uplifting Stories of Women In STEM
Check out the fourth episode of Season 2's series of Women In STEM! Featuring Ms. Priya Natarajan, an Inspiring CEO, Founder, Consultant, and Board Member Of Her Organizations! She has a very motivating past for all of the people out there in STEM and educating others, so check her organizations! In this episode, I talked about how HomeKasa, so check out their website at www.HomeKasa.io! Check out her Linkedin as well! I absolutely highly recommend going to these awesome sites for mentoring help with financial situations! This is for those wanting better perspectives in the STEM field in a positive atmosphere! Listen and enjoy! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aarna-sahu/support
CASA/GAL (0:00:00) Every child deserves a safe environment to grow up in. But the unfortunate truth is that not all children have loving families, and many spend their formative years in dangerous home situations. So, what is there to do? This is exactly where the work of the CASA/GAL Association comes in, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children who have experienced neglect or abuse by pairing them with a trained volunteer advocate that can provide them a safe home environment. Today we're joined by Sally Erny, the deputy chief executive officer of the National CASA/GAL Association for Children, here with us to talk about their child advocates and their work in keeping children in safe situations. Mom Hacks (0:16:50) Being a parent is all about providing for your children and making sure their needs are met, whether they be physical, emotional, mental, or social needs. There's a lot to handle as a parent! Because being a parent is such a demanding role, it's crucial that we don't let our own needs fall by the wayside. An important aspect of being a good parent for our children is making sure we're taking care of ourselves. Dr. Darria Long has been on the show before, and today she's back to share some tips and tricks she's learned along the way as she has balanced parenthood with a busy career as an emergency room doctor and clinical professor. You can read all about these tricks in Dr. Darria's book, “Mom Hacks.” Black Holes and Dark Matter (0:33:18) Man's first crewed moon-landing and subsequent moon-walk in 1969 inspired generations of space-obsessed, global citizens. Since then, advances in technology have resulted in a detailed understanding of the cosmos. Black holes, however, remain one of the great enigmas of the heavens. It wasn't until last year that even a close-up image of a black hole was captured. Here to unpack some of the mysteries of black holes and dark matter is celebrated theoretical astrophysicist and Yale University professor, Dr. Priya Natarajan. Social Development (0:52:44) We all know social distancing is important right now. But we want to make sure social distancing doesn't turn into complete social isolation, especially for our kids. While we want our kids to be safe, social interactions are crucial to their development. Whether your child is going to school online or in-person, their social interactions might be a little limited right now. So, how can we help our kids' social development? Here to talk us through it is our friend and social worker Bob Taibbi. Making Tough Decisions (1:10:19) Do you feel overwhelmed by all the difficult decisions you have to make these days? Should you keep your vacation plans or cancel till next year? Should you send your kids back to school? Am I asking too many questions? We've had to face a lot of hard choices lately. Nobody wants to cancel their vacation, their wedding, or another school year. So how do you run a proper risk assessment for yourself and others and make tough decisions? We decided it was time to bring in a professional to help us out, so we've invited Holistic Life and Wellness Coach, Jasmine Bilali onto the show. Clean Keto vs. Dirty Keto (1:28:51) A lot of people who are interested in the keto diet encounter these difficulties. You can eat delicious salads and bowls, or you can save yourself time and money by eating frozen waffles. I've heard the benefits and I've spoken with people who love it, but I still get stuck on the strict restrictions and money I expend in following it. Well here to share with us the difference between “clean keto” and “dirty keto” and which keto diet will benefit us the most is international chef and culinary instructor, Chef Gerard Viverito.
In 2019, the first up-close image of a black hole was recorded. And yet, so much about them, their bizarre properties and the role they play in the universe remains a mystery. The distinguished Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan dives into black holes and dark matter in her lecture and book: Mapping The Heavens.
One day in 1961, the famous physicist Richard Feynman stepped in front of a Caltech lecture hall and posed this question to a group of undergraduate students: “If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence was passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words?” Now, Feynman had an answer to his own question - a good one. But his question got the entire team at Radiolab wondering, what did his sentence leave out? So we posed Feynman’s cataclysm question to some of our favorite writers, artists, historians, futurists - all kinds of great thinkers. We asked them, “What’s the one sentence you would want to pass on to the next generation that would contain the most information in the fewest words?” What came back was an explosive collage of what it means to be alive right here and now, and what we want to say before we go. Featuring: Richard Feynman, physicist (The Pleasure of Finding Things Out) Caitlin Doughty, mortician (Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs) Esperanza Spalding, musician (12 Little Spells) Cord Jefferson, writer (Watchmen) Merrill Garbus, musician (I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life) Jenny Odell, writer (How to do Nothing) Maria Popova, writer (Brainpickings) Alison Gopnik, developmental psychologist (The Gardener and the Carpenter) Rebecca Sugar, animator (Steven Universe) Nicholson Baker, writer (Substitute) James Gleick, writer (Time Travel) Lady Pink, artist (too many amazing works to pick just one) Jenny Hollwell, writer (Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe) Jaron Lanier, futurist (Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now) Missy Mazzoli, composer (Proving Up) This episode was produced by Matt Kielty and Rachael Cusick, with help from Jeremy Bloom, Zakiya Gibbons, and the entire Radiolab staff. Special Thanks to: Ella Frances Sanders, and her book, "Eating the Sun", for inspiring this whole episode. Caltech for letting us use original audio of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. The entirety of the lectures are available to read for free online at www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu. All the musicians who helped make the Primordial Chord, including: Siavash Kamkar, from Iran Koosha Pashangpour, from Iran Curtis MacDonald, from Canada Meade Bernard, from US Barnaby Rea, from UK Liav Kerbel, from Belgium Sam Crittenden, from US Saskia Lankhoorn, from Netherlands Bryan Harris, from US Amelia Watkins, from Canada Claire James, from US Ilario Morciano, from Italy Matthias Kowalczyk, from Germany Solmaz Badri, from Iran All the wonderful people we interviewed for sentences but weren’t able to fit in this episode, including: Daniel Abrahm, Julia Alvarez, Aimee Bender, Sandra Cisneros, Stanley Chen, Lewis Dartnell, Ann Druyan, Rose Eveleth, Ty Frank, Julia Galef, Ross Gay, Gary Green, Cesar Harada, Dolores Huerta, Robin Hunicke, Brittany Kamai, Priya Krishna, Ken Liu, Carmen Maria Machado, James Martin, Judith Matloff, Ryan McMahon, Hasan Minhaj, Lorrie Moore, Priya Natarajan, Larry Owens, Sunni Patterson, Amy Pearl, Alison Roman, Domee Shi, Will Shortz, Sam Stein, Sohaib Sultan, Kara Swisher, Jill Tarter, Olive Watkins, Reggie Watts, Deborah Waxman, Alex Wellerstein, Caveh Zahedi.
In this episode, Priya Natarajan, professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University, speaks with Steven Strogatz about her lifelong fascinations, including black holes, mapping the universe and early personal computers. The post Priya Natarajan on Black Holes and Mapping the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine. The post Priya Natarajan on Black Holes and Mapping the Universe first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Theoretical astrophysicist, Priya Natarajan, joins Semiconductor, the artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt, to discuss how artists contribute to our understanding of the world around and the relationship between physics, cosmology and art. Part of 'Where language ends: Antony Gormley’s discourse series'.
Neil Tyson flies to Thule Air Base in Greenland to investigate the intersection of space exploration and the military. With Chuck Nice, Laura Grego, PhD, Prof. Priya Natarajan, Colonel Thomas Colvin, General John Raymond, General John Shaw, Tim Norton, and Bill Nye. Thanks to this week’s Patrons for supporting us: Renee Douglas, Ernesto Chavez, Julia Lyschik, Sydney Reising, Andy Green, and Cherrico Pottery. NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons and All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/show/watching-the-skies-with-the-us-space-command/ Photo Credit USAF (Public domain).
More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/matter-and-energy-dark-side. All the matter we have ever observed accounts for less than 5% of the universe. The rest? Dark energy and dark matter: mysterious entities that we only know about from their interactions with other matter. We infer their existence to satisfy our laws—but are we justified in making conclusions about what we cannot directly measure? How far can we trust our scientific laws? Where do we cross the line from theoretical science to metaphysics, and can the two overlap? John and Ken see the light with Priya Natarajan from Yale University, author of "Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos."
This is a clip from episode 29 of The State of The Universe. Dr. Priya Natarajan and Brendan discuss the role that radical ideas play in the evolution of scientific ideas and how we can explain the nature of scientific discovery to the public. Dr. Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in cosmology, gravitational lensing and black hole physics. In particular, she has focused on making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter. Priya recently authored the book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos. She is also on the scientific advisory board of Nova ScienceNow. Her book can be found on Amazon and her profile can be found at http://www.astro.yale.edu/priya/. Follow her on social media @SheerPriya. Thanks to Patrons: Rich, Brenda, Rachel for contributing directly to this episode. Consider supporting the show by leaving a rating or a review and subscribing to receive future content. Consider becoming a Patron by donating to the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thestateoftheuniverse. For more episodes or information about "The State of The Universe with Brendan Drachler" visit thestateoftheuniverse.com or follow Brendan on Twitter and Instagram @BrendanDrachler. The State of the Universe is an accessible science and social podcast hosted by Astrophysicist Brendan Drachler. Listen to Brendan and other renowned members of society discuss and explain cutting edge research and profound ideas. The music in this episode can be found at https://soundcloud.com/mellowmatix/beatfood?in=basilver/sets/instrumental.
This is a clip from episode 29 of The State of The Universe. Dr. Priya Natarajan and Brendan discuss how black holes can be conceptualized. Dr. Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in cosmology, gravitational lensing and black hole physics. In particular, she has focused on making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter. Priya recently authored the book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos. She is also on the scientific advisory board of Nova ScienceNow. Her book can be found on Amazon and her profile can be found at http://www.astro.yale.edu/priya/. Follow her on social media @SheerPriya. Thanks to Patrons: Rich, Brenda, Rachel for contributing directly to this episode. Consider supporting the show by leaving a rating or a review and subscribing to receive future content. Consider becoming a Patron by donating to the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thestateoftheuniverse. For more episodes or information about "The State of The Universe with Brendan Drachler" visit thestateoftheuniverse.com or follow Brendan on Twitter and Instagram @BrendanDrachler. The State of the Universe is an accessible science and social podcast hosted by Astrophysicist Brendan Drachler. Listen to Brendan and other renowned members of society discuss and explain cutting edge research and profound ideas. The music in this episode can be found at https://soundcloud.com/mellowmatix/beatfood?in=basilver/sets/instrumental.
Brendan sits down with Dr. Priya Natarajan. Dr. Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in cosmology, gravitational lensing and black hole physics. In particular, she has focused on making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter. Priya recently authored the book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos. She is also on the scientific advisory board of Nova ScienceNow. Her book can be found on Amazon and her profile can be found at http://www.astro.yale.edu/priya/. Follow her on social media @SheerPriya. Thanks to Patrons: Rich, Brenda, Rachel for contributing directly to this episode. Consider supporting the show by leaving a rating or a review and subscribing to receive future content. Consider becoming a Patron by donating to the show on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thestateoftheuniverse. For more episodes or information about "The State of The Universe with Brendan Drachler" visit thestateoftheuniverse.com or follow Brendan on Twitter and Instagram @BrendanDrachler. The State of the Universe is an accessible science and social podcast hosted by Astrophysicist Brendan Drachler. Listen to Brendan and other renowned members of society discuss and explain cutting edge research and profound ideas. The music in this episode can be found at https://soundcloud.com/mellowmatix/beatfood?in=basilver/sets/instrumental.
Dark matter, dark energy, and black holes are the universe's three most massive mysteries. Literally! Yale astrophysicist Priya Natarajan takes us on a fascinating tour of them all.
Priya Natarajan has what some might call an affinity for the impalpable. Black holes. Galaxies. The intricacies of the universe.This hour, the Yale-based astrophysicist talks about the experiences that triggered her curiosity and zeal for "exotica." It's the latest in WNPR's "Making Her Story" series, recorded live at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, Connecticut. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Priya Natarajan, a world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist, is making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter in the universe. Her accessible, fascinating book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos (Yale University Press) chronicles her journey, as well as that of the field of astrophysics which has undergone astronomical changes in recent years. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Natarajan revealed what it’s like to be an outsider in academia, and what it meant to her to watch Carl Sagan as a child, growing up in India. Find out more at http://employeeofthemonthshow.com -----This episode was produced by Rob Schulte http://robkschulte
More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/dark-matter. All the matter we have ever observed accounts for less than 5% of the universe. The rest? Dark energy and dark matter: mysterious entities that we only know about from their interactions with other matter. We infer their existence to satisfy our laws—but are we justified in making conclusions about what we cannot directly measure? How far can we trust our scientific laws? Where do we cross the line from theoretical science to metaphysics, and can the two overlap? John and Ken see the light with Priya Natarajan from Yale University, author of "Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos."
No one thinks longer, or bigger, than astrophysicists. “This is the golden age of cosmology,” says Priya Natarajan, one of the world’s leading astrophysicists, because data keeps pouring in to vet even the most radical theories. And the dominant mysteries are profound. She observes that “The vast majority of stuff in the universe—both dark matter and dark energy, which dominate the content and fate of the universe—is unknown.“ The universe’s greatest exotica are the focus of her research—dark matter, dark energy, and black holes. She is an expert, for example, in the complex behavior and gravitational lensing of galaxy clusters, where arrays of 1,000 galaxies are 95% dark matter. Her theory of the “direct” formation of supermassive black holes may explain the profound mystery of quasars. Priyamvada Natarajan is a professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University and at the Dark Cosmology Center, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She is an active proponent for the public understanding and study of science.
Priya Natarajan, Associate Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale, discusses the development and implications of the recent mapping of dark matter in the universe.