Scientific Sense ®

Gravitational Waves, Black hole mergers, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and upcoming space based LISA project. Prof Daniel Holz is a professor of Physics, Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics. His research focuses on general relativity in the context of astrophysics and cosmology. He is a member of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration, and was part of the team that announced the first detection of gravitational waves in early 2016 and the first multi-messenger detection of a binary neutron star in 2017.

Liking, Wanting, and the Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction,  A Liking Versus Wanting Perspective on Emotion and the Brain, and The central amygdala recruits mesocorticolimbic circuitry for pursuit of reward or pain Prof. Kent Berridge is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan.  His research aims for answers to questions such as:   What causes addiction?  How are pleasure and desire generated in the brain?    And how does fear relate to desire in the brain?

Reducing black holes into a fundamental particle, An Effective Field Theory of Quantum Mechanical Black Hole Horizons, Virtual Hawking Radiation, Gravity waves, and LIGO Prof. Ira Rothstein is a professor of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University. He is interested in diverse topics in elementary particle physics, gravity wave physics, astrophysics/cosmology, and QCD. In the realm of high energy physics, he uses the data from the LHC to explain the origin of mass and the nature of dark matter.

21st Century Literacy for Succeeding in College and Beyond, Teaching the Nature of Science using Pseudoscience, The accountability of and on the social media. Prof. Doug Duncan is an emeritus faculty member in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences of the University of Colorado, and former Director of Fiske Planetarium, Before that he was a Carnegie Fellow; on the staff of the Hubble Space Telescope; and held a joint appointment between the Adler Planetarium and the University of Chicago.

Habitable Zones, Remote life-detection criteria, habitable zone boundaries, and the frequency of Earth-like planets around M and late K stars, and  Abiotic Oxygen Levels on Planets: Possible False Positive For Life? Prof. James Kasting is a Professor at Penn State University, where he holds joint appointments in the Departments of Geosciences and in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. His research focuses on the evolution of planetary atmospheres and climates and on the question of whether life might exist on planets around other stars. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. His book, How to Find a Habitable Planet (Princeton University Press), was published in 2010.

The Occurrence and Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems, Doppler and Transit Surveys, Kepler-78, Ultra-Short-Period Planets, and hot Jupiters Dr. Josh Winn is a physicist and astronomer at Princeton University.  His research goals are to explore the properties of planets around other stars, understand how planets form and evolve, and make progress on the age-old question of whether there are other planets capable of supporting life.  His group uses optical telescopes to study exoplanetary systems, especially those in which the star and planet eclipse one another.

The complex development of the human brain, Interneuron Types as Attractors and Controllers, Developmental diversification of cortical inhibitory interneurons, and A viral strategy for targeting and manipulating interneurons across vertebrate species Prof. Gordon Fishell is a professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Stanley Center at the Broad Institute.  He is a developmental neurobiologist interested in how the architecture of brain circuits are assembled, with a special focus on the diverse populations of inhibitory interneurons.

Red giant masses and ages derived from carbon and nitrogen abundances, Spectroscopic determination of masses for red giants, Young alpha-enriched giant stars in the solar neighborhood, and Dynamical heating across the Milky Way disc. Prof. Marc Pinsonneault is a theorist on the structure and evolution of stars at Ohio State University. His research interests range from the microphysics of stellar models, including composition, energy, and angular momentum transport mechanisms, to the observed properties of stars. An element of his current research is the use of astroseismological data from the Kepler space mission, in combination with APOGEE and other spectroscopic surveys, to obtain novel constraints on stellar physics, stellar populations, and the chemical evolution of the Milky Way.

The world is running out of energy in 100 years, Large-Scale Computation using Astronomical Resources, and the future of Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Gregory Laughlin is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Yale University. He is interested in hydrodynamic simulations, the characterization of extrasolar planets, and planet-forming environments as well as the far future of the universe. He has done research on a variety of topics, including star formation, extrasolar planets, and interstellar objects. With Fred Adams, he is the author of The Five Ages of the Universe

The New Horizons Mission to Pluto, the Juno Mission to Jupiter: What have we learned and what's in store? Prof. Fran Bagenal is a Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and a researcher in the fields of space plasmas and planetary magnetospheres. Her career spans involvement in the exploration of the outer solar system with NASA’s Voyager, Galileo, New Horizons, and Juno missions.