The Gustavus Adolphus College Physics Department will host a free public astronomy lecture by Robert Pappalardo at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29 in room 103 of F.W. Olin Hall of Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science.
Pappalardo’s lecture is titled “Ices and Oceans in the Outer Solar System,” and will focus on possible habitable zones in our solar system including Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Pappalardo is a senior research scientist in the Planetary Ices Group, Science Division, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. His research focuses on the processes that have shaped the icy satellites of the outer solar system, especially Europa and the role of its probable subsurface ocean.
Pappalardo received his B.A. in Geological Sciences from Cornell University in 1986 and his Ph.D. in Geology from Arizona State University in 1994. From 2001 to 2006, he was an assistant professor of planetary sciences in the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has worked with various science museums and organizations to bring the excitement of astronomy and planetary exploration to the public.
Pappalardo’s visit to Gustavus is sponsored by the Gustavus Physics Department and the Harlow Shapley Lecture Program. For more information about this event, contact Professor of Physics Chuck Niederriter at chuck@gustavus.edu or 507-933-7315.
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