Skip to Content

Search: {{$root.lsaSearchQuery.q}}, Page {{$root.page}}

Department of Astronomy Colloquium Series Presents:

Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, Distinguished Research Professor, Physics and Space Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology
Thursday, March 23, 2017
3:40-4:30 PM
411 West Hall Map
​Title: Star Hacking – Finding the Next Earth and Getting There

Abstract: In modern times, the word hack has come to mean repurposing something in new or creative ways in order to gain benefit or cleverly solve a tricky problem. It is now common in astrophysics to hack stars in order to further human understanding of the universe or invent new technologies. We can use stars to discover new planets, to address the structure and evolution of the Galaxy, or even to develop new technologies. In this talk, I will describe my recent work "star hacking.” Two main projects are being undertaken. The first is a collaboration with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) science team to discover new Earth-like planets around nearby stars. TESS will also observe and discover a large number of variable stars, which may be used to elucidate Galactic structure and evolution. I will also describe a novel magnetic reconnection based, ion drive in-space propulsion technology that my group has invented, which was inspired by plasma acceleration at the Sun's surface.
Building: West Hall
Event Type: Lecture / Discussion
Tags: Astronomy, Physics, Science
Source: Happening @ Michigan from Department of Astronomy, Michigan Institute for Research in Astrophysics