SLAS Regular Meeting
Friday, May 17, 2013
McDonnell Hall, Washington University

What is Dark Matter and Why Does It Matter?
Dr. Ram Cowsik
Physics Department
Washington University

     Dark matter is material that is known to be present in the universe, but that is not directly visible. Its presence is deduced from its effects on material that is visible. Dark matter is unseen, but not scarce. Calculations show that it makes up almost 85% of the total matter in the universe. Dr. Cowsik will talk about the importance of dark matter to modern physics. He will sketch the development of our understanding of dark matter and the history of attempts to identify what dark matter is.
     Dr. Ramanath Cowsik is a Professor of Physics and the Director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University. His scientific contributions span over several decades and are in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and non-accelerator particle physics. He has published 175 research papers on these topics. He also established the highest observatory in the world in Hanle, Ladakh, in the Himalayas, at an altitude of 15,000 ft, for astronomy in the optical and infrared wavelength bands. His current research interests include very high precision laboratory experiments that probe the nature of gravity at submillimeter scales. The results will be relevant to the studies of the validity of Einstein?s Theory of General Relativity.

Meeting Agenda

Welcome

Introduction of Officers

Dr. Cowsik

Astro 101 - SLAS Survey Results

Elections
Candidates:
President - Jim Small
Vice President - Bill Biermann
Treasurer - Rhonda Whelan
Secretary - Mark Jones
Hospitality - Grant Martin
Board Member at Large (3 year term through 2016)
     Paul Baldwin
     Bradley Waller

Award presentations

Announcements and Upcoming Star Parties