Our knowledge of the cosmos is remarkable, ranging from the masses, temperatures, and chemical composition of stars to the precise chronology of cosmological epochs, starting from the Big Bang to today. Even more remarkably, we have gathered all this knowledge just by decoding the message carried by light coming from the sky. In this talk, I will discuss how light, our cosmic messenger, talks to us.

Peter Williams is a Professor of Physics at Acadia. He is perhaps best known for his teaching and has received numerous awards, culminating in the Canadian Association of Physicists Gold Medal for Teaching in 2006. He is also a co-author of an introductory physics textbook. While holding a PhD in theoretical condensed matter physics from McMaster University, Peter has a strong interest in astrophysics. Since 2017, he has devoted himself to developing Acadia’s telescope facilities and conducting a student-oriented research program into eclipsing binary star systems.

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