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AMS Sectional Meeting Special Lecture



Program |  Deadlines |  Inquiries: meet@ams.org

2010 Fall Western Section Meeting
Los Angeles, CA, October 9-10, 2010 (Saturday - Sunday)
Meeting #1063

Associate secretary:
Michel L Lapidus, AMS lapidus@math.ucr.edu, lapidus@mathserv.ucr.edu


Einstein Public Lecture

*** RSVP at the UCLA site here for the Einstein Public Lecture ***

The next Einstein Public Lecture will be given by Terrence Tao, University of California Los Angeles.  The title of his talk is The Cosmic Distance Ladder. The lecture will be given at Saturday, October 9, at 6:15 p.m., Schoenberg Hall on the UCLA campus. A poster of this lecture can be found at http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/sectionalcalendar/einstein-lecture-poster-10-web.pdf.

Abstract:

How do we know the distances from the earth to the sun and moon, from the sun to the other planets, and from the sun to other stars and distant galaxies? Clearly we cannot measure these directly. Nevertheless there are many indirect methods of measurement, combined with basic high-school mathematics, which can allow one to get quite convincing and accurate results without the need for advanced technology (for instance, even the ancient Greeks could compute the distances from the earth to the sun and moon to moderate accuracy). These methods rely on climbing a "cosmic distance ladder", using measurements of nearby distances to then deduce estimates on distances slightly further away; we shall discuss several of the rungs in this ladder in this lecture.

Reception and RSVP Instructions:

A reception with light refreshments hosted by the Department of Mathematics and the AMS will take place at 7:45 p.m. on the Schoenberg patio.

The event is free and open to the public. Since a very large audience is expected, an RSVP for planning purposes is encouraged but not required. K – 12 mathematics students are welcome to attend. RSVP at the UCLA site here for this lecture. Parking is available for US$10 in Parking Structure 2. For Schoenberg Hall and parking location, visit http://maps.ucla.edu/campus/.


Inquiries: meet@ams.org