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For immediate release Contacts:
Mrs. Karen Rehbock Photograph:
Institute for Astronomy
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Maintained by LG
Astronomer to Speak on
"The Origin of the Elements:
Are We Made of Stardust?"
Who: Dr. Manuel Peimbert, National Autonomous University of Mexico
What: Frontiers of Astronomy Community Lecture
When: Tuesday, April 18, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Auditorium, IfA Manoa, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu
Cost: Free admission and parking
Dr. Manuel Peimbert will present a public lecture entitled "The Origin of the Elements: Are We Made of Stardust?" at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18 in the auditorium of the UH Institute for Astronomy in Manoa.
Dr. Peimbert will present a brief account of the evolution of the Universe and stars to explain how the chemical elements present on Earth and in ourselves were made. He will also describe how Sun-like stars evolve to eventually produce a planetary nebula and a white dwarf, while more massive stars end their lives in a supernova explosion that results in a gaseous nebula and a compact remnant that could be a neutron star or a black hole.
Born in Mexico City, Dr. Peimbert received his bachelor's degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1968, he has been researcher at UNAM.
Dr. Peimbert is an elected foreign member of the U.S. Academy of Science and is a past vice-president of the International Astronomical Union. His work, reflected in his almost 200 scientific papers, has earned him an impressive set of international awards including the Mexican National Sciences and Arts Award in Physical-Mathematical and Natural Sciences, the Academic Medal of the Mexican Physics Society, the Guillaume Budé Medal from the Collège de France, and the Medal of the Third World Science Academy.
When he is not studying the death throes of stars, Dr. Peimbert enjoys watching classic American movies or singing along to old Mexican songs played on the guitar.
The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii conducts research into galaxies, cosmology, stars, planets, and the sun. Its faculty and staff are also involved in astronomy education, deep space missions, and in the development and management of the observatories on Haleakala and Mauna Kea.
Established in 1907 and fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the University of Hawaii is the state's sole public system of higher education. The UH System provides an array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees and community programs on 10 campuses and through educational, training, and research centers across the state. UH enrolls more than 50,000 students from Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, and around the world.