"For years our program has aimed not only to present the progress of astronomy, but to give an opportunity to our members to hear, see, and visit with eminent scientists who actually are contributing to the ever-widening horizon of our knowledge of the universe. ”
1947 CAS brochure by Dr. Jason J. Nassau
The Cleveland Astronomical Society
LECTURE NEWS: MEETINGS:
2024 - 2025
The Cleveland Astronomical Society Lecture Series
has announced the lineup of speakers for the 103rd Season.
Design, Construction, and the Scientific Promise of The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, atop Cerro Pachòn in Chile, will soon be operational. Its unique abilities to explore the whole overhead sky — broadly, deeply, and frequently — will open a new era for discovery, with a single data set serving a wide variety of science topics. The facility is described by numerous superlatives, including Guinness World Records for the Observatory’s amazing Camera. I’ll share details about why scientists around the world are so excited, as well as some of the many challenges we faced.
BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Steven Ritz is currently a professor of physics and the director of the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prior to joining the faculty at UCSC he was an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, where he served as the Fermi (nee GLAST) Project Scientist from 2003 through most of the first year of science operations. In 2013, he took on the role of Camera Project Scientist for the large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). His current interest includes studies related to the understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Ritz received his B.A. in physics and music from Wesleyan University 1981 and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison 1988. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and he was a Sloan Foundation Fellow in Physics. In 2012, he received a UCSC Excellence in Teaching Award. Distinguished Professor of Physics at UC Santa Cruz and Project Scientist for Rubin Observatory Construction.