Welcome to Science by the Slice! We're excited to host this hybrid event. We'll meet in in-person at 700 Park Offices Drive, (behind the Boxyard) to hear this month's speaker while we enjoy pizza, but space is limited. You can also join live remotely via Sigma Xi's Facebook page if you're unable to make it in person. A zoom link will also be sent out to registered attendees.
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"Stellar Evolution, Interrupted" with Dr. Brad Barlow Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy at UNC
Welcome to Science by the Slice! We're excited to host this hybrid event. We'll meet in in-person at 700 Park Offices Drive, (behind the Boxyard) to hear this month's speaker while we enjoy pizza, but space is limited. You can also join live remotely via Sigma Xi's Facebook page if you're unable to make it in person. A zoom link will also be sent out to registered attendees.
About the talk
Open up any introductory astronomy textbook, and you can read about how stars like the Sun evolve from one stage of stellar evolution to the next. But these textbook descriptions often overlook one important fact: most stars are in binary systems with other stellar or substellar companions, and their presence can greatly impact how the story of stellar evolution plays out. Here I discuss how our UNC research group uses data from ground- and space-based observatories to discover and characterize special types of stars called hot subdwarfs that are the products of binary interactions. The broader impacts of this work touch on gravitational wave physics, Type Ia supernovae, the impact of late-stage stellar evolution on exoplanets, and more.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Brad Barlow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he spent 11 years working as an Associate Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Culp Planetarium at High Point University. Dr. Barlow received a B.S. in physics from Mississippi State University in 2006, a Ph.D. in physics (astronomy concentration) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011, and he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Pennsylvania State University from 2011-2013. His research primarily focuses on pulsating stars, late stellar evolution, and binary star systems. While at UNC-Chapel Hill he helped develop software for the Goodman spectrograph on the 4.1-m SOAR telescope on Cerro Pachon in Chile. Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Brad did his undergraduate studies at Mississippi State University. His other interests include playing the piano, writing music, cycling, and public outreach.
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Virtual attendees:
Use the following URL to join Science by the Slice live on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SigmaXi/
We will also provide a zoom link to view the event to registered attendees. Please RSVP only once. RSVP to either join in person or virtually.
Science by the Slice is free and open to any interested members of the public, as well as science journalists and science communicators of all stripes. Feel free to extend this invitation to anyone who might want to attend.
Did you miss past Science by the Slice events? Check out our videos and podcasts of previous speakers: http://www.americanscientist.org/science/
Talks are co-organized with Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC). The RTP chapter of Sigma Xi is a co-organizer and co-sponsor, and encourages any interested scientists to get involved with the chapter and its upcoming events.
