Shanghai Astronomical Observatory Astrophysics Colloquium

Title：An astrophysicist's nightmare: When we thought we understood it all, the Universe chose to disagree

Speaker：Richard de Grijs (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; International Space Science Institute--Beijing, China)

Time：3:00 pm Jan.09th (Thursday)

Tencent Meeting：42915400486 password: 6360

Location: Lecture Hall, 3rd floor

Abstract：

Star clusters, large groups of up to millions of stars, are the basic building blocks of the galaxies in which they are formed and evolve. Understanding star cluster formation and evolution is therefore of fundamental importance to understand how galaxies form, evolve and transform on cosmic timescales. At the beginning of this century, we thought that we understood how stars preferentially formed in star clusters, and how star clusters, in turn, made up the stars in their host galaxies. It was firmly believed that all stars in a star cluster were formed at the same time, with very little variation in chemical properties. Perhaps we had become too arrogant or complacent, but Nature decided to teach us that we didn’t quite understand how the Universe worked in any detail. Join us for an in-depth look at what changed once we started to use new and better instrumentation and how an almost dormant field became a hive of activity and new discoveries, upending many established ideas along the way. [Based on the 2024 T.D. Lee lecture, Chinese Academy of Sciences]

CV：

Richard de Grijs (何锐思) is an acclaimed academic and journal editor with more than 25 years of experience in the physical sciences. He obtained his PhD from the University of Groningen (Netherlands) in 1997 and joined the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University in 2009 as a full professor. In 2018, Richard moved to Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, as Associate Dean (Global Engagement). He commenced a role as Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute–Beijing in June 2023, a 25% appointment. Richard has served as a scientific editor of The Astrophysical Journal (2006–2012) and as deputy editor of The Astrophysical Journal Letters(2012–2018). He has received numerous awards, including the 2012 Selby Award for excellence in science from the Australian Academy of Science and a 2017 Erskine award from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). Richard was the founding director of the East Asian Office of Astronomy for Development (2012–2017), an institution under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union. His research focuses on (i) star clusters/stellar populations; (ii) stellar variability/the astronomical distance scale; and (iii) the history of maritime navigation.

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