Sturm Memorial Lecture
In memory of Kenneth E. Sturm, a Wesleyan alumnus, this annual event is held in the spring and is open to the public. It features a presentation from an astronomer that is outstanding in their field and able to communicate the excitement of science to a lay audience. The event is free and open to anyone.
The 2023 Sturm Memorial Lecture
How the Earth came to be: clues from the Asteroid Belt
Speaker: Dr. William Herbst, Wesleyan
Tons of rocky debris from the asteroid belt hits the Earth every day. Most of it burns up in the atmosphere, producing meteors, while some rocks make it to the ground as meteorites. Most are relics of an earlier time, about 4.6 billion years ago, before the Earth had formed; they contain coded clues to the birth of all the planets. Unfortunately, decoding that information has proven difficult! Now, we are getting direct samples of nearby asteroids to help. In this talk we will explore how recent studies of meteorites and asteroids are helping us reach a better understanding of our past and the nature of those rocks from space that pummel us daily.
Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 7:30PM
Where: Ring Family Performing Arts Hall, Wesleyan University
Reception and telescope viewing at the Van Vleck Observatory to follow the lecture.
The Sturm Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the Astronomy Department, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium.
Click here to download a printable flyer for the 2023 Sturm Lecture.
Past Speakers
| Year | Guest Speaker | Title of presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Dr. William Herbst, Wesleyan University | "How the Earth came to be: clues from the Asteroid Belt" |
| 2019 | Dr. Andrea M. Ghez, UCLA | "The Monster at the Heart of Our Galaxy" |
| 2018 | Dr. Ewine F. van Dishoeck, Leiden Observatory | "Building Stars, Planets, and the Ingredients for Life in Space" |
| 2017 | Dr. Daniel Eisenstein, Harvard University | "Mapping the Universe with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey" |
| 2016 | Dr. Mae Jemison, Principal of the 100 Year Starship Project | "Exploring the Frontiers of Science and Human Potential" |
| 2015 | Dr. Sara Seager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | "The Search for Earth 2.0" |
| 2014 | Dr. Meg Urry, Yale University | "Black Holes, Galaxies, and the Evolution of the Universe" |
| 2013 | Dr. Adam Riess, Johns Hopkins University/Space Telescope Science Institute | "Supernovae and the Discovery of the Accelerating Universe" |
| 2012 | Dr. Alan Title, Lockheed Martin/Stanford University | "Making the Invisible Sun Visible" |
| 2011 | Dr. John Mather, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | "History of the Universe in a Nutshell: From the Big Bang to Life and the End of Time" |
| 2010 | Dr. Jill Tarter, SETI Institute | "Are We Alone?" |
| 2009 | Dr. Taft Armandroff, W.M. Keck Observatory | "Frontier Science with the World's Largest Telescope" |
| 2008 | Dr. Steven Squyres, Cornell University | "Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet" |
| 2007 | Dr. Alex Filippenko, University of California, Berkeley | "Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe" |
| 2006 | Dr. David Spergel, Princeton University | "Taking the Baby Picture of the Universe" |
| 2005 | Dr. Charles Bailyn, Yale Univesity | "How to See a Black Hole" |
| 2004 | Dr. Alyssa Goodman, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics | "Making Stars" |
| 2003 | Dr. David J. Helfand, Columbia University | "How Superman Saw the Stars" |
| 2002 | Dr. Neta Bahcall, Princeton University | "The Dark Side of the Universe" |
| 2001 | Dr. Robert Williams, Distinguished Research Scholar of the Space Telescope Science Institute | "Through The Looking Glass: The Universe Seen With Hubble Space Telescope" |
| 2000 | Dr. Geoff Marcy, University of California, Berkeley | "Cosmic Oases: New Worlds and Life in the Universe" |
| 1998 | Dr. Martha Haynes, Cornell University | "Dark Matter and the Future of the Universe" |
| 1997 | Dr. Margaret Geller, Harvard University | "So Many Galaxies... So Little Time..." |
| 1996 | Dr. David Latham, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics | "Searching for Planets" |
| 1995 | Dr. Robert Kirshner, Chairman of Astronomy Department at Harvard University | "Taking Measure of the Universe: How Big? How Old? How Do We Know?" |
| 1994 | Dr. Owen Gingrich, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics | "Hypothesis, Proof, and the Censors, or How Galileo Changed the Rules of Science." |
| 1993 | Dr. Stephen Strom, University of Massachusetts | "The Formation of Stars and Solar Systems" |
| 1992 | Dr. Vera Rubin, Carnegie Institution of Washington | "What Newton Didn't Know About the Universe" |
| 1991 | Dr. Jay Pasachoff, Williams College | "The Sun and Solar Eclipses" |