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ASU Physics Students Hosting Cosmic Café

October 25, 2011

Angelo State University’s Society of Physics Students (SPS) will host a Cosmic Café and “Star-B-Q” event on Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Stillwater Bar and Grill, 3314 F D Road on Lake Nasworthy.

Activities will begin at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3 and are open free to the public. Participants will join ASU physics faculty and students for an informal discussion about space, time and the history of the universe. The family-friendly event will also feature games, trivia, Laser demonstrations, door prizes and opportunities to view the night skies through high-tech telescopes. Dr. Hardin Dunham, ASU assistant professor of physics, will lead the discussion. The Stillwater Bar and Grill’s regular menu items will be available for purchase.

The Cosmic Café and Star-B-Q is part of a collaborative effort between the National SPS Council and the PBS television show “Nova” to encourage casual events aimed at engaging communities in interesting discussions about science. The local event coincides with a new “Nova” series, “Fabric of the Cosmos,” hosted by Dr. Brian Greene, an acclaimed scientist and author of a book by the same title.

The local event is being hosted by Angelo State SPS students and their faculty advisor, Dr. Toni Sauncy, and is being organized by Travis Barnett, a senior physics major from Dublin. Dunham will speak about what physics, quantum mechanics, astronomy and cosmology can tell us about reality and ourselves, and then facilitate discussion with community participants.

Dunham joined the ASU physics faculty in 2010, and teaches astronomy, physics and physical science. He holds a bachelor’s degree from ASU and a doctorate in physics from Rice University. His current research includes the characterization and mapping of light pollution in the night skies of West Texas. He is a member of the American Physical Society, West Texas Astronomers Association, Society of Physics Students and American Association of Physics Teachers.

The Stillwater Bar and Grill is located just off Red Bluff Road on the way to Middle Concho Park on the shore of Lake Nasworthy.

More information on the “Fabric of the Cosmos” series is available online at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/fabric-of-the-cosmos.html.