Earth, Energy, Cosmos

Earth is protected by an invisible magnetic field generated deep within its core. This shield makes life possible, but how it works is still not fully understood. So how can we study its past? The answer lies in “magnetic memories” preserved in rocks, sediments, and archaeological materials. These natural records show that Earth’s magnetic field changes over time — shifting, weakening, and even flipping completely. In this talk, we will explore how scientists use these clues to uncover the history of our planet’s magnetic field over timescales from decades to billions of years.

You may have learned how catalysts work in high school: a material that you add to reactants that allows reactivity that is not possible without that material. But the main thing about catalysts that you are taught- that they only facilitate the reaction, and themselves are not consumed or affected- is in fact a massive simplification. In reality, catalysts undergo significant change during catalysis. During this talk, you will hear a bit about how catalysts change under reaction conditions, why we used to think that they didn't, and how we're tackling understanding these systems today!

Created from some of the most extreme phenomena in the universe, yet invisible to our human eyes, Gamma-rays show us a universe from a very different perspective. Learn how we can find and "see" these cosmic messengers by capturing their violent collisions with our Earth's atmosphere!