Out of Chaos Comes Order: The History of Our Milky Way Galaxy | Andrew Wetzel | TEDxUCDavis
For generations, humans have looked to the night sky and wondered: How did our Milky Way come into being? Thanks to recent advances in both observational astronomy and computational modeling, we now know the answer. In this talk, Prof. Andrew Wetzel will describe how supercomputer simulations allow us to understand the history of our galactic home and how its current order emerged from a chaotic beginning.
Andrew Wetzel is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UC Davis. A theoretical astrophysicist, he uses the world’s most powerful supercomputers to generate simulations that model the formation of galaxies. He is particularly interested in understanding how our galaxy, the Milky Way, came into being. Originally from North Dakota, Andrew earned his undergraduate degree at Harvey Mudd College, his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, and he pursued postdoctoral research at Yale, Caltech, and Carnegie Observatories. In January, the Biden White House selected Andrew for a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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