ERIE, Pa. — Are we alone? If you ask Abraham “Avi” Loeb, the answer is probably no. He might even have the science to prove it.
Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University, and he believes that alien spacecraft may already be in our solar system. According to Loeb, ‘Oumuamua, an interstellar object that has been found in the solar system, may be a lightsail created by an alien civilization.
Avi Loeb will discuss the search for extraterrestrial life on Friday, Nov. 1, when he visits Penn State Behrend as part of the college’s 2019-20 Speaker Series. His talk, which is presented in partnership with the Jefferson Educational Society and its Global Summit Lecture Series, begins at 7:30 p.m. in McGarvey Commons, in the college’s Reed Union Building. Credit: Jefferson Educational Society. All Rights Reserved.
Loeb will discuss the search for extraterrestrial life on Friday, Nov. 1, when he visits Penn State Behrend as part of the college’s 2019-20 Speaker Series. His talk, which is presented in partnership with the Jefferson Educational Society and its Global Summit Lecture Series, begins at 7:30 p.m. in McGarvey Commons, in the college’s Reed Union Building.
The program is open at no cost to all Penn State Behrend students, faculty and staff members with a Penn State ID or a BehrendSync Event Pass. As part of the Global Summit Lecture Series, however, public tickets will cost $25, or $50 for VIP admission. To reserve tickets, visit www.jeserie.org.
During his talk, Loeb will discuss upcoming searches for life from planets outside our solar system. He also will detail new technologies, which can be used to detect signs of intelligent civilizations through pollution from planetary atmospheres.
Loeb has published four books and written more than 700 papers on a wide variety of topics, including the search for alien life. He serves as chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy, founding director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
The Speaker Series at Penn State Behrend is made possible by the college’s Student Initiated Fee, the Division of Student Affairs and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund. For additional information, contact the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement at 814-898-6171.
For more information on the series, visit behrend.psu.edu/speakerseries.
Steve Orbanek