Is the universe designed for life? Physicists have discovered that many seemingly unconnected phenomena, which took place millions of years apart, played a crucial role in the development of life on Earth. Does such evidence reveal a purpose behind the order of the universe? Join us on Thursday with Carlos Calle from NASA to explore the question.

Carlos Calle is the founder and lead of NASA’s Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center. He received his Ph.D in theoretical nuclear physics from Ohio University. Dr. Calle is currently working on the problem of electrostatic phenomena on planetary surfaces, particularly on Mars and the Moon, developing instrumentation for future planetary exploration missions. Calle will be talking about his new book, The Universe, in which he lays out the cosmological models based on M-theory, which suggest that our particular universe may be one of an unimaginable number of universes, each with its own set of physical laws. According to one of the most promising models, the big bang may not be the moment of creation but the bridge to a past filled with endless cycles of universe creation and destruction.

Title: The Universe
Date: Tuesday 29th September, 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm BST
Speaker: Dr Carlos Calle, NASA
Location: Nature Amphitheatre, Second Life
Contact: SecondLou Skytower / l.woodley@nature.com