Join the Central Coast Astronomical Society for a special evening with Dr. Bob Field, Research Scholar in Earth and Planetary Science. Dr. Field has spent years exploring the story of cosmic evolution, from the formation of the elements inside stars to the emergence of planets, life, intelligence, and increasingly complex systems.
In this talk, he will turn the focus toward one of the biggest questions in science: How did life begin on Earth?
Dr. Field will explore what scientists understand about the transition from chemistry to biology, the conditions that made early life possible, and how the evolution of complexity on Earth fits into the much larger story of cosmic evolution. He will also discuss how modern computational modeling and artificial intelligence are giving researchers new ways to investigate the emergence of life and intelligence, both on Earth and potentially elsewhere in the universe.
Thursday, October 15th at 7pm
at 1515 Fredericks, San Luis Obispo
Directions: Please follow the “ASTRONOMY” signs when turning into the main driveway, stay to the right and head down to the lower parking lot to park. Use the stairs (or elevator) to get to the 2nd floor and find us in the “Wesley Room” at the top of the stairs. We have Astronomy banners posted at the front entrance to the building. (If it’s your first visit, please plan on arriving early in case you need extra time to find us, it’s a big building complex.)
What to Expect: We start right at 7:00PM with our welcome and club announcements, and move right into our talk (so please be prompt!). Our guest speakers usually talk for about an hour, including allowing time for questions from the audience. We do take a cookie break after the Q&A and then have a 20 min “mingle & meet the astronomers” time that is fun and enjoyable for all. We always love connecting with new folks interested in space, science, and astronomy. We wrap up by 9:00PM. This event is fun, free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Note: these talks only happen three times every year, so don’t miss out!
About the Speaker: Dr. Bob Fields is a Research Scholar in Earth and Planetary Science at California Polytechnic State University. He earned his BS in Physics from Case Western Reserve University and his MS and PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois.
Before coming to Cal Poly, he worked as an aerospace physicist and laser optical systems designer and analyst at Rocketdyne and Schafer Corporation. At Cal Poly, he has supervised numerous student projects in geophysics and astrophysics and founded the Cosmic Evolution Project, which explores the history of the universe from the Big Bang through the development of stars, planets, life, brains, and artificial intelligence.
This talk is open to anyone interested in astronomy, planetary science, the origins of life, or the question of how complexity arose in our universe. All ages, free and open to the public.
The video below is a quick intro to how to start thinking about the big question: “Where did life on Earth come from?” Video is courtesy of NASA.