Science Café to focus on ‘The Strong Force Awakens: A Neutron Star Story’ on Nov. 12

Ohio University Assistant Professor of Physics Christian Drischler will lead the next Science Café presentation on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Beginning at 5 p.m. in the Baker University Center Front Room, Drischler will lead a presentation on "The Strong Force Awakens: A Neutron Star Story.” All members of the OHIO community are invited to attend in person or watch the livestream of the event.

Drischler is an assistant professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in OHIO’s College of Arts and Sciences and a Bridge Faculty of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) Theory Alliance at Michigan State University.

His research focuses on nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, where he develops and applies theoretical and computational methods to study the strong force and its consequences for dense matter.

Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the universe, second only to black holes. The matter within them is compressed to densities far higher than those achievable in experiments on Earth. But how can we gain insight into what is occurring inside these extreme stellar objects? 

This talk will embark on a journey from the microscopic world of protons and neutrons to the macroscopic realm of neutron stars and gravitational waves, exploring how nuclear theory, nuclear experiments, and astronomical observations work together to unravel the mysteries of strongly interacting, dense matter within neutron stars. 

• Those who cannot attend in person are invited to watch the livestream here.

The Science Café series is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Activity and the Ohio University chapter of Sigma Xi, the national science honor society.

Each event features a dialogue/conversation between the presenter and audience, and the topics are based on the research of the faculty presenters.

Questions are posed by the presenter or raised by members of the audience. In addition, free coffee/tea/hot chocolate coupons are presented to the first 50 in attendance.

The following Science Café-Café Conversation will be on Wednesday, Dec. 3, presented by Professor Eric Williams from the Scripps College of Communication. 

For more information, see the Science Café website.