EVENT DATE:  April 2, 2008

EVENT:  Margaret Geller, Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
will give the eighth annual 2008 Ford Motor Company Distinguished Lecture in Physics,
"Newton Meets Einstein: Mapping Dark Matter in the Universe."

She is best known for her pioneering maps of the nearby universe. The maps provided a new view of the enormous web-like patterns delineated by galaxies like the Milky Way. Dr. Geller has also made fundamental contributions to the understanding of systems of galaxies and to the links between star formation and the distribution of galaxies.

Dr. Geller made two award-winning documentary films about her work: "Where the Galaxies Are" and "So Many Galaxies...So Little Time". These films contained the first animations of flights through the universe based on scientific observations. She is broadly committed to public education in science; she has been widely interviewed for radio and television and she has given public lectures to large audiences in the United States and abroad.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences. In 1990 she received MacArthur Fellowship (1990-1995) and in 2008 she will receive the oldest prize given in science in the United States, the Magellanic Premium of the American Philosophical Society.

LECTURE ABSTRACT: Since its discovery 75 years ago, dark matter distributed on large scales in the universe has remained a mystery. The constituents of the dark matter remain unknown. Powerful tools of modern astrophysics, redshift surveys and gravitational lensing,
do provide maps of the distribution of dark matter over cosmic time. Dr. Geller will describe how these observations with forefront instruments on large telescopes reveal the structure of
the universe.

PLACE:  -- 3:30 p.m. reception in the Lorch Hall Atrium outside of Askwith Auditorium. Both events are free and open to the public.
 
-- 4:15 p.m. lecture in the Askwith Auditorium (Room 140 Lorch Hall), 611 Tappan, on the
U-M's central campus

SPONSORS: Ford Motor Co.; presented by the U-M Physics Department

CONTACT: (734) 764-4437, U-M Physics Department reception desk

WEB LINKS: For more information about the lecture, visit https://www.lsa.umich.edu/physics/newsevents/special_lectures/

To learn about the U-M Physics Department, visit
https://www.lsa.umich.edu/physics/

To learn more about Ford Motor Company, visit
http://www.ford.com/en/default.htm