On the first Friday of the month at 7 pm, the Staerkel Planetarium becomes a forum for a local scientist to discuss his or her specialties.
All audiences are welcome! Admission is $2 for everyone and free for members of the Friends of the Staerkel Planetarium. Teachers, group leaders, invite your classes!
The series was named for UIUC astronomer Jim Kaler, who gave his time to speak in our series every year for over 20 years.
2024-2025 Lecture Series
- October 4, 2024
"The Galactic Habitable Zone"
Prof. Tony Wong (UIUC, Astronomy) shares how the Earth lies in the “habitable zone” of our solar system, being at the right distance from the Sun for liquid water to exist. Does the Milky Way Galaxy also have a habitable zone? Many astronomers think so, and would argue that if the Sun were too close or too far from the Galaxy’s center, it would be unlikely to be orbited by a habitable planet. I’ll explain the various arguments and discuss why controversy remains about the idea of a Galactic habitable zone.
- November 1, 2024
"Symbiotic Success and Safe Harvests: Bridging Beneficial Bacteria and Food Safety in Crops"
Community college students will present their research with MICRO-CCS, Microbial Interactions Create Research Opportunities for Community College Students.
- February 7, 2025
"Bioengineered Human Disease Models"
Prof. Sara Pedron Haba (UIUC, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering) models diseases, which provide scientists with innovative tools to study human diseases in the lab, overcoming limitations associated with collecting tissue specimens from patients and the use of animal models. These lab models have the potential to accelerate the discovery of more effective therapeutic interventions.
- March 7, 2025
"Unusual Birds"
Jeff Bryant (Wolfram Alpha) returns to the planetarium to share photos of birds you wouldn't expect to see in east central Illinois.
- April 4, 2025
"Fixing nitrogen fixation: Reinventing how to make ammonia and food"
Prof. Mohan Sankaran (UIUC, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering) will discuss ongoing efforts in his lab and beyond that have the potential to change how ammonia, perhaps our most important chemical, is chemically synthesized, and the impact it could have on the way food is made.