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Kaler Science Lectures Return for Fall 2022 on September 2
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Kaler Science Lectures Return for Fall 2022 on September 2

"The Science of 'Einstein's Gravity Playlist'" kicks off Science Lecture Series

The James B. Kaler Science Lecture Series is back at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium for the fall 2022 semester, kicking off with "The Science of 'Einstein's Gravity Playlist'" on September 2.

The Kaler Lecture is presented by Nicolás Yunes, professor in the University of Illinois' physics department and executive producer of "Einstein's Gravity Playlist," a new fulldome show premiering just before the lecture. Following the film's screening at 7 p.m., Yunes will hold a Q&A with the audience to discuss his work producing the show.

"Einstein's Gravity Playlist" was created at Montana State University as a collaboration between the School of Film and Photography, the School of Music, Taylor Planetarium, and the eXtreme Gravity Institute. Professor Yunes, a co-founder of the eXtreme Gravity Institute, describes the show as "telling the story of Einstein’s theory of gravity and gravitational waves, and the big news related to their discovery."

Production of "Einstein’s Gravity Playlist" was funded by NASA’s Montana Space Grant Consortium, the American Physical Society, the Montana State University Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of Research and Development, the College of Letters and Science, and the Department of Physics.

Professor Yunes, a native of Argentina, received his bachelor's degree from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2003 and his doctorate from the Pennsylvania State University in 2008. Following a research associate position at Princeton University and an Einstein Fellowship at MIT and Harvard, he joined the faculty at Montana State University in 2011. He accepted a faculty position at the University of Illinois in 2019, where he became the founding director of the Illinois Center for Advanced Studies of the Universe.

Kaler Science Lectures are filmed by PCTV, Parkland College's 24-hour cable and online streaming channel. After the Q&A session, the staff will present a fulldome show set to Pink Floyd's album, "The Dark Side of the Moon," at 9 p.m. "Einstein's Gravity Playlist" plays at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings through September.

Kaler Lecture tickets are $2 or free for Friends of the Staerkel Planetarium. Admission to fulldome shows is $6 for adults and $5 for children, students, or seniors. For show schedules or more information about the planetarium, please visit parkland.edu/planetarium. For information about booking the dome, please call 217/351-2446.

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