On the sound of time -- gravitational waves

                -- an interpretation of Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017

Date：Nov. 20

Time: 7:30 p.m. 

Venue: International Conference Hall，Zeng Xianzi Science Museum

Speaker: Professor Zhu Zong-hong, Beijing Normal University, Cheung

Kong Scholar and Distinguished Professor of Ministry of Education, laureate of National Outstanding Youth Fund 

Host: Xu Fan-rong, JNU

Sponsor: Culture Quality Education Office of Publicity Department of Party Committee

ABOUT ZHU ZONG-HONG

Zhu Zong-hong, graduated from Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy in Beijing Normal University with bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. Zhu Zongong was granted with the first prize of Natural Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the State Council special allowance and was chose as the talent of the new century by Ministry of Education in 2005. In 2008, he won the National Outstanding Youth Science Foundation and selected as Cheung Kong Scholar and Distinguished Professor by Ministry of Education in 2009. Zhu Zonghong served as the director of Astronomy Department of Beijing Normal University from the first month of 2010 to the last one of 2016. Besides, Zhu Zonghong was appointed as the vice chairman of the Astronomy Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education in April 2013. The December of that year, he was elected as the chairman of the Beijing Astronomical Society. Zhu Zonghong was the convener of astronomy of the 7th Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council in April 2015 as well.  The research focused on gravitational wave astronomy, gravitational lens, dark matter dark energy and other cosmological issues,X-ray group of galaxy observation and theoretical studies.

ABSTRACT: 

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics to three scientists, Rainer Weiss, Barry Clark Barish, Kip Thorne Kip Stephen Thorne in honor of their contribution to gravitational waves studies on the noon of Oct.3 in local time.

LIGO first announced the direct detection of gravitational waves on Feb.11, 2016 with the release of the signal from the merging of two black holes beyond 1.3 billion light-years on Sep.14, 2015 named as GW150914. Then LIGO publicized another two black holes combined gravitational wave signals. LIGO and VIRGO also detected a black hole combined with gravitational wave signal called GW170814 in that year. Two weeks after the award of Nobel Prize, that was, Oct. 16, the National Science Foundation held a press conference and said that LIGO and Virgo has discovered the double neutron stars combined gravitational wave called GW170817 on Aug.17, 2017 and that International Gravity Wave electromagnetic counterpart observation union found the electromagnetic counterpart of the gravitational wave event. The conference pushed the topic of gravitational waves to a new heigh and means the coming of the gravitational wave astronomy era. Someone held that the importance of the event could compare to the fact that Galileo pointed the telescope to the sky for the first time 400 years ago. This report will review the process, history and significance of gravitational waves discovery as well as the situation of gravitational wave studies and forecast the development of gravitational wave detection and gravitational wave astronomy.

(This lecture is a public elective course for Jinan University students as public academic activities)