The following Canadian Astronomers are volunteers with the CASCA-Westar Lectureship series. Hailing from across the country, and varied in their interests, these astronomers bring their passion for what they do to the public through events such as public lectures, star parties and classroom workshops. Many have also been amateur astronomers.
If you are interested in coordinating a CASCA-Westar Lectureship event in your community, please fill out the application form. If you have a question, you can contact us at: westar@casca.ca
Most of our speakers are happy to tailor their talks to a specific topic, so if you have something specific in mind, please let us know! Several of our speakers are able to offer their talks in other languages where indicated. For French speakers, please see the French version of this page.
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Niayesh Afshordi, University of Waterloo/Perimeter Institute Sample Titles: 100 years of Alice’s adventures in (Relativistic) Wonderland; What banged and why? The greatest story of all time; Is the universe a hologram?; Physics beyond the horizon; Unravelling the Darkness: A Cosmic Odyssey Other topics: Cosmology, Black Holes, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Big Bang, Quantum Gravity Other languages: Farsi |
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Terry Bridges, Okanagan College Sample Titles: Globular Star Clusters, Dark Matter, and Elliptical Galaxies Learning About the Universe Through Astronomical Spectroscopy Other topics: Solar system, life in the universe, exoplanets, dark energy and the accelerating universe, and telescopes and instrumentation. Available for online presentations |
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Stephane Courteau, Queen’s University Sample Titles: What’s the Matter with our Universe? Other topics: Dark matter, dark energy, and the latest ideas about the cosmos. Other languages: French |
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Louise Edwards, California Polytechnic State University Sample Titles: Today’s largest galaxies and leftover light in clusters Other topics: Galaxies and galaxy evolution, Stars: their lives and deaths, Planets and exoplanets, Women and minorities in Science. Other languages: French Available for online presentations |
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Mark Halpern, University of British Columbia Sample Titles: Other topics: Cosmology, history of star formation, age, contents and dynamics of the Universe, dark matter and dark energy The history of the stars |
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Jeremy Heyl, University of British Columbia Sample Titles: The High-Energy Universe: More than meets the eye! What can we learn by counting stars? Other topics: High-energy astrophysics, neutron stars, galaxy mergers, galaxy evolution, black holes, stellar evolution Other languages: Spanish |
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Renee Hlozek, Dunlap Institute, University of Toronto Sample Titles: Cosmology: The what, when, how of the universe Measuring the nascent light from the birth of the universe Other topics: The big bang, dark energy, dark matter, inflation, underrepresented groups in astronomy, South African astronomy Other languages: French, some ASL |
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Doug Johnstone, National Research Council of Canada Sample Titles:A Star is Born: Shining Light on the Nebulous Past of the Sun Up All Night: Life at the Summit of Maunakea Other topics: star and planet formation, observations and instruments needed to learn about star formation (especially the JCMT, ALMA, Herschel, and JWST) Available for online presentations |
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Christian Marois, CNRC/Herzberg Sample Titles: Looking for life in the Universe, Looking for habitable planets in the Sun’s neighbourhood, Looking for terrestrial planets in Alpha Centauri system Other topics: Exoplanets, looking for life in the Universe, how we detect exoplanets Other languages: French |
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Stanimir Metchev, The University of Western Ontario Sample Titles: Homing in on Another Earth Weather on Other Worlds: Massive Storms and Rains of Molten Iron Finding the Faintest Asteroids and Comets Other topics: Exoplanets and developments in solar system astronomy, including planetary exploration Available for online presentations |
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Marie-Eve Naud, Université de Montréal, Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iREx) Sample Titles: Alone in the Universe? Humanity’s quest for other inhabited worlds Other topics: Exoplanets, astrobiology Other languages: French Available for online presentations |
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Laura Parker, McMaster University Sample Titles: The Dark Universe; Complexity in the Universe; Dark Matter and Gravitational Lensing; Galaxy Evolution Other topics: Life in the universe, extra-solar planets, structure formation, observational astronomy Available for online presentations |
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Levon Pogosian, Simon Fraser University Sample Titles: Einstein, Cosmology, and the Expanding Universe Our Universe: Facts and Speculations Other topics: Historical introduction to the current understanding of the universe; cosmic acceleration, dark energy, modified gravity, cosmic strings Other Languages: Armenian, Russian |
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Harvey Richer, University of British Columbia Sample Titles: The Hubble Space Telescope, Cosmic Influences of Life on Earth, Light from the Universe, A Watcher of the Skies. Other topics: Available for online presentations |
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Jason Rowe, Bishop’s University, Institute for research on exoplanets (iREx) Sample Titles: Other topics: Exoplanets, Kepler Mission, James Webb Space Telescope, Search for Life |
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Jon Willis, University of Victoria Sample Titles: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Big Bang but were afraid to ask; The search for life in the universe; Exploring the oceans of the solar system. Other topics: Cosmology, Life in the Universe Life in the Universe |
