Monthly Meeting

Dark energy – the phenomenon behind the accelerating expansion of the universe – remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in cosmology. To understand its true nature, astronomers must bridge the gap between observations of the infant universe revealed by the cosmic microwave background from 13 billion years ago, and the universe observed today through large scale galaxy surveys.

The talk will explore how new telescopes and observing techniques are helping fill in the missing chapters of cosmic history. From experiments utilizing the South Pole’s cold, dry atmosphere to scientific balloon missions flying to the edge of space, researchers are making increasingly sensitive measurements of faint cosmic signals. These observations allow us to map the large-scale structure of the universe across time, helping us understand how galaxies formed, how the universe evolved and whether dark energy itself has changed over cosmic history.

Speaker: Jessica Avva Zebrowski

The speaker is Jessica Avva Zebrowski, an assistant professor in the University of Chicago Astronomy and Astrophysics department, where she works as an experimental cosmologist building and analyzing data from millimeter- and submillimeter-wave telescopes. Her research spans cosmic microwave background polarization, line-intensity mapping, and the development of superconducting detector technologies for next-generation observatories. She has played leading roles in analyses and instrumentation for the SLIM and TIM intensity mappers in Antarctica.

Jessica received her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and previously held a NASA Hubble Fellowship Program Einstein Fellowship, a Fermilab Lederman Fellowship and a Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics Fellowship. 

This event is open to the public and free of charge.