Today’s theories about the expansion of the universe can be traced back to the work of an African American graduate student who would become Dr. Titus Pankey.
“His work went unnoticed for decades but should be regarded as an essential step in the history of astronomy,” said Dr. Matt Caplan of the Department of Physics, who will give a talk on Pankey’s career.
“The Untold Supernova Story of Dr. Titus Pankey” will be at 3 p.m. Friday, April 21, in Stevenson Hall, room 401, on the campus of Illinois State University. The event, sponsored by African American Studies, is free and open to the public.
In 2011, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating using observations of supernova, exploding stars, in distant galaxies. Yet, this story begins 50 years earlier with an African American graduate student at Howard University. Pankey was the first to correctly explain the mechanism by which these stars explode. Caplan will give a biographical sketch of Pankey to raise awareness of his contributions.
If accommodations are needed to fully participate in this event, contact the African American Studies Program.
