Noted Astronomers to Speak to AISD Students
By: Press Release
Updated: January 24, 2013
The West Texas Science Center and Abilene Chapter of the UT Exes have joined forces to bring Dr. David L. Lambert, Director of Austin's McDonald Observatory, and Dr. Karl Gebhardt, Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Texas, to Abilene for a captivating series of lectures on recent discoveries and developments in astronomy.
Recently, astronomers have used the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory to measure the mass of what may be the most massive black hole yet -- 17 billion times our sun's mass -- in galaxy NGC 1277. The work will appear in the journal Nature.
Dr. Lambert and Dr. Gebhardt will be speaking to students at the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science (ATEMS), Abilene High, Cooper High, McMurry University and Hardin-Simmons University.
The AISD schedule includes:
- 8:40 a.m. - ATEMS, Texas State Technical College conference room
- 9:30 a.m. - Abilene High School, Room 200
- 10:30 a.m. - Cooper High School, Learning Resource Center (LRC)
A free lecture for the public also will be held the same day at 6:30 p.m. at Wailing Lecture Hall in the Foster Science Building on the campus of Abilene Christian University.


