Brinson Lectures

The Brinson Lecture is held every year to present cutting-edge science in an event that is free and open to the public. These lectures are made possible by a generous gift from the Brinson Foundation to the University of Chicago. Speakers in this prominent series include Kip Thorne, Saul Perlmutter, John Mather, pioneering exoplanet scientist Sara Seager, and Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal.

May 14, 2025	Saul Perlmutter, "What we Learn When we Learn that the Universe is Accelerating"
May 28, 2024	Gerry Gilmore, "The Dynamic Milky Way - Seeing Our Galaxy Evolve" (view recorded lecture)
May 11, 2023	Jane Rigby, "Era of the Webb Telescope" (view recorded lecture)
May 17, 2022	Carlos Frenk, "How our universe was made: All from nothing"
April 9, 2019	Sara Seager, "Exoplanets and the Search for Habitable Worlds"
May 17, 2018	Richard Ellis, "Let There Be Light: The Observational Quest for the First Galaxies"
April 25, 2017	Nergis Mavalvala, "The Warped Universe: the one hundred year quest to discover Einstein's gravitational waves"
February 9, 2016	Francis Halzen, "Ice Fishing for Neutrinos"
November 5, 2014	Victoria M. Kaspi, "Neutron Stars, a Cosmic Gift"
October 15, 2013	Andrea M. Ghez, "The Monster at the Heart of the Milky Way"
October 2, 2012	David Charbonneau, "The Fast Track to Find an Inhabited Exoplanet"
November 1, 2011	John Mather, Nobel laureate, "History of the universe in a nutshell: from the Big Bang to life and the end of time"
April 11, 2011	Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, "From Big Bang to Biospheres" (listen to recorded lecture)
October 21, 2009	Kip Thorne, California Institute of Technology, "The Warped Side of the Universe: From the Big Bang to Black Holes"
October 2, 2008	Wendy Freedman, "Astronomy in the New Millennium: New Windows on the Cosmos"

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

May 14, 2025

Saul Perlmutter, "What we Learn When we Learn that the Universe is Accelerating"

May 28, 2024

Gerry Gilmore, "The Dynamic Milky Way - Seeing Our Galaxy Evolve" (view recorded lecture)

May 11, 2023

Jane Rigby, "Era of the Webb Telescope" (view recorded lecture)

May 17, 2022

Carlos Frenk, "How our universe was made: All from nothing"

April 9, 2019

Sara Seager, "Exoplanets and the Search for Habitable Worlds"

May 17, 2018

Richard Ellis, "Let There Be Light: The Observational Quest for the First Galaxies"

April 25, 2017

Nergis Mavalvala, "The Warped Universe: the one hundred year quest to discover Einstein's gravitational waves"

February 9, 2016

Francis Halzen, "Ice Fishing for Neutrinos"

November 5, 2014

Victoria M. Kaspi, "Neutron Stars, a Cosmic Gift"

October 15, 2013

Andrea M. Ghez, "The Monster at the Heart of the Milky Way"

October 2, 2012

David Charbonneau, "The Fast Track to Find an Inhabited Exoplanet"

November 1, 2011

John Mather, Nobel laureate, "History of the universe in a nutshell: from the Big Bang to life and the end of time"

April 11, 2011

Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, "From Big Bang to Biospheres" (listen to recorded lecture)

October 21, 2009

Kip Thorne, California Institute of Technology, "The Warped Side of the Universe: From the Big Bang to Black Holes"

October 2, 2008

Wendy Freedman, "Astronomy in the New Millennium: New Windows on the Cosmos"