"A novel design first envisioned more than 150 years ago, Liquid Mirror Telescopes (LMTs) might seem something out of science fiction.  As part of his postgraduate degree, Professor Brad Gibson designed, constructed, and tested the world’s first functional LMT observatory.  He will describe the LMT concept and its weird and wonderful strengths (and weaknesses), and provide some insights into why the concept has not succeeded in replacing the classic glass and aluminium constructs.”

About the speaker: Prof. Brad Gibson

An Aussie-Canadian transplant, Brad is the Head of Physics & Maths, and Director of the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics, at the University of Hull.  Brad’s work has gained a degree of notoriety by defining the Milky Way’s Galactic Habitable Zone (named a Top 10 News Story of the Year by National Geographic), determining the expansion rate of the Universe (for which their team was awarded the Gruber Prize in Cosmology), and building the world’s first Liquid Mirror Telescope Observatory.  Brad’s 400+ outreach events over the past 6 years have reached more than a million people around the world, including nearly 100 schools and colleges around the UK.  His commitment to widening participation and diversity, and improving the career prospects of physics students, led to his “Changing Face of Physics” campaign being named Best Practice in the Country by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit.