7 p.m. in the Emert Auditorium (Room 130) of the Eccles Science Learning Center on the USU campus. (For directions, click here.)

"The Superhero's Universe: Observing the Cosmos with X-ray Vision and Beyond” 

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 When scientists turn their eyes and instruments toward the sky, what they see depends on how they look. A single object will appear very differently when viewed in radio waves, visible light, x-rays or gravitational waves.

Physicist Michelle Larson invites you to join her in examining different astronomical objects through a variety of lenses. Following in scientists' steps, she'll guide you in putting together information gained from each view to obtain a more complete understanding of the Sun, nebulae, galaxies and more.

Larson is assistant provost and an adjunct professor of physics at Utah State University. As assistant provost, she enjoys the fun and challenge that comes with working near the helm of a research university on a daily basis. As an adjunct faculty member in physics, she is able to maintain ties with her discipline and engage in stimulating conversation with fellow geeks.

Prior to joining USU, Larson served as deputy director of the Center for Gravitational Wave Physics at Pennsylvania State University. In this role, she integrated the center's research, education and outreach efforts and worked closely with research scientists to sharing exciting discoveries in the field of gravity with a broad range of audiences.

In the years prior to Penn State, the Alaska native was the deputy director of NASA's Montana Space Grant Consortium. She was also a scientist in the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory at Caltech, where she was the project coordinator for the California High School Cosmic Ray Observatory (CHICOS), and she served as a public outreach scientist in the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, where she developed ways to bring the science of NASA missions to public and school audiences.

An amateur astronomer, Larson particularly enjoys sharing the more spectacular objects of the night sky with the general public. A favorite highlight of her experiences in presenting to the public occurred when a young child in her audience exclaimed, "Wow! Saturn looks just like a Chevy symbol!"