Robert P. Kirshner

Robert P. Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Science at Harvard University and a world-leading astronomer, mentored a generation of successful cosmologists of the Nobel-winning High-Z Supernova Search Team that helped revolutionise our knowledge about the expansion of the universe. By observing exploding supernovae halfway across the universe and up to 9 billion years back in time, Kirshner and his team showed that the universe is accelerating as it expands. The author of The Extravagant Universe - Exploding Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Cosmos will show the evidence for cosmic acceleration, outline what we know and don't know about dark energy, and suggest some ways to find out more about this deep cosmic mystery.