CASIRAS webinar: Will the James Webb Space Telescope See God?

Susan BarretoSusan is an author with a long-time interest in religion and science. She currently edits Covalence, the Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology’s online magazine. She has written articles in The Lutheran and the Zygon Center for Religion and Science newsletter. Susan is a board member for the Center for Advanced Study of Religion and Science, the supporting organization for the Zygon Center and the Zygon Journal. She also co-wrote Our Bodies Are Selves with Dr. Philip Hefner and Dr. Ann Pederson.

The Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science will be hosting a free webinar on December 1, 5:00pm – 6:30pm CST looking at NASA’s next observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope. 

The speaker is Dr. Heidi B. Hammel, who is currently the vice president for science at AURA, a consortium that operates large astronomical observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Gemini Observatory and others. Hammel is also an interdisciplinary scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and she said she plans to use her guaranteed observing time to study a diverse array of Solar System targets including the outer planets. 

In the webinar, Will the James Webb Space Telescope See God?, she will describe what and how Webb will “see” the cosmos. The title of the CASIRAS webinar stems from question asked of Hammel in a recent interview with a major broadcast network. She has been recognized for both her science and her work in public outreach, including the Sagan Medal and the San Francisco Exploratorium’s Public Understanding of Science Award. Last year she received the American Astronomical Society’s Masursky Award for outstanding service to planetary science and exploration.  Asteroid “1981 EC20” was renamed 3530 Hammel in her honor.

Those interested in attending are to register here in advance.