Nadia Zakamska to Lecture on Black Holes and the Birth of Galaxies at Institute for Advanced Study

PRESS CONTACT: Katherine Belyi, (609) 951-4406

Nadia Zakamska, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a former Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, will return to the Institute to give a public lecture reporting on the latest developments in the study of the relationship between supermassive black holes and galaxies. “Gone with the Wind: Black Holes and Their Gusty Influence on the Birth of Galaxies” will take place Friday, May 10 at 5:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall. The lecture is sponsored by the Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study (AMIAS).

Zakamska, a Long-term Member in the School of Natural Sciences from 2005–10, is an astrophysicist whose research focuses on the evolution of galaxies and black holes. Galaxies are the visible building blocks of the Universe, astrophysical laboratories that have profoundly informed our knowledge of cosmology and nature. Black holes—once a bizarre mathematical consequence of Einstein’s relativity theory—are now mainstream astronomy, thanks to studies of the centers of nearby galaxies in which these exotic objects are routinely found. Galaxies and black holes form together under the influence of gravity, until the powerful winds fueled by black hole growth snuff out the candle of star formation.

Zakamska’s talk will include a comprehensive description of galaxy formation and will highlight recent observational and theoretical work that brings new insight into the complex interrelationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.

Each year, approximately two hundred scholars from about one hundred universities and research institutions from more than thirty countries come to study at the Institute for Advanced Study. These visiting scholars, known as Members and Visitors, are free to interact with Faculty and fellow scholars within and across disciplines, and are able to conduct their research unencumbered by teaching and administrative responsibilities. The Institute’s more than 6,000 former Members hold positions of intellectual and scientific leadership throughout the academic world. Some 33 Nobel Laureates and 38 out of 52 Fields Medalists have been Institute Faculty, Members or Visitors. Many winners of the Wolf and MacArthur prizes have also been affiliated with the Institute. To learn more about Members and Visitors at the Institute, visit www.ias.edu/people/members-and-visitors.