Talk Explores the 'History of the Universe'

Jennifer Ito, Westmont assistant professor of physics, explores the history of the cosmological model in a free, public talk Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Simmons Center at the Global Leadership Center. The Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture, “Physics, Philosophy, and Faith: An Exploration into the History of the Universe,” will include a response from Robert Haring-Kaye, professor of physics, and James Taylor, professor of philosophy.

Ito, who joined the Westmont faculty in 2022, helps build millimeter-wavelength telescopes as part of the Simons Array in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Last summer, she took two Westmont students to the 17,000-foot site used for studying the cosmic microwave background. Scientists hope this endeavor will discover more about the early history of the universe. Specifically, they hope to determine if an event known as inflation occurred when the universe was fractions of a second old.

She has also been training to use Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope for research with students and when the observatory opens to the public on the third Friday of every month.