September 30, 2014 - Howard Trottier
The Dark Side of Cosmology


A Quebec native, Howard Trottier is a physics professor at Simon Fraser University. His research involves large-scale computational studies of the nature of matter: how the mass and other properties of nuclear constituents like protons arise from the interactions of quarks and gluons. He has a keen interest in astronomy and has spearheaded the construction of the teaching observatory on Burnaby Mountain. In recognition of his contributions to teaching and outreach, he has received awards from Simon Fraser University, the Canadian Astronomical Society and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.


Suggested reading:
Lawrence Krauss, A Universe From Nothing, a remarkably short book whose provocative title alone makes it hard to pass up
Brian Greene, The Hidden Reality, an excellent follow-up to Krauss
Alan Lightman, The Accidental Universe
Brian Clegg, Before the Big Bang
John Brockman, The Universe (a collection of essays by Greene, Guth, Linde, Wilczek and many others)
Alan Batten, Our Enigmatic Universe