Title: Chandrasekhar’s Limit
Speaker: Keith Jarvie, Ph.D.
Keith’s talk examines (at the level of an amateur enthusiast with minimal math skills) the interplay between the birth of quantum mechanics, and its application to understanding the life cycles of the stars’. The historical record is traced through the lives of the scientists who contributed to the field, each of whom provides clear evidence of their genius, and in numerous instances, their eccentricities. Central to the narrative are the points of collision between Dr. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, and Sir Arthur Eddington, a ‘founding father’ and dominant force in early cosmology. The passage of almost 100 years provides ample context to reflect on the enduring brilliance of those early insights which remain the foundation for our current understanding of high-energy events within the cosmos.
Keith has had a life-long, casual interest in astronomy. His interest in visual observation was rekindled in “middle age” by the purchase of a good quality scope, sporadic periods of unemployment and membership in the RASC. Keith’s academic work has been in the areas of psychology (Hon. B.Sc.) and pharmacology (M.Sc., Ph.D.). He worked in the pharmaceutical industry for almost 15 years conducting research into new drugs, primarily for use in the psychiatry and neurology. Presently he works as a Senior Advisor with the government of Ontario focusing on stakeholder engagement, economic and policy development for the life sciences industry.
