EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 7 p.m.,
EVENT: Paul Davies, professor of natural philosophy from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, will present a public lecture entitled, “Did Life Come From Mars?” The origin of life remains one of the great outstanding problems of science. It affects such big questions as whether we are alone in the universe and the place of humanity in the great cosmic scheme. For some years, Davies, an internationally-acclaimed physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and writer, has championed the theory that life may have started on Mars or come to Earth ready-made, hitching a ride in rocks blasted from the Red Planet by comet impacts. In his lecture, Davies will explain why Mars was a more favorable environment for life to get started and why it may still harbor life today.

In January 2004, Davies contributed a New York Times op-ed titled “Life and Death on Mars,” in which he shared his beliefs about the possible risks and benefits of a manned mission to Mars.

PLACE: The Assembly Hall of Hale Auditorium in the Michigan Business School, 701 Tappan Street, on the corner of Tappan and Hill on Central campus. A reception will precede the lecture at 6:30 p.m. in the Hale Auditorium lobby. Central Campus map: http://www.umich.edu/news/ccamp.html

SPONSOR: Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics (MCTP). MCTP is a unit within the

U-M Physics Department, which aims to promote interdisciplinary research in theoretical physics and related mathematical sciences through individual and collaborative research, seminars, workshops and conferences.

WEB LINKS: For more information about PaulDavies’ public lecture, visit http://www.umich.edu/~mctp/events/mctpcolloquia.html

To learn about the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, visit http://www.umich.edu/~mctp

amillik@umich.edu

http://www.umich.edu/news/ccamp.htmlhttp://www.umich.edu/~mctp/events/mctpcolloquia.htmlhttp://www.umich.edu/~mctpamillik@umich.edu