Cosmic Tales Session 6: The Physics & Astronomy of Gravitational Lenses by Prof. Rajaram Nityananda

Title: The Physics, Astronomy, and Optics of Gravitational Lenses
Speaker: Prof. Rajaram Nityananda, Azim Premji University
Time and Date: 4:00 PM (IST), 20th November 2021, Saturday

Abstract: The effect of gravitational fields on light has played a role in fundamental physics from the time of Newton. It entered the realm of astronomy after Einstein's prediction was verified by the famous eclipse experiment of 1919. Apart from some insightful suggestions, the subject lay dormant until the 'double quasar' discovery in 1979. This led to an explosion of observations, theory, and applications which continues today. Interestingly, it also revived interest in some aspects of geometrical optics, which will be covered in the final part of the talk.

About the speaker: Professor Rajaram Nityananda is an Indian physicist whose fields of research are Astronomical Optics, Image processing & reconstruction, and Gravitational Dynamics of Galaxies. He completed his BSc and MSc degrees at Madras University and IIT Madras, respectively, and received his Ph.D. at Bangalore University. He was the former director of NCRA-Pune and TIFR-Hyderabad and is currently a Professor at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He also serves as the Chief Editor of the Resonance Journal and Associate Editor of the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, both of which are part of the Indian Academy of Sciences. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, and Chennai Mathematical Institute.

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