2011 MICHALIK LECTURE Prof. Sir Roger Pen- rose has The University of Pittsburgh made many contribu- Department of Mathematics tions to the fields of Presents Mathemat- ics and The Edmund R. Michalik Physics. He proved that Distinguished Lecture in the singularities (such as black holes) Mathematical Sciences could be formed from the gravitation- al collapse of immense, dying stars and invented spin networks which later came to form the geometry of Sir Roger Penrose spacetime in loop quantum gravity. Prof. Penrose is also well known for Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics his 1974 discovery of Penrose tilings, at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford which are formed from two tiles that can only tile the plane non- periodically, and are the first tilings Can We See Through the Big to exhibit fivefold rotational sym- metry. He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including a Royal Bang, into Another World? Medal from the Royal Society and a Wolf Prize, which he shares with Ste- Abstract: The proposal of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (abbreviated CCC) phen Hawking. Prof. Penrose’s book asserts that what we presently regard as the entire history of our universe, "The Road to Reality" gives a com- from its Big-Bang origin to its indefinitely expanding future, is but one ae- prehensive guide to the laws of phys- on in an unending succession of similar such aeons, where the infinite fu- ics. His latest book is "Cycles of ture of each matches to the big bang of the next via an infinite change of Time." scale. CCC predicts that supermassive black-hole encounters in the aeon prior to ours would be observable to us as families of concentric rings of unusual temperature structure in the cosmic microwave background. Recent 4:00 P.M. analysis of data from the WMAP satellite has been argued to provide con- firmation of this signal, allowing us to "see through" our Big Bang to such Monday, events occurring in the aeon prior to ours. The status of this controversial January 24, 2011 proposal will be discussed. Reception Immediately Ballroom B, Following the Lecture University Club This public lecture is part of an annual series in honor of at the University of Pittsburgh Professor Edmund R. Michalik, established through a gift Free and Open from the Michalik family. to the Public For further information, email: [email protected] Phone: 412-624-8375 or visit http://www.mathematics.pitt.edu .