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Dr. Joseph Silk Savilian Professor of Astronomy - University of Oxford
JOSEPH SILK has been Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford since 1999. Prior to that,
he was at the University of California, Berkeley, preceded by postdoctoral stints in Princeton and Cambridge. He obtained
his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has held an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, a Guggenheim fellowship, and a
Blaise-Pascal International Research Chair. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the American Physical Society, the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Physics, as well as an honorary member of the French
Physical Society. He is the author or coauthor of more than 350 papers in refereed journals, 150 conference and review
articles, 70 popular articles, and has given more than 250 invited lectures at conferences. Dr. Silk has succeeded in
revitalizing research activities in Astrophysics at Oxford including doubling the size of the program during his tenure as
head from 1999-2004 - helping to bring Oxford to a leading role at the international level in cosmology and in the design
studies of the European Extremely Large Telescope, a 50m class telescope, and of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope.
In addition to his teaching obligations at Oxford, Dr. Silk frequently gives lecture courses at international schools, radio
interviews, and public lectures. He writes book reviews, popular articles, and books. His popular books include The Left Hand
of Creation, The Big Bang, and A Short History of the Universe. Dr. Silk’s research interests are in theoretical
cosmology, seeking insights about dark matter, galaxy formation, and the cosmic microwave background. He has made notable
research contributions in the area of cosmic microwave background radiation, the relic glow from the Big Bang. He made key
predictions that motivated increasingly more sensitive experimental searches for more than three decades until success was
eventually achieved in the 1990s.
General Public Lecture
“The Dark Side of the Universe”
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 7:30 PM, PSF 173
Abstract: I will discuss how the old Big Bang cosmology from the Einstein/Friedmann/Lemaitre era was
transformed by the concept of inflation. The ensuing emergence of cosmic structure is an outcome that has been studied by
peering back through the mists of time, both by observing the most remote objects in the universe and by deciphering the
fossil structure of nearby galaxies. One of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos is that it is mostly dark. What is the
nature of the dark matter? Can we ever hope to detect it?
Department of Physics Colloquium
“A Voyage in Time: The Cosmic Microwave Background”
Thursday, November 17, 2005 4:00 PM, PSF 101
Abstract: One of our greatest challenges is understanding the origin of the structure of the universe. I
will describe how the fossil radiation from the beginning of the universe, the cosmic microwave background, has provided a
window for probing the initial conditions from which structure evolved. Infinitesimal variations in temperature on the sky,
first discovered in 1992, provide the fossil fluctuations that seeded the formation of the galaxies. The microwave radiation
has now been mapped with ground-based, balloon-borne and satellite telescopes, and provides the basis for precision
cosmology. Its current status and future challenges will be described.
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