Chinese Academy of Sciences and Durham University launch latest webinar 

The partnership between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Durham University in the UK is going from strength-to-strength as the two organisations launch their latest webinar in a joint series. 

From supermassive black holes to the hunt for dark matter, scientists at Durham and CAS are at the forefront of investigations into the evolution of the universe to further our understanding of the cosmos and our place in it. 

This research will form the basis of the latest webinar, called Black Holes, Galaxies and the Evolution of the Universe, scheduled for Tuesday May 18. 

Durham's collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences covers a wide range of disciplines, including astronomy, cosmology, palaeontology and energy.  

Within the areas of astronomy and cosmology, it spans from understanding what happens to material very close to a black hole, to the structure of our universe across cosmic time. 

The webinar will be delivered by Durham Professors Carlos Frenk, Martin Ward and Chris Done, together with Dr. JIN Chichuan from the National Astronomical Observatories of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

The series brings together researchers who are outstanding in their fields of expertise to open up new perspectives across cultures, deepen collaboration and share fresh insights. Previous webinars have featured talks about palaeontology and interdisciplinary research.  

This latest webinar will look at research into the on-going heartbeat of a supermassive black hole found 600 million light years from Earth.  

The repeated beat from this cosmic giant – created as the black hole feeds on its surroundings – was seen again in 2018 more than ten years after first being observed. It’s the most long-lived heartbeat ever seen in a black hole and tells us more about the size and structure close to its event horizon – the surrounding space from which nothing, including light, can escape. 

Alongside this, the webinar will explore the work of our cosmologists who use supercomputer technology to simulate the universe’s evolution. Recently, they’ve used these simulations to zoom in on the smallest clumps of dark matter in a virtual universe. 

The equivalent to being able to see a flea on the surface of the Moon, this detailed research could help us find the real thing in space. 

Sign up for our Knowledge Across Borders webinar: Black Holes, Galaxies and the Evolution of the Universe on 8:00 (BST) / 15.00 (Beijing) Tuesday May 18.   

MEDIA INFORMATION 

Interviews 

For interview requests with any of the speakers, please contact the Bureau of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences via cas_en@cas.cn or the Marketing & Communications Office at Durham University via communications.team@dur.ac.uk 

Video 

A trailer video for the Knowledge Across Border webinar series can be viewed here.  

Images 

Headshot images of the speakers are available on request from the Marketing & Communications Office at Durham University via communications.team@dur.ac.uk 

Research Background 

Discover more about the research into the heartbeat of a black hole and zooming-in on dark matter.   

About the speakers 

More details - https://www.dur.ac.uk/kab-webinars/register/   

Carlos Frenk, Durham University's Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics, is a renowned cosmologist and one of the originators of the Cold Dark Matter theory. 

Martin J. Ward is the Emeritus Temple Chevallier Professor of Astronomy at Durham University. He is a former Head of the Physics Department and Science Director of the Durham Institute of Advanced Study.  

Christine Done is Professor of Astronomy at Durham University. She is Director of Research in the Physics Department, and was awarded the 2019 Darwin lectureship for a 'distinguished and eloquent speaker' by the Royal Astronomical Society.  

JIN Chichuan is currently a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of China, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and he is deputy chief designer of the science application system on the Einstein Probe satellite, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, that will survey cosmic X-ray transients.