Speaker Night –  Jesse Rogerson

Talk Synopsis

Humans are natural dreamers and storytellers. Stories are how we communicate ideas, develop comprehension, empathize, and survive. Both our imagination and our ability to tell compelling stories have been central to the evolution of humanity from thousands of year ago, when we started using observations of nature to better ensure our survival, to today when we create some of the most amazing missions out into the solar system. In this presentation, I will demonstrate how, Dr. John Moores, Michelle Parsons, and I used the ideas of storytelling, imagination, and visual art to help both the authors and the reader develop a deeper understanding of the exotic locations in the solar system.  This was woven together into a semi-fictional, semi-non-fictional book, called Daydreaming in the Solar System. I will provide a peak inside the book, and dive deeper into the science behind some of the chapters.

Bio:  A passionate scientist, educator and communicator, Jesse Rogerson is an Associate Professor at York University. His PhD research examined quasars – super massive black holes in the centres of distant galaxies. From telescopes around the world, he monitored black holes for changes over short and long periods of time and was able to show the quasar winds change on large and small-time scales, and that predicting their behaviour was not possible. Jesse has worked in three of Canada’s preeminent science museums including the Canada Aviation and Space Museum wherein he engaged a variety of audiences from around the world with astronomy, planetary science and other space sciences.

Banner Credit: NASA – Water colour filter