Episode #1: In a galaxy far, far away…

If there are universal laws for physics and chemistry, shouldn't there be universal laws of biology? Why are moons a reasonable place to look for extraterrestrial life? Why should we put telescopes on the dark side of the Moon?

In Episode 1, we talk with three bright stars of astrophysics, ASEF professors Maruša Bradač, Andrej Prša, and Uroš Seljak. Listen as they discuss the dark matter, the origins of the universe, and the age-old question of whether life exists on other planets.

• Dr. Maruša Bradač is a Professor of Physics at the University of California at Davis. She specializes in the properties of dark matter and the first galaxies that formed in the universe.
• Dr. Andrej Prša is a Professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Villanova University. He has spent his career studying eclipsing binary stars, and he also specializes in exoplanets and fundamental astronomy.
• Dr. Uroš Seljak is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to his primary focus on cosmology, he also studies exoplanets, how dark matter and galaxies cluster, and statistical analysis and machine learning.

The ASEF Podcast host is Tanja Janko, a Master's Student of Chemistry at the University of Zurich. She was an ASEF Fellow in 2019 with Dr. Dimitri Krainc at Northwestern University.