You are cordially invited to attend a Public Lecture by Prof Amare Abebe, titled "Building a Bright Future: AfAS and the Growth of Astronomy Across the Continent".
Abstract:
Africa is rapidly emerging as a pivotal player in global astronomy, leveraging its unique geographical advantages and a growing pool of scientific talent. The African Astronomical Society (AdAS) stands at the forefront of this exciting transformation, serving as the unifying voice and driving force for astronomical development across the continent. This talk will explore AdAS's vision to foster a globally competitive and collaborative astronomy community in Africa, highlighting its mission to utilise astronomy for socio-economic development and address continental challenges.
Bio:
Professor Amare Abebe is a theoretical cosmologist and the current Director of the Centre for Space Research (CSR) at North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, where he also holds a Professorship in Cosmology. He earned his BSc in Physics and Mathematics from Addis Ababa University, followed by his MSc and PhD from the University of Cape Town, where he specialised in the cosmology of modified gravity theories.
His research interests are diverse, encompassing cosmological perturbation theory, large-scale structure formation, modified theories of gravity, interacting dark energy and dark matter models, and addressing observational tensions in cosmology. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings, and has been instrumental in nurturing the next generation of scientists, having supervised more than a dozen master's and doctoral students and mentored several postdoctoral fellows. Beyond his academic contributions, Professor Abebe serves as the current President of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS).
For more information, kindly contact Joseph Magwanya.