About the Speaker: Luke A. Barnes is a theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and postdoctoral researcher at Western Sydney University. He received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge in 2009. He is a John Templeton Fellow. He has published papers in the fields of galaxy formation and the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He is the author, with Geraint Lewis, of "A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos”, published by Cambridge University Press. He has also published papers on the philosophy of science, and regularly engages in public outreach through public speaking, articles in the popular press, and social media.
Abstract: We see order and complexity in the universe around us: planets, nebulae, stars, galaxies and more. Cosmology and astrophysics have pieced together the process by which this structure formed from simple beginnings, under the action of the laws of nature. But the infamous "second law of thermodynamics" says that the universe is winding down, moving from order to chaos. How do these ideas fit together? And what does this tell us about our universe, and our place in it?
