Blaauw Lecture 2019

Each year the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute organizes the Blaauw Lecture. This is a lecture by an internationally renowned astronomer which everyone, including the general public, can attend. The level of the lecture is such that everyone should be able to understand it. In 2019 the Blaauw Lecture was given by dr. Marta Volonteri of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris.

Blaauw lecture 2019: "Massive black holes at the heart of galaxies"

At the very center of most galaxies, including the Milky Way, lurk massive black holes, with masses from a few tens of thousands to several billions of solar masses. Some of these black holes are quiescent, like our own, some others are active and are known as quasars, which can have luminosities comparable to that of entire galaxies. How and when did these black holes form and grow to reach these gargantuan masses? Understanding the evolution of these black holes leads us to a journey spanning the whole age of the Universe, starting from the very first stars and galaxiesemerging after the Big Bang.

Blaauw professor 2019: dr. Marta Volonteri

Dr. Volonteri joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as Directeur de Recherche in 2012. Prior to that, she was part of the faculty at the University of Michigan (USA), as Assistant and then tenured Associate Professor. She received her Laurea degree in Physics in 1999 and her Ph.D. in Astronomy in 2003 from the University of Milan, Italy. Volonteri has held postdoctoral positions with the University of California at Santa Cruz (USA), and the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge (UK). Volonteri’s research interests focus on the formation and evolution of massive black holes, high-redshift galaxies, stellar dynamics and gravitational waves.