Indianapolis Solar Eclipse Alumni Gathering 2024

Indianapolis Solar Eclipse Alumni Gathering

Indianapolis Solar Eclipse Alumni Gathering

Monday, April 8, 2024
CSO Architects (8831 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis, IN 46240)
1–3:30 p.m.
$20 per person
SOLD OUT

Join the Illinois Tech Alumni Association in Indianapolis for an unforgettable event featuring a viewing of the total solar eclipse at CSO Architects (8831 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis, IN 46240)! Before the eclipse, there will be a lunch and learn featuring Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics Emily Leiner from Lewis College of Science and Letters.

Tickets are $20 to attend and capacity is limited. All attendees will be given protective solar eclipse glasses for the event. Don’t miss your chance to experience this historical celestial event with the Illinois Tech community!

This event is at capacity, but if you would like to join the waitlist please email Anna Gerlach at agerlach@iit.edu. The Office of Advancement will be in touch if there are any cancellations. 

Live Stream Dr. Emily Leiner's Presentation

Can't join us in person for the event? You can be part of the excitement of the total solar eclipse with the Alumni Association from wherever you are located! Join us for our live stream of Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics Emily Leiner's presentation titled “Chasing Shadows: Scientific Revelations from Totality”. This will be live-streamed from our alumni event in Indianapolis before the total eclipse.

Register to join the live stream

Complete Your Eclipse Viewing Experience and Support Illinois Tech!

Do you want to have the complete Illinois Tech solar eclipse experience? If so, you can make a gift of $50 or more, or set up a monthly recurring gift, to the Department of Physics to receive a special eclipse viewing pack. This pack includes a plush Scarlet Hawk and two Illinois Tech-branded eclipse glasses.

Illinois Tech Solar Eclipse

To make a gift, please visit www.iit.edu/giving, select "Other", and type in "Physics Department". If you have any questions regarding making a gift, please email Senior Director of Constituent Engagement Joe Volin at jvolin@iit.edu.

Indianapolis Solar Eclipse Alumni Gathering 2024 - Emily Leiner

Chasing Shadows: Scientific Revelations from Totality

Dr. Emily Leiner

Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics

Abstract

Viewing a total solar eclipse is an experience of a lifetime. As the moon’s shadow hits the Earth and blocks out the Sun, the majesty of the Sun’s corona comes into view for a few fleeting minutes. For millennia, humans have been captivated by this experience of totality. Eclipse observations have also unlocked some of the most important scientific discoveries of the past 150 years. In this talk, astrophysicist Dr. Emily Leiner will discuss the scientific mysteries that have been revealed with eclipse observations, from ancient insights into the order of the cosmos, to the groundbreaking confirmation of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. 

 

Bio

Dr. Emily Leiner is a stellar astrophysicist and a binary star enthusiast. Her research explores what happens when two stars in a binary system interact, transferring material between each other or merging into a single object. Her work uses a variety of observational and modeling approaches to study the fascinating and strange stars that result from these interactions. She is currently an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Physics at Illinois Tech and a Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University. She was previously a National Science Foundation Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Exploration in Astrophysics (CIERA) at Northwestern University. She received her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018. Prior to starting her Ph.D., she worked in education and public outreach at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.