On Thursday, December 17, we partnered with Books & Books in Coral Gables to put on our popular Science Up Close series. This installment, “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs,” featured New York Times bestselling author and professor, Dr. Lisa Randall. The evening began with a special flute performance by students from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, followed by welcome remarks from Books & Books Founder Mitchell Kaplan and Frost Science Chief Science Officer Dr. Eldredge “Biff” Bermingham. Dr. Randall then led a fascinating presentation that took guests on a journey from the outer stretches of our universe back to our own home planet, all via the power of physics. In a thought-provoking new explanation, Dr. Randall’s research suggests that disks of dark matter link the outer universe to our own solar system. Furthermore, she posits that as our solar system passed through one of these dark matter disks 65 million year ago, a comet was dislodged, colliding with Earth and causing the extinction of the dinosaurs. Disrupting the field, Dr. Randall has long strived to showcase physics in a manner that all can understand through her many popular books, including “Warped Passages” and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.”  Afterwards, guests had the opportunity to ask questions and meet Dr. Randall in person at a special book signing. Her books are available at Books & Books.

We’d like to thank the Edward and Blossom Leibowitz Family Foundation for their generous support of the Science Up Close series.