Shanghai, China – Shanghai MicroPort Medical (Group) Co ("MicroPort®") recently hosted the "Scientific Lectures on Frontier Exploration of Universe" in MicroPort® Shanghai headquarters. Dr. Xiangping Wu who is an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, an astrophysicist and a research fellow of National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave two lecturers themed on "Who Will Determine The Fate of the Universe?" and "Gravitational Wave Detection."
The "Scientific Lecture on Frontier Exploration of Universe" was co-hosted by MicroPort®, Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association and Shanghai Pudong Federation of Industry and Commerce, as part of the 2016 "Be Together in Zhangjiang" Science and Cultural Serial Events, and attracted about 300 people, mostly employees from enterprises in Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park.
During the lecture "Who Will Determine the Fate of the Universe?" Dr. Wu showed the attendees how vast the universe is and explained related research results in an easy-to-understand approach. He lectured in detail on what the universe is, the origin and the development history of the universe, and the status and the future of the universe, which enabled the attendees to gain a professional understanding in astrophysics including the big bang, black holes, cosmic expansion, and dark matter and dark energy in the universe, as well as to get a picture of the latest research results and research trends in the world regarding the universe.
In the lecture "Gravitational Wave Detection," Dr. Wu focused on the hot topic "Human to Directly Detect Gravitational Wave," to elaborate the theoretical significance of experimental verification of gravitational wave which is one of two predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity. He introduced the concept, production, frequency, wavelength and origin of gravitational wave, the indirect evidence for gravitational wave, the means to detect gravitational wave, and the important role of China's 500-meter-caliber spherical radio telescope - the largest of its kind in the world – in the scientific research of detecting gravitational wave. Dr. Wu explained the profound ideas of astronomy and astrophysics in a humorous and simple way, which was well received by the audience with waves of laughter and applause.
After the lecture, Dr. Wu answered questions raised from the audience regarding gravitational wave, black holes and dark matter, and interacted with them about the big bang, space-time distortion and black holes.
Dr. Qiyi Luo, Chief Technology Officer of MicroPort®, said, Dr. Wu's lecture broadened our vision and knowledge, and in particular enriched R&D staff's understanding in the frontier science. The lecture is expected to motivate them to further learn and explore, laying a good foundation for their R&D work in the future, according to Dr. Luo.
Dr. Wu Xiangping mainly engages in cosmology, and he has made remarkable achievements in theoretical astrophysics and observational cosmology. He led the foundation and implementation of Project 21CMA, an array of large and low-frequency radio telescopes named "Detecting the First Ray in the Universe" – one of the few key equipment in the world that can detect the reionization of the universe. The project is under the Program 973 initiated by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Wu was elected as one of the "100 young people who may affect China in the 21st century." The research project "the Use of Gravitational Lensing in Studying Matter Distribution of the Universe" was awarded the first prize of Natural Science Award of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the second prize of National Natural Science Awards.