Ron Olowin

St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA, USA

INSAP Review Paper

Abstract

Cosmology
A Cosmic Voyage: A Sophisticate’s Primer for the History of the World

In recent times, the disciplines of physics and astrophysics have played a central role in shaping our understanding of our universe through scientific observations and experiments.  But our occupation with understanding the world we live in has a long history of observation and speculation.

The word “Cosmology” comes from the from Greek intellectual tradition  using  the words  κοσμολογία – κόσμος, kosmos, "world (ordered)"; and -λογία, -logia, "study"). In current  usage,  it refers to the study of the Universe in its totality as it is  now, as it was (since we can only observe distant past events) , and by extension, as it might be in the future.

Our study of the universe has a long history involving  many of the disciplines from the liberal arts, science, and religion.  This  “Cosmic Voyage “ will be a sojourn along these paths of human inquiry about the world perhaps to rediscover that rare human trait called “wonder.”

Biographical Details

Trained in Observational Cosmology, Dr. Ron Olowin has mapped the heavens searching for clusters of galaxies in order to study the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe using some of the world’s largest instruments. His astronomical observations span the spectrum from optical to radio and he enjoys several international collaborations.

He holds membership in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) - Commission #47: Cosmology and the IAU Working Group on Galaxy Photometry and Spectrophotometry as well as in the American Astronomical Society with associated membership in the High Energy Astrophysics and History of Astronomy Divisions; and profession memberships in Sigma Xi, AAPT, and the Council for Undergraduate Research.

Further, he is an active  member of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, a member of  the  IFCU Science Sectariat International Organizing Committee,  and past Executive Director of the Robinson Jeffers Association. He has curated exhibits on Art and Science/Mathematics and Astronomy at the Hearst Gallery at Saint Mary’s College and has been a member of the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena (INSAP) since soon after its inception and currently chairs its Executive Committee.