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Featured speaker Deborah Haarsma

God & the Multiverse

13April
Date and Time:April 13, 2023 — 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM EST
Organizer:University of Pennsylvania
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13April

“Though it was at one time little more than an obscure scientific term, the multiverse has grown in cultural awareness in recent years. Recent scientific research hints that our universe may be part of a much bigger multiverse of imagination-staggering immensity—a prospect that has echoed in interesting ways throughout our society. From the widely successful Marvel superhero movies, which use alternate timelines and transdimensional travel as central plot devices, to the frontiers of theoretical physics and string theory, the idea of a multiverse has powerfully shaped our view of the world around us. What are we to make of this dizzying potential reality?

Dr. Deborah Haarsma, astronomer and president of BioLogos, will lead us through a fascinating tour of the universe as it is currently understood, exploring the spiritual as well as scientific implications of recent discoveries.”

This event is hosted by Pennsylvania University as part of the Perry-Collegium Initiative and it is co-presented by PRRUCS and Collegium Institute. 


Featured speaker

Deb Haarsma

Deborah Haarsma

Deborah Haarsma is President of BioLogos. She is an astronomer and frequent speaker on modern science and Christian faith at research universities, churches, and public venues like the National Press Club. Her work appears in several recent books, including Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Design and Christ and the Created Order.  She wrote the book Origins with her husband and fellow physicist, Loren Haarsma, presenting the agreements and disagreements among Christians regarding the history of life and the universe.  She edited the anthology Delight in Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church with Rev. Scott Hoezee. Previously, Haarsma served as professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Calvin University. She is an experienced research scientist, with several publications in the Astrophysical Journal and the Astronomical Journal on extragalactic astronomy and cosmology. She has studied large galaxies, galaxy clusters, the curvature of space, and the expansion of the universe using telescopes around the world and in orbit.  Haarsma completed her doctoral work in astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her undergraduate work in physics and music at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She and Loren enjoy science fiction and classical music, and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.