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Discovery of pulsars: A graduate student's story

jocelyn bell burnell

Join groundbreaking scientist Jocelyn Bell Burnell for a presentation on her accidental discovery of pulsars, or magnetized rotating neutron stars that emit pulsing radio waves, while a student at the University of Cambridge. The event will take place Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in G21 Ming Hsieh Hall and is hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center on Gravitational Waves. 

Bell Burnell will also share stories of when other researchers nearly discovered pulsars. In recognition of the importance of her work, she received a Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018. Bell Burnell used the entirety of the $3 million prize to establish a scholarship for underrepresented students in physics research.