The largest and smallest scales of the universe aren't as separated as you might think. Particles smaller than a grain of sand set the stage for the universe in its fiery beginnings, and forces spanning galaxies have governed its evolution ever since. Black holes are born because of the Pauli Exclusion Principle and die because of particles that live for nanoseconds. In this session, we will discuss many connections between particle physics and astronomy, including Hawking radiation, the cosmic microwave background, and the search for dark matter. Grab your microscopes and your telescopes as you join us in exploring the connections between the cosmic and the microscopic!

In geometry class, shapes are smooth, well-defined, and not very realistic. If you've ever looked at a waterfall or a tree or a mountain, you'll know that the real world is exotic, rough, and deeply complex. Nature speaks in fractals, these rough shapes that define our world. We will begin by discussing what dimension is and what it has to do with fractals, building up our toolkit by looking at wildly different examples found throughout nature and mathematics. We will then explore how you can create algorithms to measure fractals and introduce the infinite weirdness of the Mandelbrot and Julia Sets.