The Origin and Fate of the Universe

How did the universe originate and evolve? What is its fate? In this class we’ll use the standard cosmological model as a guide to follow the scientific story from the Big Bang until today, 13.8 billion years later. Using concepts from physics, chemistry, and biology, along with some philosophy, we will explore the great cosmological concepts and observations, along with brief sketches of some the major pioneers in this field. The physicist Richard Feynman once said, "The most remarkable discovery in all of astronomy is that the stars are made of atoms of the same kind as those on the earth," and so we’ll look at the crucial role that atoms play in this story. We’ll end with speculative discussion about the ultimate fate of the universe.