Oswego's H. Lee White Maritime Museum will feature SUNY Distinguished Professor in Physics and Astronomy Shashi Kanbur presenting “The Longitude Problem” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as part of their fall History Lecture Series.
In the 1700s, the predominant scientific and technological problem was knowing one's longitude at sea: This was the key to successful navigation in an age when exploration was the key to personal and national success. This lecture will tell the story of John Harrison, who developed a mechanical solution to this problem -- a clock that could keep accurate time at sea and revolutionized seafaring, and had an important impact on global history.
It is also the story of how science works in a social context, encompassing human emotions such as jealousy and greed but also determination, perseverance and the quest for truth, organizers said.
Kanbur teaches a wide range of courses from introductory physics and astronomy to cosmology and general relativity. He has published over 80 papers in the leading peer-reviewed journals internationally. His main research interests center around stellar pulsation and evolution, cosmology, and the extra-galactic distance scale. Kanbur is a theorist who has recently dabbled in data analysis and observations, with research funded by NASA/HST, the National Science Foundation and the American Astronomical Society.
The Maritime Museum’s History Lecture Series is offered for free and is open to the public at their location on the West First Street Pier in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. For more on this or other programs, contact the museum at 315-342-0480 or visit hlwmm.org.