Dr. Gabriela Canalizo, professor of astronomy and physics at UC Riverside, is the featured speaker at Astrocamp on Thursday, April 28. She will discuss “Hungry Monsters: Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Role in Galaxy Evolution.” Photo courtesy Gabriela Canalizo
Dr. Gabriela Canalizo, professor of astronomy and physics at UC Riverside, is the featured speaker at Astrocamp on Thursday, April 28. She will discuss “Hungry Monsters: Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Role in Galaxy Evolution.”
Photo courtesy Gabriela Canalizo

University of California, Riverside, Professor Gabriela Canalizo will discuss her research in the study of active galactic nuclei in the near and distant universe — what is observed in the formation of galaxies and what mysteries are still there to ponder.

Active galactic nuclei are some of the most powerful and luminous objects in the observable universe. They are centers of galaxies containing super-massive black holes that are actively attracting and accreting matter at extraordinarily high rates.

In fact, one of the mysteries, as noted by Canalizo, is how super-massive black holes could have formed to such enormous and powerful levels in the time the universe has been in existence.

“I’ll be talking about the roles of black holes in how galaxies evolve, and especially about what active galactic nuclei are, where they are, how common they are and how they change our view of the universe,” said Canalizo in interview.

Canalizo is a professor in UCR’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Her research interests include the interaction between super-massive black holes and the galaxies in which they exist, galaxy collisions, star formation and galaxy evolution. She received a bachelor’s degree in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaii.

Canalizo will make her presentation, “Hungry Monsters, Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Role in Galaxy Evolution” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the Star Gallery on the campus of AstroCamp. Her talk is open to the public and there is no charge for admission.

For more about Canalizo, visit https://astro.ucr.edu/members/faculty/canalizo.

For more about AstroCamp, visit www.astrocamp.org.