Colloquium Calendar

As the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope approaches its planned launch date in 2027, the engineers of one of its two instruments have recent cause to celebrate. Roman’s Coronagraph Instrument (CGI), a technology demonstration chasing direct images of Jupiter-like exoplanets, completed its system-level thermal vacuum test in May 2024, successfully demonstrating that it performs to its threshold requirements in a flight-like environment. Please join me as we walk through the design, function, and performance demonstration of one of the most complex optical instruments NASA has ever attempted to fly.

Beyond the energy efficiency for large AI models, I will also discuss another advantage of optical computing: the ability to process optical data directly in the optical domain. I will provide an example of using a nonlinear photonic neural network for image sensing applications, achieving an 800-fold image compression ratio to bypass the optoelectronic conversion bottleneck. Finally, I will offer an outlook on how optical processing techniques can enhance imaging and sensing efficiency, particularly for quantum light.

In this talk, we will explore the fascinating history of attempts to pin down G, from early breakthroughs to the most sophisticated experiments of the past three decades. While these modern efforts have yet to deliver a definitive answer, they have produced innovative techniques that push the boundaries of precision measurement—methods that are as ingenious as they are instructive. Join me as we delve into the vexing journey of measuring G and uncover the scientific creativity behind this ongoing challenge.