Women in Physics Canada Conference - 2011

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of women in all academic levels in physical and applied sciences in Canada. Despite the modern feminist movement the number of women in physics continues to be less than the number of men, particularly in higher and leadership positions. As there is no rational reason for women to trail men in achieving new scientific discoveries or excel in academic teaching, the cause of this is attributed to existing gender biases in the perception and practice of science. Thus increasing the number of women in physics as well as emphasising their relevance in physics has emerged as a women

What is the Universe made of? Recent observations suggest surprising results: not only most of the matter in the Universe is dark and unconventional but, more surprisingly, the major component of the Universe may be in the form of 'dark energy' -- a form of energy that opposes the pull of gravity and causes the expansion of the universe to accelerate. By combining recent observations of clusters of galaxies, distant supernovae, and the cosmic microwave background, we find evidence for a Universe that has only 5% 'normal' baryonic matter, 20% non-baryonic dark matter, and 75% 'dark energy'. The observations suggest a Universe that is lightweight, with only 25% of the critical mass-density needed to halt the Universal expansion, and a geometry that is flat with no space curvature. The observations of the dark side of the Universe and their implications will be discussed.