Speaker: Chao-Chin Yang (UNLV) Title: From Pebbles to Planets: A Tale of Protoplanetary Disks and Planetsimal Formation Abstract: Even though thousands of extrasolar planetary systems have been detected, a comprehensive picture of how planets are formed from their natal protoplanetary disks remains to be drawn.  One of the most challenging stages is the formation of kilometer-scale planetesimals from

Speaker: Svea Hernandez (Space Telescope Science Institute) Title: Uncovering the History of Galaxies and Metals by Exploiting the Power of Nearby Laboratories Abstract: Precise metallicities and chemical abundances of the different components in galaxies are critical for understanding galaxy formation, feedback and interstellar/intergalactic chemical enrichment. I take advantage of the unique FUV spectroscopic capabilities of