History Hour | 21 November 2025 | Ideas that Changed Our Understanding of the Universe in the last century
Info XCHR
Ideas that Changed Our Understanding of the Universe in the last centuryFriday, 21 November 2025 | 6 pm
HISTORY HOUR
Ideas that Changed
|
 |
Ideas that Changed
Our Understanding of the Universe
in the last century
The questions of modern astronomy reflect the three fundamental questions of the human race: Where do we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone in the Universe? The last 100 years have been marked by a dramatic increase in our knowledge of the Universe, covering: the true size of the Universe, the origin of the Universe, the origin of the elements that make up life on Earth, the end of the Universe, and the discovery of extra-terrestrial planets. In this talk, I will trace, in a popular way, the history of these ideas that dramatically changed our understanding of the Universe we live in.
Richard D’Souza
Richard D’Souza was born in 1978 in Pune, India, and hails from Goa, India. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1996 and finished his two-year novitiate in Belgaum, India. In 2002, he graduated in Physics from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and proceeded to the University of Heidelberg for his Master’s in Physics, where he completed his thesis work at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. He returned to Pune in 2005 to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. In 2007, he founded and ran the St. Paul’s Community College in Belgaum to help school dropouts find gainful employment. After finishing his Bachelor’s degree in Theology in 2011 in Pune, he returned to Goa and ran a popular theology programme for the laity called “Deepen Your Faith.” In 2012, he started his doctoral studies in Astronomy at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Munich, graduating in 2016. He formally joined the staff of the Vatican Observatory in 2016 and simultaneously began a postdoc at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 2019, he moved to the headquarters of the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo. He was appointed Superior of the Jesuit Community at the Vatican Observatory in 2022, and in August of 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed him Director of the Vatican Observatory.
Amey S Parab
Amey S Parab is Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Goa Medical College and Hospital, Goa. He earned his MBBS (2000), MS (General Surgery, 2005) and MCh (Neurosurgery, 2011) from Goa University, and holds a DNB in General Surgery. Dr. Parab has pursued advanced fellowships in neuroendoscopy, endoscopic spine surgery and endoscopic skull base surgery (training in Jabalpur, Mumbai and Greifswald, Germany), and has held consultant/faculty neurosurgery positions at KEM Hospital Mumbai, Manipal Hospital Goa and BGS Global Hospital Bangalore. His clinical practice emphasizes minimally invasive cranial and spinal procedures — particularly endoscopic and skull base techniques — and he is recognized for bringing cutting edge operative methods to Goa. Dr. Parab has contributed actively to academic neurosurgery, co-authoring peer-reviewed studies on traumatic brain injury and cranioplasty outcomes. He is a regular presenter at national neurosurgical conferences and is noted for his commitment to advanced neurosurgical education and innovation.
The XCHR Channel on WhatsApp
Join the XCHR Channel on WhatsApp to stay updated on our programmes.
Why join the XCHR Channel?
-
It’s a streamlined way to get updates on our programmes.
-
You’ll get regular features on the XCHR collections, as well as other topics of interest.
-
It enhances your privacy: subscribers’ personal information, including phone numbers, isn't visible to each other. (Note: Only contacts already in your phone's directory are visible.)
Join the XCHR Channel on WhatsApp
Looking forward to seeing you on board.
Xavier Centre of Historical Research
B B Borkar Road, Porvorim, Goa 403521, India
xchr.in | in...@xchr.in
SUPPORT XCHR
The Xavier Centre of Historical Research (XCHR) constantly relies on the support of its friends and benefactors. If you would like to donate to the XCHR, please get in touch with us. Thank you very much.
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
Share
© 2025 Xavier Centre of Historical Research
B B Borkar Road, Porvorim, Goa 403521, India
