Chris Stubbs, Harvard physics professor and a University of Virginia alumnus, will deliver the 36th Annual Llewellyn G. Hoxton Public Lecture titled “The Accelerating Universe: Why You Should Worry” on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Chemistry Building Auditorium, Room 402. A reception will follow. Stubbs, an alumnus of U.Va.’s physics department, is one of the principal investigators on an ambitious survey that will use hundreds of supernovae to map out the recent expansion history of the universe. He also contributed signficantly in the revolutionary discovery that the universe is accelerating rather than decelerating in its expansion. Full story.

U.Va. News Services

Lauren Seikaly (center) tried improvisational theater once and absolutely hated it. Several years passed and the U.Va. drama graduate decided to throw caution — and a bitter experience — to the wind and submit her name to a production company putting together an improv show. Much to her surprise, Seikaly ended up as one of four players in the hit improv show “What Women Talk About,” an unscripted, uninhibited and irreverent show about 20-something women making their way in New York City. As for Seikaly’s once-formidable hatred of improv, she’s moved on. “I fear it before I go out on stage, but once it happens, I feel like that’s just part of being an actor anyway,” she says philosophically. “You’re always exposed. … What I realized was having these three girls out on stage with me was all I needed.” Full story.

A&S Online