The Universe in a Box: Simulating the Cosmos with Supercomputers
From collapsing dark matter to merging black holes, the story of our universe is vast, chaotic—and increasingly told through code.
In this engaging public lecture, cosmologist Andrew Pontzen explores how supercomputers and simulations are transforming our understanding of the cosmos. Along the way, we trace the surprising history of these tools—from ancient star calculators to wartime weather forecasts—and discover how digital models now help scientists uncover the origins of galaxies, the role of black holes, and the mysteries of dark matter.
The lecture ends with a provocative twist: could we ourselves be inside a cosmic simulation?
Andrew Pontzen is a professor of cosmology and incoming director of Durham University’s Institute for Computational Cosmology. He has contributed to the New Scientist, BBC documentaries, Radio 4 Inside Science, and more. His acclaimed book The Universe in a Box explores how simulations are reshaping science—and reality itself.
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Perimeter Institute (charitable registration number 88981 4323 RR0001) is the world’s largest independent research hub devoted to theoretical physics, created to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos.