Professor of Astrophysics Dr. Jo Dunkley – Background Mode Interview

Dr. Jo Dunkley is a professor of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. Her research is in cosmology, studying the origins and evolution of the universe. She holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics from University of Oxford.

Jo had an interesting path to her Ph.D. Her earliest love was mathematics, and soon she realized she could use math to answer questions about the real world. That led to a love for physics (at Cambridge) and getting her Master’s. While there, she discovered relativity and astrophysics, but another event inspired her to go for a Ph.D. In the second segment, we chatted about her true love, using computer code on supercomputers to model the universe and analyzing the Cosmic Microwave Background (the detectable aftermath of the Big Bang). Also discussed: inflation theory, dark matter and theories of the Multiverse.