Ashley Ross (Postdoc, OSU Physics)
"The Status of Galaxy Redshift Surveys"
I will introduce some of the motivation to conduct galaxy redshift surveys. I will then describe their current status. This will include updates from two experiments; the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). I will present preliminary analysis of the final eBOSS data. I will also present results from the DESI Commissioning Instrument campaign, which was completed in April and May. I will further discuss the exciting results to look forward to from DESI.
Steven Prohira (Postdoc, OSU Physics)
"The anomalous events detected by ANITA: an overview"
The ANITA experiment has reported detection of 2 'anomalous' cosmic ray-like events which defy simple classification as cosmic rays, inspiring a host of different interpretations. I will first explain how the ANITA experiment (which is primarily a neutrino detector) detects cosmic rays, and then explain why they consider these events to be anomalous. I will then go through several ideas that have been put forward to explain these events, and do my best to summarize what they might be--and what they are not.