Sharp Minds—Going to the Ends of the Earth to Glimpse the Beginning of Time (Senior Monday): What would it have been like to be an eyewitness to the Big Bang? In 2014, astronomers using the powerful BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole thought they’d glimpsed evidence of the period of cosmic inflation at the beginning of time. But had these scientists been deceived by a galactic mirage? In this popular-level talk, cosmologist Brian Keating tells the inside story of BICEP2’s detection and the ensuing scientific drama. Keating will follow up with a question-and-answer period and a signing of his popular science book, Losing the Nobel Prize. Time: 10:30–11:30 a.m. Noon Theater Show: Cosmic Voyage