Ghazal Geshnizjani 

“How did our universe begin?” is one of the oldest questions in human history. As theoretical cosmologists, our job is to create a mathematical picture of the early universe that explains observations on all scales. In the past thirty years, there has been remarkable progress in technology for precision astrophysical observations and in refining mathematical methods to explain them. For example, we can now measure ripples in space-time geometry with incredible precision, down to one part in a million. We also have advanced frameworks like general relativity and quantum theories to describe these early universe ripples. Despite these achievements, some puzzles remain unsolved, such as the Big Bang Singularity problem. We will explore the early universe and its mysteries on this journey back in time.