{"id":25306,"date":"2025-09-16T14:47:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T21:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=25306"},"modified":"2025-09-29T11:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T18:58:07","slug":"4m-templeton-foundation-grant-funds-new-frontier-in-cosmology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/4m-templeton-foundation-grant-funds-new-frontier-in-cosmology\/","title":{"rendered":"$4M grant from the John Templeton Foundation funds a new frontier in cosmology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Glusevic_Lauda_Grant_Top-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Glusevic_Lauda_Grant_Top-1920x1080.png 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Glusevic_Lauda_Grant_Top-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/Glusevic_Lauda_Grant_Top-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photo of Vera Gluscevic and illustration of cosmos\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Vera Gluscevic, associate professor of physics and astronomy at USC Dornsife, will serve as the team\u2019s lead. (Composite: Letty Avila. Illustration: Martzi Campos. Photo: Iliana Garcia.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=science-and-technology\">Science and Technology<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>$4M grant from the John Templeton Foundation funds a new frontier in cosmology<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A team that includes astrophysicists, computer scientists, artists and philosophers from USC, UC Riverside and Carnegie Observatories, embarks on an ambitious project to better understand our universe \u2014 and maybe even knowledge itself. \n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">September 16, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 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     >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only about 5% of the universe consists of particles and forces well understood by modern physics. The rest remains a puzzle \u2014 one that involves dark matter, an invisible substance that shapes galaxies and cosmic structures, as well as ubiquitous but poorly understood particles called neutrinos, which were produced moments after the Big Bang.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a $4 million grant from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.templeton.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John Templeton Foundation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a team of scholars from USC,\u00a0 the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucr.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">University of California, Riverside<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofastronomy.org\/carnegie\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carnegie Science Observatories<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will establish a research hub to better understand these mysterious components of the cosmos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new Lyman-Alpha forest Research Collaboration (LARC) will\u00a0 develop cutting-edge computer models to simulate the birth of structure in the universe, testing different theories about how galaxies form. Comparing these computer-grown models of the universe to observations of the real thing will help reveal quantum properties of the universe\u2019s hidden constituents, including dark matter and neutrino particles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/veragluscevic.github.io\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vera Gluscevic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, associate professor of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/physics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">physics and astronomy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, will serve as the collaboration lead with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sbird.github.io\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simeon Bird<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, associate professor of astrophysics at UC Riverside, as co-lead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAt its core, LARC is designed to pursue the deepest questions about our universe and the essence of human knowledge: What is the fundamental nature of matter? What forces shape physical reality? What is the meaning of \u2018discovery\u2019 when AI and simulation guide the pursuit of truth?\u201d says Gluscevic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bird says the collaboration assembles a uniquely qualified group of scholars to tackle these questions. \u201cThe most exciting part is the team, experts in a vast range of disciplines, including theoretical and observational astrophysics, philosophy, computer science, and even interactive data visualization\u201d he says. \u201cI am especially excited to work with computer scientists to make better simulations of the Universe, which will help us understand where it comes from and what it\u2019s made of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>To boldly go\u2026<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the main goals of the LARC team is to use pioneering observations of hydrogen gas in space, created by staff scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegiescience.edu\/bio\/dr-andrew-newman\">Drew Newman<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegiescience.edu\/dr-gwen-rudie\">Gwen Rudie<\/a>\u00a0at Carnegie Observatories, to trace dark matter. \u201cThanks to new observations with large telescopes, we can now map the three-dimensional structure of intergalactic gas. With the LARC team, we\u2019ll create new ways to use these exciting maps to learn about the hidden universe,\u201d said Newman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LARC also includes computer scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/viterbi.usc.edu\/directory\/faculty\/Nakano\/Aiichiro\">Aiichiro Nakano<\/a>, professor of computer science, physics and astronomy, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qcb-dornsife.usc.edu\/\">quantitative and computational biology<\/a> at USC Dornsife and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.ucr.edu\/app\/home\/profile\/cshelton\">Christian Shelton<\/a>, professor of computer science and engineering at UC Riverside. Both use artificial intelligence techniques to recognize useful patterns in computer simulations, and speed them up. This enables astrophysicists to compare simulations to real data collected by telescopes and space missions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In doing so, they raise an important philosophical question, one which the group also plans to tackle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Historically, scientific understanding meant formulating theories simple enough to be grasped and explained by humans. Now, the sheer volume and complexity of astronomical data challenge this traditional approach, as many insights come from computer-generated models beyond direct human intuition. What does it mean to \u201cunderstand\u201d the universe when our knowledge comes from computer-generated models?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To dig into this conundrum, a team of philosophers, led by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/j-dmitri-gallow\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dmitri Gallow<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, associate professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/\">philosophy<\/a>, will examine how\u00a0 new scientific methods such as these may change our understanding of how we produce scientific conclusions\u00a0 and generate knowledge.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUsing AI to understand a system as complex as the universe poses significant rewards \u2014 but also significant risks,\u201d Gallow says. \u201cWe need to think carefully about how to responsibly learn from AI.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The art of science<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public will get a chance to try their hand at this cosmic exploration, as well. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cinema.usc.edu\/faculty\/profile.cfm?id=37193&amp;first=martzi&amp;last=&amp;title=&amp;did=50&amp;referer=facultydirectory%2Ecfm&amp;startpage=1&amp;startrow=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Martzi Campos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, assistant professor of cinematic arts, and game lab research associate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cinema.usc.edu\/directories\/profile.cfm?id=29902&amp;first=&amp;last=&amp;title=&amp;did=50&amp;referer=\/directories\/staff.cfm&amp;startpage=1&amp;startrow=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sean Bouchard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, both with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cinema.usc.edu\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">USC School of Cinematic Arts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, will produce a 3D interactive visual, which will be displayed in the Visualization Lab on the Carnegie Observatories campus, as well as educational games for the public using the hub\u2019s work as inspiration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The wide scope of this project is in keeping with the ambitions of John Templeton himself, a maverick investor who launched the foundation with the aim of funding advances in scientific discovery and inspiring awe and wonder for the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUnderstanding the fundamental nature of dark matter and neutrino particles would present a seismic advance in science, likely opening whole new directions of research in particle physics and cosmology,\u201d Gluscevic says. \u201cAnd, if we can help redefine the formal process of\u00a0 \u2018discovery\u2019 in the era of\u00a0 AI and computer simulation, we may enable future research to proceed on firmer ground and at greater speed than ever.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/cosmic-measurements-of-gravity-support-dark-matter\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Scientists test a fundamental rule of gravity on cosmic scales \u2014 and it holds up<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/santec-usa-corporation-funds-fellowships-for-physics-research\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >New fellowship empowers future physicists to explore quantum frontier<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/why-are-some-stars-always-visible-while-others-come-and-go-with-seasons\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the\u00a0seasons?<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A team from USC, UC Riverside and Carnegie Observatories embarks on an ambitious project to better understand our universe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":25305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,16],"tags":[193,216,60],"class_list":["post-25306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-science-and-technology","tag-philosophy","tag-physics-and-astronomy","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>$4M grant from the John Templeton Foundation funds a new frontier in cosmology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The grant funds an ambitious team project aimed at better understanding our universe, led by USC Dornsife&#039;s Vera Gluscevic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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