Possible scenarios for the birth of stars, galaxies, and black holes come alive in the data crunching and visualizations of John Wise, a professor in the School of Physics. Wise explains how his simulations and visualizations -- some of which have won awards -- helps researchers "rewind" space and time back to the origins of the universe.

Wise studies the intricacies of the nearby and distant universe, using state-of-the-art numerical simulations that are run on the world's largest supercomputers.

Wise won the College of Sciences' Eric Immel Award in 2015 for Excellence in Teaching. He was the recipient of the Dunn Family Professorship from 2015-2017, and was a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow from 2007-2009.

Take a listen at sciencematters.gatech.edu.

Enter to win a prize by answering the question for Episode 5:

What is the name of the University of Illinois supercomputer mentioned in Episode 5 that John Wise uses for visualizations and simulations?

Submit your entry by 11 AM on Monday, Sept. 24, at sciencematters.gatech.edu. Answer and winner will be announced shortly after the quiz closes.