University seal in glass with campus tower seen in adjacent reflection

Image caption:

Virtual event series

The Johns Hopkins Briefing

In this series, experts provide timely analysis and insights about topics of national and global importance and engage in real-time Q&A with the audience. The Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives hosts the series.

The James Webb Space Telescope and a New Era of Scientific Discovery

The James Webb Space Telescope launched in December 2021 and in the words of NASA—which leads the Webb program in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency—it is “the world’s largest, most powerful, and most complex space science telescope ever built.” In July 2022, people around the world were awed by JWST’s first full-color images, the release of which marked the official beginning of the telescope’s science mission. The Space Telescope Science Institute, which is based in Baltimore on Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus, serves as the Science & Operations Center for Webb.

Watch the archived broadcast

Topics covered include:

  • Why JWST was built
  • What was required to get the telescope ready for science operations
  • Webb’s first full-color images and what they revealed
  • JWST’s first year of observations and the future of its science mission

The following experts participated in this event: 

  • Susan E. Mullally, PhD, Deputy Project Scientist for JWST, Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Adam Riess, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University, and Distinguished Astronomer, Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Massimo Stiavelli, PhD, Head, JWST Mission Office, Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Moderator: Lainie Rutkow, PhD, Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Initiatives, Johns Hopkins University 

Past events

Monkeypox virus closeup shows three opaque white circles of different sizes against a black background
Aug. 10, 2022
The global monkeypox outbreak

Topics covered include the prevention and treatment of monkeypox, how monkeypox is transmitted and ways to contain its spread, the social context for monkeypox and ways to reduce stigma around the outbreaks, and the availability and distribution of monkeypox vaccines

A United States flag at half mast against a backdrop of an orange sunset
June 2, 2022
Responding to Gun Violence with Effective and Fair Solutions

Topics discussed include the challenge gun violence poses for American democracy, which gun laws are effective, Extreme Risk Protection Orders and how they can help to prevent gun violence, research on public opinion about solutions to gun violence, and measures to promote student safety and health in a time of rising gun violence

Blue and yellow paint strokes meant to represent Ukraine flag
May 17, 2022
War in Ukraine: Perspectives on a Global Crisis

This briefing included discussion of the historical backstory to the war and the likely consequences for international order, the humanitarian crisis and how it has evolved, the conflict’s impacts on global food systems and food security, and the war’s effects on European politics and the European Union

Blue and yellow paint strokes meant to represent Ukraine flag
March 30, 2022
War in Ukraine: Perspectives on a Global Crisis

This briefing included discussion of the historical backstory to the conflict and the significance of this moment in history, the human costs of the war and the evolving humanitarian crisis, the threat of Russian weapon of mass destruction use in Ukraine; cyber threats to Ukraine and other democracies, and the war’s implications for economic globalization