Steven Beckwith, former director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs the Hubble Space Telescope, will give a public lecture at Wichita State University at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, in Lowe Auditorium, Eugene M. Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th St.

The lecture is titled "Hubble Telescope: The Dawn of Creation and the Beauty of the Universe."

The lecture is free, but the public will need to register online and print tickets or request tickets in advance. To register and obtain tickets online, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?480 or call (316) 978-3190.

Beckwith's visit is hosted by the WSU physics department. Beckwith also will give a scientific lecture on campus Wednesday, April 7.

Beckwith is vice president of research and graduate studies for the University of California's 10 campuses. His 30-year research career spans a spectrum of interests, including the formation and evolution of extra-solar planetary systems, the evolution of young stars and the birth of galaxies in the early universe.

In 2004, he led the team that created the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image, the deepest visual image of the universe, resulting in the discovery of the most distant galaxies ever seen.

As Beckwith has noted, modern technical wonders like the Hubble Space Telescope have made it possible to look back to a time when the universe looked very different than it does today, when the first galaxies were created and the universe developed structure seen as patterns in the galaxies apparent today.

For more information, go to http://www.wichita.edu/physics.