Kids crafts in Tome 105 from 6:30-8:15pm
Triva in the Tome Lobby from 6:30-9pm
Make Your Own Comet in Tome 103
Physics Experiments in Tome 101 from 7-9pm
"What's Up in the Sky?" Planetarium shows from 7-7:30pm and 8:45-9:15pm
"RingWorld" Planetarium show from 8-8:45pm (this show is about Saturn's rings)
"Mythology" Planetarium show from 9:30-10:15pm
Rooftop solar telescope viewing on the Tome roof from 6pm until sunset
24 inch telescope viewing on the Tome roof from sunset until 10:30pm

For more information, email astro@dickinson.edu

Abstract:  A little over a decade ago the National Academy of Engineering named the electricity grid the most significant engineering achievement of the 20th century. In the US this grid has been remarkably successful in providing reliable and affordable power to meet over 40% of our total energy demand. But the next few decades will see a dramatic transformation of this system, with distributed power generation from renewables and natural gas, distributed storage including the batteries in plug-in vehicles, and an interactive control system that generates power, charges batteries, heats and cools buildings, and runs appliances to minimize energy use and costs.  The first wave of this transformation is already occurring at colleges and universities, with combined heat and power systems, integrated building control systems, and most important: a population of engaged and committed students, faculty and staff.

Abstract: This talk identifies the colossal challenge of sending a robotic probe (let alone human mission) to our nearest stellar neighbor, and speculates on how, using a loophole in general relativity, we might bring the stars within our grasp. A short review of the Alcubierre warp drive metric is provided to describe how the idea of a space warp might work. The impractical energy requirements discussed in the literature are identified, and a warp bubble topology optimization approach is discussed. The idea of a warp drive in a higher dimensional space-time (manifold) is briefly considered by comparing the null-like geodesics of the Alcubierre metric to the Chung-Freese metric and another energy optimization technique is identified. The energy optimization results are presented and show that the idea of a space warp may have been moved from impractical to plausible. Finally, an overview of the warp field interferometer test bed being implemented in Eagleworks Laboratories at the Johnson Space Center will be detailed.

7:15pm - "What's Up in the Sky"
7:45pm - A 45 minute planetarium show - TBD
8:45pm - "What's Up in the Sky"
9:15pm - A 45 minutes planetarium show - TBD

Event is free and open to the public.

Mark your calendars for the 28th Annual Science Research Symposium on Monday, April 15, 2013 in the Rector Science Complex Atrium from 4:30-6:00 p.m.  This event will feature student poster presentations.  If you are interested in presenting a poster, email ernstj@dickinson.edu by Monday, April 8th.  Please include the following information:

1. name of student presenting
2. full title of presentation
3. name of faculty mentor (if any)
4. short abstract of the research (250 words or less)
5. special request accommodations (if any)

Abstract:  Better understanding the tectonic history of the smallest terrestrial planet in our Solar System gives us insight into the full range of possibility for what solid planet surfaces are like, including 'Earth-like' exoplanets. Interior cooling and the resultant radial contraction of Mercury dominated the contribution to the contractional strain expressed by lobate scarps and high-relief ridges. The underlying large thrust faults should be randomly distributed over the surface if their formation was purely the result of global contraction, but instead these features appear to be concentrated in some regions and relatively deficient in others. I therefore ask the questions: What combination of stresses caused lobate scarps and high-relief ridges to form at the observed locations? Was mantle convection partly responsible for concentrating tectonic features? In this talk, I address the latter question in particular, using data from the MESSENGER mission.

Tuesday, November 27th at Noon in Tome 115
Joseph Stormes will present "Parity-Time Symmetry Breaking in a Non-Linear Gain/Loss Circuit"
and
Sung Woo Kim and Ilia Papa will present "Low-Cost Solar Air Heater"

Thursday, November 29th at Noon in Tome 115
Melia Bonomo, Casey Caslin & David Lifschitz will present "Analyzing the Singularities of Freezing Sessile Water Droplets"
and
Liam Timms will present "Time-Delayed Dynamically-Coupled Oscillators: A Model for Biological Systems"

Monday, December 3rd at 4:30 pm in Tome 115
Josh Margolis will present "Spatial Frequencies and Image Construction"

http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4747481

Abstract: Ultrafast lasers are powerful tools for observing and controlling molecular systems relevant in biochemistry.  Advances in both laser development and cellular imaging have revolutionized our ability to study complex biological and chemical processes.  In particular, “shaping” the laser pulses can enhance certain molecular responses, allowing one to discriminate between target molecular states.  In this talk I will discuss our development of an ultrafast laser pulse shaper and its application in biochemical control experiments.

Abstract: Recent national reports reflect an emerging consensus among scientists and educators that undergraduate science education needs to better prepare students to reason and communicate across disciplines. Enacting this change requires creating courses for students that attempt to bridge disciplinary barriers rather than reinforce them. At the University of Maryland, our interdisciplinary team of scientists and education researchers has begun the daunting task of thoughtfully redesigning and researching the transformation of an introductory physics course for biologists. In doing so, we are constantly faced with making decisions about how the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology interact and differ from one another. In this talk I will present several apparent paradoxes between physics and biology that we have examined in the context of redesigning this course, and discuss how we have taken up the challenge of helping students in reconciling perspectives from both physics and biology. We will discuss how taking up this challenge has led to a changing perspective on what we think is important for biology students to know from physics, and how that has informed development of this physics for biologists course.

7-7:45pm - Planetarium Show - "Horrors of the Night Sky"
8-9pm - Planetarium Show - "Monsters of the Milky Way"
9:15-9:45pm - Planetarium Show - "What's Up in the Sky?"

We will also have face painting & pumpkin painting from 7-9pm in Tome 105.

Rooftop observing - 8:30-10pm - weather permitting.

Abstract:  KH 15D is a young binary system composed of similar, but not identical, low-mass pre-main sequence stars in an orbit of eccentricity of ~ 0.6 with a period of 48.37 days.  The binary orbit is viewed nearly edge-on and is embedded in an accretion disk from which a well-collimated outflow emerges.  A thin circumbinary ring of evolved solids has precipitated from the gas disk within the terrestrial zone (1-4 AU) of this system.  The ring reveals itself as an opaque screen with a razor-sharp edge at optical and near-infrared wavelengths.  For decades, the leading edge of this structure has been slowly moving across the binary orbit, apparently resulting from the slightly inclined ring.  At a time when NASA's Kepler Mission is discovering multiple-planet systems around evolved binary systems, KH 15D presents us with an opportunity to explore the process of planet formation in such binary systems.  This talk will discuss the search for exo-solar planets and focus on the particular opportunities that a system such as KH 15D can provide for the advancement of pre-main sequence stellar evolution and planet formation theories.

pearsonb 2D FS paper.2012

Professor Hamilton-Drager Publication 2012 

Charles Alcorn &  Ilia Papa - "An Improved TEC Receiver for a Sun-Tracking Solar Concentrator"
and
Derek Frymark - "V723 Cas: Light Curves of a Cataclysmic Variable"
and
Michael Ryan - "Misbehaving Photon Measurements"

Snacks provided!

Free lunch & everyone welcome to attend!

Abstract: Dickinson College just finished a month-long energy challenge where the goal was to reduce the college's energy use by 10% over the entire month compared to the previous year. Come and see how some common-sense planning and modern construction techniques helped a local family reduce their energy consumption by approximately 90% annually.

There will be several planetarium shows:
6:45 p.m. - What's Up in the Sky
7:30 p.m. - Tour of the EM Spectrum
8:30 p.m. - What's Up in the Sky
9:15 p.m. - Mythology Planetarium Show (PG-13 version)
If the weather is not good for observing, we will offer planetarium events later in to the evening.

There will also be Physics & Astronomy Demonstrations from 6:30-8:15 p.m.:
Moon Phases, Glitter Galaxies, Make Your Own Rocket, Spectroscopy, Trivia and Snacks

There will be Roof Top Observing from 8:30-10:30 p.m. (weather permitting).

Abstract: Some of the most spectacular phenomena in the Universe are powered by gas falling (accreting) into black holes.  However, the most basic question of how gas manages to fall into a black hole (shedding its angular momentum in the process) has a remarkably subtle answer.  In short, we now know that gas orbiting a black hole in an accretion disk becomes turbulent, and that the turbulence is an essential ingredient in the accretion process.  He will describe our current understanding of the physics that drives accretion disks, and show the results of recent supercomputer simulations of this phenomenon.  He will proceed to show how, armed with supercomputer simulations; we can begin to understand some of the complex behavior displayed by accreting black holes.

L.Q. English Paper 

Pearson Paper 

1. name of student presenting
2. full title of presentation
3. name of faculty mentor (if any)
4. short abstract of the research (250 words or less)
5. special request accommodations (if any)

Check out the link above!

Abstract: Applying physical principles to human bodies in motion can provide insight into ways in which the body can move more efficiently and how injuries can be prevented.  This presentation will deal with one of the most common movements in dance - the pirouette, or a turn around a vertical axis with one supporting foot on the floor.  Dancers are often taught to perform pirouettes by beginning the movement as close to a balanced position as possible and holding the body rigidly, as opposed to trying to correct for an imbalance with small adjustments during the turn.  Many, even advanced, dancers have significant difficulty performing more than a two- or three-turn pirouette before losing balance, despite continued trial and error efforts to improve.  How can dancers use physics to improve their pirouettes?  Insight gained from the analysis of a theoretical model of a dancer toppling from a pirouette is combined with data collected from real dancers performing pirouettes.  By comparing the strategies used by various dancers to regain balance during pirouette, we can better understand how dancers can perform multiple rotations as an aesthetically pleasing, balanced movement.

Using Shaped Ultrafast Laser Pulses to Detect Enzyme Binding 

Monday, December 5th @ 4:15 pm in Tome 115 

Marc Koehler & Greg Lawrence will present "NMR Spectroscopy and the Detection of Impurities in Water"
and
Christine Welling will present "Photometry of Underobserved RR Lyrae Variable Stars"

Tuesday, December 6th @ Noon in Tome 115 

Abra Fein, Charlie Alcorn & Morgan Cheatham will present "The Spectrum Analyzer and ESR Spectroscopy"
and
Michael Ryan will present "Misbehaving Photon Measurement"

Thursday, December 8th at Noon in Tome 115 

Derek Frymark will present "V723CAS: Data Reduction of a Cataclysmic Variable"
and
Stuart Flury will present "Active Galaxies: Super Massive Black Holes and the Mess They Make"

Abstract: Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the largest explosions in the universe.  For a brief period of time, they illuminate an otherwise invisible part of the cosmos and allow us a glimpse at some of the earliest galaxies in the universe.  She has been working with the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics on the use of GRBs as probes of the universe, and with NASA Goddard on computational models of chemical evolution in galaxies as probed by GRBs.  She will discuss the history of the GRB field, how GRBs are detected and studied, and highlight some of the most interesting recent results of her collaborations with respect to cosmic chemical evolution.

Abstract: Gravitational waves were first predicted by Einstein in 1916.  Nearly 100 years later, the decades-long quest to measure these ripples in space-time is about to bear fruit.  Detectors on the ground are half-way through significant technology upgrades which will increase their sensitivity by an order of magnitude.  Furthermore, while recent budget upheaval has obscured the details, space-borne gravitational wave detectors are seen as high priority for NASA and ESA, with both agencies currently undergoing aggressive mission concept studies targeting launch dates in the next decade.  He will review the fundamentals of gravitational wave astronomy from the standpoint of detectors and science capabilities.

Abstract: An outsider looks at the conversion to sustainable energy sources from a relatively objective viewpoint.

Arts & Crafts from 6-8pm in Tome 105

Planetarium shows: What's Up In the Sky - 6:15-6:30pm & 7:45-8pm
The End of the World Planetarium Show - 6:45-7:30pm & 8:15-9pm

Roof will be open for star gazing from 8-10pm (weather permitting)

Event is free & open to the public - everyone encouraged to wear costumes!

For more information, email astro@dickinson.edu

Abstract: Federal budget cuts, deficit spending, raising the debt ceiling, mandatory spending, fiscal responsibility, balancing the budget - these phrases are guiding much of the debate on Capitol Hill. How does this rhetoric affect the funding for the sciences?

The Administration believes that funding the sciences and education is the way to, "Out innovation, out educate, and out build," the rest of the world and has proposed a federal budget that supports this initiative.  However, the debate in Congress is about how the federal deficit impacts our global economic competitiveness and how cuts in spending are necessary for a stable government.  This debate has led to a late enactment of the fiscal year 2011 federal budget.  There are points along the timeline when you can make an impact on the policy making process.  The Decadal Surveys produced by the astrophysics, planetary science and heliophysics communities in the United States, impact policy by the community coming to a consensus and prioritizing the science it wants to accomplish with the decade.

Dr. Johns will speak on the current events on the fiscal year 2011 budget, the 2012 federal budget, and the current climate for science funding, and the impact you can make on the policy making process for astronomy and astrophysics.

Abstract: Over the past 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the Universe.  Most recently, the complete refurbishment of Hubble in 2009 has given new life to the telescope and the new science instruments have already produced groundbreaking science results, revealing some of the most distant galaxy candidates ever discovered.  Despite the remarkable advances in astrophysics that Hubble has provided, the new questions that have arisen demand a new space telescope with new technologies and capabilities.  She will present the exciting new technology development and science goals of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is currently being built and tested and will be launched this decade.

Free pizza!!

Phys. Lett. Recent Publication 

 http://ajp.aapt.org/resource/1/ajpias/v78/i10/p990_s1 

http://www.dickinson.edu/news-and-events/publications/extra-features/2009-10/Laser-Vision/ 

http://www.dickinson.edu/news-and-events/features/2010-11/Photon-Finish/?utm_source=extra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=exsep29staff 

R.G. Niyogi, L.Q. English, "Learning-rate-dependent clustering and self-development in a network of coupled phase oscillators", Phys. Rev. E 80, 066213 (2009).   

For more information, see: 

 http://www.nncn.uni-freiburg.de/nachrichten-en/brains4brainsgewinner2010