LU Physics Calendar

Lawrence University

Department of Physics

SCHEDULED EVENTS (1998-99)

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES

Regular teas most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons: 3:00--3:30 PM, Youngchild 88
September, 1998
Tu 22 Sep 3:00 PM Y-90: First tea of the year
Th 24 Sep 11:10 PM Chapel: Matriculation Convocation
President Richard Warch.
(More Information)
October, 1998
Fr 2 Oct: Deadline for abstracts to Argonne Undergraduate Symposium.
FrSaSu 2-4 Oct: Revitalizing Undergraduate Physics Conference Arlington, Virginia
Th ?? Oct 11:10 AM Y-90: Important meeting of junior and senior majors; sophomores also invited.
Mo 12 Oct: Department picnic -- Sage Hall Basement 6:30 PM
ThFr 15-16 Oct Meeting of Board of Trustees
Fr 16 Oct Admissions Fall Visit Day
MoTuWe 19-21 Oct Visit by Dr. Stephen Leone, National Institute of Standards and Technology, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Tu 20 Oct 11:10 AM Youngchild 90: Physics/Chemistry Colloquium
"Femtosecond Lawer Control of Molecular Dynamics"
Dr. Stephen Leone
This presentation will consider ultrashort laser pulses and their use to prepare molecules in novel time-dependent states, through which vibrational and rotational motions can be probed directly in real time.
Tu 20 Oct 4:15 PM Youngchild 161: Science Hall Colloquium
"Lasers - An Invention No Longer in Search of an Application"
Dr. Stephen Leone
This talk will consider the invention of the laser and the remarkable number of uses in daily life, including medicine, fiber optic communications, information storage, supermarket check-out, art restoration, and science.
Th 22 Oct 11:10 PM Chapel: Convocation
Dr. Robert Ballard.
(More Information)
We 28 Oct 4:15 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Dr. Stephen Mielke (B.A., LU, '92; Ph.D., Stony Brook, '98), Lambda Physik
"The Prodigal Son Returneth: Creating Non-classical Light with Atoms in a Cavity"
Dr. Mielke, LU Physics graduate Summa Cum Laude in independent study in experimental chaos, will return to the college of his choice to regale us in the mysteries of non-classical light that he investigated in completing his Ph.D. at SUNY-Stony Brook in May, 1998.
Fr 30 Oct Admissions Fall Visit Day
FrSa 30-31 Oct Wisconsin Association Association of Physics Teachers meeting at Marquette University
Sa 31 Oct 10:00 of 10:30 AM to noon (probably): Parent's Weekend Reception and Open House
November, 1998
FrSa 6--7 Nov: Argonne Undergraduate Symposium.
Th 12 Nov 4:15 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Timothy William Beck, LU '99, "g-values: More Than Just Equations''
Mr. Beck will discuss his summer research and Capstone efforts to calculate highly accurate g-values for electrons in atoms.
Erik Matthews Brubaker, LU, '99, "High Energy Physics at CERN: More Than Just Particles and Fields"
Mr. Brubaker will discuss his summer research at CERN and provide an equationless perspective on high energy physics.
Th-Su 12-15 Nov: New Faculty Conference College Park, Maryland
FrSaSu 13-15 Nov: Pew Undergraduate Research Symposium: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Washington University, St Louis. Contact John Bleeke, Bleeke@wuchem.wustl.edu. Information may also be available at the Pew Midstates web page.
Sa 14 Nov Admissions Fall Visit Day
Tu 24 Nov 4:15 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Kurt J. Taylor, '99, "Non-neutral plasmas: More than just electrons!"
Mr. Taylor will deliver a special version of the talk that he gave at the APS plasms physics meeting in New Orleans last week.
December, 1998
Th 3 Dec 4:15 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Renee Lemke Nesnidal (B.A., LU, '92; Ph.D. candidate, UW Madison), "Ultracold Collisions in Atom Traps: More than just CHilling-out!"
Soon-to-be Dr. Renee Nesnidal will discuss her use of cooling and trapping and optical molasses to shed light on the sluggish interactions of very cold atoms.
12 Dec: Graduate Record Examination
January, 1999
FrSaSu 8-10 Jan: Second Annual Departmental retreat at Bjorklunden
We 13 Jan 4:15 PM: Science Colloquium
Jeffrey A. Collett, "Continuous Phase Transitions: Scaling and Universality"
Disparate systems such as magnets, superconductors, and liquid crystals show remarkably similar behavior when they undergo continuous phase transitions even though the microscopic details of the interactions are dramatically different. Modern phase transition theory asserts that the properties of systems at temperatures near a transition can be understood only in terms of the symmetry and dimension of the order parameter (magnetization, superconducting wave function, amplitude of density variations in the three cases cited) and the dimension of space in which matter is confined. A general discussion of these principles will be followed by a description of experiments underway at Lawrence.
Th 14 Jan 11:10 AM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Marshall Wilt, Department of Physics, Center College, "Hydrogen and the Historical Development of Quantum Theory"
With a focus on the simplest atomic system, hydrogen, we will trace the evolution of selected concepts in quantum mechanics. Our time will begin with Bunsen, Kirchoff, Angstrom and Balmer, progress through Bohr, Sommerfeld, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Pauli and Dirac to Lamb, Kusch, Schwinger, Dyson, and Feynman, the founders of quantum electrodynamics.
ThFr 21-22 Jan Meeting of Board of Trustees
February, 1999
Th 4 Feb 11:10 AM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
Eric Moore (LU, '99). [Eric will report on his summer experience at the University of Michigan]
"Ultrafast Lasers: More than Just Photons at 3x10⁸ m/s"
Modern modelocking technology has made possible the production of femtosecond laser pulses, or pulses with a time duration of only millionths of a billionth of a second. These pulses can also be amplified and focused to yield intensities greater than 10¹⁸ W/cm². Such pulses have found a variety of applications in industry, medicine, and science. This talk will address the fundamentals of ultrashort pulse generation and amplification, and will describe current research in the pursuit of compact and reliable sources of ultrashort pulses.
Fr 5 Feb Winter Weekend
Mo-We 8-10 Feb: North Central accreditation team visits Lawrence
Tu 9 Feb 11:10 PM Chapel: Convocation
Cornel West
(More Information)
Sa 20(??) Feb: Scholarship weekend
FrSaSu 26-28 Feb: Laser/Chaos/Xray Workshop
March, 1999
Mo-Fr, 22-26 Mar: American Physical Society Centennial Meeting Atlanta, Georgia
April, 1999
ThFrSa 8--10 Apr: NCUR Conference (More Information)
Tu 13 Apr 11:10 PM Chapel: Convocation
Michael Beschloss
(More Information)
ThFrSa 15--17 Apr: Visit by Yoriko Morita (B.Mus. in cello performance and B.A. in physics, LU, '94; Ph.D. in physics, University of Colorado; currently Director of Education, Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center)
Th 15 Apr 3:00 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Tea/Informal Physics Forum, in which we will have a conversation with Dr. Morita about job prospects and careers in the physical sciences, especially non-traditional ones, for young scientists.
Fr 16 Apr 4:15 PM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
"A Tunable Liquid-Crystal Fabry-Perot Filter for Increasing Internet Capacity''
The exponential growth of traffic on the global internet is pushing its capacity to the limit. As a result, the communications bandwidth of the internet must be increased. The technology expected to boost network capacity is wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), a key component of which will be a rapidly tunable polarization-insensitive optical filter. Such a filter will interface with low-cost, single-mode optical fibres. Dr. Morita will discuss her recent contributions to the development of such a device.
ThFrSa 22--24 Apr: Visit by Research Corporation consultants
May, 1999
ThFr 6-7 May Meeting of Board of Trustees
SuMoTu 16-18 May: Visit by Dr. Jay Lockman, NRAO, Green Banks, with support from the Harlow Shapley Visiting Astrophysicist Program of the American Astronomical Society.
Mo 17 May 4:15 PM Youngchild 161: Science Hall Colloquium
"Radio Astronomy: Exploring the Invisible Universe"

Tu 18 May 11:10 AM Youngchild 90: Physics Colloquium
"The Green Bank Telescope: History, Progress, and Scientific Program"
Th 27 May 11:10 PM Chapel: Honors Convocation
Joyce Carol Oates
(More Information)
June, 1999
Su 13 Jun: Commencement

September, 1998

October, 1998

November, 1998

December, 1998

January, 1999

February, 1999

March, 1999

April, 1999

May, 1999

June, 1999