|
ACMAL - Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory
Left: The ACMAL graphic features an electron diffraction pattern, a Bragg diagram, an X-ray spectrum, a powder diffraction pattern, a lattice, and a photon. See an animated version on the ACMAL website.
In addition to the labs, facilities, and observatories hosted by the Physics Department, reseachers in the department also make use of the Electron Optics Facility and X-Ray Facility housed within ACMAL. ACMAL is part of the campus-wide Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (MCFF) at Michigan Tech. |
|
A. E. Seamen Mineral Museum
Left: Hexagonal wurtzites with frosty terminations
that lack either hexagonal or trigonal symmetry. © Copyright
John A. Jaszczak.
The A.
E. Seaman Mineral Museum is located
on campus in the Electrical Energy Resources Center. The museum contains
a fine collection of local minerals, as well as fascinating specimens
from every part of the globe. Dr.
John Jaszczak, Professor of Physics, is the adjunct curator
of the museum. Jaszczak received the Michigan Tech Distinguished Service Award in 2007 for his work in the museum. |
|
APOD - Astronomy Picture of the Day
Left: Cat's
Eye Nebula, Hubble space image.
Credit: NASA, ESA,
HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Acknowledgment: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Spain) and Z. Tsvetanov
(NASA).
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different
image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along
with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Dr.
Robert Nemiroff, Professor of Physics, is a co-author of APOD along
with Jerry Bonnell. |
|
Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia and Los Alamos
Left: Boron nitride
nanotube by Dr. Yoke Khin Yap.
Nanoscience research lead by Dr. Yoke Khin Yap is selected as a project entitled “Synthesis and Characterization of Individual Boron Nitride Nanostructures” in the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT). CINT is a Department of Energy/Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Center (NSRC) operating as a national user facility devoted to establishing the scientific principles that govern the design, performance, and integration of nanoscale materials. |
|
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at ORNL
Left: Patterned growth of high-density vertically-aligned carbon
nanotubes by Dr. Yoke Khin Yap.
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has provided
a DOE-funded, merit-reviewed, competitive process, the User-Initiated Nanoscience
Research Program consisting of 42 research projects.
Associate Professor of Physics
Dr. Yoke Khin Yap heads one of the Active
User Research Projects, “Controlling Nanostructures of CVD-Multiwall
Carbon Nanotubes.” |
|
Engineering Physics PhD Program
In addition to providing MS
and PhD programs in Physics, the department
is a participating discipline in the PhD program in Engineering
Physics along with Materials
Science and Engineering,
Electrical and Computer Engineering,
and Mechanical
Engineering - Engineering Mechanics. Dr.
John Jaszczak, Professor of Physics, is coordinating the program. |
|
GSC Poster Session
Physics graduate students routinely place high in the annual Graduate Student Council (GSC) Poster Session Competition. Past winners include Jiesheng Wang, Vijaya Kumar Kayastha, Raghav Rao Vanga, Jacob Fugal and Teboh Roland. |
|
Ion
Space Propulsion Laboratory
Left: Deep Space 1 Using Its Ion Engine.
The spacecraft is approaching the comet 19P/Borrelly. Its primary
mission was to serve as a technology demonstrator—testing
ion propulsion and 11 other advanced technologies—successfully
completed in September 1999. NASA image.
The Ion Space
Propulsion Lab at Michigan Tech is a cross-departmental
initiative. One of the projects involves carbon
nanotubes for sputter erosion resistance. Potential use of
vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes as protective coatings
in ion propulsion is being investigated by Associate Professor
of Physics Dr. Yoke Khin Yap. |
|
LACIS - Leipzig Aerosol-Cloud Interaction Simulator
Left:"Cloud Laboratory" building that houses the LACIS chamber.
Associate Professor of Physics Dr. Raymond Shaw does cloud research in Germany. His main work there involves the Leipzig Aerosol-Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS), a large cloud chamber that allows the environment of aerosol and cloud particles to be precisely varied and the response of the particles measured throughout the experiment. Shaw and collaborators have developed a set of experiments to carry out in LACIS that should provide new insight into a surface crystallization effect measured in the Shaw Cloud Physics Laboratory at Michigan Tech. His stay in Germany is supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a non-profit foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of international research cooperation. This interaction opens up an avenue for future collaboration between colleagues in Germany and researchers in the Department of Physics at Michigan Tech. |
|
Major Field Test
The Physics Department is a participating department for Major
Field Tests administered by the Educational
Testing Service (ETS). Our seniors consistently
excel at this test, and in 2003 scored in the 99th percentile. |
|
Michigan
Space Grant Consortium
Graduate and undergraduate students in Physics compete annually
in the Michigan
Space Grant Consortium Fellowship Programs. Recent awardees include Carly Robinson and Jacob Fugal. Past
awardees include Michael Larsen, Adam DeConinck, and Jacob
Fugal. Faculty awarded research grants include Dr. Will Cantrell. |
|
MuSTI - Multi-Scale Technologies Institute
MuSTI at Michigan Tech promotes interdisciplinary research and the implementation of nanotechnologies and microtechnologies into deployable systems. Ten departments and colleges on campus are involved in this initiative. Participating Physics faculty include Dr. John A. Jaszczak, Dr. Miguel Levy, Dr. Ravi Pandey, Dr. Ranjit Pati, and Dr. Yoke Khin Yap. |
|
NANOPOLIS™
Left: 3D microbattery of vertical carbon nanotube
towers. Illustration taken from a 3D animation by Yap and
Hill.
Electronic delivery and emerging technologies are natural partners in the
new millenium. NANOPOLIS™ is
presenting a CD-ROM based Encyclopedia series. The series includes "Exploring
Nanotechnology", the first multimedia encyclopedia on nanotechnology.
Associate Professor Dr. Yoke Khin Yap contributed
text and animated content
on Lithium Ion Batteries, Pulsed Laser Deposition, and Chemical Vapor Deposition,
making Michigan Tech a partner university of NANOPOLIS™. |
|
Nanotechnology
at Michigan Tech: nano.mtu.edu
Left: AFM image of nanoshell structures formed by 7-nm coated Au
particles, courtesy of Dr. Edward Nadgorny. False color. The nano.mtu.edu subdomain ties together
nanoscale interests across campus. Research, education, and outreach
topics in nanotechnology and multi-scaled phenomena are indexed for
the science and engineering departments at Michigan Tech. Dr.
John Jaszczak, Professor of Physics, is the interim coordinator
for nano.mtu.edu. |
|
Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education
Left: Screen captures of nanotechnology
animations related to research
and education at Michigan Tech.
Nanotechnology
Undergraduate Education involves the NSF-funded multi-departmental project “Undergraduate
Exploration of Nano-Science, Applications, and Societal Implications
at Michigan Tech.” Achievements of the project include:
The grant co-PIs are Dr. John
Jaszczak,
Professor of Physics, and Dr. Bruce Seely of Social
Sciences. |
|
NIC - John von Neumann Institute for Computing
Left: Protein with amino acids listed in the background.
Amino acid sequence analysis (bioinformatics) is combined with physics-based
simulations to predict the 3D structure of the protein. Dr. Uli Hansmann is collaborating with
the John von Neumann
Institute for Computing to build up his new research group "Computational
Biology and Biophysics". Supercomputers are needed to explore the properties
and innumerable configurations of proteins. Research into the mis-folding
of proteins is related to neurodegenerative disease in humans. |
|
Night Sky Live
Left: Captures of live sky images in the public domain.
The Night
Sky Live Observatory makes use of CONCAMS. CONCAM is a CONtinuous
CAMera that is placed somewhere in the world with a fisheye lens
to watch the entire sky every night. Each camera takes a 180-second
exposure every 4 minutes, then relays the data back to nightskylive.net.
Collectively, these physical CONCAM devices are part of the Night
Sky Live project that also includes people, data, web pages, etc.
Public domain access to the images has
spurred collaborations and discussions with professional and amateur
astronomers worldwide. The CONCAM project is led by Professor
Robert Nemiroff and includes
team members among the Physics Department staff and graduate students. |
|
Physics Department History
Left: Fred Walter McNair, President, Michigan College of Mines, 1916.
The first physics classes were held in 1887
when MTU was called the Michigan Mining School. Since that time, the
department has introducing many interesting physicists and academic
accomplishments to campus. Campus buildings have been named after McNair
and Fisher, and the Tamarack Mine Experiments have been recognized
by Guinness World Records. Learn
more about the department history, as compiled
by Professor of Physics Dr. Bryan Suits. |
|
Physics of Music - Notes
Left: Organ pipe. Photos by Dr. Bryan Suits.
Dr. Bryan Suits maintains a website on the Physics of Music - Notes. There you'll find information on scales, making your own flutes and windchimes, room acoustics, and white noise sources.
|
|
Pierre
Auger Observatory The Auger Collaboration is a global consortium
responsible for the construction and utilization of the Pierre Auger
Cosmic Ray Observatory. The Auger
Project at Michigan Tech is coordinated by Dr.
Dave Nitz, Professor of Physics, and Dr.
Brian Fick,
Associate Professor of Physics. The Pierre
Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory is a multinational
research initiative utilizing the largest observatory in
the world. |
|
Remote Sensing Institute
Left: Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) false color composite of the tip of the Keweenaw
Peninsula. Image processing by Dave Schneider.
The MTU
Remote Sensing Institute (RSI) is a multidisciplinary
institute linking diverse remote sensing activities at Michigan Tech.
Currently, 25 faculty and staff investigators from several academic
departments comprise the core group, including 5 faculty from Physics. The Director of the RSI is Dr. Will Cantrell.
RSI
SEMINAR SERIES |
|
Society
of Physics Students
SPS, or the Society of Physics
Students,
is the local chapter of a national professional
society for physics students and their mentors. SPS is an AIP (American
Institute of Physics) Member Society. |
|
SURF - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Undergraduate physics majors have participated in Michigan Tech's SURF initiative, doing research with faculty in Physics and other departments. Past physics major participants include Caleb Carlin, Ben Coupland, Dan Freeman, Matthew Hansen, Rachel Rosten, Matthew Davenport, and Jessica Tracey. |
|
Volcanic
Clouds Study Group
Left: Ash and Steam, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Monserrat,
courtesy of Visible
Earth by NASA.
The Volcanic
Clouds Study Group at Michigan
Tech is dedicated to understanding volcanic eruptions, their resulting
volcanic clouds, and the communication and mitigation associated with
volcanic hazards. The Atmospheric
Physics Group in the Department
of Physics is associated with the Volcanic Clouds Study Group. The
group includes three faculty, Dr. Will Cantrell, Dr. Alex Kostinksi,
and Dr. Ray Shaw, as well as several graduate students. |
|
Western
Upper Peninsula Center
Left: Teachers training teachers, a professional development
institute at Michigan Tech.
The Western
Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education is
a partnership of local area schools. The WUP Center offers programs
focused on the teaching and learning of science, math, and environmental
education. They have offered a workshop and an internship through
the Physics Department, in cooperation with Dr.
Will Cantrell. |
