You will research selected topics in Physics using the library and internet resources in order to prepare oral presentations for the class. The style of the talks is intended to simulate presentation of papers at Physics professional society meetings. A short written summary of the content of each talk is required. A bibliography is to be attached to the summary.
Each of you will prepare and give several short (8 to 10 minute) talks and one intermediate length (15 to 20 minute) talk. The initial selection of topic for the short talks must originate from the list of topics furnished to the class. Each talk must concern itself with a different area of Physics and must not duplicate the topic chosen by another student.
You are expected to practice critical listening skills by being attentive audience members for both fellow student presentations and departmental invited speakers at the Thursday Colloquium. Evaluation forms will be completed for each speech.
Scheduled Meetings |
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| Monday & Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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Actual class meetings after the first few weeks depend on speaker schedules. The first meeting was Monday, August 27, 2001.
Speaker Schedule |
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| Sept 20 | Dr. Bijan K. Rao, Virginia Commonwealth U | "Atomic Clusters - A New Source of Metastable Materials" |
| Oct 4 | Dr. Warren Perger, Depts of Physics & Electrical Engineering, MTU | "High-Precision Atomic Physics Calculations Using a Computer Algebra System and Many-Body Perturbation Theory" |
| Oct 8 | Daniel Kilpela Rob Beranek |
Ultrasound Imaging Without Physical Contact Liquid Crystal Acoustics |
| Oct 10 | Peter Kiefer Dan Boline Nathan M. Jones |
Gamma-Ray Bursters Gravity's Gravity Having Your Photon and Seeing It Too |
| Oct 11 | Mark Gleason, Isle Royale Institute & Dept of Physics, MTU | "Isle Royale Institute" |
| Oct 22 | Rob Beranek Nathan M. Jones |
An Alternative to Compactification A Linear Decelerator for Neutral Molecules |
| Oct 24 | Peter Kiefer Dan Boline Daniel Kilpela |
Molecular Logic Gates A Theory of Tackiness Creating Antimatter with Laser Light |
| Nov 8 | Dr. Will Cantrell, Dept of Physics, MTU | "Nucleation, Thin Films and Deliquescence of Salt" |
| Nov 26 | Nathan M. Jones | The Scale of Quantum Gravity and Black Hole Creation |
| Nov 28 | Peter Kiefer Rob Beranek |
The Physics of Micromachining Surface Melting |
| Dec 5 | Dan Boline Daniel Kilpela |
The Cosmic Microwave Background The Keck II (Adaptive Optics) Telescope |
| Dec 6 | Dr. Igor L Kliakhandler, Dept of Math, MTU | "Remarkable Features of Thin Film Flows" |
| Dec 13 | Dr. Peter Moran, Depts of Physics & Materials Science, MTU | "A Review of Strain Relaxation Observed in Wafer-Bonded Heterostructures" |