Students research selected topics in Physics using the library and internet resources in order to prepare short oral presentations to the class. The style of the talks is intended to simulate contributed papers at Physics professional society meetings. A short written abstract (summary) of each talk is required. The abstract should include a bibliography.
Each student will prepare and give several short (8 to 10 minute) talks. The initial selection of topic 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.
Students 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. They complete evaluation forms for each speech.
Scheduled Meetings |
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| Monday & Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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Actual class meetings depend on speaker schedules. The first meeting was Wednesday, Sept 8, 1999.
Speaker Schedule |
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| Thursday, Sept 9 | Ruby N. Ghosh, Michigan State U | "Fiber Optic Oxygen Sensor Using Molybdenum Chloride Cluster Luminescence" |
| Thursday, Sept 16, |
J W Cronin, Enrico Fermi Institute, U of Chicago
Nobel Prize in Physics, 1980 |
"Eighty Five Years of Cosmic Ray Research: A Human and Scientific Drama" |
| Thursday, Sept 23 | Gordon M Crippen, U of Michigan | "Statistical Mechanics of Protein Folding by Exhaustive Enumeration" |
| Thursday, Sept 30 | Michael C Roggeman, Mich Tech U | "Comparison of Branch Point & Least Squares Reconstructors for Laser Beam Transmission Through the Atmosphere" |
| Monday, Oct 4 | J Holmlund K Landmark M Wyman |
Physics of Judging a Fly Ball SETI Salt Mine Detector |
| Wednesday, Oct 6 | J Karpus K Moss A Miner |
Superconducting Transistors Mutability of Time & Space on the Skin Accelerator Building |
| Thursday, Oct 7 | Robert Nemiroff, Mich Tech U | "How Tremendous Explosions are Unmasking the Composition and Geometry of the Universe" |
| Monday, Oct 11 | P Schury D Oros M Stanich |
Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling Intermediate Vector Bosons 3-Dimensional Atomic Images of Surfaces |
| Thursday, Oct 14 | Migeul A Blanco Universidad de Ovideo, Spain |
"Global Simulation of Ionic Materials: The AB Initio Perturbed Ion Method" |
| Monday, Oct 18 | J Holmlund K Landmark M Wyman |
The Void in Böotes Chaos & Plasma Physics The Ranque-Hilsch Effect |
| Wednesday, Oct 20 | J Karpus M Stanich K Moss |
Sound Absorption in Seawater Discovery of Black Holes Microelectrode Arrays for the Profoundly Deaf |
| Thursday, Oct 21 | Maximilian Seel, Mich Tech U | "We don't need no education - Physics, the College, Michigan Tech and the Future" |
| Monday, Oct 25 | A Miner P Schury |
New Class of Permanent Magnets Dirac Equation |
| Wednesday, Oct 27 | M Stanich K Moss A Miner |
Production of Heavy Elements Logic Circuits & Optical Pulses Irreversible Acoustic Heat Engine |
| Thursday, Oct 28 | Adrian Sandu, Mich Tech U | "Masking Resonance Artifacts in Force-splitting Methods for Bimolecular Simulations by Extrapolative Langevin Dynamics" |
| Monday, Nov 1 | K Landmark M Wyman |
The Top Quark Collective Modes in Superfluid 3He |
| Wednesday, Nov 3 | D Oros J Karpus |
Muon-Catalyzed Fusion Sensory Thresholds |
| Thursday, Nov 4 | Jacek Borysow, Mich Tech U | "Molecular Fluorine Laser for Microlithography" |
| Monday, Nov 8 | D Oros J Holmlund P Schury |
Bell's Inequality & Experiments in Quantum Mechanics Inertial Fusion Supermass Compact Object in Most Luminous Object in Universe |
| Thursday, Nov 11 | Raymond Shaw, Mich Tech U | "Atmospheric Turbulence: A Cloud Droplet's View" |