Students research selected topics in Physics using the library and internet resources in order to prepare intermediate length oral presentations to the class. The style of the talks is intended to simulate presentations at Physics professional society meetings. A short written abstract (summary) of each talk is required. This is considered a "writing intensive" course in the Physics Dept. The abstract should include a bibliography.
Each student will prepare and give two intermediate length (15 to 20 minute) talks. The initial selection of topic and initial research must originate in one of the approved review journals. 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 Monday, Nov 30, 1998.
Speaker Schedule |
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| Thursday, Dec 10 | Zheng Yu Chen, Univ. of Waterloo, Canada | "Formation of Helix States in Wormlike Chains" |
| Wednesday, Jan 13 | Chuck Rohde Jeremy Rogers |
"Accretion Disks" "Improving Resolution of Ground-based Telescopes" |
| Thursday, Jan 14 | Steve O'Malley Alan Koivunen |
"Second order effects
in the Relativistic Configuration Interaction method" "On the Randomness of Unpolarized Light" |
| Wednesday, Jan 20 | George Zimmer Ryan Ringle |
"Gamma-Ray Bursts" "The Neutrino Revisited" |
| Thursday, Jan 21 | Henry Leckenby Kai-Hua Xiang |
"Modeling Light Curves of Binary Star Systems
With an Accretion Disk" "Structural & Electronic Properties of H-Silsesquioxane" |
| Thursday, Jan 28 | Frank Underdown Masato Hiratani |
"Laser Guidance of Mesoscale Particles" "Dislocation Dynamics in Superconductors with Local Obstacles" |
| Wednesday, Feb 3 | Chuck Rohde Jeremy Rogers |
"The Eye: A Low Light Photodetector" |
| Monday, Feb 8 | Ryan Ringle | "Sputtering Ices in Outer Solar System" |
| Wednesday, Feb 10 | George Zimmer | "Nuclear Magnetic Imaging" |
| Thursday, Feb 11 | Peggy Norquist Raghava Panguluri |
"Relativistic Configuration Interaction Calculations
for the Electron Affinity
of Ruthenium" "Study of Slow Rotational Motion of Particles by NMR" |
| Thursday, Feb 18 | Dr. Sethanne Howard, Program Director NSF | "You and the NSF" |