Spring Picnic 2014: Physics Phun in the Sun!

On Sunday April 13th 2014, the @JMU Physics and Astronomy Department celebrated the onset of spring (finally!) with our departmental picnic at Purcell Park. Organized by Dr. C. Constantin, the department provided various foods and drinks for the students, staff, and faculty of the JMU physics and astronomy department. Dr. G. Niculescu (pictured below in his styling apron) cooked hot dogs and hamburgers (both beef and vegetarian), while others brought their favorite dishes and snacks.

After eating and chatting, the competitive spirit caught on and the departmental soccer (futbol) game ensued. Teams captained by Dr. C. Constantin and Dr. Feitosa played energetic game of Romania vs. Brazil!

Everyone had a blast and is looking forward the Fall Picnic...Now get back to work! Finals are coming!

Pictures by Dr. J.T. Haraldsen

Polariton evaporation ...

All bodies with a temperature emit blackbody radiation.  However, radiative polaritons in thin dielectric films and crystals emit radiation, therefore they have a temperature!  The discovery was made at JMU by assuming that radiative polaritons are bosons.  It was useful, said undergraduate student Yosyp Schwab, to take Statistical Mechanics last Fall 2013!  For more details:    Y. Schwab, H. S. Mann, B. N. Lang, and G. Scarel, “Polariton evaporation: the blackbody radiation nature of the low-frequency radiation emitted by radiative polaritons to the surrounding space”.  World J. Cond. Matter Phys. 4, issue 2 (2014).

The 2014 JMU Physics and Astronomy Honors Dinner

On April 2nd 2014, @JMU Physics and Astronomy honored the students that have proven they are the best of the best. Honorees received awards in areas like outstanding senior and junior, as well as physics service, research, teaching, and the planetarium service. A number of student received tuition scholarships, while others were inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma (The Physics Honors Society).

The following awards were given out.

Physics Awards

Outstanding Senior Physics Major - Denise E. McKaig
Outstanding Junior Physics Major - Kirill O. Korsak

Service Award - D. Alex Loving
Teaching Award - Nicholas A. Hagans
Undergraduate Research Award - Daniel A. Gilman
Planetarium Service Award - Caitlin M. McDermott

Tuition Scholarships

Don Chodrow Scholarship - D. Alex Loving
Henry W. Leap Scholarship - Kevin S. Hunter and Daniel C. Shorts
Physics Alumni Scholarship - Charles B. Crook
Raymond A. Serway Scholarship - Charles B. Crook, Emily E. Dick, and D. Alex Loving

Society of Physics Inductees

Nicole C. Creange
Gregory M. Houchins
Kirill O. Korsak
D. Alex Loving
Chester J. Szwejkowski
Daniel G. Votaw

Physics Symposium Awards

1) Emil Christensen
2) Daniel Votaw
3) Maggie Maruschak

Congratulations to all the honorees!

Below are pictures from the wonderful event.

Physics Majors receive top score in STEM Scholars Competition

For the third year in a row (in three attempts!) the graduating senior physics majors scored the highest score in the JMU STEM Scholars Competition, organized by JMU's Center for Assessment and Research Studies. Departments in the sciences and related fields are eligible to enter the competition, which consists of the General Education science assessment and a quantitative reasoning section. This year, four programs entered, with physics earning the top score (just over 90%). Congratulations to our senior physics majors!!

JMU Physics Undergraduate Students at ORNL

Brian Lang and Harkirat Mann, undergraduate Physics Students at JMU, work in the research Group of Dr. Scarel.  They participated during the Spring Break 2014 week to an experiment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge (TN).  Here are their impressions of the experience:

Brian: “My visit to Oak Ridge Nation Lab was one of the best trips I’ve gone on for spring break.  It was a great opportunity to visit a national lab and to work alongside our host, Dr. Illia Ivanov. We got to experience firsthand what it could be like to work in a national lab, and I must say each day I was excited and eager to get up and start the days experiment!”.  Brian is on the right in the picture below!

Harkirat: “During the dates of 03/09 to 03/12, our research group visited Oak Ridge National Labs to conduct a series of measurements using a near infrared source provided by our host Dr. Illia Ivanov.  We worked within the Center for Nanophase Material Sciences, where we were given the unique opportunity as undergraduate students to participate in a national lab setting.  In addition to the measurements we conducted, we were also given a small tour of the campus by our host.  This has been by far one of the best spring break trips I have taken.”  Harkirat is on the left on the picture below!

JMU Physics Students Impress at APS Conference in Denver

@JMU Physics students present their work in the mile high city at the @APSphysics March Meeting. @APSMeetings #APSMarch

The week of March 3rd-7th 2014 was an exciting time for JMU Physics. Multiple JMU Physics students had the wonderful opportunity to present their work at the The American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting. The APS March Meeting is one of the largest gatherings for physicists in the world with an estimated 10,000 attendees throughout the entire week. This conference provides a wonderful opportunity for students to make connections with other scientists from around the world, learn about different fields and projects that interest them, and have some fun in Denver.

The undergraduate students had the opportunity to present either a 10 minute oral presentation or participate in a 3 hour poster session. In both cases, students have to present and discuss their results and answer questions about their projects. Below are some pictures and descriptions of the work these students have presented, which showcases the outstanding and world-class research being performed at James Madison University!

Nic Mirenda (JMU Physics Senior - Student of Dr. Feitosa) presented a poster on the Dynamics of polydisperse coarsening emulsion, they used confocal microscopy to image emulsion droplets, measure their size and centroid location, and track their evolution in time. For more information on this project and others, visit Dr. Feitosa's Group Website.

Yosyp Schwab (JMU Physics Junior - Student of Dr. Scarel) presented an oral presentation on infrared power generation in an insulated compartment, where they show that heat and radiation do not activate the same mechanisms in the thermoelectric power generator.

More information on this work can be found at Dr. Scarel's Group Website.

Nicole Creange (JMU Physics Junior - Student of Dr. Haraldsen and Dr. Constantin) presented a poster on her work consisting of density functional calculations for Ga-doped graphene, where she examined the effect of gallium concentrations on the electronic band structure, electron density, and optical properties of graphene.

Kevin Hunter (JMU Physics Junior - Student of Dr. Haraldsen and Dr. Constantin) presented a poster on his work consisting of density functional calculations including (LaAlO3)n/(SrTiO3)n (n = 1-6) multilayers, where he investigated the charge distribution effects of increasing layer size on the electron density and optical properties of these multilayer systems.

More information on these presentations and those by Dr. Haraldsen and Dr. Constantin can be found at Complex Materials Group Website.