As the old proverb states, all good things must come to an end. Last Saturday, Lecture 6 and the last of Saturday Morning Physics 2011, was delivered by Prof. Brian Utter. The title of his presentation was "Jamming, Avalanches, and Unpredictability: Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity in Granular Flows". A packed auditorium came out to see his interactive talk on nonlinear dynamics. You can find the podcast of his presentation, as well as his lecture slides, on our department Outreach website!
Following Prof. Utter's presentation, Prof. Steven Whisnant -- Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy -- made a very compelling argument that no matter what your goal is after college, whether its Law School, Med School or even grad school, you are better off having physics as your major. You can find the podcast of Dr. Whisnant's presentation, "Physics and Your Future", on our Outreach website.
Lastly, as this was the last meeting of Saturday Morning Physics for this year, we had our Award Ceremony to close the program. Over 50 students and high school teachers received their certificate of participation in our inaugural program! While SMP may be over for this year, the large turnout and the strong feedback we have received from participants means there will be another SMP program next year. We will continue to use our Facebook page for news and announcements, so make sure to 'like' us!
Shanil Virani
