Incoming class of Physics majors

We are on track for another banner year. In Phys 105, we have a total of 43 enrolled! Three of these are already JMU students who are changing majors but the remainder are new students to the program. This is a significant increase from last year's record class of 34.  Shanil Virani is doing an excellent job with the recruiting and here we see the evidence.

May Commencement 2013

This spring saw a another fine group of students heading out into the world. Our graduating class this year was 14, a bit off our peak, but numbers in the pipeline suggest that this is about to turn around. We are proud of all of our students, large class or small.

We wish them all well and ask that they all keep in touch. And when they are rich and famous...donate!

There are more pictures found here.

SuperMoon on June 23?! Don't Believe the Hype!

At several of our FREE public Saturday afternoon shows this month at the John C. Wells Planetarium at JMU, we have been asked about claims made online regarding the "SUPERMOON" on June 23. Maybe you've seen this image online:

Some places have even gone so far to suggest that this "super moon" will cause natural phenomena such as severe weather or earthquakes!! My response? Don't believe the hype -- this is just bad science!!

Let's dig deeper. You may have seen images on Facebook or elsewhere stating that June's full moon will be the "largest and closest". While true you really couldn't tell the difference between June's full moon and any other month's full moon -- the effect is small! It certainly will not be as large as seen in the posters used to advertise the event! To demonstrate, here's an animated gif that a fellow planetarium colleague has created showing all the full moons in 2013.

Can you tell the difference? NOPE! So all this nonsense is just that! Don't believe the hype!!

NOTE: In a past blog post regarding a "Super Moon", while remaining skeptical of the whole notion, I stated that "... if this event gets people outside to enjoy our night sky that is slowly disappearing because of light pollution, then I think that's 'mission accomplished' ". I still support that idea, and in fact, I think every full moon is a beautiful site! Indeed it still amazes me today that we have sent 12 astronauts to walk on that body [and if you think it is wrong that we don't recognize that tremendous accomplishment, please sign my online petition!]. But since this meme keeps coming back again and again, it important that we debunk the bad science! 

So if you see this idea circulating amongst your social network, set them straight!

Shanil Virani
Director, John C. Wells Planetarium

Infrared and thermoelectric power generation

On May 23 2013, the undergraduate students Yosyp Schwab, Harkirat Mann and Brian Lang presented new findings on radiative polaritons and thermoelectric and infrared power generation at the 91^th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science,Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Blacksburg (VA).  Here are the details of the two oral presentations:

Yosyp Schwab, H. S. Mann, and G. Scarel, “The signature of radiative polaritons: dielectric function and simulated spectra”

and

Harkirat S. Mann, Y. Schwab, B. N. Lang, A.E. Masters, and G. Scarel, “Fluctuations in thermoelectric and infrared power generation”.

On the other hand, under an extremely high humidity (!!! see photo) on May 15 Dr. Scarel presented some of the latest results of the Group at the Fudan University, Department of Microelectronics; Shanghai (China).  The title of the talk was: “Atomic layer deposited oxide films for infrared and nighttime solar cells”.

We hope to get more results during the summer!

 

Nanodays Event 2013!

Usually when the weather is nice people do not like to visit museums, but our Nanodays event had over 80 people visiting the Explore More Discovery Museum in Harrisonburg, VA.  This event gave the possibility to young K-12 kids to learn cool stuff about Nanotechnology!  I hope now they know why water cannot penetrate certain textiles, or why some metals like to have a "memory" of their own!

Spring Picnic 2013

On April 7 we once again descended on Purcell Park for the annual spring picnic. In addition to the usual soccer game there was a bit of slack-lining and shelter climbing. Oh yeah, there was good food provided by the cook, Costel Constantin. More pictures are found here.

The end of the semester is approaching fast (or slow, depending on your point of view). This is typically the last gathering of the majors before graduation. At least they can now study on a full belly.

Department Video

Just before spring break this year, a video crew visited out department and spent the day interviewing and videoing us as we teach, engage students in research, and talk about our outreach programs. This video is part of a collection of videos make at physics departments across the country to be showcased on the APS TV YouTube channel. These videos are being promoted vigorously at the APS March Meeting in Baltimore, March 18-22, 2013.

As you can see from the APS YouTube site, we are one of 17 domestic and 1 international Physics Department being highlighted. There are few undergraduate only departments included, so we are especially proud of being an example of a such a department.

Enjoy the video and come for a visit some time to see it in person.

Symposium 2013

On March 16th, we held our annual Spring Symposium in which our students present their work from the previous year. This year there were 15 excellent presentations on a wide variety of topics spanning the universe from sub-atomic to galactic scales.

Our special guest this year, Dr. Dennis McNabb from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, gave a departmental colloquium on Friday afternoon and a public lecture Saturday evening in Wilson Hall. His public presentation was entitled: "Harnessing Fusion Power on Earth".


This year the symposium was held in the John C. Wells Planetarium and more photos are found here.

JMU Physics Awarded PhysTEC Grant to Support Physics Teacher Education

JMU is about to become one of the newest PhysTEC-supported sites in a nationwide effort to improve and promote the training of physics teachers. As high school physics enrollments continue to climb, only around a third of high school physics teachers have a major in physics or physics education. In fact, a 2010 American Association for Employment in Education report ranked physics as the subject with the highest demand for teachers out of 60 subjects considered. 

As the shortage continues, there is a pressing need for inspired teachers with a solid foundation of physics content and insight into the challenges and opportunities unique to physics pedagogy.

With a $300k grant from PhysTEC (Physics Teacher Education Coalition), JMU will become the newest comprehensive site to address this need. The award was announced in 2012 to fund efforts implemented starting in Fall 2013 and is coordinated by a project team that includes collaboration among faculty in Physics & Astronomy (Brian Utter, Scott Paulson, Mark Mattson), Psychology (David Daniel), the College of Education (David Slykhuis), and Harrisonburg High School (Andy Jackson). The overarching goal is to offer a program in which students can explore teaching as an option, gain teaching experience, learn about physics pedagogy, and engage with a community of fellow students. A few of the main PhysTEC elements that will be implemented in Fall 2013 include:

• Physics Pedagogy Course: A two-credit 200-level physics teaching methods course developed by JMU Psychology Professor David Daniel, an expert in the science of learning and STEM education, in collaboration with local physics teachers, will be offered each fall. The class focuses on Pedagogical Content Knowledge -- that is, the study of effective teaching strategies specifically in the context of physics education. Topics such as metacognition, scaffolding, technology, conceptual change, and pre-conceptions are discussed in terms of the challenges in teaching and learning physics.

• Teacher in Residence: Each year, an experienced high school physics teacher will work for a year in residence in the Department of Physics and Astronomy as a local expert in high school physics teaching. As a front-lines expert, the TIR will serve as a voice of experience in the pedagogy course, a mentor for students interested in pursuing teaching, a liaison with the College of Education, and a motivator and organizer for the JMU physics teaching community.

• Learning Assistant Program: Beginning in 2011, introductory physics courses included a new way to grapple with the sometimes challenging concepts that students encounter in learning physics. Undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) were hired to facilitate weekly tutorials that focus on conceptual stumbling blocks that many students encounter. “Tutorials in Physics,” based on the work of the Physics Education Research group at the University of Washington, focuses on common hurdles in learning physics. In weekly prep meetings, LAs anticipate the likely problems and discuss strategies for facilitating the discussions. While primarily intended to improve the learning of students in introductory physics, the LA program offers the ideal way for sophomore physics majors to get teaching experience (and get paid!).

These are just a few of the many plans that are part of our PhysTEC program. We’re excited about these and other opportunities for our students that will be enabled by our collaboration with PhysTEC and we’re looking forward to a great start in the fall!

For additional information on JMU PhysTEC or the Secondary Education Track in Physics, please contact Dr. Brian Utter (utterbc@jmu.edu). 

New Grant Awarded to Costel Constantin

Yesterday, in a small ceremony with President Jon Alger and Provost Jerry Benson, the second round of 4VA mini-grants were awarded. Last fall, Costel was among the first group to be awarded one of these. This time, he was the first at JMU to receive what is called a Step-up Grant. The mini-grants are $5,000 and intended to seed a new collaborative initiative with colleagues at other Virginia institutions. The Step-up grant is a good bit larger - $20,000.

More details are found here.

Congratulations to Costel on this big step forward in his research.

Planetarium Director Named 2013 NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador

Shanil Virani, faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy & Director of the $1.5 million, state-of-the-art hybrid John C. Wells Planetarium, has been named as a 2013 NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Solar System Ambassador! 

The Solar System Ambassadors Program is a public outreach program designed to work with motivated volunteers across the nation. Solar system ambassadors communicate the excitement of JPL's space exploration missions and information about recent discoveries to people in their local communities.

To have Shanil speak at your school, community or church group, email him at planetarium@jmu.edu

The Solar System Ambassadors Program is sponsored by the JET PROPULSION LABORATORY in Pasadena, CA, an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a lead research and development center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Faculty Member in Residence

Steve Whisnant has been selected to be the Faculty Member in Residence in London for the spring semester 2014.

It is time to take a little JMU physics to the international stage and include some non-majors in the experience.

Giovanetti Selected for Provost's Award

The 2012 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship goes to our own Dr. Kevin Giovanetti! Congratulations!!

More details are found on this page.

Just as an added bit of information: This recognition was first awarded in 2008 so this marks only the 5th year. Of the five recipients, two are in Physics and Astronomy -- Kevin and Ioana Niculescu.

Our plan to take over the world is on track.

Radiative polaritons at JMU

Radiative polaritons are known since their theoretical description by Fuchs and Kliewer in the sixties.  However, the reason why they are radiative was not explained, the existence of the radiation emitted was not proved, and the frequency range of that radiation was never found.  Three undergraduate students at JMU with the help of collaborators at the University of Utah and Howard University have done all this: Anita discovered why radiative polaritons are radiative, and Yosyp discovered the existence of the emitted radiation.  Yosyp and Harkirat found that the "radiated" radiation exists in the microwave to far-infrared frequency range.  For more details see the paper:  A.J. Vincent-Johnson, Y. Schwab, H.S. Mann, M. Francoeur, J.S. Hammonds, and G. Scarel, “Origin of the low frequency radiation emitted by radiative polaritons excited by infrared radiation in planar La₂O₃ films”.  J. Phys: Condens. Matter 25, 035901 (2013).

Saturday Morning Physics 2013

Registration is now open!

Meet the Scientist: Saturday Morning Physics

For the third year, the Physics and Astronomy Department in collaboration with JMU’s Outreach & Engagement, invite high-school students and science teachers to take part in an engaging enrichment program developed in a sequence of six easy-to-follow scientific exploration events.

Register online!

Saturdays

January 26-March 2

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

James Madison University- Bioscience Building

$45/student

For detailed program information, please click here!

Questions ? email outreach@jmu.edu or call 540/568-5532

Virginia Academy of Science - Undergraduate Research Meeting

On Saturday October 27 2012, the Virginia Academy of Science Fall Undergraduate Research Meeting took place at the Reynolds Community College in Richmond.  The JMU Undergraduate student in Physics Harkirat Mann presented a poster entitled "The origin of fluctuations in the heat and radiation excited Seebeeck effect".  Harkirat and his advisor, Dr. Govanna Scarel, describe an apparatus that will help understanding whether an environment free of humidity and heat variations aids in observing delicate voltage transients.  Harkirat will build the apparatus in the next months, and the results of the research will help him and his group to improve the research on harvesting infrared radiation by transforming it into electricity.

Intruguing non-linear phenomena discovered at JMU!

How is it possible that a voltage signal excited by infrared radiation decays as the excitation source remains on?  Anita Vincent-Johnson, who graduated in physics at JMU on May 2012, found that the strange phenomenon might be due to chaotic transport in a thermoelectric power generator interacting with infrared radiation.  The mystery is not fully unveiled and the team of Dr. Scarel continues the investigations.  The latest news were published today:

A.J. Vincent-Johnson, A.E. Masters, X. Hu, and G. Scarel, “Excitation of radiative polaritons by polarized broadband infrared radiation in thin oxide films deposited by atomic layer deposition”.  J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A vol. 31, 01A111 1-4 (2013).

Why Study Physics?

Why should you study physics? Maybe you want to have a job when you graduate -and- make a lot of money? Perhaps you want to go Medical School? How about Law School? Or maybe Business School? Did you know that acceptance into these very competitive programs is (largely) based on your performance on standardized tests like the MCAT, LSAT, & GMAT? Did you know that Physics majors have the highest scores on these tests? That they have the lowest unemployment rates when they graduate? That they have amongst the highest paying jobs with an undergraduate degree in Physics? Besides, PHYSICS IS FUN! Learn more by watching this short clip, and then learn more about the Physics and Astronomy program at James Madison University

Come learn more about Physics & Astronomy at our OPEN HOUSE this Saturday from 9am to noon! Meet students & faculty, tour our labs, watch really cool physics demos, and learn more about the department, our scholarships, and the process at 10am and 11am in Room 2212 in the Physics & Chemistry building!

Click on the image frame below to see our "WHY PHYSICS?" video!

The Big Reach of JMU Physics...

With blogs, Facebook, twitter, etc, and even teaching, we can sometimes forget just how far and wide the discussion reaches and just how small our planet becomes. Three recent examples demonstrates clearly just how large the reach is of JMU's Department of Physics & Astronomy.

1. Dr. Giovanna Scarel on WMRA's The Spark!

WMRA, the Valley's local NPR affiliate hosts a weekly show called "The Spark". This show is WMRA's look into "creativity", they "dig into whatever people are passionate about in the WMRA region: sculpture, model railroading, costume-making, poetry, whatever". On Friday, May 11, Dr. Giovanna Scarel was profiled on "The Spark". What is a photon?  Solid state physicist Dr. Giovanna Scarel explains photons and why such tiny things are intriguing. If you missed the interview, you can find the audiocast of it here.

2. Saturday Morning Physics Student Discovers a Pulsar!

For the past two years, Dr. Adriana Banu has organized a 6-week winter enrichment program for area high school students. The idea is to get them exposed to "cutting edge" physics, and to bring some of the excitement of the lab into the classroom for students to witness firsthand. 

Cecilia McGough, a senior at nearby Strasburg High School, participated in the 2nd Saturday Morning Physics program at JMU. After her SMP experience, Cecilia spent the summer working at the Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia where she became just the 6th high school student to discover a pulsar! A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation as the star rotates extremely quickly, just as a lighthouse sweeps out a bright patch of light as it rotates. McGough's pulsar has a period of 185.549 milliseconds and is about the size of Washington D.C.!

3. John C. Wells Planetarium's 2012 End-of-the-World Debunking Reaches South Africa!

At the start of the year, much nonsense was spread on the internet about the Mayan calendar coming to an end, and how that portends the end of the world! Recently, JMU invited Dr. Phil Plait (the "Bad Astronomer") to debunk claims like these and others found online that the end-of-the-world is coming this December (more on this soon!). However, prior to his visit, Planetarium Director Shanil Virani wrote his own article for the Planetarium's website. While this was featured in a local newspaper article,  we very surprised to get the email below from a teacher in SOUTH AFRICA that were studying some of these doomsday claims! One of the students in the class actually referred to the Planetarium's 2012 debunking in their discussion and showed the website to her teacher! The email below was sent to Shanil Virani this past summer and is reprinted with permission from the author. 

From: Pauline Smith 

Subject: Excellent Article on JMU Website

Date: July 26, 2012 

To: Shanil Virani

 

I have just had the pleasure of reading your online article on Debunking the 2012 Doomsday Prophecies, and may I say – Bravo!

 

One of my learners brought up the subject of the end of the world in December 2012, and another mentioned your article in refuting her classmate’s assertion that “we’re all going to die before Christmas anyway!”

 

I found the blend of hard science and popular culture an unusual but effective tool to calm the hysteria and ‘talk them out of the trees’.

 

I especially liked your suggestion that the Planetarium be made the beneficiary if an individual is that certain of his or her imminent destruction!

 

Thank you for a well written article, and an unexpected laugh for an otherwise cold and wet Thursday.

 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Pauline Smith CLINICAL TRAINER HR: Learning and Development Tel: +27 (0)21 427 4516 61 St Georges Mall Cape Town E-mail:  Website: www.mhg.co.za

 

The moral of the story? JMU Physics has an enormous reach! From the Valley, to South Africa, to the distant reaches of the Cosmos! 

Fall Picnic 2012

On September 16 the department picnic was held in Purcel Park out by the pond. There was a great turnout and good food all around.

Although it was cloudy and a bit cooler that we hoped, there was a warm fire and good friends. And lots of fun.

The rest of the photos are found here.