Richmond Physics Olympics Fun

Last weekend was the Richmond Physics Olympics.  Fifteen teams of high school students competed in various fun events, building towers, floating boats, and throwing bags of sand off the third floor balcony into the science building atrium.  Many thanks to the University of Richmond students who volunteered to help out with this event.  Several of our students also had some fun with a video camera, proving that our students can goof off just as hard as they work.

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Two students present research at national physics conference

Sophomore Nathan Follin and junior Chris Musalo traveled with professor Matt Trawick to Dallas, Texas, to present their research at the annual March meeting of the American Physical Society.  Approximately 5000 physicists from around the world convened there for the five day conference.  Nathan and Chris presented a new technique in atomic force microscopy that enables topographical imaging with nanometer scale accuracy.  The two did their work using the University of Richmond Physics Department’s state of the art atomic force microscope.

Change to fall 2011 schedule

UPDATE: We had to change it yet again! I’m sorry for all the confusion. The following should be really truly final.

We have had to move the meeting time of PHYS 132. It will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 9:00-11:45.

I’m sorry for the last-minute change. If you need to talk to me about scheduling issues, let me know.

Schedule of classes: Fall 2011

UPDATE: We had to make a number of changes to the fall schedule. The most important one for current and prospective physics majors is that we’re moving computational physics from fall to spring. In addition, instructors for some courses got shuffled around, and math methods moved from Tuesday-Thursday to Monday-Wednesday. Details below. Changes are marked in bold italics.

Here is our current plan for the schedule of physics courses for next fall. It may change, but probably not dramatically. Instructors’ names are listed in parentheses.

  • PHYS 125: Elements of Physics. MWF 9:00-11:00 (Serej).
  • PHYS 131: General Physics w/ Calc. I. Four sections:
    • MWF 9-11 (Nebel).
    • TTh 1:30-4:15 (Nebel).
    • MWF 1:30-3:30 (Lipan).
    • TTh 9-11:45 (Gilfoyle).
  • PHYS 132: General Physics w/ Calc. II. MWF 1:30-3:30 (Serej).
  • PHYS 205: Modern Physics. MWF 10:30-11:20 (Bunn).
  • PHYS 215: Cancelled for fall. Moved to spring.
  • PHYS 301: Mathematical Methods in Physics. MW 1:30-2:45 (Fetea).
  • PHYS 309: Quantum Mechanics I. TTh 3-4:15 (Lipan).
  • PHYS 397/398/497/498: Junior and Senior Seminar. W 4:30-5:30 (Beausang).
  • IQS (Physics portion taught by Dr. Fetea).
  • First-year seminar: “Space is Big.” MWF 3-3:50 (Bunn).

Let me know if you have questions about physics courses.

Research Update: Mark Moog '11

mark_moog.jpg Senior Mark Moog is part of a team that is preparing for the “12 GeV Upgrade” at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News. The upgrade is a $300 million project at Jefferson Lab to explore new territory within the atomic nucleus. Mark has been performing sophisticated simulations of a new detector which will be used in experiments to measure the internal structure of the neutron, a project lead by professor Jerry Gilfoyle. Mark traveled to Santa Fe, NM, this fall to present his work at the fall meeting of the Division of Nuclear Physics of the American Physical Society.

Jeff Zheng '11 publishes cosmology paper

Senior jeff_zheng.jpgJeff Zheng recently published a paper in the prestigious journal Physical Review D presenting the results of cosmology research performed with Professor Ted Bunn.  Jeff’s work involved the examination of maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation (the oldest light in the Universe).  These maps appear to contain certain unexpected patterns, which may provide clues about the nature of the early Universe.  Jeff analyzed the patterns to assess whether certain “exotic” variations on the standard Big Bang model might explain their presence.

Richmond students do research at national accelerator facility

Three Richmond physics students are currently working with professor Jerry Gilfoyle on nuclear physics experiments at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) in Newport News.  From left to right are junior Chris Musalo, senior Mark Moog, and junior Josh Carbonneau in the Machine Control Center there; the displays behind them are used to monitor the functioning of the accelerator during experiments.  All three also traveled to Santa Fe, NM, this fall to present their work at the meeting of the division of nuclear physics of the American Physical Society.musalo_moog_josh_jlab_r.jpg

Nathan Follin '13 to present research in Dallas

nathan_follin.jpgSophomore Nathan Follin will travel to the annual March meeting of the American Physical Society in Dallas, TX, this spring to present the results of his research with physics professor Matt Trawick.  Nathan has helped develop a new atomic force microscope technique for producing topographical images with nanometer scale accuracy.  The two began working together in the summer before Nathan’s freshman year; they expect to publish a paper on their work soon.

Research Update: Nick Annichiarico '12

nicholasdannichiarico.jpgJunior Nick Annichiarico is working with professor Ted Bunn on a project to look for large-scale patterns in the orientation of galaxies.  Standard theory predicts that the Universe is expanding in the same way at all locations and in all directions.  If this is correct, galaxies should be oriented at random.  Looking for departures from randomness is a good way to test whether our understanding of the uniform expansion is correct.  Nick’s work will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

New Telescope gets New Home

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The Physics Department recently completed the installation of the new Martha Carpenter Observatory on the roof of Gottwald Science Center. The observatory now houses our new 14″ Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain reflecting telescope. All University of Richmond physics majors will have access to the new telescope.  Several students will also be working with professor Henry Nebel, pictured above, on various research projects involving the telescope, including tracking the moons of Jupiter and recording daily fluctuations in variable stars.

Spring 2011 physics courses

 CLARIFICATION: When I said that electronics is one of the ways of satisfying the experimental requirement, I should have been clearer.  The physics major requires Intermediate Lab, and one more experimental thing.  Electronics and research are the two ways to get that extra thing.  You still need Intermediate Lab.

Registration for spring semester’s not far off.  Here’s some potentially useful information for physics majors and minors.

First, here are the upper-level physics courses we expect to offer.  (There are the usual bunch of intro courses too.)

  • PHYS 216 (Electronics): MWF 1:30-3:30, Matt Trawick.
  • PHYS 221 (Intermediate Lab): TTh 1:30-4:15, Jerry Gilfoyle.
  • PHYS 303 (Classical Mechanics): TTh 10:30-11:45, Ovidiu Lipan.
  • PHYS 306 (Electricity & Magnetism II): MWF 10:30-11:20, Ted Bunn.
  • Junior-Senior seminar, W 4:30-5:30, Ted Bunn.

A couple of other items to note as you prepare to register:

  • Electronics will almost certainly not be offered during the following (2011-2012) academic year. Electronics is one of only two ways to satisfy the physics major’s experimental requirement, the other being research for credit with a faculty member.  (See clarification above: this is the post-intermediate-lab experimental requirement.  Intermediate lab is required too.)
  • E&M II will almost certainly not pass your way again any time soon.
  • The 2011-2012 schedule is not fixed yet, but we’re pretty certain to offer Modern, Math Methods, Computational, Stat. Mech., Intermediate Lab, and a new Systems Biology course.  Quantum 1 is also very likely, and with luck one more advanced course to be named later.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, ask me.

Physics courses for incoming students

It's time for incoming first-year students to register for classes for the fall semester.  We in the physics department are looking forward to meeting you all in the fall.

Here's some information about the physics courses available for new students.  If anything here isn't clear, or if you have any questions about which course is for you, ask us!

Physics majors typically start with Physics 131 in the fall and either 132 or 134 in the spring.  There are four sections of physics 131 available this fall.  Physics 131 is mostly about mechanics but has some other topics as well.  It requires either that you've had some calculus or that you take Calc. 1 at the same time.

Pre-med students and students in some other science majors also take this same sequence of courses, and the course fulfills the science requirement for non-science majors, so even if you're not sure what you're majoring in, keep this course in mind.

Students with strong high school physics backgrounds can skip Physics 131 and start right away with Physics 132.  There is one section of this course offered in the fall. University policy says that you need a 4 or 5 on the Physics C Mechanics AP test, or departmental permission, to get credit for Physics 131. If you got a 4 or 5 on the Physics B AP test, then you’re eligible for credit for physics 127-128.  This in principle allows you to go straight into physics 132, but if you’re thinking about a physics major we usually recommend taking 131 in this situation.

If you have a strong physics background but didn't take the right AP exam, email us or talk to one of the physics faculty when you arrive in town to see if you should be in 132.  This applies especially to international students, who aren't part of the US AP system.

If you think you might want to major in physics (even if you're not sure), and you're eligible to skip 131, we strongly urge you to sign up for Physics 132 in the fall.  Finishing the introductory physics sequence early will give you a lot more scheduling flexibility in future semesters (and remember that even if you end up majoring in another science or going pre-med, you may still need to take this course).

Students with very strong physics backgrounds (a 4 or a 5 on the Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism AP exam) are eligible to skip both semesters of the introductory sequence.  If you're in that category, and you think you might want to study physics, the best courses for you are Physics 205 (Modern Physics) and/or Physics 301 (Mathematical Methods).  Once again, if you didn't take the appropriate AP exam but think you might have the right background for this option, ask us.

For students who aren't planning to major in a science, we offer Physics 125, a survey of conceptual physics.  This course fulfills the general-education science requirement, but it does not fulfill prerequisites for more advanced science courses.  (Also, it’s full at the moment.)

Bernard Wittmaack, '11, presents research in Puerto Rico

Junior Bernard Wittmaack, ‘bernardwittmaack.jpg11, traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico this fall to present a talk on his research at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.  Bernard studies halogen bonding in group 14 halomethane analogues with chemistry professor Kelling Donald, using computational chemistry techniques.  The two have performed intensive calculations using a supercomputer cluster here at Richmond, and expect to publish their work soon.  Bernard is majoring in interdisciplinary physics with a chemistry concentration, allowing him to combine courses from both disciplines.

Research Update: Calina Copos, '10

Senior physics major calina_copos_big_cropped.jpgCalina Copos, '10, has been active in research with professor Jerry Gilfoyle, using the Richmond Physics Department’s supercomputer to run computationally intensive simulations to better understand the precision of the experiments they are doing at Jefferson National Laboratory.  The two are part of a team working to measure the distributions of electric charge and magnetic field within a single proton.  Calina traveled to Hawaii this fall to present the results of her work at a national conference of the American Physical Society’s Division of Nuclear Physics.

Jordan Wolfinger, '11, Travels to Australia

Junior Jordan Wolfinger, ’11,jordanlynnwolfinger.jpg has spent her fall semester in Sydney, Australia.  Besides continuing her physics studies there, she has also taken courses in finance and Australian history and traveled along Australia’s east coast.  She also traveled to New Zealand, where she went bungee jumping at the world’s third highest location.

Research Update: Nick Annichiarico, '12

nicholasdannichiarico.jpgSophomore physics major Nick Annichiarico, '12, has been working with Professor Ted Bunn, studying whether the universe has “handedness.”  The two have been studying a database of information on the orientation of galaxies, searching for universal symmetry on a cosmological scale.  Nick began working with Professor Bunn during the summer after his freshman year.

Research Update: Jack Shaw, '12

jackdshaw.jpgSophomore physics major Jack Shaw, '12, is currently studying the effects of heat shock on mammalian cells.  Jack has been working with Professor Ovidiu Lipan, a biological physicist, since the summer after his freshman year.  Their work involves culturing Chinese hamster ovary cells that have been tagged with green fluorescent protein, and is supported in part by a $134,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.