Course meets every Thursday at 12:55 p.m. in 219 JFB.
Instructor
P. Craig Taylor. Contact him at craig@physics.utah.edu
- Office : 217 JFB
- Office Hours:
- Phone: 581-8751
- Office : 217 JFB
The purpose of this course is to acquaint potential physics majors with important research topics in physics and related disciplines. This course consists of weekly colloquia presented by faculty from the Physics Department and from other related science and engineering departments. In addition to exposure to specific research areas, students participate in discussions where they learn to assimilate and evaluate scientific information from oral presentations.
Recent topics covered in this course include: the origin of the universe, high energy cosmic rays, gamma ray astronomy, black holes, the solar cycle, acoustics, optics, solar energy, amorphous semiconductors, conducting polymers, magnetic resonance imaging, fluid dynamics, chemistry of fires and explosions, the quantum Hall effect, and the ozone hole.
Course grades are based on attendance and
participation in class.
SCHEDULE
| January 14 | Introduction | |
| January 21 | Brenda Dingus, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Gamma-Ray Astronomy |
| January 28 | Clayton C. Williams, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Characterizing Single MOSFET Devices with the Scanning Capacitance Microscope |
| February 4 | Benjamin Bromley, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Computational Astrophysics |
| February 11 | Walter Harrison, Applied Physics, Stanford University | How Electronic Structure Got Simple |
| February 28 | Richard J. Ingebretsen, M.D., Ph.D., LDS Hospital, University of Utah | Physics of the Human Body |
| February 25 | Werner Gellermann, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Modern Optics |
| March 4 | George Cassiday, Department of Physics ,University of Utah | Does ET Exist? |
| March 11 | Mikhail Raikh, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Chiral Electrodynamics |
| March 18 | SPRING BREAK | |
| March 25 | David Kieda, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Physicists and Product Development |
| April 1 | David Blair, Biology Department, University of Utah | A Biological Rotary Motor |
| April 8 | Michael Salamon, Department of Physics, University of Utah | Relativistic Beaming in Quasars and Blazars |
| April 15 | Graeme W. Milton, Department of Mathematics, University of Utah | Negative Thermal Expansion, Shape Memory, and Other Novel Physical Properties |
| April 22 | Yong-shi Wu, Department of Physics, University of Utah | The Present Status of Elementary Particle Physics |
| April 29 | Mystery Event |