iMPULSE U n i v e r s i t y o f N e v a d a , R e n o

P h y s i c s D e p a r t m e n t

I m p u l s eV o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 1S u m m e r 2 0 0 7A n n u a l P u b l i c a t i o n

D e p a r t m e n t o f P h y s i c sU n i v e r s i t y o f N e v a d a , R e n oM a i l s t o p 2 2 0 R e n o , N V 8 9 5 5 7 - 0 0 5 8T + 7 7 5 . 7 8 4 . 6 7 9 2 F + 7 7 5 . 7 8 4 - 1 3 9 8w w w . p h y s i c s . u n r . e d u

D e p a r t m e n t C h a i r D r . K a t h e r i n e M c C a l l

N e w s l e t t e r A d v i s o r M e r c y B a l d e r r a m a

V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 1

Welcome to the second issue of Impulse. In this issue, we highlight some of our academic programs, student activities, and new and continuing faculty in the department. There are many changes to report in addition to those described in this newsletter. In July, the University Provost Dr. John Frederick stepped down and the founding College of Science Dean Dr. David Westfall retired. Dr. Jannet Vreeland has been appointed Interim Provost and Dr. Jeffrey Thompson (from the physics department!) has been appointed Interim Dean of the College of Sci-ence during the search process. In honor of Dr. Westfall’s service to the College, the Dean’s Scholars awards that he instituted have been renamed and endowed as the Westfall Scholars awards. This year’s physics awardees and their mentors

are listed on page 5.

Within the department, my term as Department Chair has ended, and Dr. Roberto Mancini was resoundingly elected for a three year term. Dr. Man-cini stepped down from his position as the Associate Dean of Research in the College of Science in order to become Chair of Physics. We are extremely for-tunate to have a Chair with his research stature and wealth of experience, as the department continues to grow and be-come more complex.

I am particularly grateful for the oppor-tunities I have had as Chair to meet stu-dents and to work with an outstanding staff. Our students, whether fulfilling a one-semester major requirement or pursuing a research career in physics, all

share a passion for their education and the University that is evident in personal conversation. Our staff are equally passionate about the students, the depart-ment, and the University. They are vital to the life and success of the department – and they make the rest of us look good!

We appreciate the great responses we received to the first newsletter, and look forward to hearing from you in response to this issue.

Dr. Katherine R. McCall

Dear Friends,

Dr. Katherine McCall and Ph.D. candidate Kristin Lewis, Graduation Spring 2007

2 Helping Students Reach the Stars

4 Spotlight on Faculty

5 Awards and Graduation

6 Classrooms with Clickers

8 Senior Thesis Process

3 The Atmospheric Science Program

7 Spotlight on Graduate Students

N e w s l e t t e r E d i t o r L e i a C h a n c e l l o r

New Astronomy & AstrophysicsMinors Available Soon

In response to student interest, Drs. Dave Bennum and Melodi Rodrigue are lead-ing the development of new astronomy and astrophysics minors. While much of the coursework for the new minors is available in the current selection of classes, there are several new courses being developed exclusively for these minors such as a “Hot Topics in Astronomy” class and an “Astrophysical Measurements” class (see new class boxes).

The astronomy minor will include the current astronomy courses already in place, AST 109, Planetary Astronomy, and AST 110, Stellar Astronomy. In addition to “Hot Topics in Astronomy,” this minor will have elective choices from other de-partments including GEOL 140, Geology of the Solar System, and ATMS 410, Air-

flow and Weather Dynamics.

The astrophysics minor will include physics electives such as PHYS 427, Plasma Physics, and PHYS 410, Nuclear Physics, as well as “Astro-physical Measurements.” This minor will include more technical courses than the astronomy minor, and is expected to appeal primarily to science, engineering, and mathematics majors.

The new and existing courses in astronomy/astrophysics have received major support in the form of equipment funds. Through the universi-ty equipment fund pool and contributions by department members Drs. Presura and Wanex, the department has acquired a new telescope, a spec-trometer with a CCD camera, and a new photometric filter wheel. This equipment will assist students in making proper motion and red-shift measurements, and in determining stellar classifications and composition, among other things.

For many students, a minor in astronomy or astrophysics will give and extra edge to their resume. The minors are expected to attract a lot of general interest, especially from journalists interested in science reporting and education students interested in incorporating astronomy informa-tion into their classes.

Helping Students Reach the Stars

Hot Topics in Astronomy

This is a 3 credit, upper-level class that will adjust its focus to meet the ever changing questions and concerns of the world of as-tronomy. From dark energy to the search for life, this class promises to be an excit-ing new adventure for students. Also, due to the broad scope of topics taught in this class, it may be taken more than once with a different topic of study.

Astrophysical MeasurementsThis is a 3 credit (2 credit lecture , 1 credit lab) upper-level class that is designed to introduce students to measurement tech-niques and data gathering from our solar system and beyond. This class is possible as a result of the new equipment purchas-es described in the article.

IMPULSE Summer 2007

Drs. David Bennum & Melodi Rodrigue

2

Advancing Fusion Energy Dr. Vladimir Ivanov

Thanks to research done recently at the Nevada Terawatt Facility (NTF), an im-portant step has been made in the understanding of some fundamental processes required to achieve fusion energy. A Z-pinch is a type of plasma confinement system that uses a fast electrical current in the plasma to generate a magnetic field. “With our 1 million amp NTF Z-pinch, we can explore some very interest-ing physics that can be applied to the bigger pinches at the national laboratories,” says Vladimir Ivanov, an associate physics research professor whose work with wire array Z-pinches at the NTF has led to a journal article in the prestigious journal, Physical Review Letters.

Ivanov and a team of students and researchers within the University’s College of Science found the microscopic effects that cause inefficiencies limiting the conversion of electrical energy required for implosion energy.

Source: UNR news article by John Trent

Dr. Vladimir Ivanov

IMPULSE Summer 2007

Atmospheric Science Program Majors, Minors and a rich history

A Breakthrough in Time Dr. Andrei Derevianko

Dr. Andrei Derevianko, Dr. Ulyana Safronova and physics graduate student Kyle Beloy have discovered a way to “isolate and explain a significant portion of error in atomic clock output.” Through their research efforts, they were able to reduce the portion of error they studied in atomic clocks to one fiftieth its original size.

Their research began in response to the research of a group of Italian physicists who suggested that atomic clocks may not be as accurate as was previously thought. The importance of their research was realized almost immediately, and their efforts were published in the physics journal, Physical Review Let-ters.

Source: UNR news article by Ben Hoffman

Photo by Jean Dixon

3

Dr. Andrei Derevianko

Travel back in time to 1962 when a summer school program for high school students, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was taught by the Desert Research Institute (DRI). Forty 11th grade high school students were selected to participate from a pool of 165 appli-cants. The purpose of the program was to “contribute to the nation’s effort to increase the quality and quantity of scientists and to improve general understanding of the needs, potential, and accomplishments of science.”

Organized by Wendell Mordy and Vincent Schaefer, the summer school hosted lectures given by renowned speakers from all over the country, and continued to run through the years of 1962 - 1965. This summer school initiative contributed to the local, national, and interna-tional awareness of the atmospheric physics graduate program, officially recognized by the University and DRI in 1967.

The graduate program in atmospheric sciences has grown now to include not only atmospher-ic physics and topics like cloud formation, microphysics, and radiation, but also atmospheric chemistry with relation to air pollution in cities and national parks. Numerical modeling and visualization of weather flow patterns has expanded to include topics like plume dispersion from forest fires, wind field analysis to help with placement of wind mills for electrical power generation, and atmospheric chemistry and air flow in complex terrain to predict and understand the transport of city plumes over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Step forward now to September 2005 when an atmospheric sciences bache-lor’s degree and minor became available to students. This degree program was formed from a core of courses that are taught both at the undergraduate and graduate level in support of the graduate program, as well as several new courses added to enhance student experience. Incoming Physics and ATMS students follow very similar course-paths for the first two years, with special-ization beginning in the third year. Physics students may take ATMS cours-es for their electives also. The unique niche for the undergraduate program in comparison with others around the country is its strong connection with physics, with emphasis on physics-based modeling of the atmosphere, instru-mentation development for measurement of the optics and chemistry of par-ticles and gases in the atmosphere, and analysis of the unique challenges we have in Reno with our basin city that straddles the great forests of the Sierra mountains on one side and Desert mountains on the other.

Dr. Patrick Arnott, Undergradu-ate Advisor for the Atmospheric

Science Program

Atmospheric Instrumentation

ATMS 360 is a three credit upper division course that became available to students in Spring 2007. This is a career oriented class, focusing on necessary skills to go on to a career in weather service such as the BML or DRI. This course covers a broad category of use and practice in the basics of atmospheric instrumentation.

Ultra Cold Atoms and MoleculesDr. Weinstein was originally interested in engineering from watching MIT robot competitions on TV. In high school, he enjoyed his physics class and decided to major in it when he began college at Caltech, sticking with it all the way through his Ph.D at Harvard.

Dr. Weinstein spent time working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) after he received his university degrees. He moved back to Nevada, his home state, and began working at UNR in the Fall of 2006. To date he has taught gradu-ate Atomic and Molecular Physics, PHYS 761, and the third semester of Physics for Scientists and En-gineers, PHYS 182. Along with graduate assistant Mei-Ju Lu, Dr. Weinstein is currently working in the field of Experimental Atomic Physics studying collisional properties, tunneling-driven chemistry, Bose-Einstein condensates, spin coherence and coherent light-matter interactions. His laboratory is in the final stages of development and he expects to be operating and making measurements by the time this reaches you.

Dr. Jonathan Weinstein

Fiscal and Administrative Manager, NTFGeri Ferguson

NTF Operations Manager, NTFSteve Batie

Steve Batie earned a B.A. in political science, taking classes at night while working during the day in a plumbing business he owned. He was employed at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) building, fielding air samplers, when the SAGE building (occupied by DRI) changed hands to the University and became largely occupied by the NTF. He has remained with the Physics Department ever since (approximately 10 years).

In his current position, Steve Batie’s schedule is packed with tasks such as scheduling experiments on the Zebra pulsed-power accelerator, coordinating resources for load development, supervising the NTF machine shop, developing the laboratory infrastructure to support scientific endeavors, implementing safety protocols and practices, and serving as a “shot director” for the Zebra accelerator. Assisting Steve Batie, Bruno Le Galloudec and Vidya Nalajala support the data acquisition and lab operations in addi-tion to their electrical engineering duties.

Geri Ferguson received her B.A. in Accounting from Florida State, and moved to Reno in 2004 to be the NTF’s Fiscal and Administrative Manager.

Geri is the backbone of the NTF, keeping order in a highly diverse and complex organization. Her duties include accounting and administrative support, implementation of administrative procedures, maintenance of the several million dollar NTF budget, and coordination of purchasing and travel re-imbursements and requests. Additionally, she is often the first point of contact for anyone with an administrative or fiscal question. Her supporting staff includes accounting assistant Phyllis Schmidt and administrative assistants Celia Ranson and Gayle Reed. Geri Ferguson

Steve Batie

Dr. Jonathan Weinstein

Laser Development and Operations Manager, NTFDr. Piotr Wiewior

Dr. Wiewior became interested in physics at the age of sixteen when he won a national award for an essay on elementary particle physics in Poland. He earned his M.S. in 1990 and Ph.D. in 1999 at War-saw University, specializing in optics and ultrafast lasers. As a 1999 winner of a prestigious NATO-NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, he worked at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 2002 he became a Senior Laser Scientist for the PHELIX Petawatt laser project in GSI, Germany, and in 2004 he joined the UNR Physics Department.

Dr. Wiewior is the Laser Development and Operations Manager at the NTF. He is responsible for directing and coordinating all laser projects and activities at the NTF, working from concept to device in designing and building the Leopard laser, and ensuring proper operation of the Tomcat laser and Cheetah lasers. Dr. Wiewior is assisted by the NTF laser development team which includes Guillaume Aubry, Sasha Challyy, Yuri Stepanenko, and Joe Vesco.

Dr. Piotr Wiewior

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4 IMPULSE Summer 2007

Awards

Graduation

APS Margaret Burbidge Award, 2nd Prize ~ Rajan BistaOutstanding Graduate Student Award ~ Rajan BistaSPS Leadership Award ~ Richard KrausSpring Westfall Scholar ~ Richard Kraus Mentor: Dr. Aaron CovingtonFall Westfall Scholar ~ John Lenz Mentor: Dr. Timothy Darling

Ph.D., Physics Srividya Duvvuri, Aug. 2006 Ghassan Alna’Washi, May 2007 Miao Lu, Aug. 2006 Eissa Farhat, May 2007 Kristin Lewis, May 2007 Ioana Paraschiv, May 2007 Boris Ravaine, May 2007M.S., Physics Jing Cheng Wang, Dec. 2006 Caleb Cannon, Dec. 2006B.S., Physics Ryan White, Aug. 2006 Richard Kraus, May 2007 John Lenz, Dec. 2006 Philippe LeBlanc, May 2007 Erik Tendeland, Dec. 2006 Ryan Royle, May 2007 Quinn Sinnott, May 2007

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Faculty

Dr. Benny Bach, newly hired lab director for the Department of Physics, aims to bring com-plex ideas down to an easily comprehensible level: “I am looking forward to helping the department develop state-of-the-art physics laboratories and demonstrations. I’d like to ac-complish this without giving the impression that physics is something that has to be done in a laboratory with computers and specialized equipment. Rather that in our day-to-day world we are surrounded by real and concrete examples of physical principles as well as interesting physical problems and puzzles.”

Dr. Bach, who begins working at UNR this fall, has a background in experimental vacuum (UV and X-ray) spectroscopy from the University of Colorado, the College of William and Mary, and the Paul Scherrer Institute. Following graduate school, Dr. Bach worked with numerous research organizations and universities, including NASA and ESA, designing and fabricating diffractive and reflective optics for X-ray, ultraviolet and IR spectroscopy, the majority of that work for application to space flight or synchrotron beamlines. In his spare time, Dr. Bach is an avid kayaker, alpinist, and a frequent contributor to The American Alpine journal.

Dr. Benny Bach

Bringing Real World Physics to the Classroom Dr. Bernhard Bach

5 IMPULSE Summer 2007

6 IMPULSE Summer 2007

The Interwrite PRS RF, the model select-ed to be used in UNR classrooms

Personal Response Systems(PRS’s or clickers) are being used with increasing frequen-cy across UNR and specifically in introductory level physics courses. These remote control-like devices allow students to give real-time feedback to questions projected on a screen. Both teachers and students get instant feedback on how well students are assimilating the information being covered in class.

The pioneers working with this technology in the Department of Physics are Dr. David Bennum and Dr. Melodi Rodrigue.

Numerous workshops are being held across campus to acquaint students and teachers with the use of clickers. Most notable was a two-part workshop given by Dr. Phillip So-kolove of the University of Maryland in late September focusing on how teachers can effectively incorporate clickers into their classes and encourage active student learn-ing. Dr. Sokolove suggested using clickers in conjunction with group learning, that is having the students work in small groups, discuss questions and persuade other group members of their answer to receive full par-ticipation points. Clickers can also be used for taking student attendance, by requiring that students be logged in via their clickers at the start of class.

UNR’s choice of clickers is the GTCO Cal-Comp’s Interwrite PRS-RF system, pictured on the right. This model can be bought in the ASUN bookstore for around $45, or can be bought in conjunction with specific textbooks, often with a rebate of around $20.

A New Look for the Physics Website

Check out the new look and new features of the Physics Website at: www.physics.unr.edu. We want to make this a valuable resource to stu-dents, teachers, and visitors alike, so if you have any suggestions, please email them to webmas-ter@physics.unr.edu

Department of Physics homepage

Department of Physics Colloquium Schedule and Information

Reaching Students in Large Classes The future of UNR:Classrooms with Clickers

Physics Computer LabCheck out the Physics Computer Lab in LP 209A

A valuable, but often unknown, resource for students is the Physics computer lab located in LP 209A. The physics computer lab is open 24/7 to anyone with building access and is equipped with a variety of resources for student use including 4 Linux and 8 Windows sys-tems, color printing, scanning, and a projector. The computer lab can also serve as a smart classroom where teachers can give presentations via the projector, and students can follow along using their own computers. Although the computer lab is open to all students, it is particularly convenient for physics and chemistry students because of its location, and the scientific and mathematical software such as LabVIEW, Maple, Mathematica and MathCAD supported on the computers.

Another great feature is the Windows and Linux support provided by Cecilia Mancini and Steve Keim. Cecilia maintains and manages the Linux systems in the lab as well as the department, while Steve focuses on the administration of the Windows systems.

Steve Keim and Cecilia Mancini

Physics Student using a clicker

7 IMPULSE Fall 2006

Jennifer Rassuchine

Erik EmmonsIn high school Erik Emmons was interested in electrical engineering, but switched to physics after a summer internship in the UNR Department of Physics, where he worked under Dr. Roberto Mancini modeling atoms and plasmas and Dr. Jeff Thompson doing negative ion research. Erik received his B.S. in Physics in 2000, his M.S. in 2004 and is now completing work for his Ph.D. under Dr. Aaron Covington.

Currently, he is researching the macroscopic behavior of metals when shocked or placed under high pressure by focusing a laser beam on them. The extreme behavior induced sometimes even includes minor explosions. His long term goal is to do research in materials science at a national laboratory such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

His advice to physics students: Try to find a field you’re interested in. Learn as many technical skills as you can and make sure you get research experience. These will help you when you’re a graduate student.

Jennifer Rassuchine completed her B.S. in Mathematics and switched to physics because she wanted to, ”do a hard science with a lot of applied math”. She became specifically interested in medical physics when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I wanted to know what they were doing for treatment and why.” After speaking to the doctors, Jennifer was offered a job as a technician for the Radiation Oncology Department at Renown Health.

Jennifer currently splits her time between Renown Health and the NTF, where she is doing research work for her Ph.D. under Dr. Thomas Cowan. Her research involves shooting high-powered lasers at nano-fabricated targets and trying to use the geometry of these targets to optimize the x-ray production and accelerate protons. This work has possible applications in medicine and for radiography of Z-pinch plasmas.

Her advice to physics students: Be patient, stick with it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. Also, if you’re looking for a lucrative application of physics, consider medical physics.

Spotl ight On Graduate Students

Jennifer Rassuchine

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Class Notes1970’sJames Kalathil, 1976 Ph.D. Physics & Atmospheric Physics, recently retired from Calpoly, San Luis Obispo after teaching physics for forty years.

1990’sSherri Del Soldato, 1994 B.S. Physics, 2000 M.S. Atmospheric Science would like to announce that her company, JetKor, is doing great as they progress towards 3-D animation.

2000’sMing Shui, 2002 Engineering Physics, received his Ju-ris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in December 2005.

Keep us postedIf you would like to share a new promotion, award, degree, birth, marriage, or any other news, please fill out the form below or email us at physdept@unr.edu.

Erik Emmons

Ming Shui

Fall 2007 Society of Physics Students President Chris Thomas (left) and Vice President Ian Arnold

The Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter at UNR has been exceedingly productive this year. The SPS’s mission is to form a community of students from any academic background with an interest in physics, to increase the vis-ibility of the Department of Physics, to engage in outreach activities, and to have fun with physics in general. The SPS has approximately 20 members. Ac-tivities include outreach projects, an annual SPS barbeque, and participating in UNR club fairs equipped with catchy demonstrations such as a “can launcher” that uses electromagnetic forces to launch soda cans.

If you are interested in attending local SPS chapter meetings, contact the in-coming president, Chris Thomas, at calculus_85_04@yahoo.com.

Megan Seeley, Spring 2006 B.S. in physics, wrote a se-nior thesis titled, “Molecular Spectroscopy of N2 and N2+.” Many students are unaware of the specifics of preparing and completing their senior thesis require-ment, so Megan decided to share her insight on what it’s like to do a Senior Thesis project.

When do you need to start preparing for your thesis? Start preparing at the beginning of your senior year or even earlier. It’s best to give yourself a whole year to do it - one semester to do research and ex-perimenting and one semester to write your paper and prepare your presentation.

What does the thesis consist of? The thesis is 20-50 pages long depending on your project. The format is similar to a scientific re-port. The oral presentation to “defend” your thesis should be about 25 minutes long. It will be fol-lowed by questions from the audience. Most peo-ple use Power Point for their presentation. Who do you turn your paper in to?Your advisor and a reader that both you and your advisor agree on to read and grade your paper. Once your thesis is completed, it ends up in the University Library.

Who views your presentation? The presentation is open to anyone who wants to come see it. Shortly before you give your presen-tation, you advertise it. The thesis presentations have a surprising turn out. Fifteen people attended mine, including a few friends brought along for moral support.

How does a student get started on their senior thesis? First, pick an advisor - someone who is involved in a field of research that interests you. Then, with their help, pick a topic that you’re interested in re-searching. In the physics department, advisors are often also the supervisors of students already work-ing in their laboratories.

How often do you meet with your advisor? I met with my advisor, Dr. Vidmar, about once a month up until the last two weeks before my pre-sentation. After that we were meeting almost ev-ery day. It’s important to maintain regular contact with your advisor so they can give you a heads up on how you’re doing and where you’re at, or where you should be, in your project.

Graduate Student Megan Seely, B.S. Physics.

Her advice to physics students:

Don’t be afraid of the senior thesis. A lot of people freak out when they think of having to

do it, but it’s not that bad.

Senior Thesis Process (Don’t Panic) Recently Graduated Physics Student Megan Seeley Explains it all

UNR’s Local Chapter of the Society of Physics Students SPS

Department of Physics1664 N. Virginia StreetUniversity of Nevada, Reno / 0220Reno, Nevada 89557-0220