Title: Ionization Sources of the Local Interstellar Clouds Abstract: The structure of the local interstellar clouds is influenced by stellar ionizing sources that shaped it dynamically and thermally over the last 5 million years. The dominant sources include two massive B-type stars, currently at distances of 124 and 151 pc in the Canis Majoris constellation,…
Title: Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen Abstract: The idea that it might be possible to make a perfect invisibility cloak was a frequent topic in the news and the scientific literature over the past two decades. The subject of invisibility physics, however, has a history that stretches back well…
Title: Public Engagement as a Physics Practice: Identity, Community, and Building the Infrastructure for Impact Abstract: Public engagement or, as it is more commonly known, “outreach” often lives at the periphery of physics departments, something some do in their “free” time. Yet many physicists and students facilitate informal programs. But what do we know about how these…
Title: Empathy in Physics Classrooms and other Academic Spaces Abstract: This talk explores the role of empathy — the ability to understand and share feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another — in physics classrooms and other academic spaces. Specifically, we ask: 1) how do faculty conceptualize empathy and its place in the classroom; 2) how…
Title: The Gendered History of Quantum Physics Abstract: The book Women in the History of Quantum Physics: Beyond Knabenphysik presents original analyses of the lives and work of sixteen women who, throughout the twentieth century, from various locations and in diverse ways, participated in the development of quantum physics. By focusing on lesser-known figures and…
Title: Gaia in Technicolor: Mapping Stellar Variability Through H-R Diagram Motions Abstract: Most people think of the famous H-R diagram in stellar astrophysics as being essentially static over human lifetimes, changing only on timescales of millions or billions of years. However, some pulsating stars and eclipsing binaries exhibit photometric and color variations strong enough that their…
Title: Mathematical Foundation and Extension of Statistical Mechanics Abstract: How can simple macroscopic laws emerge from the chaotic motion of astronomically many microscopic degrees of freedom? Statistical mechanics answers this question with a mathematical structure of striking simplicity, built around entropy, Boltzmann weights, and free energy. In this colloquium, I will revisit why that structure…
Title: Rethinking Superfluorescence: A Window into Macroscopic Quantum Order Abstract: Macroscopic quantum coherence is typically associated with low temperatures, where thermal fluctuations do not rapidly destroy phase correlations. In solids, however, electronic coherence is strongly influenced by lattice dynamics, making it unclear how collective quantum states can persist at elevated temperatures. In this talk, I…
Join us Monday, April 20nd, 3:00 pm for our annual celebration of undergraduate excellence in Physics! The poster session will begin at 3:30 in the Riddick Hearth. The formal presentation will take place in Riddick 301 beginning at 4:00. Graduating Senior Awards Wesley Doggett Award for Scholarly Achievement: Richard Patty Award for Leadership: Rodney McCormick…
Title: Making a Splash and Mixing It Up in Active Matter Abstract: Living matter, such as biological tissue, can be viewed as a nonequilibrium hierarchical assembly in which self-driven components consume energy to organize into increasingly complex structures across scales. These living, or “active-matter,” systems exhibit remarkable properties such as adaptability, self-healing, and self-organization, raising…