Colloquium
Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 pm in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.
| Sept. 6, 2011 | Eleven HMC Physics Majors, Harvey Mudd College Summer 2011 Off-Campus Research |
Lucas Brady, Cameron Conti, Jake Fish, Chris Gage, Robert Hoyt, Erik Littleton, Laura Maguire, Shaun Pacheco, Carola Purser, Brad Perfect, Wylie Rosenthal, and Sophie Waldman will briefly describe their summer research experiences. |
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| April 19, 2011 | Persis S. Drell, SLAC The Turn On of LCLS: The X-Ray Free-Electron Laser at SLAC |
On April 10, 2009, the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser was brought to lasing. Producing an X-ray beam with more than a billion times higher peak brightness than the most powerful existing synchrotron sources, it marked the beginning of a new era of science. Since October 2009, users have been performing experiments at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source … | |
| March 29, 2011 | Alice Shapley, University of California at Los Angeles The Contribution of Galaxies to the Reionization of the Universe |
There are critical outstanding questions about the formation of galaxies, and their impact on the intergalactic medium (IGM). One important goal is to determine the origin of the ultraviolet radiation field that reionized the universe and maintained the ionization of the IGM. This question becomes more pressing as we discover ever more distant galaxies, probing back to the earliest epochs … | |
| March 8, 2011 | Gerard C. L. Wong, University of California at Los Angeles Condensed Matter Physics and Bacteria |
One of the unsolved problems in human health and disease is the control of pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant forms of bacteria. In this talk, we will briefly describe three vignettes where physics-based approaches have been useful.
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| March 1, 2011 | Joseph Altepeter, Northwestern University A Tale of Two Qubits |
The nascent field of quantum information science is built on an irresistibly intriguing principle: knowledge is physical. The consequences of this deceptively simple statement include the possibility of quantum computers capable of solving certain problems exponentially faster than their classical counterparts and communication protocols whose security is guaranteed by the laws of physics. This talk will present the fundamentals of … | |
| Feb. 1, 2011 | Sabrina Leslie, Harvard University Convex Lens-Induced Confinement: Enabling New Biophysical Measurements Under Previously Inaccessible Conditions |
A wide range of physiological processes rely on weak intermolecular interactions that occur at high concentration, or over long time periods. Probing such interactions presents a challenge to fluorescence microscopy, the work horse for resolving biological processes at the molecular scale. To address this challenge, I present a novel and practical fluorescence imaging technique, convex lens induced confinement (CLIC), which … | |
| Jan. 25, 2011 | David Hanneke, University of Colorado at Boulder Measuring the Electron Magnetic Moment |
Measurements of the electron magnetic moment (the "g-value") probe the electron’s interaction with the fluctuating quantum vacuum. With a quantum electrodynamics calculation, they provide the most accurate determination of the fine structure constant. Comparisons with independent determinations of the fine structure constant are among the most precise tests of any physical theory. This talk will present an experiment that measures … | |
| Jan. 18, 2011 | Sharon Gerbode, Harvard University Squishy Physics: Probing Complex Materials and Visualizing Statistical Mechanics at the Particle Scale |
In introductory physics courses, we learn about an idealized frictionless world of rigid bodies and smooth surfaces. Yet the physics of everyday life is complex: soft, sticky, squishy and often far from equilibrium. Exploring the fundamental principles that underlie this complexity, soft matter physics thrives at the intersection of physics with biology, chemistry and engineering, offering many new directions for … | |
| Nov. 30, 2010 | Paul S. Nerenberg, University of California at Berkeley Physics Meets Biology: Understanding Collagen Degradation With Computational Models |
Collagen degradation is a physiological process necessary for regular tissue maintenance, but it is also a key player in the progression of several diseases, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite its considerable medical and scientific importance, the molecular mechanism of collagen degradation has resisted explanation for more than three decades. In my talk, I will outline computational approaches, … | |
| Nov. 16, 2010 | Antonio Aurilia, Cal Poly Pomona Is There a Maximal Force In The Universe? |
Modern physics brakes down the fundamental forces of nature into four components: gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force. Together, these four forces account for all the physical phenomena we observe in the universe. As remarkable as this is, many physicists today believe that the “four” interactions may be combined into just one fundamental interaction, including … | |
| Nov. 2, 2010 | Kevin Moore (’99), Department of Radiation Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine Physicists in Medicine - From Battling Griffiths Problems to Battling Cancer |
While we’ve all heard the old joke that physics saves lives because its introductory courses keep sub-par students out of medical school, physicists have, both historically and presently, contributed immensely to the advancement of medicine. This talk will survey the myriad roles physicists play in the medical field, with a special focus on a medical physicist’s responsibilities in the treatment … | |
| Oct. 26, 2010 | Wendy Panero (’97), Ohio State University The New Mineralogy and Chemistry of the Earth’s Inner Core |
Understanding the evolution of the Earth’s interior requires knowledge of the mineralogy, temperature, and viscosity of the Earth’s inner core. Recent seismic results showing significant yet heterogeneous seismic anisotropy for the inner core suggest that it is undergoing a dynamic process of unknown origin. This talk presents new methods for measuring transport properties under the high-pressure, high-temperature conditions … |
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| Oct. 5, 2010 | Vatche Sahakian, Harvey Mudd College On Grave Matters About Gravity |
A few months ago, Erik Verlinde, a string theorist from the Netherlands, conjectured a new principle in physics — one with potential to ruin the careers and lives of many physicists... In short, Verlinde proposes that gravity is really not a force! The claim is inspired from works in general relativity and string theory during the past decades, but can … | |
| Sept. 21, 2010 | Nine HMC Physics Majors, Harvey Mudd College Summer 2010 Off-Campus Research |
Kali Allison, John Bremseth, Theo DuBose, John Grasel, Robert Hoyt, Cecily Keppel, Kyle Luh, Shaun Pacheco, and Susanna Todaro describe their summer research experiences. | |
| Sept. 7, 2010 | Peter Saeta, Harvey Mudd College Physics and Engineering in the Village |
Are you tired of having your work appreciated? Does it embarrass you when people celebrate your achievements by cheering, singing, and dancing? Yes? Well, then I don’t recommend working on a water and solar-power project in Africa. Engineering students Rob Best (’10), Isabel Bush, Evann Gonzales, Ozzie Gooen (all ’12) and I spent 6 weeks installing photovoltaic panels, a solar-powered … |
