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.
| 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 … | |
| April 20, 2010 | John Armstrong (’69), Jet Propulsion Laboratory Doppler Tracking, Pulsar Timing and the Sensitivity of Low-Frequency Gravitational Wave Searches |
Gravitational waves (GWs) are predicted across a spectrum ranging from ~kilohertz to femtohertz. Gravity wave detections and subsequent detailed waveform study will give information on astrophysical sources unavailable with any other method. The GW spectrum divides into Fourier bands, depending on detector technology. In the low-frequency (~millihertz) and very-low-frequency (~nanohertz) bands, detectors involve spacecraft Doppler tracking and pulsar timing, respectively. … | |
| April 6, 2010 | Several HMC Professors, Harvey Mudd College Recent Developments in Physics |
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| March 23, 2010 | Thomas Helliwell, Harvey Mudd College Dark Energy and Einstein’s Biggest Blunder |
According to quantum field theory, vacuum is not nothing, but probably contains an enormous amount of energy. A primary effect of this energy should be on gravitation on a cosmological scale. In fact, in 1917 Einstein introduced something very similar into his gravitational field equations, the so-called “cosmological constant”, to overcome what he thought was a flaw in the equations. … | |
| March 2, 2010 | Kai-Mei Fu, Hewlett Packard Labs Optical Spintronics for Quantum Information Processing and Magnetic Sensing |
The optical detection and control of solid-state spins has exciting applications in the fields of quantum information processing and magnetic sensing. In the first part of the talk I will show how optical pulses can be used to measure the three fundamental relaxation times of electrons bound to donors in GaAs: population relaxation \( T_1 \), inhomogeneous dephasing \( T_2^* … | |
| Feb. 16, 2010 | Matthew Rakher, National Institute of Standards and Technology Quantum Optics with Quantum Dots |
The quantum mechanical nature of single atoms or molecules can be very difficult to measure in the laboratory. However, recent progress using atomic-like, solid-state systems has made such measurements more accessible. In particular, the semiconductor quantum dot (QD) has developed into a widely-used platform for conducting experiments at the intersection of quantum optics and condensed matter physics. Combined with nanofabrication … | |
| Feb. 9, 2010 | Gerardo Dominguez, University of California at San Diego Isotope Studies in Natural Systems and Their Applications |
The abundance of isotopes of an element can vary as a function of time and space. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical factors that underlie these variations can be used to reconstruct the natural history of the Earth, the planets, and even the interstellar medium. In this talk, I will discuss factors that lead to small but measurable … |
