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.


HMC Physics Colloquium shot
April 5, 2022 Paula Liliana Giraldo Gallo, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
High Magnetic Fields: a “magnifying glass” to spy on what electrons do!

High magnetic fields are a powerful tool for revealing the secrets of quantum materials. These allow exploring the origin and nature of charge-carrier interactions, resolving molecular structures, unveiling the environments in which atoms and molecules are embedded into, or even discovering new states of matter that can be used in novel technological applications. In this colloquium I will present general …

March 29, 2022 Janet Y. Sheung, WM Keck Science Center
Active Matter: The Cell From a Physics Perspective

The cells inside our bodies are inherently non-equilibrium materials, able to dynamically change their mechanical properties in response to environmental demands. Scientists have hoped to better understand this kind of active matter for a long time, not simply for the potential advances to medical treatments but also to open the door to the design of futuristic biomimetic materials. In this …

March 1, 2022 Rudro Biswas, Purdue University
Crossover appeal of quantum mechanics on curved surfaces

What physics does one hope to learn by closing looking at exotic quantum states of matter, esoteric to begin with, but even more so on curved surfaces?! In this colloquium, I will first introduce, quantum hall states, which are paradigmatic of such states, and discuss their signature property: the quantization of Hall conductance, which is independent of sample-specific details, to …

Feb. 15, 2022 Zia Mian, Princeton University
Dismantling the Nuclear Doomsday Machine: Scientists, the Bomb, and the Challenges of Nuclear Disarmament

Eighty years ago physicists first worked out what it would take to build a simple nuclear weapon and the immediate effects of its use. Five years later, theory and experiment became devastating facts as the United States built, tested, and then used the first nuclear weapons to destroy cities. Today, there are nine nuclear armed states and over 13,000 nuclear …

Nov. 30, 2021 Mariesa Teo, Jackson Castro, and Emma Cooper, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #7
Please join us on Tuesday (11/30/21 at 4:30pm) for our last round of senior theses talks.

Mariesa Teo: “Mapping the Disparate Effects of Prop. 13”
Jackson Castro: “Motiv Power Systems: A Stationary Energy Storage System Made from Recycled Electric Vehicle Batteries”
Emma Cooper: "Investigating the Dielectric Properties of Functionalized Barium Titanate within a Polymer Nanocomposite"

Nov. 16, 2021 Yilin Li, Lingyuan Lyu, and Cathy Chang, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #6
Please join us on Tuesday (11/16/21 at 4:30pm) for our sixth round of senior theses talks.

Yilin Li: “Testing One-way EPR Steering and Other Entanglement Witnesses”
Lingyuan Lyu: “Modeling the Rotational Evolution of T Tauri Stars -- the effects of radius and magnetic field”
Cathy Chang: “Autonomous Drone System for Diverting Mammalian Pests”
Nov. 9, 2021 Luis Hidalgo, Benjamin Khoury, and Kate Lord, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #5
Please join us on Tuesday (11/9/21 at 4:30pm) for our fifth round of senior theses talks.

Luis Hidalgo: “Closing gaps in dark matter searches in LHC experiments”
Benjamin Khoury: “Dark Matter Interactions Through ALPs”
Kate Lord: “Violating Bell's Inequality Using a Sagnac Source”
Nov. 2, 2021 Natalia Hernandez, Andrew Chen, and Avalon Feiler, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #4
Please join us on Tuesday (11/2/21 at 4:30pm) for our fourth round of senior theses talks.

Natalia Hernandez: “Comparing Iridates via X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy”
Andrew Chen: “Simulating Viscoelastic Wave Propagation in Uniaxial Recoil”
Avalon Feiler: “Latch dynamics of the larval mantis shrimp raptorial strike”
Oct. 26, 2021 Savanah Diaz, Anna Soper, and Victoria Lloyd, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #3

Please join us on Tuesday, 10/26/21 at 4:30pm as three HMC physics majors talk about their senior theses.

Savanah Diaz: "An electronic analysis of aluminum's effects on high entropy, ferritic stainless steel substitutes"
Anna Soper: "Cluster expansion of stacking fault energies for the development of ductile high entropy lead-free brasses"
Victoria Lloyd: "Supersymmetry and the Stochastic Variational Approach"

Oct. 12, 2021 Kaveh Pezeshki, Rebecca Chan, and Noah Haig and Harry Sanchez (MIT/Lincoln Labs Clinic), Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks #2

Please join us on Tuesday, 10/12/21 at 4:30pm as three HMC physics majors talk about their senior theses.

Kaveh Pezeshki: "Charge Density Waves in GdTe3 Thin Films"
Rebecca Chan: "Theoretical Study of Quantum Spin Liquid Candidate Na2BaCo(PO4)2"
Noah Haig and Harry Sanchez, MIT/Lincoln Labs Clinic: " Drones with Software Defined Radio"

Oct. 5, 2021 Georgia Newman, Chloe Taylor, and Rafael Porto, Harvey Mudd College
Senior Theses Talks
Please join us on Tuesday, 10/5/21 at 4:30pm as three HMC physics majors talk about their senior theses.
 
Georgia Newman: “Anisotropic Magnetoresistance of Single Crystal FeRh Thin Films”
Chloe Taylor: “Large Interlayer Exchange Coupling and Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Ir-based Synthetic Antiferromagnets”
Rafael Porto: “Dark Matter and Freeze-in Leptogenesis”
 
Sept. 28, 2021 Prof. Brian Shuve, Harvey Mudd College
How (Not) to Give a Talk

Join us as Prof. Shuve leads our discussion on how to give effective talks and what to avoid to prevent 'losing' your audience.

This meeting will be virtual, so please use the zoom link below.
Sept. 21, 2021 Wylie Rosenthal '12, Carla Becker '18, Colin Adams '19, and Rachel Barcklay '20, Harvey Mudd College
Alumni Career Session

Four HMC alumni will discuss their career paths after leaving HMC. This is your chance to pick their brains and ask them questions about getting a job and what life after college is like.

This meeting will be virtual, so please use the zoom link below.

https://hmc-edu.zoom.us/j/91887995671?pwd=b0hMTEkxWk5oTTUwVUlXWnA2cDFsQT09

Sept. 14, 2021 Various HMC Physics Faculty, Harvey Mudd College
Fellowships and Scholarships 101

This colloquium will be about fellowships and scholarships as they apply to graduate school and post-baccalaureate programs. We will also be presenting the Bell, Rojansky, Townsend, and Physics Community Awards. This meeting will be virtual, so please use the zoom link below.

https://hmc-edu.zoom.us/j/94410726749?pwd=VFBpcWQ0R29KN09lcDlyTHc4djZ0dz09

 

(image from flaticon.com)
Sept. 7, 2021 Various HMC Physics Faculty, Harvey Mudd College
Graduate School 101

This colloquium will be an informational meeting about graduate school, so bring your burning questions in! Various HMC Physics Faculty will talk about graduate programs and options. The application process will also be discussed.

This will be virtual, so please use the zoom link below.