Physics and Astronomy
Radiations

March 29 - April 5, 1999

* MARK YOUR CALENDAR *

Wednesday, March 31

3:10-4:20 p.m.
Olin 04

 Comps Talk: Come hear Kristin Portle's comps talk, "Venus, Truly Our Sister Planet? The Physics of Plate Tectonics on Venus." The pre-paper is posted in the student lounge for those who would like to see it before the talk.

Friday, April 2

noon-1:00 p.m.
CTR (Burton)

 Physics Table: Join the department and Physics 123 speaker Kris Wedding for lunch and conversation. Meet on 3rd Olin at 11:50 a.m. or join us at the CTR when you're free.

1:20-2:10 p.m.
Olin 141

 Guest Speaker: Join the Physics 123 class to learn about Physics That's Good for Your Health: An Introduction to Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Kris Wedding (alum '91, currently doing post-doc at Stanford). Everyone is welcome and refreshments will be provided.

Monday, April 5

3:10-4:20 p.m.
Olin 04

 Comps Talk: Come hear Elizabeth Boehme's comps talk, "Galileo Goes to Ganymede." The pre-paper will be posted in the student lounge for those who would like to see it before the talk.

* FYI *

Seniors: Crossroads School, a small independent school in St. Louis MO, is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time math/physics teaching position. For more information, see the bulletin board in the student lounge.

REU at the U of MN: The U of MN's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and Center for Interfacial Engineering are sponsoring an REU program this summer. Application deadline: May 1, 1999. See the bulletin board or filing cabinet for more information.

3M Technical Aide Program: 3M is looking for Technical Aides to work during the summer assisting the technical staff with research projects. Contact DeeDee Eimon at 651-733-1291 for more information.

* Summer Research at Carleton *

This summer, the Department has 4 summer research internships available for students interested in participating in hands-on research activities. These positions will provide you with the opportunity to explore physics and astronomy in a research setting and learn new techniques in instrumentation and data acquisition and analysis. Plus, you will have the opportunity to become more familiar with the department, enjoy Carleton in a summer setting and check out the sights in Northfield and beyond. The positions are summarized below. If you are interested in applying, talk with the particular research supervisor and submit a paragraph or two describing your qualifications and explaining why you would like the position. Give your written application to Rebecca Tollefson in the department office.

Application deadline: Monday, April 5, 1999

Cindy Blaha is looking for two students to participate in summer research in astrophysics. The research will concentrate on a spectroscopic analysis of stars and galaxies. The primary focus will be on the use of our new CCD-based spectrograph here on campus to obtain and analyze stellar spectra. Students will also be involved in imaging with the new CCD cameras on the 16" and 8" telescopes, developing data reduction programs, assisting with public observing sessions and giving observatory tours to visiting groups. This summer we will also focus on an ongoing study of a group of galaxies that display "hot spots" or bursts of star formation in their nuclear regions. Radio and optical images of these galaxies and long-slit optical spectra will be analyzed using various image processing packages on our SUN Sparxstations. The results of these studies will be combined in order to gain better insights into the physical properties of these starburst regions. A strong interest in astronomy is required and some previous astronomy and computer programming experience is recommended. Sophomores and juniors are encouraged to apply. See Cindy if you are interested.

Doug Foxgrover: The weather. Everybody talks about it, and now you can do something about it. We have a number of weather data gathering instruments atop Olin that can be connected to a display console as well as to a computer. We are looking for someone during the months of July and August who is interested in writing a program with LabView (G programming language) that will interact with the data for collection, display and analysis. This will involve a lot of work at the computer, along with some wiring and basic electronics. An interest in the weather and graphical design will serve you well. A little programming experience is helpful, along with some eagerness to learn a new language. Ability to work interdependently and be creative is desired. Please contact Doug (dfoxgrov, x4033) in Olin 208 for more details.

Bruce Thomas would like one student to work with him on research in lasers, optics, and spectroscopy. We have a few diode lasers that can be tuned over a small range of wavelengths. The main thrust of the work is to improve our control of the tuning and to develop a "wavemeter" to measure the wavelengths more accurately. That will involve some machining and some electronics. Juniors who have had Contemporary Experimental Physics and Electronics will be best prepared for this project, but Bruce would consider other interested students as well.

Bill Titus would like to have someone work with him on a 10-week project analyzing a simple classical, rotating system that should exhibit chaotic motion. The individual needs to have taken P229/P230 this year and be willing to learn more about chaotic dynamics. The person will be required to work, at times, independently, and to develop further expertise in C programming and Mathematica. Beginning and ending dates are flexible.