Upcoming Events

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is pleased to announce this year’s Physics 123 Line-up.  “What Physicists Do” is our annual series of five lectures by invited speakers, many of whom are Carleton Physics alumni.  It is intended to introduce students to a broad range of real-world physics and to give some perspective on the kinds of work done by people with a physics background.  The course is open to all interested students; those considering a major in physics are particularly encouraged to enroll. Students who are unable to enroll are encouraged to attend the talks that fit their schedule.

The presentations are in AND 036 on Fridays during 6th period (3:30-4:30pm). The only requirement for registered students to receive credit, beyond attending five talks, is to read an assigned article beforehand and then to submit a short (one page) typed essay afterwards commenting on both the talk and the reading. Non-registered students, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend any and all talks that fit your schedule!  Speakers will be available for informal discussions over refreshments afterward.  Questions: Arjendu Pattanayak, Olin 237, arjendu@carleton.edu

May 22nd Bibek Pokharel ‘15, Research Scientist, IBM 

“From Chaos to Control”

Carleton can be a chaotic place, and it is not an exaggeration to say I could not have predicted my trajectory even though I entered with a deterministic plan and thought I knew my initial conditions well. I entered Carleton set on being an Economics major, and left with a degree in Physics and Mathematics without ever taking a single economics course. Freshman year, I enthusiastically asked a professor (Prof. Arjendu Pattanayak, to be precise) for a research project, and was assigned an ambitious task: to control chaos, and perhaps eventually quantum chaos. The project never concluded, but I never stopped learning about quantum mechanics, chaos, and control, and there were many such experiences I did not fully appreciate at the time that have shaped my career as a researcher. In this talk, I will trace the arc from those early chaotic days to my current work as a quantum computing researcher in industry — where, as it turns out, controlling quantum systems is quite literally the job.

from Physics And Astronomy Events