Lucy Griswold
Wednesday, January 26 2022
3:10 pm in Olin 141
The Physics of Roller Coasters from a Designer’s Perspective

 For millions of people around the world, roller coasters are a heart-pounding, adrenaline-boosting amusement park staple, providing a high level of thrill in a safe and controlled environment. Their complicated twists, turns, and drops create a feeling of euphoria that prompts riders to stand in line for hours at a time. The engineering underlying these modern marvels is highly precise, requiring not only knowledge of concepts from across physics, but an intuition about how each element of a roller coaster will impact the rider. The goal of this talk is to explore the connections between physics, engineering, and perception through a designer’s perspective. In short: how do designers and engineers collaborate to create a total ride experience that is both thrilling and safe?

Ally Keen
Friday, January 28 2022
3:30 pm in Olin 141
Galaxy Quenching

Galaxies exhibit a large variety of properties. Many of these parameters display a bimodal split, revealing distinct stages in galaxy evolution. These differences, such as morphology and color, are now understood to be related to the rate of star formation. In one population of galaxies, star formation is ongoing and producing young, hot stars. Other galaxies have terminated this process, leaving a majority population of old, low mass stars. These are quenched galaxies. While it is known that galaxies shut down star formation, the transformation from productive to quenched still contains mysteries. This work considers the formation of stars in galaxies before exploring a number of proposed mechanisms to quench stellar creation.

Logan Plasch
Monday, January 31 2022
8:30 am on Zoom
Nuclear fusion reactors

Ever since nuclear physics began to be understood in the 1920s, powering the world through the energy released by nuclear fusion has been a dream shared by many. But reactor engineers continue to struggle with numerous hurdles preventing them from getting a working fusion reactor. I will examine the physics of nuclear reactions, the necessary conditions for fusion to occur in a reactor, the different reactions that could fuel fusion reactors, and the various plasma confinement strategies. I will also talk about why fusion power is so attractive and how a commercially viable reactor will change the world.

The program runs from May 20th through July 29th and includes projects with faculty in experimental, theoretical, and computational physics.

Our unique M.S. In Space Studies combines study of space engineering, aerospace, life sciences, with courses in management, business and communication, plus a practical work experience. This unique combination of an interdisciplinary curriculum and hands-on experience enables students to move…

The Powder Coating Institute (PCI), a non-profit organization established to promote powder coating technology in North America, is currently accepting applications for its 2022 scholarship program.

Have you submitted your application for the APS/IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate Women and Underrepresented Minorities? Applications close on January 31! The APS/IBM Research Internship program is offering two virtual…