What Physicists Do
Physics 123 Spring 2019
(First 5 weeks) Fridays, 6a (3:30-4:30), Olin 141 1 Credit; S/CR/NC
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 who have taken PHYS 151; those considering a major in physics are particularly encouraged to enroll.
The presentations are in OLIN 141 on Fridays during 6th period (3:30-4:30pm). The only requirement, 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. Speakers will be available for informal discussions over refreshments afterward. Questions: Arjendu Pattanayak, Olin 337, x7166, arjendu@carleton.edu
April 19th Henry Brock, ’02 “There and Back Again: a Physics Adventure”
Inspired my Mr. Neurauter, Physics teacher at Bemidji High School, I chose Physics as my major at Carleton. Since graduation, I have made occasional use of the subject, only recently revisiting it in earnest. Through graduate school, travel, bicycle mechanics, tutoring, teaching, engineering, and computer science, attempting to understand how things work (and how to use those resources) has been the backbone of my adventure so far. I will talk about how I made decisions along the way and how what I’ve learned so far informs my decision points now, in hopes that reflecting on my web of failures and successes may be useful to you on your journey.