Department News

Summer 2007 - Spring 2008
 

• Beloved teacher, friend and colleague, Vic Mansfield, loses battle with cancer.
  Vic Mansfield, Professor of Physics and Astronomy Emeritus, died on June 4th after a two-year grueling battle with cancer. Vic was a theoretical physicist, and taught at Colgate since 1973. He will be remembered by his inspirational lectures and the theoretical physics derivations on campus side-walks. He spent his final year writing an inspiring book (see below) on Bhuddism and modern physics. See this link for related article.
   

• Congratulations to the Class of 2008: 15!

  Class of '08 Physics & Astronomy majors pose for a photo at the 410 Research Symposium on December 11th, 2007. Not pictured: Jenn Telling

  Physics Majors: Sean Baumann, Jane Cornett, Nikhil Fernandes, Shaun Hurley, Dobromir Kamburov, Michael Nitzberg, Brittany Pearsall, Ushnish Ray, Santiago Reyes Contreras, and Jeffrey Seely Astronomy/Physics Majors: Kathryn Fallows, Erik Johnson, Peter Shively, and Konstantinos Vilaetis Astrogeophysics Major: Jennifer Telling

New book by Tony Aveni:

People and The Sky: Our Ancestors and The Cosmos By Anthony Aveni Thames & Hudson, May 2008 People and The Sky explores how ancient hunters farmers, sailors rulers and storytellers were all cosmically grounded. For most of human history, people found meaning in the dance of the cosmic denizens. Today, many aspects of this intimate contact between daily life and what happens in the sky have disappeared. Did our ancestors have an understanding of the cosmos that we ourselves lack? How and why did it all happen? These are the questions addressed in this engaging and erudite book

• Oohs and Ahhs at the Vislab's shows.
  The projector of the Ho-Tung Visualization laboratory is now in operation. Since its two weeks of operation this domed theatre has dazzled spectators with its magnificent sky displays and IMAX-type full-dome video shows. We are already working on teaching materials for the system: renderings of the night-sky constellations imagined by various ancient cultures for the course on "Astronomy and Culture," to be taught next fall by Tony Aveni. For more information about the "Vislab" check this link. (4/08)
   

• Colgate Students make presentations at the 2008 march Meeting in New Orleans
  Three seniors will be making presentations at the March Meeting:

  • Nikhil Fernandes: "Fluxon dynamics in a Josephson junction parallel array," with coauthors Ushnish Ray, Adam Dioguardi ('07) and Prof. Ken Segall. Abstract

  • Dobi Kamburov: "High Frequency Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes," with co-authors Prof. Beth Parks and collaborators from Cornell: Z. Zhong and P. McEuen. Abstract

  • Ushnish Ray:  "Numerical simulation of fluxon dynamics in a Josephson junction array,"  with coauthors Nikhil Fernandes and Prof. Ken Segall. Abstract
    (3/08)
     

• New book by Vic Mansfield (2/08):

Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics: Toward a Union of Love and Knowledge by Vic Mansfield, with foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Templeton Foundation Press, March 2008

Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics: Toward a Union of Love and Knowledge addresses the complex issues of dialogue and collaboration between Buddhism and science, revealing connections and differences between the two. While assuming no technical background in Buddhism or physics, this book strongly responds to the Dalai Lama’s “heartfelt plea” for genuine collaboration between science and Buddhism. In the foreword, the Dalai Lama himself writes “In this book, (Vic Mansfield) has set out specifically to show how religion and spirituality are compatible with life in the modern world. I am grateful to him for responding to my appeal for people who have such knowledge to share it with others.” You can read the entire foreword here: http://www.lightlink.com/vic/

 

Bryce Gadway Receives Apker Award! The American Physical Society selected Bryce Gadway (07) to receive the 2007 Apker Award. This is the highest award given to an undergraduate at the national level by the American Physical Society (APS). This award was based on the experimental research that Bryce did on campus as part of his capstone research project (Fall-2006 & Spring-2007), under the direction of Prof. Kiko Galvez. His project tested fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics using single photons. He did measurements that showed a violation of a Bell inequality using hyper-entangled photons. These results rule out certain type of hidden-variable theories that challenge quantum mechanics. Congratulations Bryce! Bryce presented his award-winning work at the 2008 March Meeting of the American Physical Society, which took place in New Orleans on March 10th.  Right photo: Bryce receiving the award from APS President Arthur Bienenstock.(4/08).

 

First Class in Ho! We are slowly but surely fitting into the new building. Physics labs (Phys120 and Phys122) & classes (Phys122 and Phys420) started this week. Research labs are also being set up.
#1 class: Phys122 in Ho 328		Phys122 lab in Ho313

 

Bryce Gadway '07 was named one of the finalists for the Apker Award. This is the most prestigious physics award given by the American Physical Society to a physics undergraduate nation wide. Congratulations Bryce! (7/07)

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