1:30 Prof. Claude Pruneau (WSU)
FROM THE BIG BANG TO THE MINI BANG

Our Universe started with a "big bang" some 15 billions ago. Early on, during the first few microseconds, the Universe was filled with quark gluon matter at very high temperature, a phase of matter called quark gluon plasma (QGP). As the Universe expended, this matter cooled down to eventually transform into hadronic matter, i.e. protons and neutrons which form the building blocks of matter today. It is the goal of relativistic heavy ion physics to reproduce the high temperature conditions of the Universe and to study the properties of the quark gluon plasma. This research is carried out at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and soon at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) located at CERN in Switzerland. I will describe the technology used to carry out this research, and highlight some of the results obtained at RHIC in recent years.

2:00 Dr. Elizabeth Buc (Fire and Materials Research Lab)
PHYSICS & FIRE

Dr. Buc, a WSU graduate, has over ten years professional experience in the fire sciences. She is the owner and president of Fire and Materials Research Lab, LLC in Eastpointe, MI. During her presentation, she will describe her multi-disciplinary education, research experiences, career and interests in science and engineering and will provide examples of large fire and explosion losses and a current research project involving chemical oxidizers and fire. Dr. Buc will also share secrets of success for students pursuing degrees, advanced degrees and careers in science.

2:30 Dr. Jagdeesh Bandekar (DOW Automotive)
UNDERGRADUATE PHYSICS TRAINING & EDUCATION : A KEY TO SUCCESS

This short presentation will attempt to cover two main topics. Drawing from the speaker's own experience in academia and industry, the first topic will discuss some basic differences between industrial and academic research. The second topic will attempt to show how sound undergraduate training is so critical to professional success- both in industry and academia. Good grasp of basics in optics, electricity & magnetism, dynamics, and electrodynamics are necessary conditions to be successful and prerequisites to transforming work into fun. Some examples will be given to illustrate these points.

3:00 - 4:00 Research Labs visits

Lawes - Lab a) The focus of our lab is to investigate novel magnetic materials, both to understand the underlying physics in these systems and to explore new applications based on this physics. We study a wide range of magnetic materials, including magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications, magnetic semiconducting oxides for spintronics applications, and multiferroics, which are expected to play a role in developing next generation electronic devices. We prepare many of the samples for study on-site, using spin-coating and sputter deposition techniques for preparing the magnetic thin films, and co-precipitation methods for preparing the magnetic nanoparticles. One of the main tools we use to investigate the magnetic properties of these systems is a Quantum Design Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer, which is capable of measuring the net magnetization of these samples at temperatures ranging from T=2 K to T=375 K at magnetic fields up to H=5 T. We also use a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS) to measure the magnetic properties of these materials. Beside magnetic properties, we are able to use the PPMS to probe thermodynamic and transport characteristics of these samples, in order to obtain a more complete understanding of their materials properties.

Hoffmann - Lab b) The nanomechanics lab is dedicated to measure forces at the nanoscale. Prof. Hoffmann and his group of 3 graduate students, 2 undergraduates and 1 post-doctoral researcher are using Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) to measure minute forces in the range of pico to nano Newtons on single atoms, molecules and biological macromolecules. His group is also developing and building new AFMs to achieve better and better sensitivity. Right now the lab has four AFMs (one in ultra-high vacuum, one in air and two for qork in liquids) and a fifth is being constructed.

Karchin & Harr - Lab c) Our lab (in room 246) prepares instrumentation for high energy particle physics experiments. Currently we have a calibration setup for multi-anode photomultiplier tubes used in prototype particle detectors for the international linear collider. We also have a student cosmic ray detector which is part of the QuarkNet national program in particle physics education.

Rehse - Lab d) Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Lab In this lab, we are using a pulsed infrared laser to vaporize target material (specifically bacteria). This vaporization - or ablation as it is sometimes called - results in a small 10,000K microplasma that contains all the atoms that were present in the target. Since hot atoms possess excited electronic energy levels which decay to the ground state via spontaneous emission, a careful observation of the light coming from this microplasma reveals the identity and quantity of these atoms.

4:00 Planetarium (Planetarium)

5:00 Posters session (snacks are provided) (Rm 245)

5:30 Student Oral Presentations (Rm 245)

6:30 Dinner with Rehse - Pizza dinner with Steven Rehse (Rm 245)
What exactly does a person with a Physics Degree do, and how much do they make doing it? (A statistics based approach)

In this talk we will explore who the modern Physics student is, what they do, what they need to know, where they wind up, and how much they earn, all based on empirical statistical evidence obtained from the American Institute of Physics which maintains thorough records on all levels of Physics education.