A distinguished array of scientists discuss cosmology, particle physics, black holes, optics, and nanoscience in this semester's "What Physicists Do" public lecture series at Sonoma State University. Lectures will be on Mondays at 4 p.m. from Feb. 6 through May 8 in Schulz 3001 on the SSU campus. Coffee and cookies will be served at 3:30 p.m.
The series begins Feb. 6 with theoretical physicist Hitoshi Murayama of the University of California at Berkeley describing the challenge to particle physics presented by astronomers' discovery that 95% of the Universe is made up of types of matter and energy not yet detected.
The following week SSU graduate Brooke Haag, now at the University of California, Davis, describes the results of nuclear physics experiments to create "mini big bangs" at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider on Long Island. Physical oceanographer Tim Barnett of the University of California, San Diego describes recent evidence for human-induced warming of the world's oceans on Feb. 27.
On Mar. 6, astronomer Anne Metevier of the University of California, Santa Cruz will describe her efforts to measure rotation rates of galaxies, and what this information can tell us about how galaxies formed. SSU's own Lynn Cominsky will speak Mar. 13 on how visible and high-energy observations of radiation from exploding stars, blazing galaxies and monstrous black holes illuminate Einstein's vision in ways that Einstein could only imagine.
"Nanowiring the Future" is the title of Peidong Yang's lecture March 20. The UC Berkeley chemist will describe the forthcoming impact of nanowires on photonics, energy conversion, and nanoelectronics. A recent breakthrough in optics, the production of "slow light" by two physicists at Harvard University, will be the topic Mar. 27, when Mukund Vengalattore, now at Berkeley, speaks on the creation of optic elements such as amplifiers, switches and slow light waveguides using laser-cooled atoms.
Donald Brownlee, the head of NASA's Stardust mission, travels from the University of Washington April 3 to tell local audiences about the first capture and return to Earth of pieces of a comet. Another SSU physics grad, Jerilynn Schisser, speaks on April 10 on her work at Beverly Hills firm Real D on creating stereo images and their applications in movies (the 3- D version of Chicken Little), Mars exploration, and medicine.
John Dunning discusses two generations of nuclear physicists April 24: his father, who participated in the first U.S. experiment to observe uranium fission and who led the group developing gaseous diffusion to separate uranium-235 during World War II, and himself, SSU's nuclear physicist since 1969.
The series concludes with two distinguished scientists from Berkeley speaking on current and future applications of physics. On May 1, Arun Majumdar, holder of an endowed chair in mechanical engineering and recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering, describes how he and his colleagues combine the science and engineering of nanometer scales to develop novel systems and technologies.
Frances Hellman concludes the series May 8, discussing spin electronics and the making of magnetic semiconductors.
For a free poster describing all twelve lectures, see http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/wpd/, send e-mail to gayle.walker@sonoma.edu, or call (707) 664-2119.
