Month: March 2015

Computer-Aided Nanomaterial and Nanostructure Design: Nanoice, Gold-clusters, Superhydrophobicity, and 2D Materials

Xiao Zeng
Xiao Zeng

Chemistry and Physics Colloquium
Michigan Technological University
Thursday, April 2, 2015
4:00 pm
Fisher Hall Room 139

Computer-Aided Nanomaterial and Nanostructure Design:
Nanoice, Gold-clusters, Superhydrophobicity, and 2D Materials

Prof. Xiao Zeng
Department of Chemistry
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

View the Abstract

Recent Atmospheric Sciences Grads Heading to US National Laboratories

Two recent Atmospheric Sciences grads, Dr. Swarup China and Dr. Jianqiu Zheng, have landed prestigious postdoctoral positions at two US National Laboratories. Swarup’s doctoral work was advised by Prof. Claudio Mazzoleni (Physics) and Jianqiu’s doctoral work was advised by Prof. Paul Doskey (CEE). Congratulations to Swarup and Jianqiu on this recognition of their hard work and important research contributions.
Swarup will be joining the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Dr. Alex Laskin. He will be studying fundamentals of physical chemistry of atmospheric particles and their chemical aging through multi-phase atmospheric chemistry.

Jianqiu will be joining the Biosciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a postdoctoral research associate with the Microbial Ecology and Physiology group headed by Dr. David E. Graham. She will be part of the biogeochemistry team that is working on the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments project (NGEE Arctic). A goal of NGEE Arctic is to reduce uncertainties in estimates of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions from high-latitude ecosystems by advancing understanding of the environmental drivers of biogeochemical processes across molecular to landscape scales.

The Physics of Skiing

 

Mont Ripley
Mont Ripley

Mont Ripley partnered with the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College PEAR Center, to provide 13 Middle and high school age kids with 10 ski or snowboard lessons, paid for with a grant from the Department of Education. To fulfill the grant, the students had to participate in a science-related activity. The science activity was provided by Michigan Tech physicists Dustin Winslow, and Chiumun Michelle Hui, who presented “The Physics of Skiing.”

From Tech Today.

Physics Graduate Colloquium

Physics Colloquium

Oral Presentations
Michigan Technological University
Thursday, March 19, 2015
3:30-5:00
Fisher Hall 139

Synthesis of 1D and 2D Boron Nitride Nanomaterials for Novel Electronic Devices
Shiva Bhandari
Advisor: Yoke Khin Yap

Synthesis of Two-Dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide Films and Their Optical Properties
Mingxiao Ye
Advisor: Yoke Khin Yap

Efficient computation of spontaneous emission dynamics in photonic structures
M.H. Teimourpour
Advisor: Ramy El-Ganainy

Phosphorene Oxide: Stability and electronic properties of a novel 2D material
Gaoxue Wang
Advisor: Ravindra Pandey

The Superluminal Pair Events in Sweeping Laser Beams: Theory and Experiment
Qi Zhong
Advisor: Robert Nemiroff

View Abstract Set 1

View Abstract Set 2

Up in the Air in Research Magazine 2015

Pico MountainAtop a volcanic peak deep in the eastern Atlantic, Tech researchers sample and study aerosol particles—and determine how they may affect Earth’s climate.

The new collaboration features Tech faculty Lynn Mazzoleni (chemistry), Claudio Mazzoleni (physics), Noel Urban (CEE), Judith Perlinger (CEE), and Chris Owen (MTRI). Also involved are collaborators from the University of Colorado and the University of Illinois, as well as Universidade dos Açores and the Instituto de Meteorologia in Portugal.

Read more at Michigan Tech Research Magazine 2015, by Kevin Hodur.

Cloud Control in Research Magazine 2015

Cloud ChamberAtmospheric science researchers at Michigan Tech no longer have to cross their fingers for cooperative weather—the University’s innovative new cloud chamber allows them to head into the lab and make their own.

“You’re in an aircraft going a hundred meters a second, and it’s impossible to replicate what you’ve just seen,” says fellow physicist Will Cantrell. “You know the old Taoist saying, you never step in the river twice? You never fly through the same cloud twice either.”

Read more at Michigan Tech Research Magazine, by Marcia Goodrich.

Physics Faculty, Graduate Students, Alumni at 2015 March APS Meeting

MM15logo-web-grayMembers of the Department of Physics and alumni attended the 2015 Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) on March 4-9 in San Antonio, Texas.

Attendees affiliated with Michigan Tech were alumni Saikat Mukhopadhyay (’12, now at Oak Ridge National Lab), Partha Pal (’11, now at Northwestern University), Subhasish Mandal (’12, now at Yale University), Pradeep Kumar (’13, now at University of Wisconsin–Madison), Xiaoliang Zhong (’13, now at Argonne National Lab), physics graduate students Gaoxue Wang and Kamal Dhungana, Prof. Ranjit Pati, and Chair of Physics Prof. Ravi Pandey.

The APS March Meeting 2015 had over 10,000 in attendance.

VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM

Honorable Mention in Teaching for Amanda Shaw

Amanda ShawThe Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) has recognized physics graduate student Amanda Shaw with an Honorable Mention in the Masters Category of the 2015 Excellence in Teaching Award. The award was based on evaluations, video, and support letters that demonstrated exemplary teaching. The committee was particularly impress with Shaw’s innovation in teaching.

Shaw will be recognized by announcement at the awards luncheon at the MAGS Conference on April 16, 2015, in St. Louis, Missouri.

MAGS is an affiliate of the Council of Graduate Schools.