Category: News

Mr. Charnawskas Goes to Washington

Joe Charnawskas
Joe Charnawskas (left) and other SPS representatives meet with Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (center).

Physics major Joe Charnawskas attended the the 2014 Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day (SETCVD), which took place on March 25 and 26 in Washington D. C., Capitol Hill.

Joe is the President of the Michigan Tech Chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and and an Associate Zone Councilor for the national SPS.

SPS is part of AIP, the American Institute of Physics, which was represented at the event, along with hundreds of scientists, engineers, educators, and other participants. Five students from across the country were there to represent SPS. They attended several talks and workshops focused on the budget and funding.

On the second day of the event, the SPS representatives met with a staff member of their Congressman or Senator. They discussed funding for STEM fields, especially funding at the undergraduate level. The students emphasized that undergraduate research is a very important part of their education, setting them ahead of those who do not have research experience.

Joe met with a staff member of the following people: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D), Rep. Dan Benishek (R) (MIchigan), Sen. Robert Menendez (D), Sen. Carl Levin (D) (Michigan), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) (Michigan), and Sen. Edward Markey (D). He also personally met Rep. Dan Benishek (Michigan), Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (Michigan), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Rep. Rush Holt, and Rep. Bill Foster. Representatives Holt and Foster are both physicists.

Joe considers the Washington trip to be amazing. View the PHOTO GALLERY at Joe’s Facebook page.

Shaw Interview on Cloud Chamber Forecasting

Michigan Tech posted a video in Facebook with a statement by Dr. Raymond Shaw on the recent storm and cloud chamber forecasting.

Watch the video at the Michigan Technological University Facebook page.

Cloud Chamber Forecasting

Cloud Chamber Forecasting

Cloud Chamber Forecasting

Getting their heads in the clouds
Tech purchases large cloud chamber

Scientists and researchers at Michigan Technological University and beyond will be going to the cloud to find answers – the cloud chamber that is.

“Basically this is a chamber that allows us to simulate the atmosphere all the way up to altitudes that airplanes fly at, so 10 to 15 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, where it’s very, very cold and very low pressure,” said Raymond Shaw, physics professor and director of the atmospheric sciences Ph.D. program at Michigan Tech.

The scientists at Michigan Tech are currently testing the machine before starting their research projects. Shaw expects that within a few months the machine will be fully functional and available to professors, students and visiting scholars.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Meagan Stilp.