Physics Newsblog

Category: Research

Shaw Interview on Cloud Chamber Forecasting

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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.

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A Study of Chemical Climatology for Pico Mountain Observatory

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2014 ATM Seminar Series Continues

The following two presentations will be presented on Monday, March 31, 4 p.m. in Fisher 126: “A Study of Chemical Climatology for Pico Mountain Observatory” by Bo Zhang and “Evolution of Soot Morphology in Controlled Laboratory Conditions: Effect of Relative Humidity and Organic Coating” by Noopur Sharma.

From Tech Today.

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Yoke Khin Yap is a Faculty Fellow

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Yoke Khin Yap
Yoke Khin Yap

Vice President for Research Announces Faculty Fellows Selections

The Office of the Vice President for Research has selected the 2014 recipients of the newly implemented Faculty Fellow Program. The first Faculty Fellows for 2014-2015 are: Larry Sutter (MSE), for Sponsored Program Administration, Adrienne Minerick (ChE) for Strategic Planning and Budget, and Yoke Khin Yap (Physics) for Economic Development and Technology Commercialization.

From Tech Today.

A Faculty Fellow in Economic Development and Technology Commercialization will be involved in areas such as IP commercialization and startup support.

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BNNT-Amino Acid Theory Inspires Experiment

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Physics researchers at Michigan Tech produced some results of interactions of boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) and amino acids through the use of density functional theory. The 2011 paper entitled “Sensitivity of Boron Nitride Nanotubes toward Biomolecules of Different Polarities” (DOI: 10.1021/jz2010557) created the following response in a recent experimental paper “Facile and Mild Strategy Toward Biopolymer-Coated Boron Nitride Nanotubes via a Glycine-Assisted Interfacial Process” (DOI: 10.1021/jp4073729):

Inspired by these theoretical investigations, we set about to assess experimentally the interactions of BNNTs with glycine. We discovered that this simple amino acid is remarkably efficient in breaking up pristine BNNT bundles, yielding hydrophilic BNNTs dispersed in water as individual, debundled, nanotubes.

Authors of the theoretical study include Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Ralph H. Scheicher, Ravindra Pandey, and Shashi P. Karna.

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Gowtham Interviewed on Streamlined Research-Computing Infrastructure

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Gowtham HPC
Gowtham Presenting on High-Performance Computing

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physics Gowtham attended the HPC (High-Performance Center) Advisory Council Conference and Exascale Workshop at Stanford University in February 2014. Gowtham presented “Streamlining Computing Infrastructure: A Small School’s Experience.”

International Science Grid This Week (iSGTW) interviewed Gowtham regarding the issues and challenges experienced by Michigan Tech during this overhaul of research computing. The interview appeared in the February 12, 2014, article “How one small school streamlined research-computing infrastructure,” by Amber Harmon.

Gowtham is an HPC Research Scientist for Information Technology Services at Michigan Tech. Learn more about high-performance computing at campus.

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