Spring 2010 - Chicago State U

The Chicago Section of the AAPT

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

Saturday, April 24^th from 8:30 AM to 3:45 PM, in the New Academic Library 4^th floor Conference area

… featuring Eric Mazur and

Nadya Mason

New Academic Library 4^th Floor Conference Area (take elevators to the 4^th floor and head to the right)

Supported by the Chicago Section of the AAPT, the Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, CSU Library and Information Services, and Chicago State University

Eric Mazur, Harvard University

Eric Mazur is the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University. An internationally recognized scientist and researcher, he leads a vigorous research program in optical physics and supervises one of the largest research groups in the Physics Department at Harvard University. In addition to his work in optical physics, Dr. Mazur is interested in education, science policy, outreach, and the public perception of science. He believes that better science education for all -- not just science majors -- is vital for continued scientific progress. To this end, Dr. Mazur devotes part of his research group's effort to education research and finding verifiable ways to improve science education. In 1990 he began developing Peer Instruction a method for teaching large lecture classes interactively. Dr. Mazur's teaching method has developed a large following, both nationally and internationally, and has been adopted across many science disciplines. Dr. Mazur is author or co-author of 225 scientific publications and 12 patents. He has also written on education and is the author of Peer Instruction: A User's Manual (Prentice Hall, 1997), a book that explains how to teach large lecture classes interactively. In 2006 he helped produce the award-winning DVD Interactive Teaching.

Nadya Mason, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Professor Nadya Mason received her bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University in 1995 and received her doctorate in physics in 2001 from Stanford University, working in the group of Aharon Kapitulnik. Her thesis research was on phase transitions in two-dimensional superconductors. Prior to joining the physics faculty at Illinois, Professor Mason was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University, where she collaborated with Professors Charles Marcus and Michael Tinkham on projects related to both carbon nanotubes and nanostructured superconductors.

Professor Mason's research at Illinois focuses on how electrons behave in low-dimensional, correlated materials, where enhanced interactions are expected to give novel results. She is particularly interested in the effect of reduced dimensionality and correlations on electron coherence. In addition to her research, Dr. Mason is a spokesperson for increasing diversity in physics and for creating a climate in academia that embraces and supports minorities and women.

Professor Mason has received numerous awards and honors. She is a Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellow, was given the honor of “Emerging Scholar” from Diverse Magazine, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and was a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows. Recently, Dr. Mason was awarded the Denise Denton Emerging Leader Award. This award, given by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI), is given each year to a non-tenured faculty member under the age of 40 at an academic or research institution pursuing high-quality research in any field of engineering or physical sciences while contributing significantly to promoting diversity in his/her environment.

8:15 to 8:45

8:45 to 10:09

10:09 to 10:20

10:20 to 10:30

10:30 to 11:20

11:20 to 11:30

11:30 to 12:20

12:20 to 12:35

12:35 to 1:35

1:35 to 1:45

1:45 to 3:45

Café Area

Auditorium

Café Area

Auditorium

Café Area

Auditorium

Sunroom & Café Area

Sunroom

Auditorium and

Room 454

Welcome and Registration ($10), Lunch is an addition $10

(talks will begin promptly at 8:45 AM)

Contributed Talks (12 minutes each, 10 minutes + 2 minutes for questions)

Presiding: John Lewis

Break and get to know one another

Welcome

Dr. David Kanis, Chair, Department of Chemistry and Physics

Eric Mazur, Plenary Talk

The Make-Believe World of Real-World Physics

That physics describes the real world is a given for physicists. In spite of tireless efforts by instructors to connect physics to the real world, students walk away from physics courses believing physicists live in a world of their own. Are students clueless about the real world? Or are we perhaps deluding ourselves and misleading our students about the real world?

Break and get to know one another

Nadya Mason, Plenary Talk

Over the Moon with Carbon Nanotubes

Tiny cylinders of carbon, termed carbon nanotubes, have become a highlight of nanotechnology research. With diameters as small as a billionth of a meter, and lengths up to a millimeter, these unique structures can be stronger than steel, as flexible as drinking straws, and more conductive than copper. Their amazing electrical and mechanical properties give nanotubes enormous potential for both fundamental physics and applications. Current research ranges from studies of quantum interference in individual tubes to the creation of a nanotube-based space elevator. In this talk, I will discuss the synthesis, properties, and applications of carbon nanotubes, and show their potential to revolutionize science and technology.

Take Fives

Lunch ($10), Poster Session (maximum size 4 X 4), Business Mtg

Dean’s Welcome and Introduction to Workshops

Rachel W. Lindsey, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Afternoon Workshops (parallel)

Eric Mazur (Auditorium)

Peer Instruction

The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level. In this workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the ‘class’ in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated, discuss several models for implementing the technique into the classroom, and learn about available teaching resources.

Nadya Mason (Room 454)

A Roundtable Discussion on Issues of Diversity in Physics

In this workshop we will discuss issues related to recruiting and retaining under-represented people in physics, at all stages of the academic ladder. I will start by talking about some of my experiences as a “double-minority” in physics, and give some thoughts as to the special challenges that women and minorities face in the field. We may then have an open discussion on specific “diversity-related” problems faced by students or teachers, and techniques or solutions that may work to solve these problems.

Contributed Presentations (Talks: 8:45 to 10:09, Posters: 12:35 – 1:35)

Talks

9:33 AM

9:45 AM

9:57 AM

Galactic Arms Originated From External Orbits in Space

Stewart E.Brekke (stewabruk@aol.com)

Chicago Public Schools (retired)

Galactic arms came from sets of pre-galactic arms each member arm of the set orbiting other arms. As the orbits of the arms decayed due to gravitational attraction, the arms tangentially collided in their fore-sections and joined together to form rotating spiral galaxies. One can observe any number of galaxies in which the galactic arms obviously originated from external orbit. Examples of such galaxies are M51, M100, NGC2336, and NGC4939 to name a very few of the many galaxies in which the arms came from external orbit. This obvious source of galactic arms as coming from external orbit is in contrast to the current prevailing theory that the galactic arms came from density waves or instabilities in a pre-galactic disk.

nTIPERs

Curtis Hieggelke, David P. Maloney (IPFW), & Steve Kanim(NMSU) (curth@comcast.net)

Joliet Junior College

We will describe various alternative task formats that can be used to improve student learning and understanding of physics concepts in mechanics. The exercises we have developed in these formats are based, in part, on efforts in Physics Education Research and thus are called TIPERs (Tasks Inspired by Physics Education Research). Such tasks support active learning approaches and can be easily incorporated into instruction in small pieces. TIPERs focus on making connections between the mathematical formalism of introductory physics and the underlying physics concepts, and are intended to help students to make sense of the equations they are using rather than just using these equations algorithmically. They help students to think about fundamental concepts in alternative and multiple ways in order to promote robust learning. We will feature new TIPERs that are being developed in the area of mechanics.

*This work is supported in part by grants #0632963 and 0633010 from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation.

Probing Student Understanding of the Structure and Evolution of the Universe

K. Coble [1], J. Bailey [2], G. Cochran [1], V. Hayes [1], D. Larrieu [1], R. Sanchez [2], K. McLin [3], L. Cominsky [3] (kcoble@csu.edu)

[1] Chicago State University, [2] UNLV, [3] Sonoma State University

Recently, powerful new observations and advances in computation and visualization have led to a revolution in our understanding of the origin, evolution and structure of the universe. These gains have been vast, but their impact on education has been limited. We are bringing these tools and advances to the teaching of cosmology through research on undergraduate learning in cosmology as well as the development of a series of web-based cosmology learning modules. In order to investigate student ideas about the structure, composition, and evolution of the universe, our group has developed an open-ended cosmology survey. We administered the survey prior to instruction and conducted follow-up student interviews using the survey. Preliminary results regarding student misconceptions in cosmology, student attitudes toward inquiry, and directions for instruction in cosmology will be presented.

Posters

12:35 PM

Physics of Harmonicas

Chris Kabat, Nick Macholl, Katie Sage, Joe Wiseman and faculty advisor Gordon Ramsey (ckabat1@luc.edu)

Loyola University - Chicago

Our group studied the physical properties of the harmonica. We correlated the reed, the comb and the enclosure with the fundamental frequency and the timbre of four different harmonicas. We also found correlations with these acoustical elements and the geometric properties of length, area, and volume. The area of the reed has the primary affect on the fundamental frequency heard. The comb length affects the fundamental frequency and the timbre of the harmonica. The enclosure shape primarily affects the timbre. To further study the property of the reeds, we took pressure and optical measurements. The pressure determined the nature of the reed vibration. Video analysis indicated the parts of the reed that oscillated, while optical diffraction showed a relation between the pressure and intensity of the oscillation. Our geometrical, acoustical and optical techniques revealed interesting properties of the harmonica.

12:35 PM

An Unconventional Way to Learn: The Physics behind Rolling.

Erica Watkins (ericapwatkins87@yahoo.com)

Society of Physics Students and Chicago State University

Despite its scarcity in traditional physics texts, the science of rolling has a long history that dates back to 1602 when Galileo Galilei studied in Pisa, Tuscany [1]. Galileo rolled a sphere down an inclined plane to determine an object’s acceleration due to gravity. The Society of Physics Students (SPS) has begun a major data collection experiment to see if the theories of rolling objects actually match reality. Through an engaging competition where students race an assortment of household items, SPS has tested how concepts about rolling objects are formed amongst elementary school students. This unorthodox experiment has been used as a basis for a complete lesson plan that can be adjusted to accommodate grade levels from elementary to high school. The lesson concentrates on topics such as acceleration and its relationship to hollow and solid items, and rotational and translational energy- the work energy theorem, moments of inertia and angular momentum.

[1] Groleau, Rick, “His Experiments;” Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/experiments.html. (2002)

NANODAYS 2010

Paul Dolan (p-dolan@neiu.edu)

Northeastern Illinois University

“Nanodays” is a nation-wide initiative for disseminating information on the growing field of nanotechnology; the ‘official’ week for these activities is usually the first week of April. Nanodays operates via the NiseNet (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network, www.nisenet.org), and is funded by the NSF (Grant # ESI-0532536). Numerous schools, museums, research centers and other institutions are members of the network, and participate in various Nanodays activities. NEIU is a participant in Nanodays, and has hosted activities in 2009 and 2010. During the current year, Nanodays activities were used VERY successfully as the lab activity for the general education course (“Physics in Everyday Life”). One of the benefits of becoming a member of the network, is obtaining a (FREE!) Nanodays Activities kit (so long as one agrees to USE it). Many of the activities in the kit are free-standing activities that do not need someone to monitor or direct the activities. The activities in the current kit include: SPM (Scanning Probe Microscopy) (make & take) BuckyBalls (make & take) Liquid Crystal Thermometer (make & take) NanoFabrics (aka ‘nanopants’) FerroFluids Surface Area Gravity Measurement – Molecules Measurement – Stretchability (Nano Twister) Measurement – Rulers & the Human Body Molecules: Self Assembly Several of these activities (with instructions) will be available for participants to experience during the meeting (including some of the ‘Make & Takes’).

The Fracture Mechanics Mathematical and Experimental Verification of Acrylic Bone Cement Composites

Olumide Onatoye, Leroy Jones II*, and Shuming Zheng (oonatoye3@yahoo.com; szheng@csu.edu)

Chicago State University

With the recent regulation and emphasis on the higher standards imposed by FDA, the materials generally used in orthopedic applications must be put through the rigors of mechanical testing; and the jurisdiction of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has requested the standardization of mechanical testing on the mechanical properties of the bone cement materials.

The Stress Intensity Factor mathematical modeling was studied within the framework of linear elastic fracture mechanics, and the bone cement is considered in fracture Mode I in which the Stress Intensity Factor (K) is K_I, and Kc the fracture toughness. Fracture occurs when K_I equals or greater than K_C and for the special case of plane strain deformation, K_C becomes K_IC and is considered a material property and a critical value. K_IC is the most often used engineering design parameter in fracture mechanics that we have chosen for the investigation of the acrylic bone cement composites mechanical properties. The Stress Intensity Factor studies were performed using a universal testing machine and mathematical modeling was developed to investigate the fractural tests with emphasize on optimizing the performance of the cement in orthopedic applications. This Stress Intensity behavior corresponds to the bone cement materials showed that K_IC varies with crack size and location due to crack size and site and K_IC does vary with temperature and strain rate. Those mathematical analyses are the guiding concepts for our experimental design to optimize the Fracture Toughness measurement following ASTM Standards.