Past Events
You are welcome to attend in-person or virtually.
Physics Teachers' Workshop
Physics Teachers' Workshop
Emerging Applications of Quantum Mechanics
9:00 AM Friday Dec 8, 2023
In Person : BUS B1-09
University of Alberta
Or via ZOOM (AM Only)
Join us for our annual Physics Teachers' Workshop on Friday December 8 at 9:00AM (MST) . Our morning presenters include Dr. Lindsay LeBlanc (Using Ultracold Atoms for Quantum Technologies) and Dr. John Donahue (Two Rules of Quantum Mechanics). After lunch at the University Club (formerly the Faculty Club) , we will have a topical workshop with Dr. Donahue and conclude the day by joining the Dept of Physics Colloquium with Dr. Joseph Maciejko, the 2023 CAP Herzberg Medal awardee (Matter and Information: the Second Quantum Revolution).
In- person Registration deadline is Dec 4 at 11:00AM (MDT)
Zoom Registration deadline is Dec 7 at 21:00 PM (MDT)
The in-person registration fee for this one-day workshop is $100 ($50 for students or retired teachers).
Seeing the Universe in Many Ways
Wednesday Oct 25 2023 5:00pm
University of Alberta
Department of Physics
CCIS L1-047
or connect virtually.
Laura Pankratz
We will be using a resource developed in Cardiff, Wales, to compare observations in visible, near infrared, mid infrared, x-ray, gamma, and radio. Participants should bring laptops so that they can see and play with the displays. Online participants will be given a google address and will be able to explore the same activities as those being done in person.
This content is appropriate for junior high and senior high students in science courses and physics courses.
Quantum Superposition and Entanglement:
Not So Spooky
Not So Spooky
John Donohue
Senior Manager of Scientific Outreach
Institute for Quantum Computing
University of Waterloo
Wednesday May 17 2023 5:00pm
Department of Physics, Univ of Alberta
CCIS L1-047 or connect virtually.
Quantum superposition is one of the key features that differentiates quantum theory from classical mechanics. In this session, we will dive into how quantum superposition can be understood at a deeper level by considering the many ways we can measure a quantum state. Using the polarization of light, we'll provide a hands-on approach for students to learn these concepts. We'll then extend these tools to the study of larger systems, breaking down what makes quantum entanglement special (and certainly not spooky).
About John
John Donohue is the Senior Manager of Scientific Outreach at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC), a research institute at the University of Waterloo. He is responsible for making quantum information science accessible, including developing curriculum-appropriate materials for educators. John earned his PhD from the University of Waterloo in 2016 for work in quantum optics with entangled photon pairs.
You are welcome to attend in-person or virtually.
Physics Teachers' Workshop
9:00 AM Friday Dec 9, 2022
In Person : CCIS L1-047
University of Alberta
Or via ZOOM (AM Only)
We're Back! Join us for our annual Physics Teachers' Workshop on Friday December 9 at 9:00AM (MST) . Our morning presenters include Stefan Cartledge(Exoplanets) and Erik Rosolowsky (How Invisible Light Tells us about the Universe). After lunch at the University Club (formerly the Faculty Club) , we will have two topical workshops and conclude the day by joining the Dept of Physics Colloquium with Dr. Stephen Lane (Preparing Teaching Assistants for the Lab)
In- person Registration deadline is Dec 5 at 11AM
Zoom Registration deadline is Dec 8 at 11:59PM
The in-person registration fee for this one-day workshop is $80 ($40 for students or retired teachers). Tickets may be purchased from Eventbrite and all prices include processing fees.
The virtual registration is free through Eventbite.
Activities for Physics 20 or Physics 30
Wednesday , Nov 2, 2022 at 5:00 PM (MDT)
Set-up at 4:30PM
Set-up at 4:30PM
Location: BioSci Microbiology M-149
or
ZOOM
or
ZOOM
Are you wondering how to do a particular lab in Physics 20 or Physics 30? Do you have a favourite hands-on activity your students do, a demo that clearly illustrates a misconception, a lab that produces rock-solid data year after year? Then this evening is for you!
Participants are encouraged to bring all the equipment for 1 station for a lab/demo/activity. These will be set up in BioSci M-149. Then everyone will get to cycle through the stations. Discussion to follow on extensions or modifications or improving the student experience. Several teachers have already promised to bring one!
Even if you don’t share a lab/demo/activity, you are welcome to attend in-person or virtually. For those attending in-person, we will be sharing pizza.
If you are sharing an activity, please let us know before Oct 31, 11:59 via e-mail to albertaaapt@gmail.com
Acoustics of Speech
Wednesday , March 23, 2022 at 4:30 PM (MDT)
Benjamin V. Tucker
Professor of phonetics
Department of Linguistics,
University of Alberta
Department of Linguistics,
University of Alberta
In this presentation, we will talk about the basics of speech acoustics. I will describe some of the core principles behind the acoustics of speech, with several simple demonstrations that illustrate how core concepts of acoustics influence how we communicate both in-person and digitally.
About Ben
Benjamin V. Tucker is a professor of phonetics in the Department of Linguistics, University of Alberta. His research focuses on cognitive aspects of the production and perception of spontaneous speech (e.g., “Wazat?” for “What is that?”). He also works on the documentation of endangered and under-documented languages. Some of his works can be found at:
Colloquium with the Department of Physics December 3, 2021
Blackfoot Poetry: From Einstein to Spacetime
Corey Gray
Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory
Richland, Washington
Richland, Washington
With a cast of characters including Albert Einstein, a pair of black holes, 1200 people from a large scientific collaboration, the Nobel Prize, and my mom, get the down low on a scientific event a century in the making (actually 1.3 billion years)! The first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 is a story which made history at the speed of light and changed the lives of many of us just as fast. My journey from a kid growing up outside of LA to working at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) has many chapters as all our lives do. I will share what it has been like to be a Niitsitapi (Native American) in physics by chronicling my undergrad experience in the redwoods of northern California, to working on a project which is now a part of history & gave birth to the new field of gravitational wave astronomy! Additionally, I will also talk about how a shy, quiet, and “reluctant public speaker” has learned to embrace science communication by connecting science with Blackfoot culture and forcing his mom to work with him! I will talk about why it is vitally important for all of us to share our story and to make science personal.
About Corey:
Corey Gray is Scottish & Blackfoot and a member of the Siksika Nation of Alberta, Canada. He grew up in southern California and received Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Humboldt State University (HSU).
After undergrad, he was hired as a Detector Operator by Caltech in 1998 to work for the astronomy project, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) in Washington State. At LIGO, Corey worked on teams to both build and operate gravitational wave detectors.
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) made historic news in 2016 by announcing the first direct detection of gravitational waves, which helps prove a prediction made 100 years earlier by Albert Einstein!
In his free time, Corey likes to backpack, travel, salsa dance, cross-country ski, watch films, share science with the public, and kayak (with wooden kayak he recently built).
Physics Teachers Workshop December 4, 2021
Join us for our annual Physics Teachers Workshop on Saturday December 4 at 9:00AM (MST) to 12:15 PM+ via Zoom. Our presenters include Bernie Petit (Weaving Traditional Knowledge with Synchrotron Science), Kristina Wasyleczko and Emily Neuheimer (Perimeter Institute Black Hole Workshop) and three Graduate Students from the Department of Physics taking about their research. At the end of the workshop, join Laura and Dion for a virtual Escape Room activity.
Bernie Petit, Canadian Light Source Inc. https://www.lightsource.ca
Weaving Traditional Knowledge with Synchrotron Science
Bernie’s presentation will weave Traditional Knowledge to tell the story of the physics within Canada’s only Synchrotron and how teachers can incorporate Indigenous perspectives in a Physics classroom.
Bernie is the CLSI Education Coordinator for Indigenous Programs. Bernie creates valuable hands-on opportunities for students to explore Traditional Knowledge and mainstream science. The Arctic Fox, Bison, and Berry projects are three land-based learning opportunities that CLSI offers. Bernie provides supports for educators and students by matching Indigenous Science mentors, community Traditional Knowledge and Language Keepers, Elders and other community resources to each unique science project. Her knowledge of Indigenous communities, matriarchal family structure, and experience in intergenerational learning, assist teachers to create exciting science adventures where Indigenous Knowledge is the foundation.
Laura Pankratz and Emily Neuheimer
Perimeter Institute Black Hole Workshop
Do you want another student-based hands-on activity to explore the Doppler effect in Physics 20? How about a way to see if a pendulum really does conserve energy? This digital workshop will have participants analyzing data collected using the PhyPhox app and extending the ideas from classical physics to the region in space near a black hole. This is only one of the six classroom-ready activities in the Perimeter Institute's Black Holes resource.
Graduate Student Presentations, Department of Physics, University of Alberta
Pramodh Senarath Yapa
Creating a Superfluid Crystal in Helium-3
When confined to a thickness smaller than one-hundredth of a human hair, superfluid helium-3 forms a strange new state of matter; a superfluid crystal. This state exhibits the frictionless flow property unique to a superfluid, while also showing polka-dot-like patterns which are usually only seen in crystalline solids. This uniquely quantum-mechanical state blurs the line between solids and liquids, and more of its exotic properties are still being found. This talk will outline the events leading to the discovery of this new state, and how both theorists and experimentalists at the University of Alberta are leading the charge to uncover its mysteries.
Pramodh Senarath Yapa (he/his) is a PhD Student in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Alberta. He studies the properties of matter when it is cooled to near absolute zero, and explores how quantum mechanics leads to new states of matter. His current research is on superfluid Helium-3 - a liquid which can flow forever without slowing down due to friction. Outside of academia, Pramodh has spearheaded many science-communication projects, bringing Physics research to the public in new ways. In 2019, Pramodh was chosen as the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's 'Dance Your PhD' competition for his swing-dancing rendition of electron behaviour. This 11-minute video - called "Superconductivity: The Musical!" - was subsequently featured in outlets including Science Magazine, NPR, CBC and Forbes. You can find Pramodh on Twitter at @PramodhYapa or through his website.
Leonid Olifer
Space Radiation: How Bad Can It Get?
The beginning of the space race marked a new chapter in human history. However, new possibilities are always associated with new challenges. One of the most serious is space radiation, which was discovered early in the space race and is still treated as a major hazard for the operation of satellites, and for human space exploration, today. In particular, so-called “satellite killer” electron radiation, trapped around Earth, can critically damage the electronic components onboard spacecraft, leading to reduced operational capabilities or even catastrophic failures. This study focuses on determining what might control the extremes of this radiation, and indeed whether there is a predictable “worst case”.
Leon has finished his undergraduate degree at the Kyiv Polytechnic University in Ukraine in 2017. During that time, he actively engaged in particle physics research and for over a year worked at CERN in Switzerland. After deciding to change his career path, Leon joined the Space Physics research group here at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Ian Mann as a master’s student. Now, Leon is only half a year away from obtaining his Ph.D.
Courtney Mielnichuk
Searching for the unknown with DEAP-3600
According to the 2018 Planck results that constrains the energy density of the Universe, visible and observable matter is believed to make up just 5% of the Universe. The remaining 95% is attributed to dark matter(27%) and dark energy(68%). The dark matter component is postulated to be weakly interacting massive particles — or WIMPs, that are distributed in spherical halos surrounding galaxies. DEAP-3600 is a dark matter experiment using liquid argon for pulse-shape discrimination which aims to detect interactions of WIMPs inside a 3600 kg liquid argon target. This detector is located 2 km underground at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Ontario and has been taking data since 2016. Dark matter searches using the data recorded with DEAP-3600 and the future of WIMP searches will be discussed.
Courtney is a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta studying particle astrophysics. She grew up in central Alberta and completed both her Honours Bachelor of Science and Master of Science at the University of Alberta. Throughout her graduate studies in physics, Courtney has been a member of the DEAP-3600 collaboration and has contributed to their ongoing dark matter searches.
Exploring Light and Optics with Resources from the Perimeter Institute
Our next Wednesday Virtual Pizza Night will be on Wed October 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM featuring Laura Pankratz and Dion Skitsko.
This free resource from Perimeter Institute features mini-activities, inquiry activities, and a design challenge that help students explore human vision, telescopes, optics equations, fibre optics, and lasers. Come join us for this free online professional development opportunity. We will share some of the activities from the resource and discuss how they can be implemented in Science 9, Physics 30, or Science 30 classes.
Pre-session activity: Before the session, please go to the Exploring Light and Optics Resource to download your free copy.
Online Physics Labs at University of Alberta
Our next Wednesday Virtual Pizza Night will be on Wed May 12, 2021 at 4:30 PM featuring Kyle Foster.
Providing engaging physics experiments in an online learning environment with household or cheap materials can be a challenge. Since online learning has been the primary method in Universities for the past year, we had to try and provide a similar lab experience in an online format to students across the world. Fortunately, technology is on our side.
During this session I want to explore a few labs that you can do with your students and provide an interesting way to make a simple experiment such as measuring acceleration due to gravity through video analysis into a great learning tool for evaluating error and learning about technology. Three labs that I will be going over will be Acceleration due to Gravity, Standing Waves and Air Resistance. We will primarily be using a cell phone with some sort of video recording feature, the phyphox app (android or apple) and a video analysis program (Tracker is free to use). You will also need a small, dense ball, such as a tennis ball, a cardboard tube like what you would find in the centre of a paper towel tube, a metric ruler or metre stick and 20 basket-style coffee filters (or something lightweight that is similar).
Kyle is currently the Undergraduate Labs (UGL) Coordinator for the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta. He develops all the first year lab curriculum in Physics, trains and supervises up to 80 Teaching Assistants per year, coordinates approximately 1600 students each semester, along with many other undergraduate tasks.
STEP UP: Women in Physics
Our next Wednesday (Virtual) No Pizza Night will be on Wed January 27, 2021 at 4:30 PM featuring STEP UP ambassador Joe Muisie, St. Thomas More Collegiate, Burnaby BC.
STEP UP is a movement to provide high school physics teachers with resources to reduce barriers and inspire young women to major in physics. In this session Joe will be walking participants through some of the resources available to teachers through STEP UP.
Colloquium with the Department of Physics University of Alberta
Friday, December 4, 2020 at 3 PM (MST)
Dr. Zahra Hazari
Dept. of Teaching & Learning and the STEM Transformation Institute and Dept. of Physics
Dept. of Teaching & Learning and the STEM Transformation Institute and Dept. of Physics
Florida International University
STEP UP: Supporting Teachers to Encourage the Pursuit of Undergraduate Physics for Women
In the US, nearly half of students taking physics in high school are women, but only a fifth of the students interested in physics majors in college are women. Given this issue, the STEP UP project (www.stepupphysics.org) has launched a nationwide initiative in the US to mobilize and help high school physics teachers better engage women in physics by disrupting narrow perceptions of physics and promoting supportive classroom cultures. This talk will present some of the research evidence used by STEP UP to develop, test, and promote strategies that facilitate the physics identity development and future physics intentions of young women. These evidence-based strategies are being used by physics educators as part of the national campaign, which has grown to include a network of more than two thousand physics teachers, faculty, students, and community members, to inspire a new generation of women physicists. (Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1720810, 1720869, 1720917, and 1721021).
About Dr Hazari:
Zahra Hazari is a Professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning and the STEM Transformation Institute as well as an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Physics at Florida International University. She holds a B.S. in physics and mathematics, M.S. in physics, and Ph.D. in physics education. Her doctoral and postdoctoral work were at the University of Toronto and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Dr. Hazari’s research focuses on reforming physics learning environments in an effort to improve critical educational outcomes for under-represented groups in physics, especially women. In particular, her work centers on physics identity development, a framework which has provided critical insight on students’ persistence in physics. This work has led to her being elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), earned her a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, and been featured in US News and World Report, Washington Monthly, Science Magazine, Scientific American, LiveScience, Science for the People, and APS News. She has served on several Editorial Boards, APS’s Committee for the Status of Women in Physics, and AAPT's Committee on Women in Physics.
Physics Teachers' Workshop November 28, 2020
8:30 Zoom session opens
8:50 Welcome and AGM
The program consists of four synchronous presentations on Zoom. Each session has a duration of forty minutes which includes thirty minutes of presentation and ten minutes of discussion. We will have a five-minute buffer between sessions.
9:00 James Sandercock, PhD, Chair, Alternative Energy Technologies, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Solar cells
Renewable energy costs continue to drop, by as much as 90% in the last ten years for solar. At this point solar and wind have proven to be the lowest-cost option for new generation, and some solar with storage projects have proven to be less expensive than even natural gas. Now that this inflection point has been reached, what does it mean for careers? What opportunities are available for people to receive training? This presentation will discuss the highly interdisciplinary training available for renewable energy and energy efficiency careers, offered by the Alternative Energy program at NAIT. Download PDF
9:45 Sean Wagner BSc, MSc in Materials Engineering, Alberta Nuclear Nucleus Ltd. https://albertanuclearnucleus.ca
Fission
My presentation will be focussed mainly on building an understanding of nuclear energy from first principles. So Conservation of Mass and Energy, followed by a primer on types of Radiation and conversion to heat, tying together with electrical conversion and “waste”. This should give teachers enough tools to be able to thoroughly teach others about the topic. Download PDF
10:30 Marc Secanell, Ph.D., P.Eng., Professor, Energy System Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Alberta
Fuel cells
Increasing electricity generation from intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic and wind, are increasing the demand for large-scale energy storage technologies in order to stabilize the grid and decarbonize industrial and transportation sectors. Synthetic chemical fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and methanol, can be produced with excess renewable energy, transported and stored in large quantities. Hydrogen can then be used in industrial settings, such as fertilizer production, and using fuel cells for electricity production, transportation and household power and heat co-generation. In this talk, the working principles of polymer electrolyte electrolyzers and fuel cells will be discussed together with recent advancements and remaining challenges. Download PDF
11:15 Allan Offenberger, PhD, Professor emeritus, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta
Fusion – The Ultimate Energy Source
Fusion, the source of energy in our sun and stars, can provide the clean, sustainable base load energy required to power our future in electricity, heat and hydrogen for stationary and mobile applications. It offers the highest energy density and least waste processing as well as best energy payback ratio and life cycle assessment of all energy sources. Progress continues in the various approaches to realizing fusion power and possible systems are likely to emerge in the 2030’s; this talk will highlight the underlying physics, progress and status of fusion development. Success will transform energy policy worldwide. Download PDF
The registration fee for this one-day workshop is $10 . Tickets will be available from Eventbrite. All prices include processing fees.
2019 Physics Teachers Day
9:00 to 10:15: Why We Hear What We Hear – Dr. Eric Heller (Business 1-5)
Eric J. Heller is the Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics at Harvard University, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His research involves quantum mechanics. For some years he has been teaching an undergraduate course for nonscience majors, now called Why You Hear What You Hear, the Science of Music and Sound.
Rick contends that all aspects of the physical universe are vibratory at some level. Quantum mechanics teaches us that matter is actually made of waves that have the usual properties of wavelength and frequency; the evidence for this is abundant. Light, microwaves, radio waves, etc. exhibit obvious vibratory wavelike properties. Cosmologists tell us that the whole universe is still vibrating in various modes as a remnant of the Big Bang. Even the most modern and abstruse corner of theoretical physics, string theory, supposes that the different particles found in nature are distinct vibratory modes of tiny string-like objects.
This vibratory universality is another reason for studying sound, the most accessible of all vibrational and wavelike manifestations, for in doing so you are studying the clockwork of the universe.
10:15 to 10:30 Refreshment Break
10:30 to 11:45: Why We Hear What We Hear II - Vibhav Mohanty (Business 1-5)
Vibhav is a Marshall scholarship winner who is pursuing his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at Oxford. His studies at Oxford are taking him down the road to becoming not just a physician-scientist, but one with a deep understanding of the physics that underlie biological processes — and how to harness them for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Vibhav is also an accomplished musician.
11:45 to 1:00: Lunch at the Faculty Club
1:00 to 2:45: Acoustic Workshops - Heller and Mohanty
Two concurrent sessions will be run where teachers will get opportunities to participate in some “hands on” and “ears on” activities that they can take back to their classrooms.
3:00 - 4:15: Colloquium - Dr. Eric Heller (CCIS L1 1-60)
Psychoacoustics - The Accessible Science
It is possible to rapidly involve yourself and your students in a vibrant and important science. What is needed is curiosity, a laptop, earbuds, and a microphone. The most valuable of these is curiosity - in fact it’s priceless. The laptop and free software provides the equivalent of a laboratory that would have cost $250,000 - $1,000,000 not long ago. Human subjects can benignly tested, ideas tried. Our non-expert class at Harvard has made several discoveries, one is now a significant research area. Almost all the ideas that come up will involve waves and signals - important in all branches of physics.
Students love this way of encountering physics because its about THEM, how they perceive what is out there, not about inclined planes.
Registration deadline is Monday Dec 2, 2019 at 6pm
The registration fee for this one-day workshop is $80 ($40 for students or retired teachers). Tickets may be purchased from Eventbrite and all prices include processing fees.
2018 Physics Teachers Day
8:30 Registration (BUS 1-05) BUS is just south of CCIS, use doors facing south.
8:50 Welcome (BUS 1-05)
9:00 to 10:00: Leggo My LIGO! - Dion Skitsko (BUS 1-05)
Dion attended as both a presenter and a participant at LIGO Hanford’s 2018 International Physics and Astronomy Educator Program. In this session he will share some hands on activities that you can bring to the classroom to share with your students.
10:00 to 11:30: Climate Change – Laura Pankratz, Teacher in Residence, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; Tanya Hebert, (BUS 1-05)
Climate change is a vitally important, yet challenging topic to teach. This session will get you engaging with hands-on activities you can use with your students on Monday! Together, think critically about key scientific data and the indicators of our changing environment.
11:30 to 12:15: Digital Periodic Table of Elements - Brian Martin Brian will introduce teachers to a digital Periodic Table of Isotopes and associated teacher resources developed over the past decade at The King's Centre for Visualization in Science in collaboration with the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
12:15 to 1:30 Lunch at the Faculty Club
1:30 to 2:50: LOL with Energy - Laura Pankratz, Perimeter Institute (BUS 1-05)
Why is understanding work and energy so difficult for students? Come explore different energy representations that help bridge the gap between the physical and the mathematical. We’ll start with simple situations but extend to nuclear binding energy. The new resource from Perimeter has many excellent links to the Science and Physics programs in Alberta. Your tricks of the trade will be welcomed, too.
3:00 - 4:00: (Colloquium) Blazars and Neutrinos - Darren Grant, IceCube Collaboration
Darren will be discussing the exciting news from last summer, in which neutrinos detected at the IceCube observatory played a crucial role in determining the properties of blazars. The age of multi-messenger astronomy is upon us!
Registration deadline: November 29, 2018
The registration fee for this one-day workshop is $75 ($35 for students and retired teachers). Registrations will be accepted via Eventbrite. There will be a service fee charged by Eventbrite.
If you are registering more than one person from the same school, please complete the Group Registration form below so we can print name tags for everyone and build our data base of science teachers.
Graduate Physics Students Association
The Graduate Physics Students Association (GPSA) at the U of A hosts a symposium highlighting graduate student research and a public lecture given by a visiting scientist. This year, on October 18th and 19th the GPSA is hosting the annual Symposium for Graduate Physics Research; the free public lecture takes place on Thursday, October 18th this year. Our speaker is Dr. Diana Valencia, giving a talk titled “From Earth to Super-Earths and Beyond” — it will be an overview of the highlights of searching for Earth-like planets over the last 20 years, and where it’s going in the future.