Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 6
Saturday–Tuesday, April 16–19, 2016; Salt Lake City, Utah
Session S18: Expanding Public Understanding of PhysicsUndergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: GPER Room: 251F |
Monday, April 18, 2016 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
S18.00001: Phantom of the Universe: A State-of-the-Art Planetarium Show on Dark Matter Michael Barnett Phantom of the Universe is a planetarium show premiering in 2016 that will showcase an exciting exploration of dark matter, from the Big Bang to the Large Hadron Collider. The show will reveal the first hints of its existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky. Viewers will marvel at the astral choreography witnessed by Vera Rubin in the Andromeda galaxy. They will plummet deep underground to see the most sensitive dark matter detector on Earth. From there, they will end the journey at the Large Hadron Collider, speeding alongside particles before they collide in visually stunning explosions of light and sound, and learning how scientists around the world are collaborating to track down the constituent of dark matter. The show will be offered to planetariums worldwide free of charge. It will feature music composed by Mickey Hart (Apocalypse Now, The Twilight Zone, The Grateful Dead) and narration by Academy-Award winning actress Tilda Swinton, and showcase the creativity and directing prowess of Joao Pequenao and the writing and producing talents of award-winning filmmaker, Carey Ann Strelecki. See a flattened preview (with resulting distortions) at: \underline {http://PhantomOfTheUniverse.com/} [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
S18.00002: The Particle Physics Playground website: tutorials and activities using real experimental data Matthew Bellis The CERN Open Data Portal provides access to data from the LHC experiments to anyone with the time and inclination to learn the analysis procedures. The CMS experiment has made a significant amount of data availible in basically the same format the collaboration itself uses, along with software tools and a virtual enviroment in which to run those tools. These same data have also been mined for educational exercises that range from very simple .csv files that can be analyzed in a spreadsheet to more sophisticated formats that use ROOT, a dominant software package in experimental particle physics but not used as much in the general computing community. This talk will present the Particle Physics Playground website (http://particle-physics-playground.github.io/), a project that uses data from the CMS experiment, as well as the older CLEO experiment, in tutorials and exercises aimed at high school and undergraduate students and other science enthusiasts. The data are stored as text files and the users are provided with starter Python/Jupyter notebook programs and accessor functions which can be modified to perform fairly high-level analyses. The status of the project, success stories, and future plans for the website will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
S18.00003: CoffeeShop Astrophysics: An Adventure in Public Outreach Sydney Chamberlin, Megan DeCesar, Sarah Caudill, Laleh Sadeghian, Laura Nuttall, Alex Urban, Casey McGrath Engaging non-scientists in scientific discussions is inarguably important, both for researchers and society. Public lectures have long been utilized as a method for performing such outreach, but due to their format and location often reach a limited audience. More recently, events such as science caf{\'e}s (events pairing a scientist with the public in a casual venue) have emerged as a potential tool for connecting with general audiences. The success of these events depends on multiple variables. In this talk, we describe an example of such an event entitled \emph{CoffeeShop Astrophysics}, that uses multiple speakers, demonstrations and humor to successfully engage members of the public. We discuss the key elements that make CoffeeShop Astrophysics effective, and the viability of grassroots, coffeeshop-style outreach. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
S18.00004: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
Monday, April 18, 2016 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
S18.00005: Acoustics outreach program for the deaf. Cameron T. Vongsawad, Mark L. Berardi, Jennifer K. Whiting, M. Jeannette Lawler, Kent L. Gee, Tracianne B. Neilsen The Hear and See methodology has often been used as a means of enhancing pedagogy by focusing on the two strongest learning senses, but this naturally does not apply to deaf or hard of hearing students. Because deaf students' prior nonaural experiences with sound will vary significantly from those of students with typical hearing, different methods must be used to build understanding. However, the sensory-focused pedagogical principle can be applied in a different way for the Deaf by utilizing the senses of touch and sight, called here the ``See and Feel'' method. This presentation will provide several examples of how acoustics demonstrations have been adapted to create an outreach program for a group of junior high students from a school for the Deaf and discuss challenges encountered. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
S18.00006: The Sound of Steam: Acoustics as the Integrator Between Arts and STEM Caleb Goates, Jenny Whiting, Mark Berardi, Kent L. Gee, Tracianne B. Neilsen This paper describes the development and presentation of a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) workshop for elementary school teachers designed to provide ideas and tools for using acoustics in the classroom. The abundant hands-on activities and concepts in acoustics naturally link science and music in an intuitive way that can assist teachers moving forward on the STEAM initiative. Our workshop gave teachers an introduction to acoustics principles and demonstrations that can be used to tie STEAM techniques with Utah State Education Core standards. These hands-on demonstrations and real-world applications provide an avenue to engage students and support learning outcomes. Feedback indicated that the participants learned from and enjoyed the initial implementation of this workshop, though many elementary school teachers did not immediately see how they could integrate it into their curriculum. While additional efforts might be made to better focus the training workshop for the K-6 level, curriculum developers need to appreciate how acoustics could be used more broadly at the elementary school level if the emphasis changes from STEM to STEAM. ? [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
S18.00007: Physics at the Frontier HS Teacher Workshop: bringing particle physics and cloud chambers into the classroom Alyx Gleason, Jamie Bedard, Matthew Bellis In the summer of 2015, we hosted 10 high school teachers for a three-day ``Physics at the Frontier'' Workshop. The mornings were spent learning about particle physics, CMS and the LHC, and radiation safety while the afternoons were spent building turn-key cloud chambers for use in their classrooms. The basic cloud chamber design uses Peltier thermoelectric coolers, rather than dry ice, and instructions can be found in multiple places online. For a robust build procedure and for easy use in the classroom, we redesigned parts of the construction process to make it easier to put together while holding costs below {\$}200 per chamber. In addition to this new design, we also created a website with instructions for those who are interested in building their own using this design. This workshop was funded in part by a minigrant for Outreach and Education from the USCMS collaboration. Our experience with the workshop and the lessons learned from the cloud chamber design will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 2:54PM - 3:06PM |
S18.00008: The Intersection of Science and Politics Elias Kim Politics and science often seem at odds. However, important political issues like climate change, cybersecurity, and space exploration require the input of both communities. To create the best possible policies, there must be a dialogue between politicians and scientists. SPS and John Mather gave me the opportunity to be part of this dialogue. Through the Mather Policy Internship, I worked for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over telecom, health care, energy supply, and other technical areas. I worked with the technology and communications subcommittee, conducting research on cybersecurity, spectrum auctions, and the internet of things. It is clear that even the commercial side of science would benefit from the help of the science community. My background gave me an edge over the other interns; I didn't need to learn what it meant for there to be signals of different wavelength. Most importantly, I learned what it will take to pursue a career in science policy. For the number of physics undergrads who do not wish to pursue a pure physics career, science policy is a strong option. Scientists bring a rigorous, fact-based approach that might benefit the political world as a whole. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, April 18, 2016 3:06PM - 3:18PM |
S18.00009: The Utility of a Physics Education in Science Policy Drew Roberts In order for regulators to create successful policies on technical issues, ranging from environmental protection to distribution of national grant money, the scientific community must play an integral role in the legislative process. Through a summer-long internship with the Science, Space, and Technology Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, I have learned that skills developed while pursuing an undergraduate degree in physics are very valuable in the policy realm. My physics education provided me the necessary tools to bridge the goals of the scientific and political communities. The need for effective comprehension and communication of technical subjects provides an important opportunity for individuals with physics degrees to make substantial contributions to government policy. Science policy should be encouraged as one of the many career pathways for physics students. [Preview Abstract] |
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