Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2006 APS April Meeting
Saturday–Tuesday, April 22–25, 2006; Dallas, TX
Session C10: Nuclear Science Education for the Nation |
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Sponsoring Units: FEd DNP Chair: Jolie Cizewski, Rutgers University Room: Hyatt Regency Dallas Cumberland C |
Saturday, April 22, 2006 1:30PM - 2:06PM |
C10.00001: Nuclear Science Outreach in the World Year of Physics Invited Speaker: The ability of scientists to articulate the importance and value of their research has become increasingly important in the present climate of declining budgets, and this is most critical in the field of nuclear science ,where researchers must fight an uphill battle against negative public perception. Yet nuclear science encompasses important technical and societal issues that should be of primary interest to informed citizens, and the need for scientists trained in nuclear techniques are important for many applications in nuclear medicine, national security and future energy sources. The NSAC Education Subcommittee Report [1] identified the need for a nationally coordinated effort in nuclear science outreach, naming as its first recommendation that \textit{`the highest priority for new investment in education be the creation by the DOE and NSF of a Center for Nuclear Science Outreach'. }This talk will review the present status of public outreach in nuclear science and highlight some specific efforts that have taken place during the World Year of Physics. [1] Education in Nuclear Science: A Status Report and Recommendations for the Beginning of the 21$^{st}$ Century, A Report of the DOE/NSF Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Subcommittee on Education, November 2004, http://www.sc.doe.gov/henp/np/nsac/docs/NSAC\_CR\_education\_report\_final.pdf. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 22, 2006 2:06PM - 2:42PM |
C10.00002: Bringing Nuclear Science into the Undergraduate Curriculum Invited Speaker: Think about the first time you encountered nuclear science in your formal curriculum. For most nuclear scientists this experience occurred as an undergraduate in an upper-level course in a traditional four-year institution. Because of changing student demographics, an explosion of interest in the life sciences, the end of the cold war and a variety of other factors, fewer undergraduates are encountering a traditional nuclear science course at all. For the field to remain vital, we suggest that educators in nuclear science will have to adapt to the changes in student populations and interests. To this end we now offer a variety of experiences to our undergraduate students that incorporate fundamental nuclear science. One component to our approach is to create exciting opportunities in undergraduate research, and another component involves creation of nuclear science modules that can fit within other courses. In recent years both of these components have evolved with an interdisciplinary flavor, but continue to yield students that become interested in pursuing nuclear science careers. We will discuss research opportunities offered to undergraduates at Hope College, and our success with collaborative research opportunities at a variety of extramural laboratories, as well as with our in-house research program with a low-energy accelerator. An overview of several pedagogical approaches we have adopted will also be presented, and there is clearly opportunity to pursue this approach much further. Although the examples are specific to Hope College, both components can clearly be adopted at a variety of other institutions. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 22, 2006 2:42PM - 3:18PM |
C10.00003: Science and National and International Security: the role of Physics in Non-proliferation and counter-terroism Invited Speaker: Compliance with international agreements as well as detecting clandestine activities are often limited by the technical capabilities of those enforcing the agreements and national and international law. Further, some technological solutions may violate personal liberties, offend local cultural sensibilities or fail to have the desired detection specificity. Many of these solutions exploit fundamental physical properties to provide specific ``signatures.'' The ability to implement these ``signatures'' into effective monitoring schemes is one role science plays on the scene of national and international security. [Preview Abstract] |
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