Session AA: Physics off the Beaten Track

Physics as a state of mind

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A physicist's (not so) random walk down Wall Street

``This isn't rocket science'' I often hear from Wall Street executives. ``I agree,'' I tell them – ``this is harder than rocket science!'' Join me on a tour of amazing opportunities and crushing failures as I describe how physics and physicists have played the role of both the darling and the devil of Wall Street, and where we go from here. Wall Street and Main Street desperately need physicists working on financial markets, but not the way most people think.   

Taming the SQUID: How a nuclear physics education (mostly) helped my career in applied physics

My degree is in experimental nuclear physics, specifically studying the interaction of pions with nuclei. But after graduation I accepted a post-doctoral research position with a team based on applications of the Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) to the study of the human brain. Despite knowing nothing about the brain or SQUIDs to start with, I have gone on to enjoy a career in applications of the SQUID and other sensors to the detection of weak magnetic fields in a variety of problems from brain studies (magnetoencephalography) to ultra-low field nuclear magnetic resonance for detection of explosives and illicit material. In this talk I will present some background on SQUIDs and their application to the detection of ultra-weak magnetic fields of biological and non-biological origin. I will also provide a little insight into what it has been like to use a nuclear physics background to pursue other types of science.   

Life in the Fourth Estate: One Lapsed Physicist's Perspective

Having been the house physics nerd in the news section of Science for 8 years and a writer for 14 years, I will explain the nuts and bolts of the craft of science journalism. I'll trace my career path, explain how I've been aided in my work by training in physics, and describe as best I can how journalists and scientists may differ in their views of the world. I'll look at how science journalism is changing, too.