Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2011
Volume 56, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 21–25, 2011; Dallas, Texas
Session T6: Theory in Industry |
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Sponsoring Units: FIAP Chair: Alex Demkov, University of Texas at Austin Room: Ballroom C2 |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 2:30PM - 3:06PM |
T6.00001: From Atoms to Autos: Adventures of a Theoretical Physicist in Industry Invited Speaker: After earning a PhD in solid state theoretical physics at Cornell and following a post-doc, the author arrived at GM R{\&}D for what has turned out to be his first and only real job. An anecdotal chronicle of his adventures in the auto industry will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 3:06PM - 3:42PM |
T6.00002: Challenging theoretical physics problems in the energy industry Invited Speaker: Critical reliance on technology is ubiquitous in the energy industry, where considerable resources are dedicated to fundamental research aimed at solving our most challenging problems. For example, technological challenges are found in all aspects of the oil and gas industry ranging from exploration, development, and production of oil fields, to transportation and refining of the raw materials, and all the way to the production of specialty products such as polymers and lubricants. From a scientific perspective, these activities cover a broad range of physical science disciplines. As examples, during the exploration and development of oil and gas fields, sound and electromagnetic waves are used to image the earth's interior, and drilling involves an array of sophisticated tools and detectors at the bore hole, both activities being possible thanks to geophysicists, applied mathematicians, and rock physics specialists. Similarly, the transformation of crude oil to refined products requires a fundamental understanding of physical chemistry, phase transition, and transport processes, while the design of products involves polymer physics, and special disciplines such as tribology. The goal of this talk is to present examples of problems posed by the energy industry in view of encouraging physicists to contribute to finding solution to these problems, either through their academic research, or by pursuing a challenging career as industrial physicists. Many of those problems can benefit from the unique approach provided by a rigorous physics training. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 3:42PM - 4:18PM |
T6.00003: Theoretical Physics + Experiments in Superfluid He$^4$ = Commercial Oilfield Acoustic Service Invited Speaker: I will describe a specific project which involved the understanding of the basic physics of acoustics in porous and permeable fluid saturated media. The end product is a commercially available measurement of the fluid-flow resistance of porous rock in a real oil-field borehole using an acoustic technique. One key ingredient of the understanding was obtained by laboratory measurements of the acoustic properties of a porous sample saturated with superfluid He$^4$. Another key ingredient is the theoretical understanding of the properties of the frequency dependent fluid-flow resistance, and its extension to complex values of the frequency. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 4:18PM - 4:54PM |
T6.00004: Industry: Theory Matters Invited Speaker: This talk will try to illustrate on a few examples a significant role that theory and modeling plays in an industrial environment of a diversified company. It is especially clear in case of novel materials and processes that may bring big benefits down the road to those with sufficient time horizon. Relevant global trends will be analyzed in this regards. [Preview Abstract] |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 4:54PM - 5:30PM |
T6.00005: Technologically relevant, in theory Invited Speaker: This talk will give a personal perspective on the role of theoretical physicists in industry, and in particular at IBM. This role has changed over the decades, and continues to evolve. [Preview Abstract] |
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