Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Joint Fall 2009 Meeting of the Texas Sections of the APS, AAPT, and SPS
Volume 54, Number 13
Thursday–Saturday, October 22–24, 2009; San Marcos, Texas
Session C4: SPS and Women in Physics |
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Chair: Logan Hancock, Angelo State University Room: LBJ Student Center 3-14.1 |
Friday, October 23, 2009 2:00PM - 2:36PM |
C4.00001: Women of the Manhattan Project Invited Speaker: In the book Their Day in the Sun, Ruth Howes and Caroline Herzenberg documented more than 1000 women who worked on the Manhattan Project, preserving their legacy for generations to come. At the 2009 Chicago meeting, the AAPT Committee on Women in Physics celebrated the accomplishments of these women and the men who worked beside them. Howes presented an overview of the contributions of women to the development of the first nuclear weapon, and the session was honored with talks from two Manhattan project veterans, Ellen Cleminshaw Weaver, who worked at Oak Ridge, and Dorothy Marcus Gans, who worked as a technician in the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago. I will present a summary of the session, analyzing the effect of working on the project on the career trajectories of the women involved, and point listeners toward additional documentation of this history. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 2:36PM - 2:48PM |
C4.00002: Student Observation Driven Astronomy at Trinity Gareth Jones, David Hough Trinity University is part of a consortium of institutions in the Associated Colleges of the South that is developing new Student Observation Driven Astronomy (SODA) labs. The emphasis in these labs is on using data obtained by the students themselves to investigate astrophysical problems. We have focused our effort on three new labs: measurements of lunar features, transiting exoplanets, and stellar spectra. The lunar lab, while fairly conventional, is comprehensive in terms of visual observing procedures and analyses to measure feature characteristics. The exoplanet lab combines CCD transit observations and information from the literature to determine several exoplanet properties. The stellar spectra lab uses CCD spectra with absolute wavelength calibration and normalized flux calibration based on a standard star, and covers the full range of spectral classes. With each lab write-up, we include our own data obtained with Trinity's teaching observatory as examples and for potential use in indoor labs. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 2:48PM - 3:00PM |
C4.00003: Electrical characterization of thin films Sebastian Requena, David Bixler, Toni Sauncy A low level electrical characterization system has been constructed and software developed which allows the system to make high precision Van der Pauw measurements of bulk and thin film materials, with focus on materials with relevance for nano and microelectronic device application. The Van der Pauw technique, which is the standard used for the measurement of the resistivity of bulk material samples of arbitrary shapes has been used to examine crystalline doped silicon. For the bulk semiconductors used as a calibration test, (resistivity $<$ .001 Ohm-cm), the system reliably reports surface resistivities within 4{\%} of the accepted values. For bulk semiconductors (Resistivities $>$10$^{9}$ Ohm-cm), the system can produce measurements to within $\pm $ .0001 Ohm-cm. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 3:00PM - 3:12PM |
C4.00004: Angelo State Physics Peer Pressure Team: Road Tour 2009 Ethan Gully, Toni Sauncy The Angelo State University Society of Physics Students chapter has a strong history of science outreach to the local community. For the fourth year, the outreach team has undertaken a week-long trip visiting middle school teachers and children and presenting physics demonstrations on a round trip of over 900 miles. The goal of the outreach program is to informally educate and excite students about physics and science in general. The demonstrations vary from simple hands on activities to more complicated experiments that most public school science teachers do not have resources to present. Each presentation engages undergraduate student volunteers in explaining underlying physical principles. A new assessment feature was added to the demonstration program to gauge the effectiveness of the program in changing attitudes about science. The results have been overwhelming as the subsequent requests for further visits are too numerous for us to accommodate. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 3:12PM - 3:24PM |
C4.00005: Lifetime expectancy and characterization of MEMS chevron actuators Armando Nava, Ganapathy Sivakumar, Tim Dallas, Stephen Johns This work will present a detailed reliability and lifetime expectancy study of electrothermal micro-actuators under different actuation scenarios. The actuators are designed using the topmost poly-silicon layer of Sandia National Laboratories' SUMMiT V process. The legs of the actuator are $\sim $ 395 $\mu $m in length, 2.25 $\mu $m in thickness, with an offset angle of 5\r{ }. A custom made optical characterization setup was built to conduct the reliability and lifetime testing of the device. The test involved first identifying key power levels and then actuating the devices until the onset of plasticity. The entire test setup was automated by use of custom built LabView virtual instruments (VIs). [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 3:24PM - 3:36PM |
C4.00006: The Summer Nuclear Engineering Institute at The University of Texas at Austin Juan Olvera The Summer Nuclear Engineering Institute (SNEI) at the University of Texas is a four week course that provides an opportunity for undergraduates to experience the field of nuclear engineering. This experience is especially important if you are a sophomore or junior and are not majoring in nuclear engineering as an undergrad, but would like to explore what nuclear engineering is like. Students will study fundamental nuclear engineering concepts, gain hands-on experience at UT's research reactor and receive six transferrable college credits. The SNEI program was first held in July of 2009, and will be held once again in the summer of 2010; it is funded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Education Grant Program which covers housing, meal plan, a travel and textbook allowance and a {\$}1000 stipend. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 3:36PM - 3:48PM |
C4.00007: Creating a Successful Summer Physics Camp Amanda Gregory The summer physics camp hosted by the Texas State University San Marcos Society of Physics Students chapter is geared toward middle school children aged 9 to 12 years.~ Camp administrators aim to create an environment that is both conducive to learning and fun. Our overarching goal is to provide local youth a basic knowledge of physical concepts as well as encourage their continued interest in physics.~ Physical concepts are taught through a combination of short lectures, group activities, and entertaining demonstrations.~ This presentation will discuss the basic curriculum, activities and demonstrations that have been performed in past camps, as well as plans for future curricula and expansions. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 23, 2009 3:48PM - 4:00PM |
C4.00008: What the heck is a Theremin? Ken Lambdin This talk will in introduce the Theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. The inner workings of the instrument will be examined, explaining how this bizarre instrument can be played without any physical contact! [Preview Abstract] |
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