Bulletin of the American Physical Society
Fall 2019 Meeting of the Ohio-Region Section and the Michigan Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers
Volume 64, Number 15
Friday–Saturday, October 11–12, 2019; Flint, Michigan
Session A01: Friday Plenary Talks |
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Chair: Corneliu Rablau, Kettering University Room: Kettering University Academic Building McKinnon Theater |
Friday, October 11, 2019 1:15PM - 2:15PM |
A01.00001: Optical Investigations of Semiconductor Nanowires: New Physics, New Heterostructures, and a New Experimental Probe Invited Speaker: Howard Jackson Semiconductor nanowires have recently emerged as a new class of materials with significant potential for both new fundamental physics new applications in device physics. Semiconductor nanowires are prototypical quasi one dimensional materials that come in many forms from singular materials to complex heterostructures.\textasciitilde \textasciitilde These materials can now be grown with high crystal quality and thus explored for their intrinsic physics.\textasciitilde We will present recent results exploring the properties of GaAs/GaAlAs core-shell nanowires, the role of symmetry in InP nanowires, and a unique heterostructure called a quantum well tube. We utilize a variety of optical techniques to advance our understanding of these structures.\textasciitilde We introduce a new optical technique that is shown to provide unique insights into the photoexcited carrier dynamics in nanowires. Finally, we show that this technique may have powerful capabilities to characterize a wide array of less studied materials with band gaps well into the near to mid IR energy region. This research has the potential for designing higher-efficiency solar cells and for significantly impacting nanowire electronics and nanowire-based chemical or biological sensors. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 11, 2019 2:15PM - 3:15PM |
A01.00002: Understanding how unfolded protein dynamics affects neurodegenerative diseases Invited Speaker: Lisa Lapidus Many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, are caused by uncontrolled aggregation of proteins. While many aggregation-prone proteins ultimately form fibrillary structures, evidence suggests that early, unstructured aggregates are toxic to neurons. The complexity and dynamics of unfolded protein ensembles may be the ultimate speed limit of folding and play a crucial role in aggregation. In my lab over the past several years we have investigated the reconfiguration dynamics of unfolded proteins by measuring the rate of intramolecular diffusion, the rate one part of the chain diffuses relative to another. We have measured diffusion coefficients ranging over three orders of magnitude and observed that aggregation-prone sequences tend to fall in the middle of this range. In this talk I shall present our experiments on alpha-synuclein, the Alzheimer's peptide and various prion sequences. We correlated intramolecular diffusion of the disordered protein with solution conditions that promote aggregation. Finally we have begun measurements on small molecule aggregation inhibitors and found that some can prevent aggregation by shifting intramolecular diffusion out of the dangerous middle range. [Preview Abstract] |
Friday, October 11, 2019 3:15PM - 3:30PM |
A01.00003: Coffee Break (3:15pm - 3:30pm) |
Friday, October 11, 2019 3:30PM - 4:10PM |
A01.00004: Mindset Guiding Skillset: The Physicists Toolset for Innovation. Invited Speaker: Bahram Roughani The unique characteristics of Physics graduates including depth of scientific knowledge and breadth of technical skills may be the necessary but not the sufficient factor for career success. The dichotomy of physics is having some physicists as social icons, but not enough students as physics majors. It also includes the wrong perception about limited career options for physics majors, while nearly 95{\%} of physics graduates are working for government, industry, business, and startups. One may question whether physics teaching has evolved adequately address the needs of the innovation ecosystem. This has motivated us to develop physics modules, starting with introductory physics courses, to highlight the social impact of physics, in order to ignite the passion for physics. Efforts of Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PIE), including the PIPELINE Network*, support the goals of the ``Phys21: Revamp Undergraduate Physics'', which was developed by APS and AAPT. The PIE education efforts also provide greater awareness and recognition for alternative physics career paths and options that resonates with the needs of a growing population of entrepreneurially-minded college-age students. [Preview Abstract] |
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