MSUM Physics & Astronomy Seminar Series Presents: “Faculty Talks”
Join MSUM Physics & Astronomy this Friday, January 29, from 3 – 3:50 p.m. in Hagen Hall 325 as they present Seminar Series:”Faculty Talks.”
Richard Lahti, Patterns in citations on Teacher Performance Assessment submissions at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Students completing their education programs at Minnesota State University Moorhead must complete the Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) as a final assessment for graduation. Students are expected to cite research and/or theory at three points in their TPA. Anecdotally, the researcher has noted that Multiple Intelligence (MI) and Learning Style theories are among the most mentioned. The 3 issues to be examined are: What are the patterns of citation for the TPA; what percent of students are citing controversial ideas such as MI/Learning Styles; and when students cite MI/Learning Styles, do their comments match the basic tenets of the theory. Although this research was delayed, a survey of MSUM students last semester revealed pervasive misunderstandings of learning styles and multiple intelligences that will inform work this semester.
Steve Lindaas, Developing a PID controller for a 2-wheel self-balancing platform. The traditional approach to science is reductionist and linear. You take a clock apart, study each gear and connection and thus understand how the clock as a whole works. System thinking better models processes in the natural world which have much more complex behavior as a result of feedback loops. Well understood systems can be controlled by designing appropriate feedback loops. You use such a feedback controller everyday when you “adjust” the thermostat to obtain a desired temperature. We are interested in understanding a certain class of controllers: PID (proportional, integrative and derivative) controllers. PID controllers are not new. They have been used to achieve comfort, stability, (energy) efficiency, safety etc. since the turn of the century. However what is new are more (low-cost) sensors, microcomputers and applications (like quadcopters). We will talk about the development of a 2-wheeled person mover as a platform to experiment with PID control algorithms.
Ananda Shastri, Studying proton motion in proton conducting ceramics using nuclear magnetic resonance. Proton conducting membranes are used in fuel cells as a mechanism for separating charge. Understanding the physical mechanism by which such materials allow high proton mobility is an important problem. Greater measurement sensitivity is possible on stronger magnet in HA109 that became available in August. Efforts to get research running on that magnet will be discussed.