News

Friday, Sept. 23 | 3-3:50 p.m. | Planetarium (BR 167) Read the rest of this entry →

Friday, Sept. 9 | 3-3:50 p.m. | Hagen 325  Read the rest of this entry →

Friday, Sept. 2 | 3-3:50 p.m. | Hagen 325 
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Saturday, Aug. 27 | 7:30 p.m. | Regional Science Center  Read the rest of this entry →

Tim Abate ’15 (physics), who is will be starting his Ph.D. at Stanford University this fall, won a prestigious competition this summer. He was at Los Alamos National Labs doing a summer internship in materials science. Abate won their poster competition in the category of materials science. There were a total of 500 entries across all categories of the competition.  Read the rest of this entry →

Steve Lindaas, Physics and Astronomy, attended the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) summer conference last week. He presented a workshop, “Demo Kit in a Box: Mechanics,” gave an invited talk, “Deepening Understanding by Implementing (Simple) Systems Modeling,” contributed a talk, “Adding Arduinos to a traditional Analog Electronics course,” to the “Ardiuno, Teensy, FPGA’s et al.” session and participated in the annual Demo Show. Read the rest of this entry →

On Monday morning, thanks to the efforts of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and several members of the FM Astronomy Club, members of the MSUM community moving to and fro between finals got to witness the rare sight of the planet Mercury passing between Earth and the Sun.  Read the rest of this entry →

On Monday between 6:12 a.m. and 1:42 p.m., Mercury will pass between us and the Sun for the first time in almost 10 years in what astronomers call a “transit of Mercury.” Assuming clear skies, the MSUM Department of Physics and Astronomy will have solar telescopes out in front of Hagen Hall from about 9 a.m. onward to allow you to safely view this rare celestial event. Come on by between your exams to view the transit. This is your last chance to view a transit until November 11, 2019 (and after that, no chance to view it from Minnesota until May 2049)!

MSUM Couple Continues Education at Stanford University

By Danielle Rebel

It took traveling nearly 7,700 miles from Ethiopia to Minnesota for Iwnetim (Tim) Abate, 2015 (Physics), and Loza Tadesse, 2016 (Chemistry), to meet. Read the rest of this entry →

A finalist for Interim Dean of the College of Science, Health, and the Environment will hold an open forum today.

Dr. Steve Lindaas is Professor of Physics and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He has been at MSUM since 2001. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Lindaas is Director of the Learning Assistant Program and was Director of the Sustainability program from 2012 to 2015. He has taught at the University of North Dakota and worked for the Dakota Science Center and Grand Forks Public School District. . His open forum is from 11:00 to 12:00 in CMU 203.

Friday, Apr. 15 | 3 – 3:50 pm | Hagen 325

Ryan Bosca, research associate, (Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison) will present on “Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Pathway to Objectively Quantifying Biological Processes.” Read the rest of this entry →

Friday, April 1 | 3-3:50 p.m. | Hagen 325

MSUM Physics & Astronomy seminar series presents “Soft, Squishy and Long Molecules at Interfaces” by Damith Rosario, a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Nanotechnology at NDSU.

A polymer is a long molecule consisting of covalently bonded small repeating molecules which are called monomers. The two words polymer and monomer are derived from the ancient Greek words monos- (one), polus- (many) and -meros (part). Read the rest of this entry →

Erin Aadland, a physics major with astronomy emphasis, has been accepted into the summer research program at the University of Notre Dame for the summer of 2016. This 10-week program will have Ms. Aadland working with Notre Dame astronomer Peter Garnavich on an observational astronomy project studying cataclysmic variable stars.

Join the Department of Physics and Astronomy on Friday, March 4 from 3-3:50 p.m. in Hagen 325. Several undergraduates at MSUM are working a variety of research projects using data from MSUM’s telescope. The students will each present a summary of the work they are doing, which includes a search for new variable stars, measurements of the properties of planets in other solar systems, contributions to astronomy software packages, and a search for asteroids. This event is free and open to the public.

MSUM Physics & Astronomy Seminar Series Presents Senior Project Proposals: Introduction to Research Students
on Friday, Feb. 26 from 3-3:50 p.m. in Hagen 325.

Students in Professor Cabanela’s Introduction to Research class will present their proposals for senior projects. These senior projects will be completed Fall 2016. The student presenters and their project titles are:
• Jared Saunders, “Observing How the K-Absorption Edge of a Material Affects X-Ray Imaging Contrast”
• James Diem Jr., “Electromagnetic Coil Gun”
• Tony Woltman, “Winter Cycling”

On Friday, February 19 from 3 – 3:50 p.m. the MSUM Physics & Astronomy Seminar Series presents Senior Project Proposals: Introduction to Research Students

Students in Professor Cabanela’s Introduction to Research class will present their proposals for senior projects. These senior projects will be completed Fall 2016. The student presenters and their project titles are:

• Dana Koczur, “Measuring the Accuracy of Fluoroscopic Dose-Area Product”
• Kyle Hurley, “Live, Love, and the Pursuit of Volleyball: The Study of the Magnus Effect”
• Tyler Meehleib, “Modeling the Elasticity of the Ground Based on its Moisture Content”

On Friday, Feb. 12 from 3-3:50 pm, Dr. Matt Craig, Department of Physics and Astronomy will present images from the New Horizons spacecraft in the MSUM Planetarium. The New Horizons spacecraft continues to send back images from its close encounter last summer with Pluto and its moon Charon. After a quick introduction to the Pluto-Charon system and how it differs from real planets we will look at some of the surprising images from New Horizons. Both Pluto and Charon were expected to have very old, heavily cratered surfaces; instead New Horizons discovered ice mountains over 10,000 feet high, a canyon that spans half of Charon, and some very young surfaces.

The Society of Physics Students (SPS) chapter from Minnesota State University Moorhead has been awarded a 2014-15 Distinguished Chapter Award from the National Society of Physics Students. This award is given to SPS chapters that “build community and propel students into their careers as prepared professionals.” This is the third year in a row that the campus’ SPS chapter has been recognized as Distinguished chapter (2012-13 and 2014-15) or Outstanding chapter (2013-14) by the national organization.

The Society of Physics Students invites you to its annual physics show on Saturday April 2nd from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, in Langseth 104. Come see exciting demonstrations of the physical laws that govern our world. There is no charge for admission, and the show is family friendly.

Juan Cabanela, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is used to answering questions about astronomy from the public. However, this past week he was interviewed by three different local media organizations on three separate astronomy related issues. On Thursday, January 21 he was interviewed by Jack Sunday on KFGO about evidence for a large ninth planet in the outer reaches our solar system. Then on Tuesday, January 26, he talked with Sandy Buttweiller of WDAY to discuss the fact that for the first time in a decade, we can simultaneously observe all five of the visible planets in the morning sky. Finally, an interview with both Dr. Cabanela and Sara Schultz, MSUM planetarium director, about memories of the Challenger disaster on its 30th Anniversary appeared in the Forum on Thursday, January 28.