Congratuations to Professor Pearson & Matt Murray '11 on a recently published paper "Using Shaped Ultrafast Laser Pulses to Detect Enzyme Binding". See link below.

Using Shaped Ultrafast Laser Pulses to Detect Enzyme Binding 

Physics Senior Research Talks Schedule:

Monday, December 5th @ 4:15 pm in Tome 115 

Marc Koehler & Greg Lawrence will present "NMR Spectroscopy and the Detection of Impurities in Water"
and
Christine Welling will present "Photometry of Underobserved RR Lyrae Variable Stars"

Tuesday, December 6th @ Noon in Tome 115 

Abra Fein, Charlie Alcorn & Morgan Cheatham will present "The Spectrum Analyzer and ESR Spectroscopy"
and
Michael Ryan will present "Misbehaving Photon Measurement"

Thursday, December 8th at Noon in Tome 115 

Derek Frymark will present "V723CAS: Data Reduction of a Cataclysmic Variable"
and
Stuart Flury will present "Active Galaxies: Super Massive Black Holes and the Mess They Make"

Join us for the final Physics Colloquium of the semester on Thursday, December 1st at Noon in Tome 115.  Our very own visiting professor, Adria Updike, will be presenting "Lighting Up the Early Universe: Gamma Ray Bursts as Probes of Cosmic Chemical Evolution".  Everyone welcome.  Free pizza!

Abstract: Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the largest explosions in the universe.  For a brief period of time, they illuminate an otherwise invisible part of the cosmos and allow us a glimpse at some of the earliest galaxies in the universe.  She has been working with the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics on the use of GRBs as probes of the universe, and with NASA Goddard on computational models of chemical evolution in galaxies as probed by GRBs.  She will discuss the history of the GRB field, how GRBs are detected and studied, and highlight some of the most interesting recent results of her collaborations with respect to cosmic chemical evolution.

Dr. Tyson Littenberg, NASA Goddard & University of Maryland, College Park, will present "Rounding the Home Stretch: The Very Near Future of Gravitational Wave Astronomy" on Thursday, November 10th @ Noon in Tome 115.  Free pizza - everyone welcome.

Abstract: Gravitational waves were first predicted by Einstein in 1916.  Nearly 100 years later, the decades-long quest to measure these ripples in space-time is about to bear fruit.  Detectors on the ground are half-way through significant technology upgrades which will increase their sensitivity by an order of magnitude.  Furthermore, while recent budget upheaval has obscured the details, space-borne gravitational wave detectors are seen as high priority for NASA and ESA, with both agencies currently undergoing aggressive mission concept studies targeting launch dates in the next decade.  He will review the fundamentals of gravitational wave astronomy from the standpoint of detectors and science capabilities.