UNC Physics & Astronomy Seminar

Fridays @ 3:30pm in Ross 0220

2023

March 24

Dr. Paul Graf

Beyond Carl Wieman’s Decision-Making
Framework for Success in Physics

March 3

Prof. Courtney Willis, UNC Physics

Mechanical Analog Computing in Academic Settings Through The First Three-quarters Of The 20th Century - Slide Rules

February 17

Dr. Josh West, High Precision Devices

Non-academic options for physics graduates in quantum technology

February 10

Aaron Svoboda, Intermountain Health Front Range Hospitals

Medical Physics and what I wish I would've known as an undergrad

January 20

Dr. Kathrin Spendler, Quantinuum

An Introduction to Quantum Computing and Quantinuum

2022

April 29

Zoe Bonasera: Cauchy Riemann + The Fun Partial Derivatives
Bobbie Brackett: Black Holes Unveiled
Kyria Smith: Detecting Gravitational waves using LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory)

April 22

Evander Espinoza: Constructing a Model for Cosmic-Ray-Induced Hard Errors in CMOS Detectors
Fernando Gonzalez: Breaking the ICE - Introduction of a 4-Stroke Internal Combustion Engine’s and their Mechanical Principles
Harrison Massengale: Cepheid Variables Population Type Based on Pulsation Period

April 15

Sarah Davis: Stellar Populations of LoBAL QSOs
Josh Gonzales: Magnetic levitation - How Maglev Works on Propelling Trains and How it Came to Be
Jair Rodriguez: Age of Electricity

April 8

Hope Dannar: Design and Construction of a Laser Cavity for Intra-cavity Generation of Laguerre-Gauss Beams
Abe Granberg: Limitations on the drag benefits of slotted wing tips in birds
Tyler Lawson: Water Formation from Solar Winds

March 25

Casey Kuhns, Ursa Major Technologies: Aerospace Avionics and Strategies for Reliability

March 11

Quinton Snouffer, Honeybee Robotics: Building Your Engineering Resume

March 4

Kaitlyn Raub, MITRE Corporation: Choose Your Own Adventure - Astro Edition

February 25

John A. Ringler, Colorado State University: Quantum Magnets - A Tale of Emergent Properties and Frustration

February 18

Prof. Mariana Lazarova, UNC: How an Alien Found a Way to Study Galaxies & Supermassive Black Holes

January 28

Prof. Charles Kuehn, UNC: Starquakes, Wi-Fi Lawsuits, Kangaroos, and Airports - A Career in Astronomy

2019

APRIL 26

Brian Smith, UNC: Space GPS Using Pulsars
Tyler Deverse, UNC: A Low-Cost Raman Spectrometer

April 19

Charles Kuehn, UNC: Astronomy, Nobel Prizes, and the Joy of Research (and Travel)

April 12

Jan Chaloupka, UNC: Intense Lasers, Nobel Prizes, and the Joy of Doing Research

APRIL 5

Bryan Lopez, UNC: Optical Trapping and Applications

MARCH 29

Kaitlyn Raub, UNC: James Webb Space Telescope
Tyler Settle, UNC: Gravitational Lensing

MARCH 22

Clayton Orback, UNC: A Brief Introduction to Pilot-Wave Hydrodynamics and the Quantum Corral Analog
Conrad Schaefer, UNC: Carbon Nanotubes as Liquid Crystals

MARCH 1

Zachery Lakin, UNC: The Next Generation of LIGO Detectors

FEBRUARY 22

Jordan French, UNC: Fusion in Main Sequence Stars
Soren Clawson, UNC: Rotational Mechanics of Water Bottle Flipping

FEBRUARY 15

Noah Blair, UNC: Solutions to the Ising Model and Spontaneous Phase Transitions
Makayla Erzinger, UNC: Using a Shoebox Spectrograph to Investigate the Difference Between Reflection and Emission

FEBRUARY 8

Dr. Mariana Lazarova, UNC: The Mysterious Connection Between Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes

FEBRUARY 1

Dr. Kristen Buchanan, CSU: Imaging Spins in Motion

JANUARY 25

Dr. Robert R. McLeod, CU-Boulder: 3D Printing of Implants for Human Cartilage Regeneration

2018

APRIL 20

Justin Morse, UNC Physics: Mechanical Properties of Nanoparticles

APRIL 13

Dr. Michael Mooney, CSU: Pioneering the Intensity Frontier with LArTPCs

APRIL 6

Dr. Henri Levec, NIST: Plasmonic Metamaterials and Lasers at Visible and Ultraviolet Frequencies

MARCH 30

Dr. Nils Halverson, Department of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, The University of Colorado: Looking Back at the Big Bang

MARCH 23

Quinton Snouffer, UNC Physics: An Introduction to Complex Plasma
Maya Davidson, UNC Physics: From Prediction to Detection: The Observation of Gravitational Waves Using Laser Interferometry

MARCH 9

Hayden Kembel, UNC Physics: Promising Applications of Graphene and Graphene-based Nanostructures
Tyler Onufrak, UNC Physics: Probing the Casimir Force with Optical Tweezers

MARCH 8

Dr. Bashirah Ibrahim, Ohio State University: Synthesis Physics Problem Solving

MARCH 5

Mary Chessey, UC Davis: Use of Assessments to Shape Experiences of Physics Majors

MARCH 2

Natthakan Koetchaeng, UNC Physics: Terminal Velocity of a Shuttlecock in Vertical Fall

MARCH 1

Dr. Mariana Lazarova, University of Nebraska at Kearney: Catastrophic Galaxy Collisions and the Birth of Quasars

FEBRUARY 23

Alec Bennington, UNC Physics: An Examination of Solar Contribution to Global Warming
Rydell Stottlemyer, UNC Physics: How Good Are the Common Approximations Used in Physics?

FEBRUARY 16

Jacob Fry, UNC Physics: Atomic Force Microscopy: Principles and Applications
Lael Gomez, UNC Physics: Perspective on the Cosmic Microwave Background

FEBRUARY 9

Sergio Chacon, UNC Physics: Tubing Into the Future
Michelle Cline, UNC Physics: Gravitational Lensing: A Unique Probe of Dark Matter and Dark Energy

FEBRUARY 2

John Ringler, UNC Physics: Out of Many, Different: Emergence in Quantum Materials
Daniel Quin, UNC Physics: Rotational and Frictional Dynamics of the Slamming of a Door

2017

APRIL 14

Dr. Ruwang Sung, UNC Physics: Quantum Dots, DNA Origami and Soft Matter

MARCH 31

Arick Sweitzer, UNC Physics: Robotic Locomotion - An Introduction to Dynamics

MARCH 24

Robert Ensley, UNC Physics: Electromagnetic Launching Technology
Juan Avina, UNC Physics: Examining the Chaotic Dynamics of a Swirling Flame Caused by Changes in Gravity

MARCH 10

Camden Pankratz, UNC Physics: Comparing 'Math First' and 'Physics First' Pedagogical Approaches to General Relativity at the Undergraduate Level
Tasia Banks, UNC Physics: Heating Up

MARCH 3

Tyler DeVerse, UNC Physics: Pressure at Extreme Ocean Depths
William Mendoza, UNC Physics: Dusty Plasmas and their Application

FEBRUARY 24

Dr. Charles Kuehn, UNC Physics: The Great American Eclipse of 2017

FEBRUARY 17

Caleb Dahlke, UNC Physics: Interpretations of Wave-Particle Duality

FEBRUARY 10

Joe Maletta, UNC Physics: Pedagogy Strategy to Evolve the Novicelike Student into an Expert
Renato Rubio, UNC Physics: Mechanics of Origami Bellows

FEBRUARY 3

Ryan Schoene, UNC Physics: Physics and Applications of Optical Tweezers

JANUARY 27

Dr. Kristine Callan, Colorado School of Mines
The Teacher Education Alliance, Mines-UNC Partnership (TEAM-UP): Motivation, Strategies, and Students

JANUARY 20

Ka Chun Yu, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Earth and Space Informal Science Education with Digital Planetariums

2016

APRIL 29

Cody Helms, UNC Physics: Lasers and Nonlinear Optics
Elias Alvarado, UNC Physics: Black Holes and Hawking Radiation

APRIL 22

Kourteney Zadina, UNC Physics: Physics of the Eye
Solomon Smith, UNC Physics: Reinventing the Wheel - An Introduction to Quantum Computing
Casey Montoya, UNC Physics: The Physics Behind Speakers

APRIL 15

Taylor McMillan, UNC Physics: Developing a Model - Re-entry into the Earth’s Atmosphere
Shelby Burns, UNC Physics: Production of Uniformly Sized Microbubbles

APRIL 8

Taylor Chew, UNC Physics: The Leidenfrost Effect
Ryan Fabian, UNC Physics: Matters of Dark Matter

APRIL 1

Zachary Rossiter, UNC Physics: Superconductors and Quantum Levitation
Brock Loftus, UNC Physics: 3-D Printing

MARCH 11

Nickolay Pokatilov, UNC Physics: Brief Introduction to Non-Linear Mechanics and Chaos
Alec Helm, UNC Physics: The Journey to Absolute Zero
Chad Garcia, UNC Physics: The Higgs Boson

FEBRUARY 19

Alexandra Briggs, UNC Physics: Acoustic Levitation
Stephen Lowery, UNC Physics: The Origin of the Universe
Stefan Lamb, UNC Physics: Visualizing Sound

FEBRUARY 12

Daniel Herrera, UNC Physics: The Fundamentals of Radio Astronomy
Seamus Severance, UNC Physics: The Physics of Flight
Arick Sweitzer, UNC Physics: Superconductors and the Meissner Effect

FEBRUARY 5

Dr. Charles Kuehn, UNC Physics: Exploring the Variable Sky with Kepler

JANUARY 29 

Brandon Saldivar, UNC Physics: Black Holes & General Relativity
Uriel Aragon, UNC Physics: The Triboelectric Effect and Ways of Producing Clean Energy

JANUARY 22

 Russell Gleason, UNC Physics: Nanosphere Lithography Applied to Magnetic Thin Films

JANUARY 15 

Bradley Holmes, UNC Physics: The Optical Tweezers and Its Applications
Alexander Lidiak, UNC Physics: Binding Nanoparticle Quantum Dots with DNA

2015

MAY 26

Russell Gleason: Nanosphere Lithography Applied to Magnetic Thin Films

MAY 1 

Lee Ismay, UNC Physics: Creating a Robot Swarm
Tre Tellez, UNC Physics: Information Preservation in Black Holes

APRIL 24 

Veronica Buchanan, UNC Physics: The Effects of Solar Radiation
Kellen Schuebel, UNC Physics: Electromagnetic Suspension

APRIL 17 

Michael Nuzum, UNC Physics: Gravitational Lensing and its Applications to Astronomy
Phakawat Manusnon, UNC Physics: Moon Light Scattering

APRIL 10

 Derek Weigle, UNC Physics: The Quantum-Relativity Problem
Dan Hefty, UNC Physics: The Higgs Boson

APRIL 3 

Caitlyn Ewald, UNC Physics: Formation of Planetary Systems
Matt Svetic, UNC Physics: Superhydrophobics and Applications in Nature

MARCH 27 IN ROSS 0060

 Zachary Armstrong: Learning to learn through high school science research projects

MARCH 23 @ 2:15PM 

David Thompson: Science Beyond Academia

MARCH 13 @ 3:30PM 

Christopher Courrejou, UNC Physics: What is the physics behind the noise created by the didgeridoo?
Lausatianragit Thanabordin, UNC Physics: The Message from Water
Brad Holmes, UNC Physics: Various Applications of an Optical Trap

MARCH 13 @ 2:30PM 

Brian Uzpen, Laramie County Community College: Cloud to Planets: The Disk Formation, Disk Clearing and Planet Formation Processes in Intermediate-Mass Stars

MARCH 12 @ 9:15AM

 Charles Vaughan, Mississippi State University: Jet morphology and coma analysis of comet 103P/Hartley 2

MARCH 11 @ 2:30PM

 Charles Kuehn, University of Sydney: Variable Stars as Cosmic Swiss Army Knives

MARCH 10 @ 9:15AM 

Evan Frodermann, University of Minnesota: C3PO: Customizable Computer Coaches for Physics Online

MARCH 9 @ 2:30PM 

Gregory Sloan, Cornell University: The Death of Stars and the Evolution of Galaxies

MARCH 6 @ 3:30PM 

Michael DiPompeo, University of Wyoming: Supermassive Black Holes: Sculpting the Universe

FEBRUARY 27 @ 3:30PM IN MCKEE L0150 

Jeff Bennett: Science Education Seminar

FEBRUARY 20

Scott Gebers, EchoStar Corporation: Spacecraft Programs and Operations

FEBRUARY 13

 Prof. Jan Chaloupka, UNC Physics: Fundamental Quantum Mysteries

2014

MAY 2

 David Garrett, UNC Physics: The Behavior of Coupled Logistic Maps
 Jeremiah Schwartz, UNC Physics: Gravitational Waves and the Origin of the Universe

MAY 2

 Dr. David Brookes: Modeling the physics classroom as a complex-dynamical system: a path towards transformation

MAY 1

 Dr. Mick Davis: Surface Plasmon Enhanced Evanescent Optical Limiting in Photonic Crystal Fibers

APRIL 25 

Steven Rutherford, UNC Physics: Particle Acclererators
 Ben Carlson, UNC Physics : The Photoelastic Effect on Plastic

APRIL 18

 Josh Wadle, UNC Physics: Carbon Nanotubes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells 
Michael Paton, UNC Physics: Using Electroencephalography (EEG) in New Ways

APRIL 11 

JJ Peek, UNC Physics: An Introduction to 3D Printing
 Tyler Smith, UNC Physics: Quantum Computers

MARCH 28 

Amber S. Bekkali, UNC Physics: The Foucalt Pendulum
Graham Stringert, UNC Physics: Monitoring the Neutralization of Mustard Agent

MARCH 14 

Tim O'Neill, UNC Physics: Robots in Space
 Anthony Saccomanno, UNC Physics: A Brief Introduction of Quantum Field Theory

MARCH 7

 Aaron Adamson, SEAKR Engineering: Careers in Physics: Aerospace and Radiation Effects

FEBRUARY 28

 James Harris, UNC Physics: Implications of the Recent Synthetic Magnetic Monopole Creation
 Kyle Nachbar, UNC Physics: Testing General Relativity Using Pulsars

FEBRUARY 21

 Zach Hafen, UNC Physics: The Motion of Standing: Modeling Balance with Stochastic Processes 
Donovan Anderson, UNC Physics: Quantum Dot Conjugation - Coating DNA Particles

FEBRUARY 14

 John Wood, UNC Physics: Street and Infrastructure Maintenance (SIM) in Greeley and Abroad: The Road Ahead 
Casey Rogers, UNC Physics: DNA and Dots

FEBRUARY 7 

Prof. Lev Maslov, UNC Physics: Self-organization of the Earth's Climate System versus Milankovitch-Berger Astronomical Cycles

JANUARY 24

 Prof. Ivan I. Smalyukh, CU-Boulder Physics: Self-Assembly of Topological Defects and Colloids

2013

APRIL 26 

Audrey Wall, UNC Physics: Transiting Exoplanets: Can You Imagine That?
Vlad Gaciu, UNC Physics: Pascal's Law in Today's Technology

APRIL 19 

Herve Tonye Tonye, UNC Physics: Mr. SQUID: An introduction to the principles of superconductivity
Michael Clay, UNC Physics: Nano-Technology: A tiny glimpse into the future

APRIL 12

 Prof. Randall Tagg, CU-Denver Physics: The Innovation Hyperlab - A framework for involving both K-12 students and undergraduates in research

APRIL 5 

Sean Higgins, UNC Physics: Pyramids Unlocked: Using Cosmic Rays to Detect Hidden Rooms

MARCH 29 

Maurice Woods & Jessica Trujillo, RoadNarrows Robotics: The Role of Robotics in Human Advancement

MARCH 15 

Travis Day, UNC Physics: Optical Trapping: Theory, Design, and Calibration
Michael Clay, UNC Physics: Electro-acoustic Transducer Characteristics and Models

MARCH 8

 Richard Pacheco, UNC Physics: STM: Taking Pictures of Atoms and Applications
Marius Herlea, Jr., UNC Physics: Fundamentals of Superconductivity

MARCH 1 

Kay & Larry Britton, Lockheed Martin: Life After Ross Hall

FEBRUARY 22 

Dr. Courtney Willis, UNC Physics: Mechanical Analog Computing in Academic Settings During the 20th Century

FEBRUARY 15 

Dr. Ruwang Sung, UNC Physics: Next Generation Solar Cell: Solution-Based PbS Quantum Dots

FEBRUARY 1 

Dr. Wendy Adams, UNC Physics: Physics Education Research Project Approaches

JANUARY 18

 Dr. Thomas Johnson, CSU: A Plan for Handling Externally Contaminated Livestock

2012

SEPTEMBER 7

Joe Gasteiger & Rachel Bennet, UNC Physics: Undergraduate Research Experience at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

APRIL 27

 Connie Willis & Courtney Willis: Up & Away and Down Under

APRIL 20

 Dr. Thomas Perkins, JILA, NIST & CU-Boulder: Precision single molecule force spectroscopy with optical traps and atomic force microscopy

APRIL 13 

Eric Gregg, UNC Physics: The Physics of Cycling

APRIL 6 

Carlos Gallegos, UNC Physics: Using Seismic Waves to Find Oil
Bronson Pausa, UNC Physics: Physics of the Tattoo Machine

MARCH 23

 Rachel Bennet, UNC Physics: Building and Testing Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Kyle Kingsley, UNC Physics: Gravity Probe B

MARCH 2 

Joe Gasteiger, UNC Physics: Global Positioning System (GPS)
Brendan Bandy, UNC Physics: Battery Technology

FEBRUARY 24 

Rahul P. Trivedi, CU Boulder: The fascinating world of liquid crystals

FEBRUARY 17 

Connor Saller, UNC Physics: Aurora Borealis

FEBRUARY 10

 Dr. Robert McLeod, CU Boulder: Optical lithography beyond the Heisenberg limit

JANUARY 27

 Prof. Ivan Smalyukh, CU Boulder & NREL (talk delivered by Dr. Bohdan Senyuk): Optical manipulation of colloids, self-assembled structures, and topological defects by use of laser tweezers

JANUARY 20 

Rob Shiely, UNC Physics: UNC Robotics: Past, Present, and Future View

2011

APRIL 29

 Sommer Rains & Adam Wilson, UNC Physics: Optimized Techniques For Geo-Fencing In Robotics Using Huron’s Formula and The Cayley-Menger Determinant

APRIL 22

 Dr. Dennis Agosta, CSU Physics: A Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy Study of Novel Materials

 APRIL 8

 Jordan Kohnen, UNC Physics: Rocksat-X 2011: UNC's First Re-Entry Experiment
Edgar Gallegos, UNC Physics: Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT)

APRIL 1

 Casey Kuhns, UNC Physics: Swarm Behavior and its Uses in Research
John Arko, UNC Physics: Scanning Electron Microscope Analysis of Gunshot Residue on Fabrics

MARCH 25 

Prof. Courtney Willis, UNC Physics: Slipsticks, Sliderules, and Calculating before Calculators
Sean McMillon, UNC Physics: Mind Controlled Artificial Arms

MARCH 11

 Connor Saller, UNC Physics: How Matter Defeated AntiMatter

MARCH 4 

Hunter Nolen, UNC Physics: Spin Doctors: Examining the Physics behind a Baseball in Flight

FEBRUARY 25 

Diego Alcala, UNC Physics: Effects of Altitude on the Thiele-Small Parameters
Maurice Woods III, UNC Physics: A Novel Way to Measure the Distance to an Asteroid

FEBRUARY 18

 Dr. Joseph M. Katich, University of Colorado, Boulder: Nuclear Physics at Jefferson Laboratory

FEBRUARY 11

 Julian Evans, University of Colorado, Boulder: Colloidal gold nanoparticles - optical properties & their self-assembly in liquid crystals

FEBRUARY 4

 Dr. Lora Nugent-Glandorf, NIST, Time & Frequency Division: Optical Frequency Combs: a laser-based tool for trace chemical detection

JANUARY 28

 Dr. Jao van de Lagemaat, National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Plasmonics in Solar Photoconversion

JANUARY 21

 Nick Disparti, Olympus Corporation: Basic Confocal Imaging Applications

UNC Physics & Astronomy Seminar

Fridays @ 3:30pm in Ross 0220

2023

March 24

Dr. Paul Graf

Beyond Carl Wieman’s Decision-MakingFramework for Success in Physics

March 3

Prof. Courtney Willis, UNC Physics

Mechanical Analog Computing in Academic Settings Through The First Three-quarters Of The 20th Century - Slide Rules

February 17

Dr. Josh West, High Precision Devices

Non-academic options for physics graduates in quantum technology

February 10

Aaron Svoboda, Intermountain Health Front Range Hospitals

Medical Physics and what I wish I would've known as an undergrad

January 20

Dr. Kathrin Spendler, Quantinuum

An Introduction to Quantum Computing and Quantinuum

2022

April 29

April 22

April 15

April 8

2019

April 19

April 12

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

Beyond Carl Wieman’s Decision-Making
Framework for Success in Physics