Cynthia Galovich

PhD, Stanford University, 1987.
Area of Study: Physics

MS, Stanford University, 1979.
Area of Study: Geophysics

BS, Stanford University, 1978.
Area of Study: Physics

Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Physics and Astronomy (1999 – Present)

Research Professor, Colorado School of Mines
(2000-2001)

Associate Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Physics and Astronomy (1993-1999)

Associate Research Professor, Colorado School of Mines
(1998-1999)

Adjunct Research Professor, Colorado State University
(1995-1996, 1999)

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Physics and Astronomy (1989-1993)

Areas of interest

• Physics education research
• Nuclear physics with applications to nuclear spectroscopy and astrophysics

Development of undergraduate research projects in radiation detection

I have been examining ways to expand the research offerings in nuclear physics. In the absence of a nearby particle accelerator, projects are limited to those that investigate detector design, application of existing detectors in non-standard ways, or use of existing simulation programs to understand detector mechanisms. If successful, a couple of these projects will lead to conference presentations, either at COSG symposia or AAPT conferences.

Noise Analysis in Physical Systems

A topic that is absent in our undergraduate curriculum is the treatment of noise in experiments. I am looking at ways to incorporate noise analysis, including studying circuits that acquire biological signals. We purchased a Teachspin Noise Fundamentals apparatus in summer 2021 that can be used in undergraduate research projects. The goal is to develop at least one novel undergraduate experiment that can be presented at an AAPT conference and possibly published in The Physics Teacher or the American Journal of Physics. Dr. Semak is a collaborator on this project.

Support of UNC’s involvement in the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSG)

Dr. Semak was the PI and Associate Director in the consortium; I served as Co-PI.
I assisted in writing funding proposals and progress reports; created, tracked, and balanced budgets; aided in making purchase and student stipend decisions; purchased equipment and supplies; and helped to mentor student projects that led to internal and external presentations. Students gave presentations at the annual Colorado Space Grant symposium. I also attended consortium meetings and symposia. The funding received annually nearly doubled DPA’s non-personnel state budget and provided sustained support to our undergraduate research program. Funds received from 2022 to 2024 totaled $65,000.

The Effectiveness of Argument-Driven Inquiry in Improving Science Literacy

This work was done in collaboration with Rachel Valiquette, a graduate student in the Science Education Masters program. She carried out a study in her high school chemistry labs in which she examined the effect of the Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI) method versus standard instruction on improving scientific literacy. The Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (TOLSLS) was used as a pre-and post-test to assess any improvement. The results, along with those of other measures, will be examined for significance. This work is important in two respects: (1) The use of ADI is well-established in high school science classrooms, but more evidence is needed to establish its role in improving scientific literary, and (2) the TOSLS has been used at the college level in several disciplines to measure scientific literacy, but this study is probably its first use in a high school setting. We plan to present the results at a conference and possibly in a publication.

• Engel, S., Buchmann, L., Chen, A.,D’Auria, J., Hutcheon, D., Galovich, C.,Gigliotti, D., Greife, U., Hunter, D., Hussein, A., Jewett, C., Liu, W., Olin,A.,Ottewell, D., and Rogers, J., “Testing the ISAC Radioactive Ion Accelerator Beam Specifications using the H(15N,alpha/gamma)12C Reaction,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods B204, 416-419 (2003).
• Cecil, F.E., McNeil, J., Galovich, C., Greife, U., Hofstee, M., Yan, J., Liu, S. and Pallone, A., “Twenty-five years of low energy nuclear physics research at the Colorado School of Mines,” Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 221, U81-U82 (2001).
• Hofstee, M., Pallone, A., Cecil, F.E., McNeil, J. and Galovich, C.,“Measurement of Low Energy (d,n) Reactions on Light Nuclei Important to Astrophysics,” Nuclear Physics A688, 527 (2001).
• Cecil, F.E., Yan, J., and Galovich, C.,”The Reaction d(alpha,gamma)Li6 at Low Energies and the Primordial Nucleosynthesis of 6Li,” Physical Review C53, 1967 (1996).
• Galovich, C. and Wagner, A., “A New Method for Improving Gallium Liquid Metal Ion Source Stability,” Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B6, 2108 (1988).
• Galovich, C. and Wagner, A., “Effects of Backsputtered Material on Gallium Liquid Metal Ion Source Behavior,” Journal of Applied Physics 63, 4811 (1988).
• Galovich, C., Hanna, S., and Clark, D., “Design and Performance of an Electron-Positron Pair Detector,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods A271, 483 (1988).
• Dunham, J., Galovich, C., Glavish, H., Hanna, S., Mavis, D., and Wissink, S., “Polarized Gas Jet Targets,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods 219, 46 (1984).