AY 2004-2005 Department News!

To catch up on recent activities in the department, check out the professional activities page.

Department colloquium for Fall 2004 and Spring 2005.

Past department news can be found here.

Spring 2005

Publication: Professor Ken Laws published "Hunting for Jobs at Liberal Arts Colleges" online at the American Institute of Physics Career Services website.

Spring BBQ: The students are hosting a spring BBQ on Friday, May 5 beginning at 5:00pm in the Tome lobby. Don't miss it!

Senior Talks: Senior Talks will take place during the final week of classes. The dates and times are listed on the colloquium schedule. Come hear what our students have been up to.

Congratulations: Professor David Jackson was awarded tenure. Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

Publication: Professor Lars English and Dickinson Students Chris Kerestes and Greg Rydzak published "Renormalized Resonance Frequencies of a Ferrite Sphere Coupled to an LR Circuit," in Concepts in Magnetic Resonance B.

Science Dinner:The 20th Annual Student Science Research Symposium will be held in the Social Hall of the Holland Union Building on Wednesday, April 27. All senior physics majors will be presenting a poster of their research projects. The schedule is:
4:30 PM - Poster Session
5:30 PM - Dinner
6:30 PM - Keynote Address
7:00 - 7:30 PM - Poster Session

Publication: Professor Hans Pfister published "How About a Magnet and a Paperclip? - Experiencing the Interaction Forces Kinesthetically" in The Physics Teacher.

Publication: Professor David Jackson published "Theory, Experiment, and Simulations of a Symmetric Arrangement of Quasi-Two-Dimensional Magnetic Fluid Drops" in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials.

Fall 2004

Publication: Professor Ken Laws published "Physics Goes to my Head" in the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Annual Newsletter.

Publication: Professor Priscilla Laws published "Promoting the Diffusion of Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform: The Activity-Based Physics Suite as an Example" from Invention and Impact: Building Excellence in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Conference (2004).

Publication: Professor David Jackson published "Adhesion Phenomena in Ferrofluids" in Physical Review E.

Publication: Professor Hans Pfister published "Illustrating Electric Circuit Concepts with the Glitter Circuit" in The Physics Teacher.

Welcome Back: We hope you had a great summer. We'd like to welcome back all of our students, particularly those seniors who will be spending their last year with us.

A Warm Welcome: The Department would like to welcome Melanie Cluss, a graduate of Denison University. Melanie will be spending the year at Dickinson College working with Professor Ken Laws on the physics of dance and acting as an assistant track coach.

Summer 2004

A Fond Farewell: After spending a sabbatical year at Dickinson College, Astronomer Richard Greenberg has returned to his home at the University of Arizona. From helping our students to assisting in departmental tasks, it was a pleasure to have him around.

Gordon Research Conference: David Jackson and Kerry Browne helped organize a Gordon Research Conference on Physics Research and Education on the topic of Classical Mechanics, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos. The conference was held at Mt. Holyoke College in June, 2004 and included a presentation by Priscilla Laws on the chaotic pendulum.