General NewsAwards and HonorsStudent and Alumni NewsColloquiaSeminarsPresentations and TalksPublicationsProposalsTravel and ConferencesVisitorsUpcoming Events| General News |
Awards and Honors |
Student and Alumni News |
Colloquia |
| Seminars |
Presentations and Talks |
Publications |
Proposals |
| Travel and Conferences |
Visitors |
Upcoming Events |
December 2000
"I have been studying the role of physics and the role of physicists in the education system and in
the economy for twenty years. During that time I have come to several conclusions. Physics is fundamental
and physics is ubiquitous. Physics and physicists play a fundamentally important role. Physicists add to
our knowledge base. They participate in innovation and technological breakthroughs. People with physics
degrees (at any level) pursue a remarkably diverse range of professionally challenging and intellectually
stimulating careers. Physicists succeed. The vast majority of people with physics degrees report that, if
they had the opportunity to do it over again, they would major in physics."
Roman Czujko, Director, Statistical Research Center, The American Institute of Physics
APS News, Letters, January 2001
GENERAL NEWS
We were saddened to learn that Ralph Hight (PhD '74) passed away December 5 from pancreatic cancer.
His wife, Sheila writes: "We have lived (in order): Ohio to Nebraska to Florida to Arizona to Texas to
Illinois. After our post-doc at U. Nebraska, we went to Florida where Ralph worked for Harris Corp.
(did work on the Hubble). In Arizona it was Burr-Brown and semiconductors. In Texas he worked for Sulzer
Medica and did research on pacemakers. He actually tested Furbys to see if they would interact with
pacers! Guident bought out Sulzer, shut down the cellular phone branch. Even so, Ralph always enjoyed
visiting the labs, and getting his hands dirty while solving problems. Just like the old days at MSU."
Our long-time friend and colleague Roy Wiegand died December 14. Roy was born and raised in Montana, attended Montana State College in Bozeman 1933-1937, and received his doctorate at Penn State while working for the war effort. He taught physics at MSU/MSC from 1947 until his retirement in 1976. Roy believed in teaching and was known as a tough but fair teacher. As stated by his son, Bruce Wiegand of Bozeman, Roy was "a humble man whose accomplishments were understated but of lasting impact on all who knew him."
AWARDS AND HONORS
STUDENT and ALUMNI NEWS
Brett Busch, who received his BS in the Physics Department in 1994, and graduated with a PhD from Rutgers
University in May 2000, reports that he and his wife Dawn have a baby boy, Jackson Derek. At Rutgers,
Brett's thesis title was "Metal and Alloy Surface Structure Studies Using Medium Energy Ion Scattering."
Brett studied two topics: (1) temperature dependent surface structure of fcc (110) surfaces (Ag and Al);
and (2) surface segregation phenomena (composition and structure) of Fe-alloy surfaces (Fe-9wtW(100) and
Fe-15%wtCr(100)). Over the past year (half as grad student, half as post-doc), Brett says he's been
"working with MEIS in a much different direction by studying the composition and properties of thin
dielectric films on Si. We are working on the problem of finding an alternative gate oxide to replace
SiO2 (a higher dielectric constant material will be needed in the next few years if the current rate of
scaling is to continue). This work is leading to my 2nd postdoc at Lucent. Actually, I'll be part of
their most recent microelectronics spin-off called Agere Systems."
COLLOQUIA
"The Interactions of Polarized X-rays and Magnetic Systems", Yves Idzerda, MSU, Dec. 1.
"Successes and failures of the independent partical model for dense electron gases: Landau Fermi liquid theory", James W. Allen, University of Michigan, Physics Department, Dec. 8.
SEMINARS
Relativity, Astrophysics and Solar Seminars
"Magnetic Helicity Generation in the Quiet Sun via Differential Rotation", Brian Welsch &
Dana Longcope, Dec. 7.
Condensed Matter Physics
"Critical phenomena in a random walk on a fluctuating lattice", John Lapeyre, University of Arizona,
Dec. 22.
PRESENTATIONS AND TALKS
Invited Talks
"Flux Jumps and Vortex Structure in kappa-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2", Monty Mola, Los Alamos National High
Magnetic Field Lab Pulsed facility, Dec. 1.
"High Magnetic Fields in Contemporary Experimental Physics", Monty Mola, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, Dec. 12.
Contributed Talks
Poster Sessions
"Simulations of Glitches in Isolated Pulsars", Michelle Larson, 20th Texas Symposium on Relativistic
Astrophysics, Austin, Texas, Dec. 10-15.
Abstracts Submitted
"Single crystal EPR measurements of the Fe8 and Mn12 molecular magnetic clusters" R. Achey, N. S. Dalal,
S. Maccagnano, E. Negusse, A. Lussier and S. Hill, March APS meeting.
"Piezoelectric Polymer Actuators Applied to Vibration Damping in Zero-g Environment," V. Hugo Schmidt, R. Jay Conant, Gary W. Bohannan, Jil Hallenberg, Michelle Galvin, and Andy Ross, International Symposium on Smart Materials, Honolulu, Dec. 11-15, 2001.
PUBLICATIONS
Publications Submitted
"Phases and Domain Structures in Relaxor-Based Ferroelectric (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3)0.69(PbTiO3)0.31
Single Crystal," C.-S. Tu, L.-F. Chen, C.-L. Tsai, and V.H. Schmidt, submitted to Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.
"Dielectric, Hypersonic and Domain Anomalies of (PbMg1/3Nb2/3O3)1-x(PbTiO3)x Single Crystals," C.-S. Tu, C.-L. Tsai, V.H. Schmidt, H. Luo, and Z. Yin, submitted to J. Appl. Phys.
Publications Accepted
"Composition and structure of the Co-Al interface for thin Co films deposited on Al(001)
and Al(110) surfaces at room temperature", N. R. Shivaparan, M. A. Teter, and R.J. Smith,
Surface Science, Dec. 27.
Publications
"K-12 Astronomy Benchmarks from Project 2071" (AstroNotes), Tim Slater, The Physics Teacher
(pp. 538-540), Dec. 2000.
"Dental waterline biofilm eradication employing in-line ultraviolet light and multi-layered biocidal metallic coatings", Phase 0 MONTS SBIR program with American Eagle Instruments, Inc. Missoula, MT, $8,000, PI Jerry Lindman (AEI), Co-investigators: Dick Smith (MSU), Jim Gannon (UM).
Proposals Funded
Michelle Larson and Shane Larson attended the 20th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Austin, Texas, Dec. 10-15.
George Tuthill attended an organizational meeting to develop NSF proposals with other universities, Greeley, CO, Dec. 10-11.
Monty Mola traveled to Los Alamos from Nov. 28 - Dec. 3, to give a seminar at the National High Magnetic Field Lab Pulsed facility. He also went to Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA, on Dec. 12, to give a colloquium.
Richard Canfield traveled to San Francisco, CA, for HESSI team meeting and AGU meeting, Dec. 12-19.
Loren Acton traveled to Palo Alto, CA, for SXT/Lockheed collaboration, Dec. 13-Jan. 1.
Tim Slater and Ed Prather gave an invited talk to the American Geophysical Union, in San Francisco, CA. Dec. 14-19.
Dana Longcope and Brian Welsch attended the American Geophysical Union, in San Francisco, CA. Dec. 14-19.
Larry Kirkpatrick traveled to San Diego, CA, to serve as Past President at the AAPT Winter Meeting, Dec. 23-Jan. 17.
