Mercer physics seminars

Mercer Physics Seminar Schedule Fall 2007 to Spring 2013

Next seminar TBA

The physics seminar is normally held on Wednesday at 4:30pm, in the Science & Engineering Building Auditorium (SEB 110), and is preceded by light refreshments at 4:15pm outside SEB 203.

Check out the article on our seminar series from the Nov 11, 2004 Cluster!
Past Seminar Archive (Fall 1998 - Spring 2007)

Spring 2013

Friday, March 1: Nicholas Hollingshad, Department of Physics, Presbyterian College: "Consensus in Complex Systems: Theory and Applications."
Friday, February 22: Thomas A. Searles, Department of Physics, Morehouse College: "Undergraduate Research of Nanomaterials for Energy, Optical, and Sensor Applications."

date	speaker	department	title
W 3/27	Dale Moore	Chemistry	Elusive Green: Conducting Polymers and Some Current Research on Polypyrrole
W 2/27	Brian Rood	Environmental Studies and Policy	Lakes and Oceans - Thermal Density Gradients, Seiches, and El Niño Southern Oscillation
W 2/20	Carolyn Yackel	Mathematics	Fun, Flexagons, and Algebra, Pick Two
W 2/6	Keith Howard	Mathematics	Image Compression via Wavelet Transforms
W 1/16	Randall Peters	Physics	Benefits of Research Team Synergy

Spring 2012

Wednesday, April 25: Chamaree de Silva, Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University: "A Bird's Eye View: Tracking Slow Nanometer-Scale Movements of SIngle Molecular Nano-Assemblies."
Monday, March 26: Mark Holcomb, Department of Physics, Hampden-Sydney College: "Measurement and Analysis of Cardiac Tissue During Electrical Stimulation."

Spring 2011

Thursday, April 7: Melissa A. McGrath, Chief Scientist, Science & Mission Systems, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center: "Jupiter and its Galilean Satellites." There was a campus observing session after the lecture.

date	speaker	department	title
W 4/27	Student presentation -- Kase Jameson: "Visible Light Communications”
W 4/20	Paul MacNeil	Software Engineering	Computational Intelligence: Scratching the Surface. A Brief Survey of Genetic Algorithms, Fuzzy Logic and Neural Nets
W 4/13	Student presentation -- Charles Mood: "A Computational Model of a Wave Chaotic Microwave Resonance Cavity."
W 3/30	Student presentation -- Alan Westbay and Jason Kamczyc: "Undergraduate Engineering Honors Research."
W 3/23	Student presentation -- Marc Erickson and Louis McNamara: "Tidal Force Asymmetry."
W 3/16	John Lee	Physics	Research with Undergraduates at Mercer
W 3/2	Wade Shaw	School of Engineering	Design Synthesis Using Meta-Modeling
W 2/23	Matthew Marone	Physics	Using Starry Night Software in Introductory Astronomy
W 2/16	Ha Van Ho	Biomedical Engineering	Determining Proper Size of an Endoprosthesis for Total Ankle Replacement Using Finite Element Analysis
W 2/9	Randall Peters	Physics	Physics Education using Smartphone Sensors
W 2/2	Journal Club: "Contact in an expanding universe: an instructive exercise in dynamic geometry," by Seth Zimmerman, Eur. J. Phys. 31 (2010) 1377-1389; discussion led by Jose Balduz.
W 1/26	Randall Peters	Physics	Another example of interdisciplinary research - that reveals widespread misunderstanding of the frequency domain
W 1/19	Randall Peters	Physics	Activities of a physicist and two cardiac practitioners - an example of interdisciplinary research rewards

Spring 2010

April 14: Michael Torbett, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Macon State College: "Close Encounters of the Gravitational Kind."

date	speaker	department	title
W 4/28	Andy Pounds	Chemistry and Computer Science	Computer Data Structures for Parallel Molecular Dynamics Calculations
W 4/7	Student presentation -- Marc Erickson: Wireless Energy, Tesla's Dream
W 3/31	Randall Peters	Physics	The Complex Interface between Stable and Critical State Dynamics
W 3/24	Student presentation -- Bo Broadwater: Google Tools for Students and Teachers
W 3/17	Student presentation -- Charles Mood: The Mathematics and Science of Ancient Greece
W 2/24	Loren Sumner	Mechanical Engineering	Dynamical Analysis to Lubrication Theory
W 2/17	Mike Russell	Medical School	Multidisciplinary approach to cardiac monitoring using low-frequency Accelerometery
W 2/10	Matthew Marone	Physics	Work by Ben Franklin that led to the Lightning Rod
W 2/3	Randall Peters	Physics	Damping Anharmonicity, Is It a Beckoning Physics Frontier?
W 1/27	John Lee	Physics	Introduction to Mathematica - Brief Overview of Features
W 1/20	Randall Peters	Physics	Pink Color of Seismic Noise in the Low Frequency Limit

Fall 2009

November 9. Judy Schneider, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Mississippi State University: "Living in a Material World."
October 12. Mathematica^© representative Aaron Pollack: "Mathematica^©7 in Education and Research."

date	speaker	department	title
M 10/5	Philip McCreanor	Environmental Engineering	Municipal Solid Waste as an Energy Source
M 9/28	Carolyn Yackel	Mathematics	Classifying Pretty Thread Balls: Why Conway's Discrete Spherical Symmetry Groups Aren't Enough
M 9/21	John Lee	Physics	Nano-Positioning Sensor Invented at Mercer

Fall 2008 & Spring 2009

date	speaker	department	title
W 4/29	Student Research Presentation -- Marc Erickson, Kase Jameson and Charles Mood describe their work with John Lee of the Physics Department: "Development of a Low-Cost Microwave System for Education and Research in Material Science, Biology and Chemistry."
W 11/19	Jose Balduz	Physics	Summer Graphity, Three Flavors

Spring 2008

February 6. Paul Weissman, Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL). Physics Seminar at 4:30: “Physical Characterization of Cometary Nuclei.” Public Presentation at 7:30: “Exploring Comets: New Results from the Stardust and Deep Impact Missions.”

date	speaker	department	title
W 4/23	Student presentation -- Travis Gibson: Newton - The Untold Story
W 4/9	Paul MacNeil	Electrical & Computer Engineering	Celestial Mechanics for Fun and Profit
W 3/12	Peter Brown	Philosophy	The Copernican Revolution: Scientific Hypothesis or Metaphysical Reality?
W 2/27	Student presentation -- Travis Gibson: The Physics Around Us
W 2/20	Creighton Rosental	Philosophy	Why Did the Church Have a Problem with Galileo?
W 1/30	Phil McCreanor	Biomedical & Environmental Engineering	Integrated Solid Waste Management: Trends, Technologies, and Trade Offs
W 1/16	Randall Peters	Physics	Abiding Influence of the Pendulum

Fall 2007

October 24. Dennis Glover, Central Georgia IEEE: "Nikola Tesla, an Overview of His Life and Inventions."
September 26. Michael Torbett, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Macon State College: "Through the Universe Darkly: What's behind all this fuss about dark matter and dark energy?"

date	speaker	department	title
W 12/5	Student presentation -- Travis Gibson: The Physics of Superheroes
W 11/28	Hodge Jenkins	Mechanical & Industrial Engineering	Capstan Design and Control for Drawing Optical Fiber: A Case Study in Mechatronics Design
W 11/14	Randall Peters	Physics	Play-Time with Physics Simulations
W 11/7	Clayton Paul	Electrical & Computer Engineering	What is "Partial Inductance"?
W 10/31	Sinjae Hyun	Biomedical & Environmental Engineering	Computer Simulation of Human Vascular Problems. CFPD and VP in BIomedical Engineering
W 10/17	Loren Sumner and Joshua Gibson	Mechanical & Industrial Engineering	Investigation of the non-wetting potential of a droplet in a narrow channel with a gaseous passing flow
W 10/10	Randall Peters	Physics	The Fast Fourier Transform. Use of Excel to Demonstrate its Power and Idiosyncrasies
W 10/3	Matthew Marone	Physics	Spotlight on the Astronomy Club at Mercer
W 9/19	John Lee	Physics	Cloaking Made Possible?
W 9/12	Douglas Young	Physics	Calculating the Entire Magnetic Field of a Solenoid: An Application of Open Source Tools for Scientific Computing
W 9/5	Jose Balduz	Physics	Causal Sets, Graphs and the Planck Scale Mirage
W 8/29	Randall Peters	Physics	Study of the Spectral Evolution of Earthquakes with a New Frequency Domain Tool, the Cumulative Spectral Power

Past Seminar Archive (Fall 1998 - Spring 2007)