Can any one manage this blog?

Since I am going to graduate, I am wondering who in the physics department wants to take over the maintenance job. If anyone is interested in this fun job, please contact me at Here  or email Professor Charles Horowitz. 

Schedule - 2008 Spring

Jan. 30 “Science non-funding: The American competitiveness initiative vs. the 2008 budget.” Bob Armstrong.

Feb. 6 Open

Feb. 13 “Large Scale Solar Energy: paving Nevada”, Lance Garrison with Ben Brabson and Andy Bacher

Feb. 20 Wind Energy, Helber Dussan

Feb. 27 Mathematics of epidemics, Liliana Caballero

Mar. 5 Artificial Intelligence, Heechang Na

Mar. 12 Spring break no Journal club

Mar. 19 Open

Mar. 26 “String theory and pizza” an informal discussion with Juan Maldacena

Apr. 2, “Einstein at home” an informal discussion of gravitational waves with colloquium speaker Ben Owens.

Apr. 9, "Public perception of science and movie making" an informal discussion with colloquium speaker Ivan Schuller.

Apr. 16, “Liquid crystal DNA and the origin of life” with Sima Setayeshgar and a graduate student.

Apr. 23 Open

Journal Club next week

The journal club next week (wed. Feb. 20, 12:15 in SW113) is by Joe Hughto on the very odd and perhaps evil neutron star Calvera. This, probably nearby, neutron star could be important to learn about very dense matter or to search for gravitational waves. Please come for good
discussion and free Pizza.

Papers: http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~xsong/journal/calvera.pdf

Journal Club This Week

The journal club this week (Wed. Feb. 13, 12:15 in SW113) is by Lance Garrison on Large Scale Solar Energy. Please come for good discussion and free Pizza.

Announcemant

Dear Physics Folk,
This weeks journal club (Wed. Jan 30, 12:15 in SW113) is by Bob
Armstrong on “Science non-funding: The American competitiveness
initiative vs. the 2008 budget.” Please join us for Pizza and good
discussion.

Thanks,
Chuck Horowitz

This week (Jan 9, 12:15 in SW113) Alan Hurd (the physics colloquium speaker, more info below) will lead an informal discussion for Physics Graduate Students and others. Free Pizza will be served. Please come. This is in place of a normal journal club.

On another Wed., we will have an organizational meeting to plan journalclub topics for the Spring semester (stay tunned for the date). The journal club is a chance for graduate students/post docs to discuss a recent result in any area of physics / science. Talks should be short, understandable to a wide audience, and simple to prepare. I and many other faculty will be happy to suggest topics, help you prepare, or answer your questions. Please volunteer to give a talk. Thanks.

Dr. Alan Hurd is the director of the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center (http://lansce.lanl.gov/lujan/index.shtml) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Lujan Center is one of the world’s premier spallation neutron facilities and supports scientific studies in a broad range of areas spanning physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, engineering and fundamental nuclear physics. Dr. Hurd is also the past president of the Materials Research Society (www.mrs.org). The MRS is devoted to the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and currently has over 14,000 members. The MRS is different than single discipline societies, such as the American Physical Society, since it is devoted to promoting the study of materials by researchers in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, … The MRS is very active as an advocate of its members interests and has played a very active role in lobbying for increased awareness and support of materials research.

Archive - Fall 2007 Schedule

Fall 2007 Schedule

• Oct 4 Informal talk on double beta decay, Steve Elliot
• Oct. 10 "Spin quantum hall effect", L. Isaev, G. Ortiz
• Oct. 17 "50 years of Space exploration", Gang Shen, C. Horowitz
• Oct 24 "Gravity waves", Xilin Zhang, C. Horowitz
• Oct 31 "Beauty + Baryons", Heechang Na, S. Gottlieb
• Nov 7 Energy, H. Dussan
• Nov 14 "What is the LHC?", John Penwell and H. Ogren
• Nov 21 T-day
• Nov 28 Universe's Highest-Energy Particles Traced Back to Other Galaxies, J. Urheim
• Dec 5 Tevatron (accelerator at Fermi Lab), H. Evans

Journal Club on Dec. 5

This week's journal club (Dec. 5, 12:15 SW 113) will be by Yi Yang and
Hal Evens on Super-symmetry. This is the last meeting of the semester.

Please come for good discussions. Free PIZZA will be provided.

Journal Club on Nov. 14th

The journal club this week (Wed. 12:15 SW113) is by John Penwell and H. Ogren on "What is the LHC?" The Large Hdron Collider (LHC) is a giant particle accelerator that will open soon. Is the future of physics riding on the LHC?

Journal Club on Nov. 28th

Jon Urheim is giving the Nov. 28 journal club on the latest Auger cosmic ray detector results. "Universe's Highest-Energy Particles Traced Back to Other Galaxies". This is the first time that charged particle cosmic rays have been traced back to their sources. The problem for lower energy cosmic rays, is that their paths are bent by magnetic fields. Now finally, we have gotten to high enough energy that the bending in magnetic fields is small.

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~xsong/journal/Auger.pdf

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~xsong/journal/938-1.pdf

Nov 7th's Journal Club

On Nov 7th, Ben, Andy and Helber Dussan will talk about electric cars. The paper for the discussion is 'the cost-benefit analysis of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology':

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/40485.pdf

It is about the perspectives of electric vehicles considering what has been achieved in terms batteries, Hybrid-Electric vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid cars and their cost.

The Biophysics journal club by Yang Yang originally scheduled for Nov 7 is postponed to Nov. 28. Helber Dussan and Yang Yang are switching places.

Journal Club next week

Next week Heechang will discuss about b physics focusing on CP violations. It will be kind of review of CP violations, and CKM matrix stuff. Some new experimental issue of b physics, including LHC-b will also be discussed.

The reference: http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/

Journal Club This Week

The Journal Club this week (Wed. 12:15 in SW113) is by Xilin Zhang on a
new way to detect gravitational waves using radio telescopes called "The
Pulsar Timing Array".

Xilin will start with a simple introduction to gravitational waves and
gravitational wave sources. Please come for interesting discussion and
for free PIZZA.

Announcement

The Journal Club this week (Wed. 12:15 in SW113) is on 50 years of space
exploration by Gang Shen. See the journal club web site
http://cecelia.physics.indiana.edu/journal

Please come for interesting discussion: What are some of the science
highlights in 50 years of space exploration since Sputnik? What is the
role for people in space? What should we do now in space? What might
the next 50 years bring?

Free PIZZA will be provided.

Journal club wed. on Quantum Spin Hall Effect

The Journal Club this week (Wed. 12:15 in SW113) is by Leonid Isaev and G. Ortiz. They will discuss the "Quantum Spin Hall Effect" (QSHE). See Science 314, 1757 (2006) or the Journal club web site http://cecelia.physics.indiana.edu/journal
The QSHE is an exciting very recent development in Condensed matter physics. Please come for free PIZZA and for good discussion.

Informal double beta decay discussion TODAY at 12

Please come to an informal lunch discussion TODAY at 12 in the Tea Room, SW 113, with Steve Elliot. I thought yesterday, Steve gave a masterful colloquium on double beta decay. Please come for FREE PIZZA and good discussion.

I want to thank Xianfeng Song for all of his help with the journal club web site http://cecelia.physics.indiana.edu/journal If you are going to give a talk this semester, please email Xianfeng (songxf at gmail.com ) with a journal reference (s) that he can post on the web site. Thanks very much.

Next week Leonid Isaev and G. Ortiz will discuss the "Spin Quantum Hall Effect". Please see Science 314, 1757 (2006). This is an exciting very recent development in Condensed matter physics.

Schedule changed and announcement for next week

There will be no journal club today. Instead, TOMORROW (Thursday at 12 in the Tea Room , SW113) Steve Elliot will lead an informal discussion of double beta decay. Steve is today's colloquium speaker and a real expert. Please come for FREE PIZZA and good discussion.

Next week Leonid Isaev and G. Ortiz will discuss the "Spin Quantum Hall Effect". Please see Science 314, 1757 (2006). This is an exciting very recent development in Condensed matter physics.

Oct 17: "50 years of Space exploration", by Gang Shen, C. Horowitz

Related papers and articles:

• Scientific American Paper: 5 Essential Things To Do In Space

• NY Times: 50 Years Since Sputnik

Past Journal Club

Please visit Past Journal Club.