Skip to content

Physics colloquium-“The Life and Death of the Free Neutron”

Nadia Fomin University of Tennessee, Knoxville Abstract: Neutron beta decay is an archetype for all semi-leptonic charged-current weak processes. A precise value for the neutron lifetime is required for consistency tests of the Standard Model and is needed to predict the primordial 4He abundance from the theory of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Other parameters from neutron […]

Physics colloquium-“Mines Physics and the Solar Decathlon”

Tim Ohno Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics Abstract:  A year ago, the Mines Physics Department led a student team to compete in Morocco in the inaugural Solar Decathlon Africa.  The engineering and science that lead to the victory in this project will be discussed, along with the tale of the international adventure that […]

Physics Colloquium: “Understanding the Brain with Adaptive Optics”

Emily Gibson University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus Abstract: Understanding how the brain’s complex neural networks perform critical functions and govern behavior, cognition and intuition is a key goal of neuroscience and can lead to improved treatment for various neurological disorders. The development of new tools for studying the brain is critical in this effort. […]

Physics colloquium-“Computational 3D Fluorescence Microscopy”

Laura Waller University of California, Berkeley Abstract:  We describe a compact and inexpensive computational microscope that encodes 3D information into a single 2D sensor measurement, then exploits sparsity to reconstruct the volume with good resolution across a large volume.  Our system uses simple hardware and scalable software for easy reproducibility and adoption. The inverse algorithm […]

Physics Colloquium: “Data-Driven Studies of Magnetic Two-Dimensional Materials”

Trevor Rhone Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Abstract: When the dimensionality of an electron system is reduced from three dimensions to two dimensions, new behavior emerges. This has been demonstrated in gallium arsenide quantum Hall systems since the 1980’s, and more recently in van der Waals (vdW) materials, such as graphene. This talk will discuss the behavior […]

Physics colloquium-“Quantum-Coherent Silicon Electronics”

Susan Coppersmith University of New South Wales Abstract: Silicon is an attractive materials platform for developing large-scale quantum computers because of its compatibility with classical silicon electronics and its potential for scalability.  This talk will discuss qubits made from quantum dots with multiple electrons in silicon/silicon-germanium heterostructures.  These qubits can be manipulated on nanosecond time […]

Physics Colloquium: ‘Qualitative Investigation of Project Ownership in Laboratory Courses: Implications for Instruction’

Dimitri Dounas-Frazer and Ira Ché Lassen Western Washington University Abstract: Many lab courses include a final project that spans multiple weeks. Such projects serve several purposes, including nurturing students’ sense of project ownership. Project ownership refers in part to students’ control over and responsibility for an experiment. Research in science education suggests that ownership, motivation, […]

Physics colloquium-“Making Metal Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics a Reality: An Update on State-of-the-Art”

Joe Berry National Renewable Energy Laboratory Abstract: Photovoltaic (PV) devices based on metal halide perovskite (MHP) absorbers have reached outstanding performance over the past few years, surpassing power conversion efficiency of over 25% for lab cells and with large area devices in excess of 18%.  For the solar application stability, the most demanding requirement to […]

Physics Colloquium: “An Introduction to Optical Vortices and Topological Fluids of Light”

Mark Lusk (Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics) Mark Siemens (University of Denver) Abstract: Hydrodynamic whirlpools have fascinated scientists for centuries, seeking to understand their individual structure, stability, and the ways in which they interact with one another. Who hasn’t marveled at tornadoes or watched as soap bubbles get sucked into the vortex of […]

Physics Colloquium: “MD Simulations, Free-Energy Calculations, and Machine Learning Applied to SARS-CoV-2 Proteins”

James (JC) Gumbart Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Physics Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a strain of coronaviruses, named for the characteristic trimeric spike (S) glycoproteins that protrude from the viral membrane surface. The S proteins are type I fusion proteins, which upon recognition of ACE2, their host cell receptor, undergo substantial conformational change leading to membrane fusion and viral entry. […]

Physics Colloquium: “Teaching: The Best Kept Secret!”

Wendy Adams Spencer Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics All lectures are via Zoom: https://mines.zoom.us/j/98686472990?pwd=REFBbFBJZk9MbXhldGRzemNaczlTZz09 Bio: I have lived my entire life in Colorado, love teaching physics, and studying how people learn physics. I have taught a range of courses over 15 years from introductory physics to graduate level science education research seminar. My […]

Physics Colloquium: “Spin Qubits in Si: Coherence and Control”

Xuedong Hu University at Buffalo, Department of Physics Abstract: Electron spin qubits in Si are promising candidates as building blocks toward future scalable quantum computers. Tremendous progress has been made in the past decade in demonstrating the exceptional coherence properties of spins confined in quantum dots and donors.  However, studies of high-fidelity manipulation of spin […]

Physics Colloquium: “Becoming An Agent of Change in Physics”

Simone Hyater-Adams American Physical Society Abstract: My path through physics is non-traditional in many ways, and it serves as an example of how the physics discipline can fail Black students even when we are seen as high achieving. In this talk, I will discuss my physics journey, and how I found myself in a career […]

Physics Colloquium: “Quantum Control of Spins in Silicon”

Mark Eriksson University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Physics Abstract: Quantum computing is based on the manipulation of two-level quantum systems, or qubits. In most approaches to quantum computing, qubits are as much as possible isolated from their environment in order to minimize the loss of qubit phase coherence. The use of nuclear spins as qubits is a […]

Physics Colloquium: “Precision Laser Spectroscopy of Hydrogen”

Dylan Yost Colorado State University, Department of Physics Abstract: Because of hydrogen’s simplicity, its energy levels are well-described by quantum electrodynamics (QED).  This had made precision spectroscopy of hydrogen a favorite testbed for bound-stated QED.  In addition, assuming the QED calculations are correct, one can use hydrogen spectroscopy to determine the Rydberg constant and the […]