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Click here for:| Date: | Tuesday (biweekly, fall semester only) |
| Time: | 4:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 147 |
| Inquiries: | physpaw@mvs.ucc.okstate.edu |
| or by phone at 4-5815 |
| Date: | Thursday |
| Time: | 1:30-3:00 PM |
| Place: | 106 B Studio Room, Classroom Building, OSU |
| & Nielsen Hall, Room 103, OU | |
| Inquiries: | babu@okstate.edu or kao@nhn.ou.edu |
| Date: | Thursday |
| Time: | 3:30-4:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Inquiries: | bret.flanders@okstate.edu or perk@okstate.edu |
| Date: | Friday (bi)weekly |
| Time: | 2:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 147 |
| Inquiries: | perk@okstate.edu |
No talks scheduled
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First week of classes
| Speaker: | Dr. Satya Nandi |
| Regents Professor and Director, Oklahoma Center for High Energy Physics | |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, August 23, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Extra Dimensions |
Current theoretical developments, motivated by string theory, have led to the idea that there may exist extra space-like dimensions beyond the familiar X, Y and Z. These extra dimensions must be of finite size, and current experiments allow their sizes to be as large as sub-mm. In this talk, I will discuss the theoretical implications, current experimental limits, and as well as, how the existence of such extra dimensions can be probed by gravitational, astrophysical and high energy collider experiments.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
Second week of classes. No colloquium scheduled.
| Speaker: | Dr. Regina DeWitt |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 6, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Development of a Confocal Instrument for Spatially Resolved Luminescence Measurements |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is a well-established technique for dating the last sunlight exposure of sediments, i.e. time of deposition, ranging from recent decades to about 105 years ago. Commercially available OSL dating instruments and techniques have been developed for samples with individual mineral grains smaller than a few millimeters. Thus, commercially available techniques cannot be applied to solid materials such as rocks, excluding many geologic and archaeological samples.
We have received funding from NSF to develop a novel luminescence instrument. It will be based on the principles of confocal microscopes and will record images of the emitted luminescence. In the presentation we will discuss the limits of conventional dating methods. We will present the conceptual design of an instrument that can overcome these limitations. And we will outline possible applications in radiation dosimetry (e.g the radiation risk to astronauts), Earth sciences, as well as archaeology.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Raj N. Singh |
| Herman Schneider Professor of Materials Engineering | |
| Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering | |
| University of Cincinnati | |
| Date: | Tuesday, September 11, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | 103 ATR |
| Title: | A Novel Concept of Self-Healing High-Temperature Seals for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells |
A brief overview of current research activities on nanostructured materials, thin films for electronics, solid oxide fuel cells, ceramic composites, and ferroelectric ceramics will be presented. This overview will be followed by a more detailed research presentation on self-healing high-temperature seals for solid oxide fuel cells.
Currently, Professor Singh is a Department Head and Herman Schneider Professor of Materials Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Sc.D. degree in Ceramics from M.I.T. and worked at industrial R&D organizations (Argonne National Laboratory and General Electric R&D Center) for several years before joining the University of Cincinnati in 1991 as a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. His current research areas are processing and properties of nanostructured materials and nanotubes/nanorods, materials for fuel cells, “smart” materials, structural composites, and novel thin films. His research has been supported by NSF, ONR, DOE-BES, DOE-NETL, Ohio Aerospace Institute, General Electric, Textron, and Martin-Marietta. He has developed novel processes for manufacturing ceramic composites, which continue to have major impacts on the future applications of composites in advanced systems. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a Fellow of the ASM International, recipient of numerous awards, and author or co-author of over 230 research articles, 25 patents, and articles in several books.
Note: Refreshments at 3:00 p.m. in the ATRC Vogt Room.
| Speaker: | Dr. Brad Abbott |
| Department of Physics and Astronomy | |
| University of Oklahoma | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
| Time: | 1:30 PM |
| Place: | 106 B Studio Room, Classroom Building, OSU |
| & Nielsen Hall, Room 103, OU | |
| Title: | First Observation of a New b-baryon Cascade_b at D0 |
Four of our faculty members are to give short presentations on the research by their groups, in order to inform graduate and undergraduate students on possible research opportunities and to describe briefly some recent developments and future plans. The order of the talks will be decided later.
| Date: | Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Speaker: | Dr. Gil Summy |
| Title: | Cold Quantum Gasses at OSU: Collisions to Chaos |
| Speaker: | Dr. Bret N. Flanders |
| Title: | Nanotechnology for Cell Signaling Studies |
| Speaker: | Dr. Eduardo G. Yukihara |
| Title: | Radiation Research at OSU |
| Speaker: | Dr. Flera Rizatdinova |
| Title: | Research in Experimental High Energy Physics at OSU |
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Alexander Khanov |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| Time: | 1:30 PM |
| Place: | 106 B Studio Room, Classroom Building, OSU |
| & Nielsen Hall, Room 103, OU | |
| Title: | Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson with D0 Detector |
| Speaker: | Dr. Dongping Zhong |
| Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biochemistry | |
| The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Hydration Dynamics and Coupled Water-Protein Fluctuations |
Hydration dynamics of the water layer at protein surfaces is fundamental to protein structure, dynamics and function. Recent studies of water-protein interactions have merged into a cohesive picture: Biological water molecules are not static but dynamic in nature. Here, we present systematic studies of hydration dynamics at protein surfaces. The intrinsic tryptophan residue is established as a local optical probe and is engineered to scan protein surfaces by site-directed mutagenesis. Spatial and temporal hydration heterogeneity will for the first time be characterized. Dynamical hydration patterns will be evaluated in terms of the local structural rigidity, topography and chemical identity. These results will provide a molecular basis for the understanding of water-protein interactions, a topic central to protein science.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Tao Han |
| Department of Physics and Astronomy | |
| University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 27, 2007 |
| Time: | 1:30 PM |
| Place: | 106 B Studio Room, Classroom Building, OSU |
| & Nielsen Hall, Room 103, OU | |
| Title: | The Search for Majorana Neutrinos |
| Speaker: | Dr. Girish S. Agarwal |
| Noble Foundation Chair and Regents Professor | |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 27, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Interference between Independent Photons and Quantum Entanglement in Atomic Systems |
It is well known that the radiation emitted by independent incoherently excited atomic systems leads to no interference as is expected from the famous statement of Dirac that each photon interferes with itself. We discuss new theoretical ideas and the experiments which detect interferences between independent photons. Such interferences turn out to have strict quantum character. We further demonstrate possible uses of such interferences in quantum information science with neutral atoms and trapped ions and in communication between remote qubits. The ideas on interference are applicable to other systems of single particles.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Penger Tong* |
| Department of Physics | |
| Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong | |
| Date: | Thursday, October 4, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Interactions and Dynamics of a Monolayer of Colloidal Particles at Aqueous Interfaces |
Charged colloidal particles dispersed at aqueous interfaces are stabilized by the Coulomb repulsion between the induced out-of-plane dipoles due to the asymmetric distribution of counter-ions in the aqueous phase. Recent experiments indicate that the interfacial particles also experience attractive interactions, but the origin of such attractions remains illusive. Because of its fundamental interest and important implications in colloid science and biology, the paradox of like-charge attractions has been under intensive theoretical scrutiny for many years. In this talk, I will review the recent development in the area and report our recent experimental results of an optical and atomic force microscopic (AFM) study of interactions between charged polystyrene spheres [1] and between weakly charged silica spheres at the water-air interface.
*Work supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
Fall Break
| Speaker: | Dr. Michael E. Peskin |
| Theoretical Physics Group | |
| SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) | |
| Date: | Thursday, October 11, 2007 |
| Time: | 1:30 PM |
| Place: | 106 B Studio Room, Classroom Building, OSU |
| & Nielsen Hall, Room 103, OU | |
| Title: | A Parton Shower Algorithm Based on Twistors |
There will be no colloquium this week in order to avoid a conflict with the University Convocation.
| Speaker: | Dr. Arthur H. Edwards |
| Senior Research Physicist | |
| Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM | |
| Date: | Thursday, October 18, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Density Functional Studies of Models for Ge-Sb-Te and Ge-As-Se Glasses |
While Ge-Sb-Te alloys form the core of commercial non-volatile memory technologies, many fundamental properties remain controversial. Such basic properties as the transport mechanism for free carriers, and the mechanisms for threshold and memory switching are poorly understood. Even the structure of the amorphous states is still contentious. In this talk, I will describe an ongoing density functional study of several models of Ge2X2Yz, where X = Sb, As, Y = Se, Te, and z = 6, 7. These models follow the 8–N rule, and lead to structures that agree with recent EXAFS studies in the Ge-Sb-Te system. In addition, I will discuss molecular dynamics and how this reveals the unique role played by the chalcogen in these systems.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
Speaker has had to cancel.
| Speaker: | Dr. Qian Niu |
| Trull Centennial Professor | |
| Department of Physics | |
| University of Texas at Austin | |
| Date: | Thursday, November 1, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Transport of Cold Atoms in Optical Lattices |
In this talk, I will review our work on quantum transport of ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices. Some of the classic predictions of solid state physics, such as Bloch oscillations, Landau-Zener tunneling, and Wanier-Stark ladders are seen with laser cooled atoms in mid 90s. With the creation of Bose-Einstein condensation, even more spectacular phenomena can be observed.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Girish S. Agarwal |
| Noble Foundation Chair and Regents’ Professor | |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Friday, November 2, 2007 |
| Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Place: | PS 147 |
| Title: | Beyond Rayleigh Resolution Criteria — Theoretical Issues in Quantum Imaging |
| Speaker: | Dr. Jacques H. H. Perk |
| Department of Physics | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, November 8, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Recent Progress on Models of Statistical Mechanics in One and Two Dimensions |
There are two “integrability” criteria in statistical mechanics. One is the star-triangle equation, also known as the Yang–Baxter equation; the other is a generalization of Gaussian integration to fermionic or bosonic systems. In this talk I plan to describe both criteria omitting the more technical details. Then I will discuss some of our recent results obtained using these techniques, showing our latest results for the quantum Ising chain, the Ising model on a Penrose tiling, and the chiral Potts model.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
| Speaker: | Dr. Richard L. Martin |
| Theoretical Chemistry and Molecular Physics Group | |
| Theory Division, Group T-12 | |
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | |
| Date: | Thursday, November 15, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | The localization/delocalization dilemma in the electronic structure of d– and f–element oxides |
The electronic structure of many of the oxides containing d– and f–elements has long been a challenge for theory. For example, the traditional workhorses of density functional theory, the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximations (GGA), predict most of these systems to be metallic, when in fact they are insulators with band gaps of several eV. These problems reflect the localization/delocalization dilemma faced in systems with weak overlap and seem to be largely overcome by the new generation of hybrid density functionals developed for molecular studies. Only recently has it been possible to apply these functionals to solids, but in the cases studied thus far we find a distinct improvement. The hybrid functionals predict the correct insulating ground state, band gap, lattice constant and magnetic behavior at 0 K, where known. I will review the origin of the problem, how hybrid functionals differ from traditional ones, and recent applications to MnO, CeO2, Ce2O3, and the actinide oxide series AnO2, An = Th … Es.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
Statehood Day, November 16.
Thanksgiving
| Speaker: | Dr. Eric Benton1 and Dr. Andrew Arena2 |
| 1 Department of Physics and | |
| 2 School for Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering | |
| Oklahoma State University | |
| Date: | Thursday, November 29, 2007 |
| Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Place: | PS 110 |
| Title: | Developing and Testing Cosmic Radiation Detectors in Near Space |
| —the next-to-the-final frontier |
The Radiation Physics Laboratory at OSU, in collaboration with the OSU School for Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, recently received a three-year Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant from NASA to develop, fabricate, and test a progressively sophisticated and capable series of compact, self-contained tissue-equivalent ionization chambers and proportional counters for use in assessing radiation environments in space and on planetary surfaces, and for monitoring astronaut exposure to cosmic radiation during long duration spaceflight. The instruments will be tested by means of high-altitude balloon flights over central Oklahoma conducted by students in the OSGC/ASTRO program and the OSU Radiation Physics Laboratory. ASTRO (Atmospheric and Space Threshold Research Oklahoma), has been founded in 2004 by the NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) and OSU, to provide Oklahoma students with low-cost access to the near space environment for atmospheric and near-space research such as radiation experimentation, and to provide opportunities for aerospace engineering students to design vehicles which operate in the actual space environment. Due to the scalability of payloads, students at all levels from high school to graduate, have been able to participate in ASTRO activities. The ionization chamber developed during the first part of this project will form the core of a Near Space Standard Science Platform (NS3P) for use by students conducting experiments on high altitude balloons. The detectors will also be tested at ground-based particle accelerator facilities including the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the proton therapy facility at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center.
Note: The traditional student-speaker chat will begin in Physical Sciences Room 147 at 3.00 PM. All students are welcome! Refreshments will be served.
Prefinals Week
| Speaker: | Dr. Kieran Mullen |
| Department of Physics and Astronomy | |
| University of Oklahoma | |
| Title: | Synthetic Atoms |
This colloquium has been postponed till next semester.
Finals Week
Last Updated: July 6, 2007.
This page was prepared by Helen Au-Yang and Jacques H.H. Perk.
jhhp@jperk.phy.okstate.edu