BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Mozilla.org/NONSGML Mozilla Calendar V1.1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:592C84BA-4E10-4CCA-A05B-35C6E101FADF SUMMARY:Gail Glendinning (Lawrence Livermore Nat. Labs): Experiments at Extreme States: X-Games Physics on the National Ignition Facility PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20060201T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20060201T163000 TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm. 114\, Host:Edward Bilpuch DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:The National Ignition Facility is a 1.8 Megajoule laser currently under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. When complete\, it will be used to research fundamental questions about matter in extreme states. In 2003\, the National Research Council of the NAS published a report titled \"Frontiers in High Energy Density Physics: The X-Games of Contemporary Science\". Their conclusion was that experimental facilities such as the NIF\, Sandia's Z machine\, and SLAC (among others) are now capable of reaching regimes of high energy density allowing unprecedented insight into the behavior of matter under extreme conditions. We describe in this presentation experiments planned for the NIF addressing some of the questions posed in this report: \n\n * How does matter behave under conditions of extreme temperature\, pressure\, density and electromagnetic fields?\n * Can the transition to turbulence\, and the turbulent state\, in high energy density systems be understood experimentally and theoretically?\n * Will measurements of the equation of state and opacity of materials at high temperatures and pressures change models of stellar and planetary structure?\n\nExperiments are beginning on the NIF\, using the first four of its eventual 192 beams. We will describe results from an experiment beginning to address the question understanding the transition to turbulence in a high energy density system. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:472C1B63-0091-4F5D-8652-32774687299F SUMMARY:Frank Wilczek (MIT): TBA PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060329T010000Z DTEND:20060329T020000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Gross Chemistry Auditorium DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:3 DESCRIPTION:Abstract not yet submitted END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:AE8EE64D-FC0E-406D-9D07-C4D3B75411C6 SUMMARY:Peter Fisher (MIT): Bumps and Bangs: looking for dark matter in our galactic neighborhood PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050202T160000Z DTEND:20050202T170000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Haiyan Gao X-MOZILLA-RECUR-DEFAULT-INTERVAL:0 DESCRIPTION:Dark matter has been around for a long time. Originally\, it was needed to explain galactic dynamics and more recently\, evidence has come from microwave background and supernova measurements. However\, we still do not know what dark matter is. The general idea is that dark matter is composed of fundamental particles and I will discuss some aspects of the three main ways of looking for particle dark matter: direct searches and two types of indirect searches. Each tells us something different about dark matter in our galaxy. I will talk about new interpretations of recent results and some new experimental ideas.\n SEQUENCE:0 X-MOZILLA-LASTALARMACK:20050223T221542 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:C7928D07-327F-45D0-A130-28DECB30D3B7 SUMMARY:Nick Giordano (Purdue University): The Physics of the Piano PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060426T193000Z DTEND:20060426T203000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics\, Rm. 114\, Host: Kate Scholberg DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION: While a piano is a complicated mechanical device\, it can presumably be described by physics at the level of freshman mechanics (i.e.\, field theory should not be required). In spite of this apparent simplicity\, it is very difficult to use Newton's laws to calculate the sound produced by a piano. In this talk I will give a brief introduction to the physics of the piano\, and describe a few of the interesting problems involved in constructing such a physical model of the instrument. I will then describe our attempts to calculate the sound produced by a piano from first principles\; i.e.\, using F=ma. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083834Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:7E23F52D-1C2D-4751-AE40-2FFA6D456A58 SUMMARY:Robert Dudley (University of California\, Berkeley): From gliding ants to Andean hummingbirds and giant dragonflies: the mechanics and evolution of animal flight PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20061101T203000Z DTEND:20061101T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION:Unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms underpinning animal flight have recently been intensively studied\, but less well understood are those evolutionary pathways leading to the acquisition and subsequent elaboration of flapping flight. Recently discovered behaviors in Neotropical canopy ants demonstrate directed aerial descent in the complete absence of wings\; controlled aerial behavior appears to have preceded the origin of wings in insects and other flying animals. Variation in atmospheric composition during the late Paleozoic may have influenced the initial evolution and subsequent diversification of insects\, as well as the widespread phenomenon of arthropod gigantism\, including but not limited to dragonflies with a 70 centimeter wingspan. For fully flighted forms\, judicious use of helium to create physically variable gas mixtures permits decoupling of physiological from aerodynamic constraints on hovering performance. Such constraints are revealed in natural contexts through the study of hummingbird and bumblebee flight capacity across steep altitudinal transects. SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083429Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:49B70530-5C35-43A0-82CC-62EE6DF5AEBB SUMMARY:Moses Chan (Penn State University): Can a solid be a superfluid? PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060927T193000Z DTEND:20060927T203000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION: At temperatures below 2.176K\, liquid He-4 enters into a superfluid state and flows without any friction. The onset of superfluidity is associated with Bose-Einstein condensation where the He-4 atoms\, which are bosons\, condensed into a single momentum state and acquire quantum mechanical coherence over macroscopic distances. Recent torsional oscillator measurements of solid helium confined in porous media [1\,2] and in bulk form [3\,4] found evidence of non-classical rotational inertia indicating superfluid behavior below 0.2K. Measurements of solid samples at different pressure (and hence different density) allow us to map out the boundary of this supersolid phase. This work is done in collaboration with Eunseong Kim\, Tony Clark\, Xi Lin and Josh West and it is supported by the (U.S.) National Science Foundation.\n\n1. E. Kim and M.H.W. Chan\, Nature 427\, 225 (2004).\n2. E. Kim and M.H.W. Chan\, Jour. of Low Temp. Physics\, 138\, 859 (2005).\n3. E. Kim and M.H.W. Chan\, Science 305\, 1941(2004).\n4. E. Kim and M.H.W. Chan\, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97\, 115302 (2006). SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050221T213817Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:F685C71E-3753-4136-9104-F4BC32F9D285 SUMMARY:David Spergel (Princeton): WMAP and beyond PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050427T160000Z DTEND:20050427T170000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Bill Walker DESCRIPTION:The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has made an accurate full-sky measurement of the microwave background temperature and polarization fluctuations. These measurements probe both the physics of the very early universe and the basic properties of the universe today. The WMAP measurements rigorously test our standard cosmological model and provide an accurate determination of basic comological parameters (the curvature of the universe\, its matter density and composition). When combined with other astronomical measurements\, the WMAP measurements contain the properties of the dark energy and the mass of the neutrino. The observations also directly probe the physics of inflation: the current data imply that the primordial fluctuations were primarily adiabatic and nearly scale invariant. Many key cosmological questions remain unanswered: what happened during the first moments of the big bang? what is the dark energy? what were the properties of the first stars? I will discuss the role of on-going and future Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations in addressing these key cosmological questions and describe how the combination of large-scale structure\, supernova and CMB data can be used to address these questions. SEQUENCE:11 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050828T165149Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:85DEAC4D-22F8-411F-93EE-B07D531F3353 SUMMARY:Subir Sachdev (Harvard): Detecting Quantum Duality in Experiments: How Superfluids Become Solids in Two Dimensions PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20051019T153000Z DTEND:20051019T163000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Albert Chang DESCRIPTION:Superconductivity or superfluidity is realized in a wide variety of systems in nature. Although the microscopic constituents and interactions differ greatly\, the underlying mechanism which allows matter to flow without dissipation is essentially the same. A bosonic degree of freedom (Cooper pairs\, 4He\, 87Rb atoms...) condenses by macroscopically occupying an extended state\, and this condensate can set up a supercurrent. I will discuss the properties of superfluids that are near a transition to an insulating solid. A superfluid-to-insulator transition has been observed recently for ultracold 87Rb atoms trapped in an optical lattice\, and it is believed that the cuprate superconductors are near such a transition. I will focus on the quantum mechanical properties of vortices (i.e. whorls of superflow) in such a superfluid\, and show that the vortex wavefunctions provide a dual description of the crystalline order in the solid. I will argue that essential characteristics of this vortex wave function may already have been detected in recent scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on the cuprate superconductors. SEQUENCE:3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050428T204701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:BAC0C05B-5F2E-4FF3-A1A7-BFA429C3C0A0 SUMMARY:Michael Fayer (Stanford): Dynamics of Molecular Complexes Probed with Ultrafast Infrared Nonlinear Experiments PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050907T153000Z DTEND:20050907T163000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Glenn Edwards DESCRIPTION:Ultrafast infrared methods are applied to the study of the dynamics of molecular complexes. One fundamental type of molecular complex is hydrogen bonded water. The dynamics of nanoscopic pools of water in reverse micelles are directly investigated for the first time using frequency selective infrared stimulated vibrational echo experiments and infrared pump-probe rotational anisotropy measurements performed on the hydroxyl stretching mode of water. The nanopool data are substantially different from the bulk water data and show a clear size dependence. Another important molecular complex involves the formation and dissociation of solute-solvent complexes\, which in the past have been too rapid to measure without disturbing the thermal equilibrium. For the first time this goal is achieved using ultrafast two-dimensional infrared vibrational echo spectroscopy\, an ultrafast vibrational analogue of two-dimensional NMR. The equilibrium dynamics of phenol complexation to benzene in a benzene-CCl4 solvent mixture were measured in real time by the appearance of off-diagonal peaks in the two-dimensional vibrational echo spectrum of the phenol hydroxyl stretch. SEQUENCE:17 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:49D28771-4CE4-43D3-B8E1-D89851B868BA SUMMARY:(open) DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070321T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070321T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 SEQUENCE:5 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:(Abstract TBA) END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:1253412C-CE82-4CCA-AE48-12596F4606C8 SUMMARY:Jun Ye (JILA\, NIST\, University of Boulder\, Colorado): Precision Measurement Meets Ultrafast Science PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060308T203000Z DTEND:20060308T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm. 114\, Hosts: Dan Gauthier\, John Thomas DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:Sub-cycle phase coherence of an optical field can now be preserved over seconds. This capability has facilitated the merge between CW laser-based precision optical-frequency metrology and mode-locked laser-based ultrafast science\, resulting in profound and unexpected progress in both fields. An optical frequency comb spanning the entire visible spectrum allows any optical frequency to be established at the Hz level stability and accuracy. Accurate phase connections among different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum have established optical atomic clocks and optical frequency synthesis. Combined with ultracold atoms\, optical spectroscopy and frequency metrology at the highest level of precision and resolution are being accomplished. The parallel developments in the time domain have resulted in precise control of the pulse waveform in the sub-femtosecond regime. This has led to recent demonstrations of coherent synthesis of optical pulses from independent lasers\, coherent control in nonlinear spectroscopy\, coherent pulse addition without any optical gain\, and generation of coherent frequency combs in the VUV and XUV spectral regions. With this unified approach on time and frequency domain controls\, one can now pursue simultaneously coherent control of quantum dynamics in the time domain and high precision measurements of matter structure in the frequency domain. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083713Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:3C8E2755-8C62-4386-B6EA-BEC0E1D42E4E SUMMARY:Mark Kruse (Duke University): Particle Physics at the Energy Frontier PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20061018T193000Z DTEND:20061018T203000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION:Near the end of 2007 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva\, Switzerland\, is scheduled to turn on and produce proton-proton collisions at unprecendented energies. The highly anticipated physics that will result is expected to uncover many discoveries and change the way we think about the Universe. One of the mysteries that is expected to be solved by the LHC is how mass is generated in the Universe (and how the electroweak symmetry is broken). Within the Standard Model of particle physics this is achieved through the Higgs mechanism\, a manifestation of which is a particle called the Higgs boson. Searches for the Higgs boson are therefore of paramount importance in particle physics. I will review our current understanding of electroweak symmetry breaking from the Tevatron experiments at Fermilab\, and discuss prospects at the LHC. SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083301Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:2E41EB56-740B-454E-A240-BC70FBE0D4A8 SUMMARY:Eva Silverstein (Stanford\, SLAC): String Theory and Cosmological Physics PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060913T193000Z DTEND:20060913T203000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION:After briefly reviewing motivations for string theory as a candidate UV completion of gravity and particle physics\, I will survey its interface cosmological physics. Extrapolating general relativity to asymptotically early times leads to would-be singularities smoothed by string-theoretic corrections\, such as winding string condensates. Although conceptually interesting\, much of this physics may be screened by inflation in the most promising scenario for observable cosmology. The talk will then turn to an overview of models of inflation in string theory\, including new mechanisms with distinctive predictions. The talk will conclude with a brief discussion of models of the cosmological constant obtained by stabilizing the extra dimensions of string theory via a balance of forces\, and the challenges that ensue. SEQUENCE:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050828T165632Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:196403D6-B29E-47A0-806E-D0EF6349AE51 SUMMARY:Jack Sandweiss (Yale): Strangelets PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20051130T203000Z DTEND:20051130T213000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Hosts: B. Mueller\, S. Bass SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050828T165343Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:C2F9D13B-B2B9-4E3C-BBC7-E7AE0605EC1A SUMMARY: Brian Foster (Cambridge): Physics and Violins PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20051105T203000Z DTEND:20051105T213000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Hosts: A. Goshaw\, D. Lawson SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050828T165525Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:BA4C7632-38FE-4D11-AAF2-74A440EC07A5 SUMMARY:Sol Gruner (Cornell): Lessons from biomolecules under pressure: How proteins react to being squeezed PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20051116T203000Z DTEND:20051116T213000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Dan Gauthier DESCRIPTION:Modest pressures encountered in the biosphere (i.e.\, below a few kbar) have extraordinary effects on biomembranes and proteins. These include pressure denaturation of proteins\, as well as dramatic changes in monomer-multimer association\, ligand binding\, Membrane ion transport\, transcription/translation of proteins\, virus infectivity\, enzyme kinetics and conformational states. Yet all of the biomaterials involved are highly incompressible. The challenge is to understand the structural coupling between these effects and pressure to elucidate the relevant mechanisms. X-ray diffraction studies of lipids and proteins under pressure will be described. It is seen that the key is not the magnitude of the changes\, but rather the differential compressibilities of different parts of the structure\, leading to a biasing of conformational substates. Examples will be given of pressure studies on biomembranes and myoglobin. Lessons learned have important implications for the freezing of protein crystals\, as is routinely done for protein crystallography SEQUENCE:3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:97CB9638-D3E5-418F-97F8-D29A4E43F0BA SUMMARY:James P. Eisenstein (Caltech): Bose Condensation\, Superfluidity\, and the Quantum Hall Effect PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060111T203000Z DTEND:20060111T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm. 114\, Host: Matthew Prior DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:Composite particles consisting of an even number of fermions (e.g. 4He atoms) can pretend to be bosons. Bosons\, of course\, can Bose condense and do remarkable things. Superconductivity\, which is certainly remarkable when you stop to think about it\, results (sort of) from the Bose condensation of electron pairs. With this in mind\, theorists have speculated since the early 1960s that excitons (electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor) might be able to do the same thing.\n\nBose condensation of excitons has traditionally been sought by first optically exciting electron-hole pairs and then hoping that they bind\, cool down\, and do something wonderful before they recombine back into photons. Substantial progress has been made over the years in this direction\, but clear-cut observations of superfluidity and long-range quantum coherence has remained elusive.\n\nIn this talk I will describe experiments done here at Caltech on a special collection of excitons that exists in equilibrium and does indeed show many (but not all) of the expected signs of excitonic superfluidity. Surprisingly\, the system in question is a double layer two dimensional electron gas. With no valence band holes in sight\, where do the excitons come from? END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050907T131528Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:F60D6DAD-4E99-44F2-AA0B-64D9C42806A3 SUMMARY:John Rigden (Washington University/St. Louis): Einstein: The Standard of Greatness PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050921T153000Z DTEND:20050921T163000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Al Goshaw DESCRIPTION:In the short duration of six months\, one week\, and two days\, Einstein\, in 1905\, wrote five papers that stand today at the bedrock of physics. Only one of these papers was revolutionary. This paper\, on the nature of light\, made him the father of quantum physics. In the other four papers\, Einstein clearly eschewed trivialities as he demonstrated the reality of atoms\, established the dimensions of atoms\, put the laws of thermodynamics on a new footing\, established the validity of the kinetic theory\, enhanced the significance of the speed of light\, and purged the basic concepts of space\, time\, mass\, and energy of profound fallacies. These accomplishments qualified him as one of the greatest physicist\, but the Einstein mystique cannot be explained in terms of what he did. Einstein is the standard of greatness for deeper reasons. SEQUENCE:4 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:B6D3EAF5-F4CB-4F53-8C85-645548C97B2D SUMMARY:David Weitz\n(Harvard University): Composite Acting Networks: Mechanics of Living Cells DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070404T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070404T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 SEQUENCE:5 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:This talk will describe the mechanical properties of active biopolymer networks. Addition of myosin motors to actin networks can lead to increases in the elasticity of several orders of magnitude. These remarkable materials have a mechanical response that is very similar to that of cells\, and these studies provide insight into the design principles of the materials properties of living cells. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:3F2ECE7A-01D5-4C26-B1A7-E802C74D781D SUMMARY:Konstantin Matveev (Argonne National Laboratory): Charge and Spin Propagation Through Quantum Wires PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060322T203000Z DTEND:20060322T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm. 114\, Host: Harold Baranger DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:I will discuss transport of electrons through quantum wires--nano-scale conductors in which the electrons are confined to one spatial dimension. Theory and experiments agree that the resis- tance of a quantum wire takes a universal value of h/2e2\, where h is the Planck's constant\, and e is the electron charge. However\, a number of recent experiments show that in the regime of very low density of electrons in the wire the resistance increases by 40-100%. At such low densities the electrons repel each other very strongly\, and may form a crystalline structure (Wigner crystal). In this regime the spins of electrons are nearly decoupled from each other\, and the propagation of the spin excitations through the wire is suppressed. I will argue that this effect should result in doubling of the resistance of the wire. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050221T213332Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:690309CC-6240-4FFF-BE16-FEBADA40DCE8 SUMMARY:Firouz Naderi (JPL): Six minutes of terror\, a hole in one and a salty sea PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050308T140000Z DTEND:20050308T150000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Ronen Plesser DESCRIPTION:The style of my lectures is to talk about the challenges of space exploration in terms of stories and anecdotes to make the subject matter more accessible to a mixed audience with varied backgrounds. The talk I will be giving at Duke tells the story of landings and findings of the NASA's Mars exploration rovers -- Spirit and Opportunity.\n SEQUENCE:10 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050228T195503Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:653996F1-B53C-4F1D-A852-B141FD48E7C3 SUMMARY:Charles Lieber (Harvard): Nanotechnology: Emerging Opportunities in Electronics\, Biology and Much More! PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050407T200000Z DTEND:20050407T210000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:London Lecture: Gross Auditorium\, Chemistry Building DESCRIPTION:Nanotechnology offers the promise of producing revolutionary advances in many areas of technology\, ranging from electronics and computing to biology and medicine\, and thus may impact in a substantial way our future lives. This presentation will provide an overview to the bottom-up paradigm for nanotechnology enabled using nanowire building blocks. First\, the growth of nanowires\, with composition controlled down to the atomic scale\, their fundamental electronic properties\, and the assembly of integrated structures will be described. Second\, nanowire devices configured as electrically-based biosensors will be discussed with an emphasis on disease detection and the ultimate sensitivity limits. Third\, the potential of these studies to impact other areas of science and technology will also be described\, highlighting nanocomputing and its linkage to biological information processing\, and electrically-based nanophotonic sources and detectors. Challenges and goals that must be met to realize these and other nanotechnologies in the future will be discussed. SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:60BFEDF9-D24C-443B-8FB6-B6B575EE1F0D SUMMARY:Prof. Mario Belloni\n(Davidson College): Teaching Quantum Mechanics in the 21st Century: Recent Advances DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070131T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070131T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 SEQUENCE:5 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:The teaching of quantum mechanics has remained relatively stagnant since its inception\, despite recent work assessing and improving the conceptual understanding of students and despite availability of computer simulations. Students\, therefore\, often see quantum mechanics in terms of misleading or incomplete visualizations\, as one dimensional and time independent\, and devoid of almost any connection with classical physics. To address this situation\, we have produced and class-tested interactive Physlet- and Open Source Physics-based curricular material in support of introductory\, intermediate\, and advanced courses in quantum mechanics. These exercises address both quantitative and conceptual difficulties encountered by many students in such topics as wave function shape\, momentum space\, time evolution\, and classical/quantum correla-tions. Examples of the curricular materials\, the results of our preliminary assessment\, and future directions of this project will be discussed.\n\nPhyslets and Open Source Physics are generously supported by the National Science Foundation (DUE-0442581). END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:98F687C5-7770-4638-A73D-4859E7DD9D16 SUMMARY:Bernard Yurke (Bell Laboratories\, Alcatel-Lucent): Powering the nanoworld with DNA DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070124T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070124T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 SEQUENCE:6 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:Two strands of DNA will bind most strongly to each other if their base sequences are complementary. The specificity of this molecular recognition property makes DNA a versatile material for use in the assembly of complex nanostructures. The free energy of hybridization\, released as two DNA strands come together to form double-stranded DNA\, can be used to induce nanostructures to perform mechanical work. Strand displacement allows one to operate such structures as cyclic engines. DNA can thus serve both as a structural material and as a fuel to power the nanoworld. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:FFD85C09-75F2-47D3-B9F6-E6BA3EB12F69 SUMMARY:John Hopfield (Princeton University): How do we think so fast?\nFrom neurons to brain computations DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070227T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070227T170000 LOCATION:French Science Center Auditorium SEQUENCE:5 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:(Abstract TBA) END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050428T204941Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:A93F432A-8AB4-43EC-92DC-B9A0EEC8CF9A SUMMARY:Sally Dawson (Brookhaven Nat. Lab.\, Duke BSc.'77): Revolutions in Particle Physics PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050928T153000Z DTEND:20050928T163000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Hosts: Al Goshaw\, Horst Meyer DESCRIPTION:Exciting opportunities are in store for particle physics over the coming decade\, with new tools and experiments poised to explore the frontiers of high energy\, the smallest distance scales\, and processes of great rarity. Einstein's dream of a unification of all forces will be tested at new energy scales and with greater precision than ever before. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN will begin the exploration of higher energy scales than have been tested previously and a possible future high energy lepton collider will continue our explorations. SEQUENCE:3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:D518A954-AE61-4A73-ACBC-C44D3E2575B0 SUMMARY:Pierre Sokolsky (University of Utah): Large Telescope Array Observatory Results (TBC) PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20060222T203000Z DTEND:20060222T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm. 114\, Host: Haiyan Gao DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:4 DESCRIPTION:Abstract not yet submitted END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20050221T213343Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:2FCAEB74-F447-4948-A862-AB2BDAA9293C SUMMARY:Jim Allen (UCSB): Terahertz Dynamics in Semiconductors Quantum Structure and the UCSB Free Electron Lasers PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050330T160000Z DTEND:20050330T170000Z TRANSP:TRANSPARENT LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Glenn Edwards DESCRIPTION:The terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum marks a transition in semiconductor science and technology\; transport changes from drift and diffusion at low frequencies to quantum transitions at high\, technology changes from electronics to photonics. Using the UCSB free-electron lasers that deliver relatively high power terahertz radiation tunable from ~ 140 GHz to 4 THz\, we have explored terahertz dynamics in quantum structures. DC measurements on quantum structures in the presence of strong terahertz fields reveal rich phenomena such as dynamic localization and multiphoton assisted transport. But the high power also allows linear spectros-copy in geometries that provide little throughput. The presentation will focus on research that began with observations of terahertz photon assisted transport\, and related phenomena in multiquantum well superlattices\, continues with measurements of resonant cross over from loss to gain in electrically biased super-superlattices and concludes with our current efforts to make a Bloch oscillator oscillate. SEQUENCE:8 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083950Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:4D559959-DAEB-4339-895F-E89B59249292 SUMMARY:Ying Wu (Duke University): TBA PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20061108T203000Z DTEND:20061108T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION:Abstract TBA SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:74561A9C-FA95-44D0-A765-2ADC11DF5303 SUMMARY:Xiao-Gang Wen\n(MIT): From new states of matter to a unification DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070425T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070425T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DURATION:PT1H SEQUENCE:6 DESCRIPTION:(Abstract TBA) X-LIC-ERROR;X-LIC-ERRORTYPE=COMPONENT-PARSE-ERROR:Got a data line\, but could not find a property name or component begin tag: of light and electrons END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153249Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:5823153F-4D4E-4EFE-BA7B-467C5390F6DB SUMMARY:Steffen Bass (Duke University): The Quest for the Quark-Gluon-Plasma DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20070117T160000 DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20070117T170000 LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 SEQUENCE:8 DURATION:PT1H DESCRIPTION:The Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) is a highly excited\, strongly interacting\, hot and dense state of matter. Its degrees of freedom are quarks and gluons which are the basic constituents of quantum chromodynamics (QCD)\, one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is believed that shortly after the creation of the universe in the Big Bang all matter was in the QGP state. Due to the rapid expansion and cooling of the Universe\, this plasma underwent a transition to form hadrons (bound states of quarks and gluons). Hadrons - most importantly nucleons - constitute the building blocks of matter as we know it today. The investigation of QGP properties and the nature of the QGP to hadron transition will yield important novel insights into the development of the early universe and the behavior of QCD under extreme conditions.\n\nMore than a thousand experimentalists are working to recreate this highly excited state of primordial matter under controlled laboratory conditions by colliding two heavy atomic nuclei (i.e. heavy-ions) at relativistic energies and to study its properties. These experiments are currently underway at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Data from the first years of RHIC operations have yielded many interesting and sometimes surprising results which have not yet been fully evaluated or understood.\n\nIn my talk I will highlight some of the most exciting discoveries made at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider and discuss recent theoretical efforts to understand the nature and properties of the QGP created there. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:8389F363-2E46-4A98-B99F-6145AA7729BE SUMMARY:Paul Schechter (MIT): The milli- and micro-lensing of macro-lensed quasars PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050112T160000Z DTEND:20050112T170000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: Arlie Petters X-MOZILLA-RECUR-DEFAULT-INTERVAL:0 DESCRIPTION:The 0th\, 1st and 2nd derivatives of a \"Fermat potential\" give the three D's of gravitational lensing: delay\, deflection and distortion. Observations of these delays\, deflections and distortions make it possible to model the gravitational potentials of the intervening galaxies which produce multiple images of distant quasars. Simple models for lensing potentials that successfully reproduce image positions to high accuracy fail ABYSMALLY in reproducing the flux ratios of the multiple images\, suggesting the presence of small scale structure within the lensing galaxies. It has been argued that the flux ratio anomalies observed at radio wavelengths signal the presence of CDM mini-halos. We argue that the yet larger anomalies observed at optical wavelengths can result from microlensing by stars\, but ONLY if a substantial fraction of the projected mass is in a smooth\, dark component. \n\nReference: astro-ph/0204425 SEQUENCE:0 X-MOZILLA-LASTALARMACK:20050223T221457 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T082932Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:A8F2BC2E-C87D-46AD-9F12-1D19F5D2311B SUMMARY:Stephon Alexander (Stanford University): Beyond Inflationary Cosmology PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20050209T160000Z DTEND:20050209T170000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke Physics Rm 114. Host: David Morrison X-MOZILLA-RECUR-DEFAULT-INTERVAL:0 DESCRIPTION:In recent years\, observational cosmology has provided a wealth of new data\, all of it consistent with the predictions of the simplest inflationary universe paradigm. While inflation has been phenomenologically successful as a theory of large scale structure in the universe (LSS) and for resolving the problems of the Standard Big Bang cosmology (SBB)\, it still has serious conceptual problems and lacks a concrete theoretical underpinning. In this Colloquium\, I will demonstrate how string theory could provide solutions to some of these problems. I will review the String Gas Cosmology as a concrete marriage between string theory and cosmology and show how it consistently solves common problems to cosmology and string theory. I will conclude with a recent model of inflation in string theory which arises from non-perturbative states in the theory\, Dirichlet Branes (D-Branes). SEQUENCE:0 X-MOZILLA-LASTALARMACK:20050223T221542 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T084056Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:60E288AF-A9A3-4BAA-AFE6-84D8555C2D10 SUMMARY:Daniel Lathrop (University of Maryland): Building laboratory models of planetary cores PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20061129T203000Z DTEND:20061129T213000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION:We probe aspects of the dynamics of fluid flows in planetary cores using experiments in liquid sodium\, liquid helium\, liquid nitrogen or water (not of course mixed together!). Key to these several experimental devices is exploring how turbulence is effected by rotation\, magnetic fields or both. As both add some measure of elasticity to the flows\, several types of oscillatory behavior are observed depending on the force balances involved. Ordering the Coriolis\, Lorentz\, and Inertial forces is key to understanding the complicated states observed. While these experiments are undertaken in part to understand the geodynamo\, they have led to a number of different first observations\, including the magnetorotational instability\, and inertial waves in both spherical Couette flow and decaying turbulence in cryogenic flows\, and a first direct observation of superfluid vortices. These different approaches to using laboratory experiments are opening up a new direction to understanding the dynamics of the Earth's outer core\, other Planetary interiors\, and a host of astrophysical objects.\n\nW.L. Shew and D.P. Lathrop\, ``Liquid sodium model of geophysical core convection\,'' Phys. Earth and Planetary Interiors\, 153\, 136-149 (2005).\nD.R. Sisan\, N. Mujica\, W.A. Tillotson\, Y.-M. Huang\, W.Dorland\, A.B. Hassam\, T.M. Antonsen\, and D.P. Lathrop\, ``Experimental Observation and Characterization of the Magnetorotational Instability\,'' Phys. Rev. Lett. 93\, 114502 (2004). SEQUENCE:2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20060919T083636Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:1019FDCF-B031-47EC-BEE4-FD67A70B0A05 SUMMARY:Kate Scholberg (Duke University): Neutrinos from the Sky and Through the Earth PRIORITY:5 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART:20061004T193000Z DTEND:20061004T203000Z TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Duke University\, Physics Building\, Rm. 128 DESCRIPTION: The progress in neutrino physics over the past ten years has been tremendous: we have learned that neutrinos have non-zero mass. I will pick out one of the threads of the story-- the measurement of flavor oscillation in neutrinos produced by cosmic ray showers in the atmosphere. I will present the history\, the current state of knowledge\, and the remaining puzzles. SEQUENCE:1 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153403Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:a6c5ea4f-d6ab-4aa1-8be7-72b818b8ebeb SUMMARY:Erik Katsavounidis (MIT): Searches for gravitational waves with LIGO PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20070912T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20070912T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Kate Scholberg DESCRIPTION:The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)\nis part of a global constellation of detectors that is currently\nrecording gravitational-wave data with an unprecedented sensitivity. Plausible sources for this first generation instruments include core-collapse supernovae\, stochastic background of astrophysical or cosmological origin\, rapidly spinning neutron stars as well as black hole or neutron star binaries. In this talk I will describe the status of the instruments as well as the ongoing searches and recent astrophysical results. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153419Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:9d110a37-45a2-496d-8a01-f35985595c6c SUMMARY:Anthony Mezzacappa (ORNL): Toward the Core Collapse Supernova Mechanism: An Emerging Picture? PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071003T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071003T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Steffen Bass DESCRIPTION:Core collapse supernovae are the death throes of massive stars\, 8-10 times the mass of our sun. They are the dominant source of elements in the Universe between oxygen and iron and are believed responsible for half the elements heavier than iron. Knowing how they occur is key to understanding how we came to be in the Universe. The core collapse supernova explosion\nmechanism is not at present known\, at least not definitively. We still work within the neutrino heating paradigm discovered by Wilson more than two decades ago\, and recent results from our group and others show promise we are closing in on the mechanism. Nonetheless\, the extension of the present-day simulations to three dimensions and the addition of new\,\nnot-well-explored physics\, such as the evolution of magnetic fields in supernova cores\, will likely hold significant surprises. I will discuss the results of one-\, two-\, and three-dimensional core collapse supernova simulations performed by the ORNL-centered supernova effort and discuss the\nramifications of each for the future of core collapse supernova modeling. I will also discuss the requirements of three-dimensional multi-physics core collapse supernova modeling and hopefully demonstrate the daunting but\nnonetheless surmountable computational challenges that lie ahead over the next five to ten years as we take on one of Nature's computational Grand Challenges. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153428Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:3381c92d-d119-4d82-ae79-69d0d1a57121 SUMMARY:Gleb Finkelstein (Duke): Carbon nanotube quantum dots: Coulomb blockade\, Kondo effect and the mixed valence regimes PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071010T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071010T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Harold Baranger DESCRIPTION:Carbon nanotubes present an attractive system for studying quantum electronic transport. By controlling the contact transparency within the same nanotube Quantum Dot\, we can observe the conductance evolution from the well-developed Coulomb blockade through the Kondo regime to the mixed valence regime. We work with high quality nanotubes\, where quantum-mechanical orbitals are doubly-degenerate\, forming four-electron 'shells'\, so that the system possesses an SU(4) symmetry. We observe the SU(4) Kondo effect for one\, two\, and three electrons in a shell. As the contacts are made more transparent\, the sample enters the 'Mixed Valence' regime\, where different charge states are hybridized by electron tunneling. The hallmark of the new regime is the surprising lack of single-electron features at low temperature\, which are uncovered as the temperature is raised. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153437Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:75607c9b-bfd6-4aaf-a95f-2222750f58be SUMMARY:Paul Tiesinga (UNC): Neurophysics of cortical computation PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071024T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071024T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Henry Greenside DESCRIPTION:Information in the brain is encoded in the electrical activity\nof a few tens of billions of neurons. Understanding what the\n'neural code' is and how it is modulated by our behavioral goals\nhas proved to be a challenging problem. Stimulus selection in the\nearly visual system is an ideal place to address this issue due\nto a wealth of experimental data. I will discuss the application of\nphysics-type methods to link the behavior at the level of a single\nneuron to that at the population level involving millions of neurons.\nFrom experiment\, simulation and theoretical analysis it emerges that so-called interneurons play an important role in modulating the neural firing rate and coherence in various frequency bands. I will report on recent work that for the first time maps specific functions onto specific interneuron types and propose methods to test these hypotheses.\n END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153447Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:20ffec65-41d8-41a6-be5b-48f6757438d2 SUMMARY:Margaret Murnane (Univ. of Colorado): Harnessing Attosecond Science in the Quest for Coherent X-Rays PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071107T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071107T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Dan Gauthier DESCRIPTION:To generate coherent x-ray beams\, extreme nonlinear optical techniques have succeeded in upconverting visible laser light into the x-ray region of the spectrum. This ability has given us a new coherent light source that spans such a large region of the spectrum that we now access processes that occur on sub-femtosecond or attosecond (1 as=10^-18 s) time-scales. Equally intriguing is the fact that we have learned how to use femtosecond laser light to coherently manipulate electrons in atoms and molecules on their fundamental\, attosecond timescales. The richness and complexity of attosecond science and technology is only just beginning to be uncovered. As I will discuss in this talk\, attosecond science can capture the complex\, interwoven dance of electrons in molecules and materials. Attosecond science also shows great promise for developing new ultrasensitive molecular imaging and spectroscopic techniques. Finally\, attosecond science represents the most promising avenue to achieve what had seemed hopelessly impractical until now -- the generation of bright\, coherent\, hard x-ray beams using a tabletop-scale apparatus.\n\nCoffee and cookies before the presentation at 3:15 pm\, and refreshments after the presentation will both be served in Room 128.\n\n END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153454Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:35a07371-6bed-434e-89b3-3d8940f75b6b SUMMARY:Gordon Cates (Univ. of Virginia): Peering inside the nucleon\, and even human lungs\, using polarized 3He PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071114T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071114T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Haiyan Gao DESCRIPTION:More than ever before\, electron scattering is providing detailed\ninsight into the structure of the proton and the neutron. One of the\npowerful tools in such studies is the use of polarized nuclear\ntargets such as 3He. Examples include advances in our\nunderstanding of valence-quark wave functions\, and an increasingly high resolution picture of the distribution of electric charge within the neutron. Results from these experiments will be discussed\, as well as the exciting possibilities that will open with the 12 GeV upgrade of Jefferson Laboratory in Newport News\, Virginia. The development of large highly-polarized 3He targets has also played an important role in the evolution of magnetic resonance imaging studies of the lungs using laser-polarized noble gases. Recent results from MRI research at UVa using polarized noble gases will also be presented. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT CREATED:20070910T153500Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080115T042132Z DTSTAMP:20080115T042132Z UID:ebd55864-b78d-4c85-adf6-d2566fd6078d SUMMARY:Henry Greenside (Duke): Understanding how brains generate and learn temporal sequences. PRIORITY:0 CLASS:PUBLIC DTSTART;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071128T153000 DTEND;TZID=/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York:20071128T163000 LOCATION:Physics Rm. 128\, Host: Joshua Socolar DESCRIPTION: Many species of songbirds do not sing instinctively but learn their songs by a process of auditory-guided vocal learning that starts with a kind of babbling that converges over several months and through tens of thousands of iterations to a highly precise adult song. How the neural circuitry of the songbird brain recognizes\, generates\, and learns temporal sequences related to song are important questions for neurobiologists and also interest an increasing number of physicists. I will discuss some of the fascinating recent experiments on songbirds and some of the contributions that physicists\, including my own group\, have made toward understanding these experiments. A conclusion of my talk will be that neurobiology is a young scientific frontier and that there are many opportunities\, if not a great need\, for physicists to contribute experimentally and theoretically. END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:US/Eastern LAST-MODIFIED:20070116T053852Z BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20061029T060000 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20070311T010000 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:/mozilla.org/20050126_1/America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:19701025T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=10 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:19700405T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=1SU;BYMONTH=4 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR