ASU PHYSICS
Department of Physics
Arizona State University
PO Box 871504
Tempe, AZ 85287
480.965.3561

Was Einstein Right?
Noted physicist, National Academy member, and ASU Physics’ Distinguished Lecturer Clifford Will examines Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity 100 years later.
How has the most celebrated scientific theory of the 20^th century held up under the exacting scrutiny of planetary probes, radio telescopes, and atomic clocks? After 100 years, was Einstein right? These are the questions Clifford Will, National Academy of Sciences member and James S. McDonnell Professor of Physics at Washington University, St. Louis, will discuss during the 2007 Department of Physics Distinguished Lecturer Series taking place this week. In his lecture, Professor Will relates the story of testing relativity - from the 1919 measurements of the bending of light, to the 1980s measurements of a decaying double-neutron-star system that revealed the action of gravity waves, to a 2004 space experiment that tested whether spacetime “does the twist”. A revolution in astronomy and technology led to a renaissance of general relativity in the 1960s and to a systematic program to try to verify its predictions. Through reflection on the past 100 years, Will demonstrates how relativity plays an important role in daily life.

     The ASU Physics’ Distinguished Lecturer Series was created to give the public and academic communities an opportunity to learn about the latest research from the most celebrated and accomplished scientists in physics and physics-related fields today. The series features a public lecture, a more technical colloquium, and graduate student forums with the invited speaker.  Professor Will joins the ranks of previous ASU Physics’ Distinguished Lecturers such as Nobel Laureate Gerard ’t Hooft and National Medal of Science recipient Mildred Dresselhaus in continuing the department’s fine tradition of quality lectures. For more information on this series, please go to http://physics.asu.edu/dist_lect/index.php.

PUBLIC LECTURE:
"Was Einstein Right?"

Professor Clifford Will
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.

Bateman Physical Sciences Building, F-wing Room 173
Free and open to the public
Refreshments prior to lecture

We welcome all your
PHYSICS FLASH comments, ideas, suggestions, and/or submissions. Please email them to Margaret Stuart at margaret.stuart@asu.edu.

New Faculty Member Joins ASU Particle Astrophysics Research Effort
ASU Physics welcomes Assistant Professor Cecilia Lunardini to the faculty. Dr. Lunardini is involved with theoretical research at the interface of nuclear physics, particle physics and astrophysics.   After completing her PhD at SISSA-ISAS in Trieste, Italy, she held a postdoc position at the Institute for Advanced Study of Princeton followed by a five year fellowship at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Seattle. 
   Currently,  her research activities focus on neutrinos - particles that are very light, interact very weakly with matter, and exhibit exotic properties like the famous phenomenon of oscillations. Neutrinos are produced in stars like our sun, and reach the Earth even from the distant Cosmos.   Enormous quantities of neutrinos are produced when a star explodes as a supernova - a phenomenon that is still mysterious in many respects.  Dr. Lunardini’s work focuses on the intriguing fact that, while inaccessible to telescopes, the interior of a supernova can be probed with neutrinos. Thus, neutrinos are unique carriers of information about how stars explode.
   In addition to physics, Dr. Lunardini is passionate about classical music, women’s issues and cultural diversity.
For more information about Dr. Lunardini, please visit:
http://physics.asu.edu/faculty.php?name=clunardi.

FROM THE CHAIR...
Nano in ASU Physics One nanometer (one billionth of a meter) corresponds to a distance of about five atoms in a row in a crystalline solid.
   It is intriguing how words that have become important in physics seem to quickly find their way into our everyday lives.  We are probably all aware of the ubiquitous use of the term ‘nano,’ and in some way this has been related to the increasingly important fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The National Nanotechnology Initiative (http://www.nano.gov/)  began at about the beginning of this decade, and it has grown to be one of the most significant areas of interdisciplinary research.
   The term nanoscale has come to mean the range of 1 to 100 nanometers, but the real focus of nanoscale science has been the integration of physical, chemical and biological materials to achieve new properties and phenomena. The electronics industry is already manufacturing with nanoscale precision and is indeed an advancing nanotechnology.  The integration of chemical and biological molecules with solid particles or electronics holds a similar potential to impact medical and security related applications.
   Many of the faculty and students in ASU Physics have been significantly involved with nanoscale science.  The department offers a new course (PHY 191) for undergraduates to learn about the “Big World of Nano.” Our researchers use the most advanced electron microscopy and surface microscopy techniques, and they have explored new ways to use chemical and physical effects to organize and synthesize nanomaterials. Other faculty and students are developing and applying new theoretical approaches which consider interactions over a range of length scales. 
   The excitement for us is to bring all of these efforts together to form a cohesive group and education program. The most recent step to focusing our efforts is the initiation of a seminar series on Nanoscale Science which has been organized by John Shumway. In an equally exciting development, John Venables has led the formation of a new Professional Science Master’s degree in Nanoscience.  Stay tuned to the Flash and our website to learn the latest of Nanoscience at ASU.    
 
                           - Robert J. Nemanich
                             ASU Physics Chair and Professor

   STAY IN TOUCH WITH ASU PHYSICS AT:
 http://physics.asu.edu/index.php

DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM (continued from Page One)
and Mari Koerner, Dean of College Teacher Education and Leadership, four new programs were developed and put in place. The committee was composed of multi-campus faculty from CLAS, the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, the Fulton School of Engineering, and the College of Teacher Education and Leadership. With Physics leading the way and joined by Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics, new dual degree programs were designed to lead to both B.S. and B.A.E. (Bachelor of Arts in Education) Degrees in four years. With 121 credit hours, the Physics dual degree program is the closest of the group to the 120-credit-hour goal.
   The BS/BAE Physics program includes both the full B.S. (Option 2) requirements and the BAE (physics) requirements. This is a compact yet rigorous dual degree program. Unlike the BAE alone, students in the new program will be prepared for graduate school in physics as well as certified to teach physics in secondary schools.
   Not stopping here, ASU is exploring the possibility of creating entirely new programs to improve the training of future science and math teachers. Stay tuned!
   For more information on the BS/BAE Physics program please contact Dr. Robert Culbertson at Robert.Culbertson@asu.edu or Sabrina Mathues, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, at Sabrina.Mathues@asu.edu.