Welcome to the Saturday Morning Physics Website!
Celebrate 30 years of Engaging, Entertaining,
Educating, and Exciting audiences!
Our audience continues to see national faculty and student experts present the latest scientific theories and reveal the mysteries of their work through dynamic experiments within this hybrid program.
Thank you for your support this Giving Blueday!
Thanks to you, we achieved our goal of 30 donors! This resulted in unlocking a substantial matched gift. We're still busy processing your generous gift, but our unofficial total is $5,375 from 50 donors.
Your donation is appreciated on any day of the year. You may donate at this link at any time.
About Saturday Morning Physics
Physics is a fundamental science and provides the foundations for solving both cosmic mysteries and practical problems. In 1995, the University of Michigan Department of Physics began sharing some of the latest ideas in the field with the public in the Saturday Morning Physics lecture series.
Designed for general audiences, the lectures are an opportunity to hear physicists discuss their work in easy-to-understand, non-technical terms. The multimedia presentations include hands-on demonstrations of the principles discussed, along with slides, video, and computer simulations.
Saturday Morning Physics in-person lectures or online lectures!
Lectures are held in 170 & 182 auditoriums in Weiser Hall (low-rise)
500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Parking is available at the Church Street Parking Structure for $10.00/car with only credit cards accepted.
Click on this link (or see below) for the Winter 2025 Saturday Morning Physics schedule to discover stimulating, educational, and family-friendly scientific events!
Each lecture begins promptly at 10:30 AM and runs until 11:30 AM, with a half-hour Q&A afterward.
Note: There is a pause between the talk and the Q&A for patrons to leave if needed.
February 22: Breaking Bias, Building Bots: The Intersection of DEI and Robotics
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology)
Robots do exactly what we tell them, but building machines that truly serve everyone requires diverse perspectives. This talk explores how robots work, how we control them, and why diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to shaping the future of robotics.
Lecture and Q&A, live-streamed on: https://myumi.ch/xqxZz
March 15: Physics Extra-VAN-ganza! Good Vibrations: The Science of Vibrations, Sound and Hearing
Family-friendly science demos and hands-on activities
This special and unique family-friendly SMP event introduces the U-M STEMobile: a vehicle that will bring STEM outreach education by student groups to communities, schools, libraries, and events in Southeast Michigan and beyond. Student-led groups from Astronomy, Physics, and the College of Engineering will Engage, Entertain, Educate, and Excite you with demos and hands-on activities suitable for all ages.
Lecture and Q&A, live-streamed on: https://myumi.ch/qVJmx
March 29: ZEUS: The Highest Power Laser in the U.S.
Karl Krushelnick, Professor: Nuclear Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Physics. Director, ZEUS laser facility and Gerard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science
ZEUS is a new high-power laser facility at the University of Michigan funded by the National Science Foundation. It is capable of producing light pulses with an instantaneous power of 3 quadrillion Watts (3 followed by 15 zeros). Professor Krushelnick will discuss the technology of ultra-high power lasers as well as the exciting science and potential applications resulting from research on this facility.
Lecture and Q&A, live-streamed on: https://myumi.ch/XG93b
April 5: Organic Optical Materials: From Solar Cells to Light-Emitting Diodes
Theodore Goodson III, The Richard Bernstein Collegiate Professor of Chemistry (U-M Chemistry)
Versatile organic optical materials are widely used, for example, in OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) TVs. These materials, which convert electricity to light and vice-versa, continue to improve, but questions remain concerning electron and energy transport processes. Understanding ultra-fast (femtosecond) and small-scale (nanometer) processes in these systems is crucial for improving performance in optical and electronic applications. In this presentation, Professor Goodson will describe the results of studies of light-matter interactions in organic materials using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy to investigate energy transport and its importance to electronic devices we rely on daily.
Lecture and Q&A, live-streamed on: https://myumi.ch/ErXD3
April 12: Van Loo Family SMP: Graduate Student Research Presentations (U-M Physics/Applied Physics)
Graduate student talks with the latest research from:
Otávio Alves and Emilie LaVoie-Ingram (Physics Department)
We also celebrate the Van Loo Family Lecture on this occasion.
Lecture and Q&A, live-streamed on: https://myumi.ch/bEmjx
Event Details
The Saturday Morning Physics lecture series is free to all. We are hosting in-person and virtual talks this winter. Please join our mailing list for more information.
How to Receive Information about Upcoming Programming
If you would like updates on this series, sign up to be placed on the Saturday Morning Physics mailing list. Due to monetary constraints, we would like to send you programming information via email only.
Sponsors
The Saturday Morning Physics program is sponsored by:
The Dr. Mary Lois Tiffany Endowment by Dr. O. Lyle Tiffany and Dr. M. Lois Tiffany who were the first to support the Saturday Morning Physics program in May, 2000.
The Hideko Tomozawa Endowment in memory of Hideko Tomozawa in recognition of her interest and loyal participation in the Saturday Morning Physics program.
The Van Loo Family Endowment to support outstanding University students who present public lectures at Saturday Morning Physics.
Friends of the Program-Donations of all sizes are needed to keep this program alive!
How to Donate
Donations to the Saturday Morning Physics Program help fund these informative academic presentations. Show your support for the program by donating online.
U-M Staff and Faculty can donate to Saturday Morning Physics by using University Payroll Deduction on Wolverine Access. Please use designation #365045.
You may also make cash, check, or credit card donations at each Saturday Morning program. Please stop by the back greeting table to pick up a donation slip.
Remember, donations to SMP are tax-deductible in the year in which they are given.
View SMP Lectures
Learn how to view the Saturday Morning Physics talks after the lecture date.
Information about previous SMP talks can be found in the Past Events section of this website.
Download your group photo from the 10/7/23 event with Josh Cassada!
Articles about the Josh Cassada event:
NASA astronaut shares his experience in space with UM physics class
NASA Astronaut Josh Cassada discusses space station mission in UM talk (Pictorial)
NASA Astronaut Shares Experience of Spacewalks and Near-Impact Incident with UM Physics Class
