Fall 2007

10/06/2007 | How to Keep Your Focus: The Physics of Camera Lenses -- Bradford Orr (U-M Physics)

This is the first in a series of three lectures on the physics behind the operation of cameras. In this talk Professor Orr will discuss lens: why we use them, what they do, and their limitations.  

10/13/2007 | We All Need Just the Right Amount of Exposure -- Bradford Orr (U-M Physics)

Last week Professor Orr discussed how to bring an image into focus. This week’s talk will explore exposure. Professor Orr hopes to shed just the right amount of light on the subject.

10/20/2007 | It's All About Light! -- Bradford Orr (U-M Physics)

Light plays the crucial role in photography, both from a scientific, and an artistic point of view. In this last lecture in the series Professor Orr will look at how light is created, what are some of its properties, and how it interacts with our photographic subjects.

10/27/2007 | Fresnel: Before and After -- James Woodward (The Lighthouse LLC)

James Woodward will explore the world of lights and lighthouses from pre-historic times to today and beyond. Specifically, he will peak at the work of the early 19th century optical genius, Augustine Fresnel, and his impact on the world of commerce. See how one invention becomes a new – just by viewing it from the opposite side.

11/03/2007 | Lightning Lights: The Mercury Float Lighthouse Lens or How You float a 4,000lb Lens in 600 lbs of Liquid -- James Woodward (The Lighthouse LLC)

The revolutionary concept that took 70 years to create, a wonderfully unique invention that almost came too late. Mercury, the almost-perfect, slightly toxic, weight-bearing material, is not just for barometers and thermometers, anymore.  

11/03/2007 | Four Myths of the Copernican Revolution -- Owen Gingerich (Harvard)

Did Copernicus' new system improve the accuracy of astronomical predictions? Did Kepler find the elliptical orbits by elaborate curve-fitting? Was Galileo a heretic? Find the truth behind hoary legends!

11/10/2007 | Muscling in on Tissue Engineering -- Louise Hecker (U-M Applied Physics)

Tissue Engineering combines the principles of medical, life sciences, and engineering fields toward the development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. Ms. Hecker will introduce the process of tissue engineering using various 3-dimensional bioengineered muscle models.  

11/17/2007 | How Do You Mend a Broken Heart? Current Treatments and Novel Strategies for Cardiovascular Disease -- Louise Hecker (U-M Applied Physics)

Mortalities resulting from cardiovascular disease remain high, with an urgent need to develop novel treatment modalities. Ms. Hecker explores cardiovascular tissue engineering and heart regeneration.

12/01/2007 | Physics (and Chemistry and Biology...) of Mastodons and Mammoths -- Daniel Fisher (U-M Museum of Paleontology, U-M Geological Sciences)

New sites, right here in Michigan and in remote parts of Siberia, combine with new methods of analysis to yield a clearer picture of the anatomy, behavior, and extinction of mastodons and mammoths. Much of our new perspective comes from studies of tusks, the distinctive, ever-growing incisor teeth of elephants and their relatives.