Fall 2008

09/13/2008 | A Panel DIscussion of Complicite's "A Disappearing Number" -- The University Musical Society

Kicking off the Saturday Morning Physics season, the University Musical Society (UMS) and Saturday Morning Physics will convene math, science, theatre and humanities professors to discuss the play, “A Disappearing Number.” Audience participation is invited.  

09/20/2008 | A Physicist Looks at Brain Tumors -- Leonard Sander (U-M Physics)

Highly malignant brain tumors spread through the brain by invasion, the migration of single cancer cells. This process is devastating for the prospects of curing patients. The biomechanics of the invasion process is little understood, but is central for making progress towards control of the disease. Professor Sander will present a number of studies which tackle the issue.  

09/27/2008 | Superstring Cosmology: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Inflation -- Scott Watson (U-M Physics)

In its earliest moments the Universe experienced a very rapid period of accelerated expansion known as cosmological inflation. Inflation leads to a number of observational signatures that can be used to test our theories of the early Universe. One example of such a theory is Superstring theory. Recent theoretical advances not only provide testable string models of inflation, but may even allow us to ask what happened before the “Big Bang”. Most excitingly, many of these ideas will be tested in the near future by experiment. After a general overview of inflationary cosmology Professor Watson will discuss some of the new ideas arising from String theory and how many of them will be scrutinized in upcoming experiments.

10/04/2008 | Revevaling the Building Blocks of Our Universe -- Aaron Pierce (U-M Physics)

Particle physicists try to answer some fundamental questions. What is the universe made of? How do these basic constituents interact? The Large Hadron Collider, set to start taking data this fall, should provide the data that will help answer these mysteries.

10/11/2008 | A Current Perspective on the Great Lakes Water Levels -- Frank H. Quinn (Consulting Research Hydrologist)

Dr. Quinn will give an overview of the Great Lakes system from a water quantity perspective, a discussion of the types of water level fluctuations, water supply parameters and variability, glacial isostatic adjustment, anthropogenic changes to the system, and end up with current issues involving lake levels.  

10/18/2008 | The Large Hadron Collider: The World's Most Powerful Particle Accelerator -- Homer Neal (U-M Physics)

The world’s most powerful accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will be inaugurated in Geneva on October 21, 2008. This huge accelerator, eighteen miles in circumference, will permit scientists to explore some of the most intriguing questions of our time, such as, what is the origin of mass, what are the basic symmetries of Nature, and what are the properties of the smallest building blocks of matter. The University of Michigan has one of the largest research groups involved with the LHC and Professor Neal will review the University’s role in this project, the status of the accelerator, and the plans for the initial experiments.

10/25/2008 | Buddhism and Science -- Donald Lopez (U-M Asian Languages and Cultures)

In debates on the relationship between religion and science, some have argued that among the world’s religions, Buddhism is the most compatible with science. In this lecture, Professor Donald Lopez will provide a brief history of the association of the Buddhism with science.  

11/01/2008 | Tricks with Light: How Microscopy Reveals the Biological World -- Jennifer Ogilvie (U-M Physics)

From the first observation of cellular structures, light microscopy continues to shape our understanding of biology. This lecture will examine several important properties of how light interacts with matter, and explain how these interactions are exploited in the light microscope. Touching on several established microscopies, we'll also explore recent progress that is pushing the frontiers of spatial and chemical resolution, providing us with a richer view of the biological world.  

11/08/2008 | What Physics Has To Do with Brain Function -- Michal Zochowski (U-M Biophysics)

Why are physicists studying the brain? What new angle can they bring to the table? Finally, what did we learn about different aspects of brain function using our research approaches? These are the questions Professor Zochowski will address in connection to brain structure, brain dynamics and brain function.  

11/15/2008 | Non-Euclidean Sports and the Geometry of Surfaces -- Richard Canary (U-M Mathematics)

There are three “nice” two-dimensional geometries: spherical, Euclidean and hyperbolic. In order to understand hyperbolic geometry, Professor Canary will discuss its impact on various sports. He will examine the classification of surfaces and their natural geometries. Lastly, he will conclude with a brief look at recent progress on the geometrization of 3-dimensional spaces.