Winter 2019

02/09/19 Constructing an Earth: Just Add Water -- Edwin Bergin (U-M Astronomy)

In this talk we will explore how a life-bearing world such as our own originates by following the necessary materials from their origins in space.

02/16/19 Are Concussions the Downfall of Football? -- Steven Broglio (U-M Concussion Center)

With the potential for long term effects, the media has placed significant attention on concussions in football. But is all of it accurate?

02/23/19 Searching for Dark Matter with Antimatter -- Ilias Cholis (Oakland University)

Antimatter cosmic ray measurements can advance our understanding of high-energy astrophysical phenomena in our own Galaxy. Over the last years, satellite experiments as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on board the International Space Station measure antimatter cosmic ray fluxes, including positrons (the antiparticles of electrons), antiprotons (the antiparticles of protons) and recently antimatter nuclei. These measurements provide a novel probe to search for new physics including annihilations of dark matter in the Milky Way, which I will present.

03/16/19 Rare Events in the Short Happy Lives of Muons and Kaons -- Myron Campbell (U-M Physics)

As our understanding of the building blocks of matter and how they interact has increased, particle physicists have turned their attention to finding processes not known in the Standard Model. We will talk about two searches for rare processes involving the decays of muons and kaons.

03/23/19 From Tiny to Huge and Something in Between -- Rory Fitzpatrick, Noah Weaverdyck, and Lu Chen (U-M Physics)

The Elusive Neutrino
Rory Fitzpatrick, Graduate Student Research Assistant (U-M Physics)
The neutrino is simultaneously one of the most abundant and evasive particles in our universe; it is particularly difficult to detect, but holds the key to understanding fundamental questions about the world in which we live. How do we photograph rare neutrino interactions? And what can we learn from those images once we capture them?

Magnetic Microscopy: New Techniques to Measure Magnetism
Lu Chen, Graduate Student Research Assistant (U-M Physics)
The quartz tuning fork has been used as a time standard in the wrist watch for over 50 years. We use it to develop a high-resolution magnetometry, which could be used to measure the magnetism in many novel materials.

Galaxies Galore! Precision Cosmology with Large Scale Structure
Noah Weaverdyck, Ph.D. Candidate (U-M Physics)
What is the universe made of? How does it behave on the largest scales? I will discuss how cosmologists are attempting to answer these questions and more using state-of-the-art telescopes that map millions of galaxies across the cosmos.

03/30/19 Update on Physics from the LHC -- Thomas Schwarz (U-M Physics)

The quest to understand fundamental particles and forces in our Universe with the world's largest particle accelerator.

04/06/19 On the Shore of the Cosmic Ocean -- Thomas Zurbuchen (NASA)

The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting.” Carl Sagan visualized our perspective on Earth as looking out to a vast ocean, and with an international fleet of space-based and ground observatories now and soon to come, we are poised more than ever to jump into the larger universe. The upcoming Solar Orbiter mission gives us a perfect example of how far we can go when we work together across traditional boundaries and realize that nothing in science is done in isolation. Understanding our own star leads to an increased awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s place in our solar system, as well as the Sun’s influence on planets near and far, all the way out to the boundary of our solar system. And our vision doesn’t stop there; using our star as a template informs our view of other star systems and their worlds. What we learn now, sitting on that shore, will enrich our journey out into the endless cosmic sea.

04/13/19 Why Physicists are Building the Most Sensitive Radios Ever Made -- Ben Safdi (U-M Physics)

Most of the "stuff" in our own Galaxy and the Universe as a whole is known to be in a form of a mysterious substance called dark matter. One idea for what this stuff is, that has been quickly gaining traction in recent years, is a hypothetical particle called the axion. Professor Safdi will explain why this model appears promising, and he will describe how researchers are trying to confirm this theory using ultra-sensitive radios.