Winter 2024

02/17/2024 | Totally Awesome: Your Guide to the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2024 -- David Gerdes (U-M Physics)

A total solar eclipse is one of the most unforgettable and awe-inspiring natural events we can experience. On April 8, 2024, people in southeast Michigan will have our last opportunity for decades to witness a total eclipse less than a few hours' drive away. I'll describe the science behind eclipses, the role they have played in history, and how and where to best experience this year's eclipse.

03/09/2024 | The Many Facets of Glass -- John Kieffer (U-M Materials Science and Engineering)

Glass has been used for many applications, ranging from arrow heads to optical fibers, and as much as humans have shaped glass to serve these purposes, glass has shaped humanity. However, there remains so much mystery about the amorphous state of matter. Glass is not considered a stable form of matter and yet, it is durable and lasts for millennia.

This presentation provides an overview of what makes glass so unique as a material, the historical role it has played in advancing culture and technology based on its physical properties, and the knowledge we have to date as to what causes glass formation.

03/23/2024 | The Future Oppenheimer Feared: What We Can Do to Reduce the Nuclear Threat -- Laura Grego (Union of Concerned Scientists)

Nuclear weapons, first developed almost eighty years ago, are not a Cold War relic; the world’s 13,000 nuclear weapons pose a growing, contemporary danger. Any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic effects and could lead to civilization-ending consequences. This talk will overview the science and strategy of nuclear weapons issues, what is new today, and how scientists and the public have found ways to engage with policy to reduce nuclear dangers and work toward a safer future.

04/06/2024 | Bioinspired Microrobotics: Lessons from Nature -- Abdon Pena-Francesch (U-M Materials Science and Engineering)

As we miniaturize robotic devices, we are limited by traditional materials, components, and designs and need to come up with innovative strategies for power, actuation, and control at small scales. Insects, cephalopods, and bacteria hold solutions to these challenges and have inspired new designs and capabilities in small-scale soft robotics.

04/20/2024 | The Van Loo Family Graduate Student Presentations -- Tayari Coleman (U-M Applied Physics) and Max Jerdee (U-M Complex Systems)

Graduate student presentations by two U-M PhD candidates: "Making Powerful Lasers More Powerful," Tayari Coleman, Ph.D. Candidate (U-M Applied Physics) and "The Physics of Games and Rankings," Max Jerdee, Ph.D. Candidate (U-M Physics and Complex Systems)