The upcoming ISINGLASS sounding rocket mission (February 2017, Poker Flat Rocket Range, Alaska) will sample multiple locations simultaneously in the auroral ionosphere to take gradient measurements of plasma parameters. Two identical rockets will be flown into two separate events (ie, quiet early evening arc vs dynamic rayed arc); each rocket has a large subpayload, and four small deployable payloads...
[more]The next Astronomy FSP will be offered during Winter 2017 term. Read more about it on the Astronomy Foreign Study Page or see the brochure on the Off-Campus Program's website.
Professor Marcelo Gleiser organized the “The Sciences, the Humanities, the Future,” conference that launched the College’s Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement (ICE). Among the 10 speakers were: Dartmouth’s Professor of Philosophy Adina Roskies, speaking on “Free Will in the Age of Neuroscience,” and writer and physicist Alan Lightman (Einstein’s Dreams; Good Benito), speaking on “The...
[more]Jonathan Vandermause (’16), a dual major in Physics and Mathematics and winner of the Gazzaniga Family Science Award this year, is a finalist for the LeRoy Apker Award from the American Physical Society, recognizing outstanding achievements in physics by undergraduate students. Jon’s presentation at the finals was recently featured on the APS News website. Click here to read the article.
The scientists of the BARREL team sent their last balloon soaring toward the stratosphere over Sweden on Aug. 30, 2016, capping off four years of launches to study how electrons "rain" into Earth’s atmosphere near the North and South poles. Click here to read a NASA article that highlights the project.
Title: Controlling and Quantum World in Ultracold Atomic Spins (Video)
Abstract: The quantum information revolution has taught us that quantum mechanics is not a paler version of its classical counterpart, hindered by intrinsic uncertainty and random measurement outcomes. Au contraire! A machine whose operation takes full advantage of the laws of quantum...
[more]Title: Quantum Tunneling as a Computational Resource (Video)
Abstract: In this talk we address a question: whether quantum tunneling can be used as a computational resource in open-system quantum annealing (QA) approach to classical optimization. We show that Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations can efficiently predict the performance of the quantum annealing...
[more]Title: Testing Fundamental Physics by Ranging to the Moon (Video)
Abstract: Lunar Laser Ranging has enabled comprehensive, precision tests of gravity for nearly 50 years. I will discuss my work on the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO), which achieves millimeter-precision measurements of the lunar...
[more]Title: Approaching the Glass Transition From Different Directions (Video)
Abstract: In recent years a significant amount of experimental work has appeared on glassy systems, both polymeric and small molecule. However, this rich explosion in data has not been met with a concomitant leap in fundamental understanding. We have...
[more]Title: Gamma-Ray Polarimetry as a Probe of the Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts (Video)
Abstract: Discovered nearly forty years ago, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief, intense flashes of gamma-rays appearing randomly across the sky at a measurable rate of about once per day. Now known to originate at cosmological distances, they are the most luminous objects in the universe. It has been...
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