October 01, 2009
Machine Shop Open

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has established a workable small size machine shop for the support of research and teaching laboratories, the departmental observatory and student-faculty projects. The machine shop has a medium size milling machine, a small lathe, a vertical band saw and a vertical drill.

September 18, 2009
Physics senior Adrien Thormann spent his summer working on science policy issues on Capitol Hill

Adrien Thormann, Goucher College senior with a major in physics, spent this past summer working on science policy issues on Capitol Hill.   In the course of his internship he met 13 astronauts from the Apollo era, including Senator John Glen, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins, as well as Charlie Bolden, the current NASA administrator.

Adrien Thormann will talk about his experience working on Capitol Hill on Friday, September 25th at 3:30pm in the Kelley Lecture Hall. 

Explore "Graphene Flatland" with Dr. Oskar Vafek

Dr. Oskar Vafek, Class of 1998 Goucher Alumnus and a Professor of Physics at Florida State University and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida,  will present a colloquium to the campus community on Thursday, April 16 at 4:30pm in Kelly Lecture Hall.  Dr. Vafek will discuss his research on graphene, a fascinating new material that holds promise to become the basic unit of future ultrafast electronics.

Dept of Physics and Astronomy donates telescopes
The Goucher College Dept of Physics and Astronomy is excited to announce that it was able to donate two 8-in telescopes to Western and Polytechnic High Schools today.  [full story]

Physics Students present collaborative research at the 2009 Winter AAS Meeting

Goucher Physics students Sean Lonsdale and Adrien Thorman presented their summer research work with Dr. Ben Sugerman at the 213th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, Jan 4-8 in Long Beach, CA. 

Physics Major receives Goucher Achievement Award

Congratulations Physics Major Joan Palupa ('11), who won a Goucher Achievement Award this year. 

Department of Physics and Astronomy in the News: Summer 2008
It was a busy summer here at Goucher for the press, and the Dept of Physics and Astronomy was no exception.  See our press coverage. [full story]

New Telescope installed in the Hoffberger Observatory
Over spring and summer of 2008, four new telescopes, including 3 portable 6-inch and a state-of-the-art 14-inch telescope have been purchased and installed in the Hoffberger Observatory.  In conjunction with the Physics and Astronomy club, the Department of Physics and Astronomy will be using this new equipment to run monthly public-observing nights (details to follow). [full story]

Summer researchers inaugurate first-annual "Physics Challenge"
During the 2008 Goucher Summer Undergraduate Research program, the Department of Physics held the first annual "Physics Challenge" triathalon. [full story]

Professors Ben Sugerman and Marin Pichler present collaborative student/faculty research in 2008

In September 2008, Dr. Ben Sugerman will travel to Heidelberg, Germany to present on-going work on light echoes at the "Cosmic Dust: Near and Far."  Dr. Marin Pichler presented at the 39th annual DAMOP (APS) meeting in May.

Celebration of Physics: What can I do with my Physics degree?

On Friday, October 19, Joel Tenenbaum, ( '06), Ann Thomas, ('06) and Jay Zeck, ('05)  will come back to their Alma Mater  to talk about their post-Goucher careers for the event "Celebration of Physics: What can I do with my Physics Degree?" . 

Michelle Marx's paper has been selected for publication in Verge
Michelle Marx’s research paper "An Anomalous Reaction of Silicon Oxide and Aluminum via Ball Milling" nominated by physics professor Ali Bakshai has been selected for publication in the fourth issue of Verge, which will be published in the fall of 2007. Verge received over 75 papers this year, and 10 were selected, so it’s quite an honor that this paper was selected. Congratulations to Michelle and her mentor Dr. Bakhshai! [full story]

Professor Marin Pichler presents his collaborative student/faculty research at an international conference in Canada

In June 2007, Dr. Marin Pichler,  Assistant Professor of Physics will travel to Calgary, Canada  to present  his on-going research work on optical trapping of alkali atoms at the joint American Physical Society and Canadian Association of Physicists DAMOP/DAMP meeting. This exciting research is done with Goucher physics students Daniel Barker, Myrrha Andersen, Joseph Porembski and Mattie Withmore.

Professor Sasha Dukan presents at the XXIII International Conference on Statistical Physics in Italy
In July 2007, Dr. Sasha Dukan, Associate Professor of Physics, will travel to Genova, Italy to present her collaborative student/faculty research at the XXIII IUPAP International Conference on Statistical Physics, in Genova, Italy. She will present a poster "Differential Conductance of Disordered Superconductor at Low Temperatures and High Magnetic Field" co-authored by Goucher students Joe Porembski and Karl Tata. [full story]

Professor Marin Pichler publishes in Chemical Physics Letters

Dr. Marin Pichler, Assistant Professor of Physics, published "Complex Resonance Energy transfer in Li-LiH" in Chemical Physics Letters in March 2007. This paper is based on his research and data collected for his diploma thesis done at the Institute of Physics in Zagreb, Croatia.

Dr. Ben Sugerman is the March Speaker at the National Capital Astronomers meeting

Dr. Ben Sugerman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Goucher College, will present the talk "How Supernovae Shed Light on some Obscure Questions" at the March 10 meeting of the National Capital Astronomers, 7:30 pm at the University of Maryland Observatory, in College Park, Maryland.

Explore "The Evolution of Creationism" with Eugenie Scott

On Tuesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. in Goucher College’s Kelley Lecture Hall, Eugenie Scott will present “The Evolution of Creationism,” a free, public lecture that traces the history of creationism, intelligent design, and public education, from the Scopes trial through the recent court decision in Dover, PA.

Were you unable to attend Eugenie Scott's lecture?  Catch the podcast on Goucher College Voicebox.

Physics students and faculty present at national and international conferences

In Spring 2007 physics students and faculty members will be traveling to national and international conferences to present results of their collaborative research. Physics major Daniel Barker and chemistry major Michelle Marx will travel to San Rafael, California to present at the 21^st  National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Dr. Ali Bakshai will present at the Materials Research Society Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California while Dr. Sasha Dukan will present at the American Physical Society March Meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Mercury Transit 2006
The Planet Mercury will cross the face of the Sun on Wednesday, November 8 2006 from 2:00pm until sunset. This rare event will not happen again until the year 2016. If weather and cloud-cover permit, come see it for yourself, live at the Hoffberger Observatory. [full story]

Dr. Marin Pichler Publishes in Journal Of Physics B
Dr. Marin Pichler, Assistant Professor of Physics, published "Perturbation effects in photoassociation spectra of ultracold Cs2" in Journal Of Physics B. The paper is based on his research collaboration with experimental groups at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and at Universite d'Orsay in Orsay, France. [full story]

Dr. Ben Sugerman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy publishes major research finding in Science Magazine.
Using the space-based Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the ground-based Gemini North Telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, Dr. Ben Sugerman of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. and his colleagues found a significant amount of heated dust in the remains of a massive star called supernova SN 2003gd. Dr. Sugerman will join Goucher College Physics Department in the Fall 2006. [full story]

Prof. Marin Pichler awarded a grant from the Research Corporation
Assistant Professor Marin Pichler has just been awarded a grant from the Research Corporation to support his experimental research in atomic and molecular physics of ultracold gases [full story]

Interdisciplinary research paper by Goucher Physics student is published in the journal Applied Optics.
Physics student Ann Thomas, Goucher class of 2006, together with Chemistry student David Sands, Dr. David Baum and Goucher Biology professor Dr. Leleng To authored a paper "Emission Wavelength Dependence of Fluorescence Lifetimes of Bacteriological Spores and Pollens" that has been published in the journal Applied Optics. The paper is a result of an interdisciplinary faculty/student research effort funded by the grant from the United States Army. [full story]

Physics Students present at the 20th National Conferences on Undergraduate Research-NCUR20
Goucher physics students Dan Pines and Ann Thomas, and mathematics student John Sergeant, all three members of the 2006 graduating class presented results from their faculty/student collaborative physics research at the 20th National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR20) at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, in April 6-8, 2006. [full story]

Prof. Marin Pichler publishes a research paper in Physical Review A
Marin Pichler, Assistant Professor of Physics, published "Observation of blue satellite bands and photoassociation at ultracold temperatures" in the Rapid Communication Section of Physical Review A (February 15th issue) [full story]

Physics Seminar on February 3rd at 4pm in Kelly Lecture Hall
Professor David Strauss from George Mason University will speak on Predictability vs. Chaos in Climate Science: Jet Streams, Storms and El-Nino [full story]