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PHYSICS@ T L UVOLUME I / ISSUE 1 / SUMMER 2016

DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTERFor TLU Physics Alumni,

Current Students and Friends of the Department

In This Issue . Determined to

Succeed

. Women in Physics

. Sigma Pi Sigma

. Faculty Updates

. TLU Family Physics Night

. New Applied Physics Degree

. Homecoming

. TLU SPS Honored With National Awards

. Student Spotlight

. PhysCon

. Conferences, Research, & Site Visits

. Fundraising Efforts

Determined to SucceedThe Physics Department has undergone

some significant changes since fall 2014.

Dr. Toni Sauncy joined the department in

August 2014, after spending two years as the

director of the Society of Physics Students

(SPS) and Sigma Pi Sigma National Physics

Honor Society at the American Institute of

Physics. Sauncy was previously a member

of the physics faculty at Angelo State

University, home to a nationally recognized

physics program.

One of the most important aspects of the

department’s transformation has been the growth

in activity of the TLU SPS chapter. Sauncy’s years

of experience in SPS leadership at all levels have

brought new energy to students. Physics majors

have become increasingly active on campus

and in the state and national physics community

with national awards, participation in professional

scientific meetings, and an increased effort to build a

thriving community of learners inside and outside of

the classroom.

Regular Connections

The SPS group meets for lunch every Tuesday, so if

you’re ever in the area please stop by and meet our

outstanding students.

Sigma Pi SigmaThe TLU

chapter of

Sigma Pi Sigma,

the national

physics honor

society, was

installed in April

2010 with the

induction of five

students and one faculty member. Coincidentally, Dr.

Sauncy who was—at the time—serving as the SPS

National Council president, carried out the chapter

installation. The group has grown substantially since

its inaugural year.

Other members include: Stacey Laubach, Andrew

Jastram, Curtis Lee, Dirk Lorenz, Talitha Muehlbrad,

Kimberly Ray, Wako Bungula, Melissa Fernandez,

Jessica White, Derek Kanas, Matthew Mittelstadt,

Tyler Bull, and Sandra Roberts.

Women in PhysicsFor the second year in a row, students took part in

the annual Conferences for Undergraduate Women

in Physics. This year, seven women attended

the conference at the University of Texas at San

Antonio—one of eight nationwide events.

. Stephen Bratz, Dr. Calvin Berggren, Dr. Jerry Carr, Professor Erin Scanlon, and Jeffrey Breitschopf are the most recent group of TLU Sigma Pi Sigma inductees.

. Pictured from left: Back: Taylor Fulkerson, Emily Churchman, Jaclyn Lewis, Maegen Idrogo, Dr. Toni Sauncy; Front: Brianna Rios, and Vanessa Espinoza.

We Want To Hear From You!Email any updates or career advancements to physics@tlu.edu

Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/tlusps

Join our group: www.facebook.com/ groups/tluphysics

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. Students are committed to building a thriving TLU Physics program. Through leadership development, campus and community outreach, and scholarship, TLU SPS is making a difference in the lives of students.

Save The Date: Family Physics Night 2016 Thursday, October 275:00 – 6:30 pm: SPS Public Lecture in Physics 6:30 – 9:00 pm: Family Physics Night

TLU Family Physics NightPhysics Phun For Everyone

For the past four years, the Physics

Department has paused for a flurry of activity

that involves science enthusiasts from around

the region. Professor Erin Scanlon started

the event in 2012 and it has been gaining

momentum ever since. Promoted through

personal contacts, distribution of posters,

social media channels, and the university’s

marketing team, students and groups from

around the area now look forward to the

event. Some high school physics teachers

even use the night as an enriching addition

to their curriculum. The fall 2015 session had

more than 500 visitors filling the Jackson Park

Student Activities Center to capacity.

A New Dimension

The fall 2014 Family

Physics Night event

included the addition of

a special guest lecture

and reception before

the hands-on activities.

With help from an

anonymous donor, the

department was able

to host Dr. Christopher

Rogan—Society of

Fellows at Harvard

University and collaborator on the ATLAS

project at CERN. Dr. Rogan discussed the

recent discovery of the Higgs particle and

engaged students in a lecture about the future

of high-energy particle physics.

Watch his presentation:

bit.ly/christopherrogan

The 2015 SPS Public Lecture in Physics

brought Ginger Kerrick, NASA Flight Director

for the International Space Station, to campus.

Kerrick inspired students, urging them to let

their excellent preparation in physics be a

foundation for their dreams.

Watch her presentation:

bit.ly/gingerkerrick

VOLUME I / ISSUE 1 / SUMMER 2016 2PHYSICS@TLU

Faculty UpdatesThe TLU Physics faculty is new and energetic. If you don’t know them, we encourage you to reach out and contact them to say hello.

Chair & Associate Professor Toni Sauncy tsauncy@tlu.edu

Dr. Sauncy came to TLU in August 2014 following a two-year term as the SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma director at the American Institute of Physics. Her area of expertise is optical spectroscopy and optoelectronic materials, with a strong interest in physics education reform. Prior to that, Dr. Sauncy was a faculty member in the nationally acclaimed Angelo State University Physics Department. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from Texas Tech University.

Assistant Professor Calvin Berggren cberggren@tlu.edu

Dr. Berggren also arrived at TLU in August 2014, after completing his Ph.D. in physics at the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Berggren specializes in theoretical physics with a concentration in particle physics. He researches topics in computational physics and particle physics.

Adjunct Professor Erin Scanlon escanlon@tlu.edu

Professor Scanlon is the most “senior” member of the department, having served in some part- or full-time capacity since August 2012. Professor Scanlon is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas State University with a focus on developmental math and physics education research. She holds a master’s degree in physics from Georgia Tech University.

Assistant Professor (Visiting) Dr. Steven Mielke smielke@tlu.edu

Dr. Mielke is a former SEGRF fellow (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow (Goddard Institute for Space Studies), and research associate of Rockefeller University. His interests include physics education and communication, and interdisciplinary research in molecular biophysics emphasizing the structure and dynamics of macromolecular systems with applications in the areas of renewable energy, astrobiology, and cancer biology. He holds a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of California Davis.

. Dr. Christopher Rogan

. The theme for the 2015 Family Physics Night was the International Year of Light with all stations devoted to some aspect of light or its use in science and technology. Students demonstrated the wonders of light and optics to the record crowd.

. Family Physics night has become an established and anticipated annual event that draws hundreds of visitors to campus each fall. Here, young physics enthusiasts check out the Faraday’s Law Table.

Join Us for Tailgating and Lunch Saturday, October 8, 2016RSVP to: sps@tlu.edu

New Applied Physics Degree Offers Array of Career OptionsDuring the spring 2015 semester, the Faculty

Association unanimously approved the new

Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics degree.

The new degree is designed to accommodate

the wide range of career paths typically

followed by physics graduates. This includes

trajectories toward entering the workforce

directly after graduate school. Nationally,

more than 40 percent of all graduates with

bachelor’s degrees in physics go directly into

the workforce after graduation. At TLU, the

percentage is slightly higher when averaged

over the history of the department.

The B.S. in applied physics takes the place

of the previous Bachelor of Arts in Applied

Science program. The change was based on

a desire to have a path for those who wanted

to complete a marketable degree, while

keeping options open for pursuing a career

trajectory in an engineering field. The applied

physics degree plan includes additional lab

courses with the option of including a design

component during senior thesis to designate

a pre-engineering focus. Lab courses also

include a new freshman seminar, “Tools

for Success in Science and Engineering,”

along with a revised advanced lab sequence

of courses.

The program has been popular among both

existing students and incoming freshman,

with more than 85 percent of existing majors

pursuing the applied physics degree. This

is encouraging as the department seeks to

provide excellent preparation for a diverse

group of students headed toward a variety

of careers.

Homecoming Homecoming is an especially important

time for our students to connect with alumni.

Over the past two years, our students have

stepped into the Homecoming festivities

with a “cool” new addition to the day. Though

we may have fewer alumni than some of the

other departments, we are certainly not less

enthusiastic. In 2015, we treated tailgaters to

liquid nitrogen-made ice cream cones.

We also partnered with the chemistry and

biology programs for some fun, hands-on

science displays.

We hope that physics alumni will also

make this an annual event, joining with our

enthusiastic group of current students for a

day of fun.

VOLUME I / ISSUE 1 / SUMMER 2016 3PHYSICS@TLU

TLU SPS Honored With National Awards For the first time ever, TLU SPS was

named a 2014-15 Outstanding Chapter by

the SPS National Council. We were one of

only six university chapters in Texas to be

recognized. Additionally, the chapter was

awarded its first Marsh White Award for

community outreach in January 2015. This

award provided a small amount of funding

for students to increase the variety of

demonstrations like the ones featured

during shows at Seguin High School. The

group also received the Future Faces of

Physics Award in January 2016 for its effort

in partnering with Seguin Youth Services

for an extended afterschool outreach

program during the spring 2016 semester.

This national recognition serves not only

as a strong motivator for students amid

tough classes and lots of homework, but

as a satisfying outreach activity.

Read More:

. Outstanding Chapter & Future Faces

of Physics Awards: bit.ly/tlusps

. Marsh White Award:

bit.ly/tlumarshwhite

Student Spotlight

Physics and chemistry double major

Vanessa Espinoza served as associate

councilor for Zone 13 on the SPS National

Council for 2015-16. As part of her duties,

Espinoza represented Texas at the 2016

Science, Engineering, and Technology

Congressional Visits Day where she

made personal visits to senators and

representatives from South Texas in

support of funding for undergraduate

research activities in the sciences.

& LUNCH

VOLUME I / ISSUE 1 / SUMMER 2016 4PHYSICS@TLU

Conferences, Research, & Site VisitsWe have been diligently expanding our

efforts to be part of the larger community

of physics professionals including our

attendance at the joint meetings of the

Texas Section of the AAPT, the Texas

Section of the APS, and Zone 13 of the

SPS. In fall 2014, four students attended

the conference at Texas A&M University

in College Station, and the numbers have

continued to increase. This past spring,

17 students proudly represented TLU at

Lamar University in Beaumont. At each

of these meetings, several students

and faculty presented original research

and outreach.

The Quadrennial Physics Congress (PhysCon) brings together physics students, alumni, and faculty members for three days of frontier physics, interactive professional development workshops, and networking. It is the largest gathering of undergraduate physics students in the world!

PhysCon 2016 will be a cutting-edge, life-changing meeting where partici-pants will be immersed in theme “Unifying Fields: Science Driving Innovation.”

This meeting happens just once every four years, and presents unique opportunities for attendees to:

● Bond with fellow physics students from across the United States and beyond.

● Explore graduate programs, summer research opportunities, and workforce options.

● Be inspired by renowned physicists and tours of labs at the fore-front of science and technology.

● Grow professionally through workshops on communication, inclu-sion, and leadership.

● Expand their understanding of physics and its variety of applications. ● Present their research to fellow students, potential graduate school advisors, and potential employers.

November 3–5, 2016 in Silicon ValleyHost Hotel: Hyatt Regency-San Francisco Airportwww.sigmapisigma.org/congress/2016

Hosted by Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society

ANYONE INTERESTED IN PHYSICS IS INVITED TO ATTEND

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ENGAGE WITH HUNDREDS OF SOCIETY’S BRIGHTEST, MOST ENTHUSIASTIC PHYSICS STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

TLU Physics Aims to Send Students to PhysConEvery four years, physics students, university

faculty, and industry leaders gather for the

Quadrennial Physics Congress or PhysCon.

Physics faculty and students are looking to

join around 1,000 undergraduate physicists on

November 3-5, 2016, in Silicon Valley for an

entire weekend of professional development,

interacting with scientists and distinguished

speakers, debating common concerns for the

physics community and society, and visiting

iconic scientific venues.

Sponsored by SPS, this cutting-edge meeting

will immerse participants in the 2016 theme

“Unifying Fields: Science Driving Innovation.”

Students will also get behind-the-scenes tours

of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory,

the NASA Ames Research Center, and Google

X—birthplace of the self-driven car.

We are counting on our alumni to help

support this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for

students to engage on the international stage.

All students who attend will present original

research and outreach.

Here’s How You Can HelpWe’re determined to offer our students the opportunity to engage with hundreds of bright, enthusiastic physics students and alumni across the nation. With the generous help of Physics alumni and friends, we can make that goal a reality.

SPS works with the Student Government Association to obtain funding for day-to-day operations but that funding doesn’t cover all of the expenses that will be incurred with an event like PhysCon.

For $1,100 per student, we can give our students an experience that will help them network with other professionals before they graduate.

This is a request that can be filled by many of our Physics alumni coming together to sponsor a student or even just a student’s lodging or airfare for the conference.

Thank you for your support of TLU Physics.

Help us send a student to PhysCon 2016!

Email Toni Sauncy at sps@tlu.edu for details.

. Give Online You can give online now by visiting www.tlu.edu/giving. Select The Texas Lutheran Fund, allocate to OTHER, and reference 17PHYS. This will ensure your donation is directed toward TLU Physics.

. In October 2014, students toured the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. Invited by Dr. Rene Horton, the group explored the latest NASA efforts in space travel.

Fundraising Goals:. Support a Student’s Summer Research

Opportunity: $5,000per student

. Instruments for Analog Electronics Lab: $8,000

. Equipment for Applied Optics Lab: $12,000

. Computational Physics Equipment: $15,000

. Refurbish Intro Physics Labs: $20,000

. Optical & Materials Lab Equipment Acquisition & Maintenance: $25,000

. Instrumentation for Advanced Lab: $40,000

. Update & Refurbish Machine Shop: $50,000

$1,100Estimated Travel

Costs Per Student

$200Registration

$ PhysCon 2016Expenses

$400Lodging

$500Airfare