physics Archives - Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Did y’all hear about SMU physics professor Jeff Chalk?

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: September 22, 2017 If everybody had a physics teacher like Jeff Chalk, we might already have flying cars and moon colonies. The SMU professor who died earlier this month at age 87 was famous for zany demonstrations in class designed to get non-majors jazzed about science. Lying on a bed of nails while another prof took a sledge hammer to a concrete block on his chest, drinking liquid nitrogen, his students surely remember the physics principles he set out to teach. But he wasn't just a showman. Chalk endeavored to learn the names of all his students, even those in his online classes, and worked hard to help undergrad scientists get into grad school. Cheers to a life well-lived. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-09-22T10:45:53+00:00 September 22nd, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Physics|Comments Off

Watch: Dedman College and the Department of Physics host a Solar Eclipse 2017 viewing party

WATCH Thousands of students, faculty and townspeople showed up on campus Monday, Aug. 21, to view the Great American Solar Eclipse at a viewing hosted by Dedman College and the Physics Department. https://youtu.be/6fjYGPNy8tY

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-08-22T11:07:34+00:00 August 22nd, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, Physics|Comments Off

No need for glasses to safely view the eclipse tomorrow — thanks to Dedman College & the Department of Physics

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: August 20, 2017 Can't find solar eclipse glasses? Here are some Dallas-area events where you can get them Southern Methodist University Can't make any events to get free eclipse glasses? The SMU physics department will make viewing the solar eclipse without glasses a little easier. The department will use mirrors to safely project the eclipse into the rotunda of Dallas Hall, eliminating the need for eclipse glasses. The event will be from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dallas Hall is at 3225 University Blvd. in University Park. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-08-20T18:21:43+00:00 August 20th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, Physics, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Dedman College and Physics will project solar eclipse into Dallas Hall Rotunda on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017

SMU Forum Originally Posted: August 18, 2017 SMU physics professors have devised a remarkable way to watch next Monday’s historic solar eclipse: They will use mirrors to turn the historic Dallas Hall Rotunda into a giant viewing chamber. Weather permitting, Associate Professor of Physics Stephen Sekula will host for students and the public a homebrew viewing tunnel attached to a telescope on the lawn of Dallas Hall. The total eclipse of the sun will take place on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The Rotunda event is sponsored by SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and the Department Physics. The Rotunda image and the viewing tunnel will provide crisp images of the eclipse, and also correspond to NASA’s recommendation to avoid looking directly at the sun, Sekula said. Both methods eliminate the [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-08-18T19:33:08+00:00 August 20th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, Physics, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Join Dedman College for Solar Eclipse 2017

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-08-17T10:38:58+00:00 August 17th, 2017|Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, Economics, English, Events, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Sociology (Faculty), Sociology (Student), Statistical Science, World Languages and Literatures|Comments Off

Construction begins on international mega-science experiment to understand neutrinos

SMU Research Originally Posted: July 24, 2017 SMU is one of more than 100 institutions from around the world building hardware for a massive international experiment — a particle detector — that could change our understanding of the universe. Construction will take years and scientists expect to begin taking data in the middle of the next decade, said SMU physicist Thomas E. Coan, a professor in the SMU Department of Physics and a researcher on the experiment. The turning of a shovelful of earth a mile underground marks a new era in particle physics research. The groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Dignitaries, scientists and engineers from around the world marked the start [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-07-24T10:27:36+00:00 July 24th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Physics|Comments Off

Bryson DeChambeau gets first PGA Tour victory with insane comeback at John Deere Classic

SportsDay Originally Posted: July 16, 2017 Bryson DeChambeau added to an SMU tradition Sunday by winning the John Deere Classic. DeChambeau, 23, came from four strokes behind with birdies on four of the final six holes. He defeated third-round leader Patrick Rodgers by one stroke for his first career PGA Tour victory and earned a spot in this week's British Open. The John Deere was also the site, in 1982, of the first Tour victory of the late Payne Stewart, who like DeChambeau attended SMU. Dallas golfer Jordan Spieth also earned his first victory at the Deere in 2013 and won again in 2015. DeChambeau teared up when told his fellow Mustang also had won the Deere. "Didn't know that Payne Stewart's first win was [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-07-18T19:23:25+00:00 July 17th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Physics|Comments Off

Two outstanding Dedman College professors named 2017-19 Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professors

SMU News Originally Posted: May 11, 2017 Congratulations to Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences 2017-19 Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professors honorees, Stephen Sekula, Department of Physics and Kathleen Wellman, Department of History. They were two of four SMU teachers that received the award during the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, May 4, 2017. Sekula and Wellman will join fellow active returning Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences member Gabriela Vokic, Department of World Languages and Literatures (Spanish). Each year since 2001, the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Awards, named for SMU Trustee Ruth Altshuler, recognize SMU faculty members for their commitment to and achievements in fostering student learning. “These are faculty whose concerns for higher education go beyond classroom boundaries and often the boundaries of their own discipline,” according to the CTE. “They represent the highest [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-05-11T17:49:10+00:00 May 11th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, History, Physics|Comments Off

Ignoring Science At Our Own Peril

CT NewsJunkie Originally Posted: April 14, 2017 An Op-Ed in the online Connecticut news outlet CTNewsJunkie.com tapped the expertise of SMU Assistant Professor of Physics Stephen Sekula. Last week was a newsworthy week — at least for this high school English teacher. In a story out of Hartford last Wednesday, the state Board of Education officially eliminated the requirement that standardized test scores be tied to teacher evaluations. The move, while controversial, was a common-sense decision that recognizes the many problems created by evaluations based on standardized tests. A newsworthy development, indeed, for anyone interested in education. Even so, a more newsworthy event for me occurred on Tuesday when Southern Methodist University professor Stephen Sekula visited English and science classes at his alma mater and [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-04-18T08:56:19+00:00 April 18th, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Physics|Comments Off

Meet the PGA Tour’s geekiest golfer: Bryson DeChambeau on his passion for tech, physics, data

GeekWire Originally Posted: February 17, 2017 Bryson DeChambeau is clearly the PGA Tour’s geekiest golfer. The 23-year-old California native who earned a physics degree from Southern Methodist University has brought his data-driven, science-influenced, and exceptionally eccentric philosophy to the world’s top professional golf circuit in a big way. GeekWire had a chance to catch up with DeChambeau last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the PGA Tour pro was helping promote a new smartphone app from Bridgestone that helps golfers find the best golf ball for their game. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2017-02-21T08:13:14+00:00 February 21st, 2017|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Physics|Comments Off