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CHAIR’S WEEKLY MESSAGE
“That First Week Back”
This was a vibrant and busy week. We welcomed students back into our classrooms (most of them virtual) to begin the learning and teaching process for the spring semester. With students more active on campus and fresh off an extended winter break, we also saw more clamoring for new starts on research and teaching assistant work.
I always find the start of term thrilling with all the nuances of that adjective: exhilarating with a touch of terrifying. Even though I’ve experienced now 24 “first weeks of the semester” since joining the faculty at SMU, it always feels like that first week. I find myself fretting over the last additions to my syllabus, like those important office hours (which I always schedule last when all other blocks of time have been stolen away by the many demands of the semester). I find myself nervously fiddling with the slide deck for the first class, balancing talking about the structure and philosophy of the class with the need to press the students into active work as quickly as possible (I hate glazed eyes, and there is no better cure for glazed eyes than turning to students and saying, “OK, your turn!”). I find myself, in these pandemic times, worrying that Zoom will suffer an outage or that this is the day my internet service provider cuts me off.
It all passes when that first class starts. The whole world slips away and you’re in the moment, interacting with students. I love getting to know as many students as possible the first week. I still use my old trick of memorizing, before the first class, the names and faces of 5 students so I can directly interact with them without social hesitation. It sets a tone for the first day: I’ll respect you, so there is no reason you shouldn’t respect me. Setting the tone of the classroom interaction on day one is crucial to all the days that will follow. Learning physics is hard … but it should begin from the proposition of mutual trust and respect.
As the first classes get out of the way, I always then find my thoughts eagerly turning back to research. I think about that project I put down last week to put those finishing touches on the class. I think about the student researcher I am working with who understands that the first week of classes is the schedule equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off; it wipes away all past expectations about accessibility and rewires the reality of the time balance a faculty member has to spend on teaching, research, and service.
In other words, this is going to be a busy semester … because they are all busy. Whether we are teaching in-person or doing so virtually, we start once more the great balancing act of the semester. At the department level, the game is no different. We’ve got a lot to look forward to in the next week apart from classes and research!
We resume the department speaker series on Monday with a Colloquium from Prof. Ahmed Ismail (Oklahoma State University). “Theory lunches” resume next Wednesday with participation in a remote event sponsored by the Cambridge University Physics Society.
No doubt, faculty will have project ideas this semester that will require personnel or material support from the Office of Information Technology (OIT). I outline a sensible process for getting projects launched with all stakeholders involved so that you are supported throughout the process, but also respect and protect the time of everyone involved … including you!
Please keep on being as safe as you can and working to keep others safe in the process. Thanks for all the hard work all of you do to make SMU a wonderful place to think and teach and learn. Here’s to a great semester!
Sincerely,
Stephen Jacob Sekula Chair, Department of Physics |
DEPARTMENT VIEWS
Dedman College Town Hall – Thursday, Feb. 4
(From Dedman College)
Thursday, February 4, 2021, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. — Meet and connect with the college diversity officers and others in the college committed to creating and maintaining an equitable campus. This is an open format town hall to learn about new initiatives and events and share concerns and ideas for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in classrooms, departments, offices and the college. The Zoom meeting link was emailed by the Dedman Dean on January 28, 2021, so please email Cindy Havens in the Dean’s if you cannot find the link.
Theory Lunch on Wednesday, Feb. 3
The SMU Physics theoretical physics program, led by Profs. Joel Meyers, Pavel Nadolsky, and Fred Olness resumes the weekly “Theory Lunches” this week! (virtually, of course)
On February 3, you should connect to a webinar entitled “Scaling down the laws of thermodynamics” by Christopher Jarzynski and organized by the Cambridge University Physics Society. The details of the Feb. 3 webinar are available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/224965769280762
Prof. Ahmed Ismail (Oklahoma State) presents a Colloquium on High-Intensity Probes Beyond the Standard Model
The first event of the Spring 2021 Department Speaker Series is on Monday, February 1, at 4pm. We welcome Prof Ahmed Ismail (Oklahoma State University) to kick off the term with a look at physics beyond the Standard Model and precision measurements or programs that can lead the way into the future.
Miss a Colloquium or Seminar? Don’t Panic … They’re Recorded!
You can get ready for the start of our upcoming Spring 2021 Physics Speaker Series on Feb. 1 by checking out your favorite subjects from the Fall 2020 series! Explore supermassive black holes, the new Electron-Ion Collider planned for construction in the U.S., new ideas about dark matter, or the basic research needs for future scientific instrumentation in HEP … all from your personal devices! Enjoy our archive of the Fall Speaker Series Talks below.
FACULTY NEWS
If you have something to share please feel free to send it along. Stories of your activities in research, the classroom, and beyond are very welcome!
Have a project that requires OIT personnel or resource support? Here’s what to do …
(By Stephen Sekula, Department Chair)
OIT has made efforts, aligned with its previous 3-year strategic plan, to provide more personnel and more services for the research community at SMU. This support is expected to grow and strengthen further in the next three years, owing to the Provost’s emphasis on moving SMU to R1 status and the goals of the ongoing University Strategic Plan to emphasize more research investment.
While there is more support available than ever before from OIT for departments like ours, there are also many more departments on campus with existing, growing, or emerging research programs. We have both a “rising tide” and “many more boats” than we used to compete with for support (to overstretch a metaphor). That translates into more needs from across the university for the limited pool of OIT staff. As a result, it’s more important than ever to have a responsible plan of action for requesting the time of OIT staff and expertise.
I provide here the procedure I expect faculty to follow in our department, whether they are looking for OIT support for a grant-related or a teaching-related project need. For example, you might need software developed that addresses custom needs at the interface of ManeFrame II and your research program; or, you might need a piece of important teaching technology updated, upgraded, or improved for a forthcoming laboratory or classroom activity. If the project will touch either OIT personnel or other OIT resources, here is what to do:
- For all projects that require the involvement of an OIT staff member, the scope, costs, time, etc. for the proposed work should be brought to the attention of the following before initiating work:
- If the project might require or benefit from support from Department funds, first discuss the project with the Department Chair in anticipation of then bringing the project to the Academic Technology Services Director (ATSD) in Dedman College (Faye Walter);
- If the project would be supported off external grant funding or non-departmental (e.g. OIT) funding sources, it can go straight to the ATSD; the proponent(s) and the ATSD should then make the Department Chair aware of the project, even if no departmental support will be required.
- The ATSD should be consulted to decide how to advance the project. As a rule of thumb:
- A project that requires >40 hours (1 work week) will likely need to be presented to the Academic Technology Council by the ATSD and proponent(s) for formal approval. The project should be submitted formally using the tools at https://www.smu.edu/OIT/Governance
- A project that requires less time may be approved and advanced after a discussion with the ATSD without requiring formal approval by the ATSD.
This framework will help you to respect the time of staff in OIT whose expertise might be needed, respect your time by establishing the scope of the project, and make sure the various agencies (department, ATSD, etc.) are informed in case the project needs aid to move forward.
STAFF NEWS
Staff In-Office Schedule for Week of February 1
The in-office staff schedule for the week of February 1 is as follows:
- Monday: Lacey
- Tuesday: Michele
- Wednesday: Michele
- Thursday: Lacey
- Friday: Michele
Of course, both are always available on Microsoft Teams, by Email, or by phone.
Full staff in-office calendar for February:
STUDENT NEWS
If you have something to share please feel free to send it along. Stories of students in research, the classroom, internships or fellowships, awards, etc. are very welcome!
ALUMNI NEWS
If you are an alum of the doctoral, masters, majors or minor programs in Physics at SMU, or have worked in our program as a post-doctoral researcher, and wish to share news with the community, please send your story to the Physics Department and we’ll work with you to get it included in a future edition.
THE BACK PAGE
I wanna know about …
We all have questions these days about a bunch of things. Here are resources from the Provost’s office to help us all try to find the answers.
COVID-related questions
Information about vaccinations at SMU
Contact tracing protocols
FAQ about COVID-19 notification protocols
FAQ about Red/Blue rotations
Information about Zoom Spaces for Students
COVID-related policies
Spring 2021 attendance options
Information to be included in spring 2021 syllabi
Canvas use expectations
Letter regarding COVID-related tenure extension
Accreditation requirements about modality shifting
Handouts and webinars for COVID-related teaching strategies
Strategies for supporting international students
CTE SMUFlex Guide
CTE Pedagogical Tips for Reducing Student Anxiety
OIT Recorded webinars for Teaching Flex from the January Workshops
OIT Resources for Faculty Teaching Remotely
SMU Libraries Canvas Course Modules
Links to additional campus-wide supports