In this edition of the Friday Newsletter, we invite members of the department to check out the new introductory laboratory activities and tease the first Society of Physics Students event!
Contents
CHAIR’S WEEKLY MESSAGE
“Finding Research”
This coming week, we are excited for the first Fall 2021 meeting of the Society of Physics Students. For all of you students reading this, it is free to join the SPS chapter at SMU and when you do it provides extra benefits: you get also a membership in the national SPS and the American Physical Society (APS). APS is the national representative organization of physicists, and membership entitles you to a monthly copy of “Physics Today” (to help you remain connected to field at large) as well as consideration for presentations at regional and national APS meetings. The APS also offers a number of awards, and membership is required for consideration for these distinctions.
So join the SPS at SMU today! You can get started just by showing up for the first event on Monday evening, 7pm, in Fondren Science Building 133. The event will primarily be run as a networking event to help build relationships between students and faculty. The major aim of this event is to facilitate conversations about research and how to get involved in this in physics at SMU.
You will learn more about opportunities on Monday night, but let me give a generally useful piece of advice. Students are surprised to find out that when they come and talk to a faculty member, they are doing something that 99% of all students don’t do at SMU. Digest that for a moment. Showing up and talking to your faculty instructors or mentors puts you in the top 1% of all students at SMU.
How can this be? SMU has an excellent student-to-faculty ratio. You’d think students would be making appointments to talk to faculty all the time. But consider for a moment what most of those interactions are about: they have to do with questions about homework, or class policies, or something more structural. How often does a conversation like that turn to something else, like student goals or interests or faculty research? Experience suggests that is far less common … thus the “top 1%” estimate if you talk to a faculty member about something other than homework question 5 or the concerns you have about your grade in the course.
Take advantage of this scheduled opportunity for face time with peers and faculty in physics. Grab some pizza and jump into a conversation with a student peer already engaged in research, or with a faculty member who isn’t your current class instructor. Ask them about their interests, and they will ask about yours. This is how life-long collaborations are built … with a single, strong cornerstone.
In this week’s newsletter, we note a pause in speaker series events until after fall break, invite faculty to check out the revamped introductory mechanics labs, tease that SPS event, and meet another new graduate student in the Ph.D. program!
Sincerely,
Stephen Jacob Sekula Chair, Department of Physics |
DEPARTMENT VIEWS
No Speaker Series Events from Sep. 27 – Oct. 11; Catch Up On Past Events!
The Department’s Speaker Series will pause for a few weeks starting Sep. 27. We encourage you to catch up on past talks from the series, available in the playlist below. We’ll resume events in October after fall break.
Learn more: https://www.physics.smu.edu/web/seminars/
All past speaker series events since August 2020 are available in our YouTube playlist.
What’d I Miss?
We all get too many emails from the University and College. Here are a few things you might have missed this week.
- Faculty – URGENT!: Early Intervention Grades (known as “EPRs”) are due by 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 28. That’s just 4 days from now! If you have not already entered these grades, please do so. Early information about performance in a class is essential to the retention mission of the university, newly codified in the SMU Quality Enhancement Plan, “SMU-in-Four.” To enter your grades now, follow these easy instructions: https://www.smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/Registrar/FacultyStaff/Access/GradingInstructions/EarlyIntervention (Memo from the University Registrar, Division of Enrollment Services, dated September 21, 2021)
- Faculty: Classroom assignments for Spring 2022 will be handled a little differently than they were for Fall 2021, thanks to feedback from faculty about the centralized scheduling process but also to the loss of a number of classrooms due to spring construction. According to a letter sent to Department Chairs on September 20, 2021, “The algorithm that makes the original assignment will factor in enrollment capacity numbers as well as instructors assigned to courses that are back-to-back.” Unfortunately, the updated algorithm will not factor in the issues raised by physics faculty during this term. For example, the algorithm will not yet consider factors such as specific technology requirements, room layouts, etc. Therefore, faculty will need to follow this procedure:
- Beginning October 4, your classroom assignments for Spring 2022 classes will be available in My.SMU. It is your responsibility to log into My.SMU, check your spring classes, and identify the room assignments.
- Visit your assigned room in person (you can see the room schedule using https://schedule.smu.edu and visit it when it’s not booked).
- If the room meets the needs of your course and teaching style, no further action is required. If it does not, explain the reasons to the Department Chair and ask them to submit a re-assignment request to the OIT Help Desk. Requests for re-assignment are handled only by the Chair and in the order they are received, so the longer you wait to do this activity the less chance you have of being re-assigned quickly (or at all).
- Graduate Students: senior graduate students aiming to improve their technical writing to complete their thesis are encouraged to apply for a writing workshop on October 20 at noon. You must apply to participate, so do so today! The application link was sent in the September 23 Moody School Newsletter, which is emailed every week by the smugrad account.
- All: SMU Info notified the campus this week (September 23) of the positive trend in COVID-19 active and new cases on campus. New cases per day have been lower overall than in either of the previous two semesters during the equivalent time window. However, while per day cases were low the integral of number as active cases did approach, but never exceeded, the number of active cases from those semesters in the same windows. Now, all numbers – new cases and activate cases – are declining strongly. Keep up the good work of masking, social distancing when you can, and of course if you have not already done so … go get those awesome and free vaccines!
- All: Dedman College invites members of the SMU community to join the Dedman College tailgate on Homecoming Weekend, October 2. The event will start about 2 hours before kick-off. You need to register for the event before Wednesday, September 29 in order to participate. The link for registering is in the email that was sent on Sep. 19, 2021 by the DedmanCollegeDean email account. Check your email for details!
Check Out the New Introductory Mechanics Laboratory Activities
Prof. Jingbo Ye and Laboratory Manager Rick Guarino are eager to welcome members of the department, especially faculty, to tour the new introductory mechanics laboratory activities developed and deployed over the last two years. The department has been embarked on supporting this laboratory reform effort for several years, culminating in the current deployed upgrades and reforms. These reforms were made possible not only by faculty involvement, especially through the Undergraduate Committee, but also through the lab fees that students pay as part of enrolling in our lab courses. Those fees go to support these academic laboratories.
Ph.D. Candidate and Teaching Assistant Sully Billingsley helps students with their lab apparatus. 
Undergraduates engage in data-taking activities. 
Prof. Jingbo Ye assists students in their data analysis.
The best time to visit PHYS 1105 (introductory mechanics) labs are:
- Tuesday and Thursday: 1:50 – 3:20pm, 4:50 – 6:20pm
- Wednesday and Friday: 1:20 – 2:50pm, 4:20 – 5:50pm.
Please note that data collection, the most active phase of any period, happens in the first half of the listed time ranges. Data analysis occupies the remainder of the period.
All are welcome to stop by, no appointments needed! Prof. Ye and Mr. Guarino would appreciate constructive feedback from faculty visitors once they have had a chance to observe the labs.
REMINDER: Departmental Social Events On Hold Until Late September
Apart from the Department Speaker Series, which is conducted in hybrid mode with a limited refreshment service beforehand, the department will freeze all other social events until the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic on campus can be understood. We will review the data in the second half of September and make a decision about how to proceed beyond that.
Events currently on hold are the Hbar Coffee Bar on Wednesdays and Friday Department Lunch.
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!
STAFF NEWS
The department staff continue to work on behalf of Academic Operations (Lacey Breaux) and Research Operations (Michele Hill). They can be contacted for assistance, or to make appointments for input and help, through the Department Main Office (FOSC 102).
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!
First Society of Physics Student Event: September 27, 7pm
The SPS is a student-led organization. Prof. Randy Scalise serves at the faculty advisor to the SPS. The chapter has consistently ranked among the highest of the 800+ chapters in the U.S. The current officers are:
- Abigail Hays – President
- Katherine Scalise – Vice President
- Stephanie Gilchrist – Secretary
- Jacob Armstrong – Treasurer
Abigail Hays – President 
Katherine Scalise – Vice President 
Stephanie Gilchrist – Secretary 
Treasurer: Jacob Armstrong
Meet a New Graduate Student – Part 4
We asked the new graduate students to tell us a little about themselves, and about their feelings regarding … pineapple on pizza (we recognize this is a culturally anchored question, and broadened it to allow for commentary of the idea of pineapple cooked with tomatoes and cheese).
Here is our last installment!
Mohammed Aboelela
I was born in a city called Helwan south of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. I spent all my life there, and I attended a small school in my hometown in which I spent all my school year, including high school. Then, I was lucky to be among the top 150 students in Egypt who passed all the tests and admitted into the University of Science and Technology at Zewail City, a top-notch research hub constructed and inaugurated due to the efforts of Dr. Ahmed Zewail, Egypt’s only Nobel Prize laureate in science fields, to advance scientific research in Egypt.
I graduated from Zewail City’s Physics Program with honors and I was involved in Experimental High Energy Particle Physics research, which is the field I am mostly interested in doing research in. I used to play tennis, professionally, in my high school, and it’s my biggest hobby. I run marathons too, including three half-marathons and endless other shorter runs with Cairo Runners back in Egypt. I look forward to do my first full marathon here in Dallas this December, hopefully.
For the pineapple on pizza, I never knew that such a thing existed, and for that I ordered a Hawaiian Pizza last week to try the experience. Right now I am seriously thinking of initiating some food rights organizations to fight this. Pizza should never be treated in such an extremely inhumane way.
Strong words!
Mohammed Aboelela 
Cody Holz 
Rebecca Moore 
Austin Mullins
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.
Mayisha Nakib (BS’15): Art and Science Meet in the Hyer Ed Cafe
When we embarked on laying out the newly renovated FOSC 16 space last year, it was important that the transformation of that room into a shared graduate student work area involve students and alumni. A call was put out to graduate students and alumni to submit design ideas for the sign that would mark “The Hyer Ed Cafe,” the community meal space that is also used for departmental coffee breaks and speaker series snacks.
Our most enthusiastic submissions, and ultimately the effort that led to the winning idea, was from SMU Physics alumna Mayisha Nakib (BS’15). She is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The sign re-imagines the Fondren Science Building cupola and clock inverted into a cup. Swirling in the cup is astrophysics imagery, and emanating as steam from the cup are representations of subatomic particles. The sign captures both our home in Fondren Science as well as the complementary research disciplines.
Next to the sign, you will find a description of the artist and her work. We invite people to check this out the next time they grab a cup of tea or coffee before the speaker series events.
Hyer Ed Cafe Logo – Mayisha Nakib (BS’15)
The design was provided by SMU alumna Mayisha Nakib. During her time at SMU, Mayisha was known for her academic performance, her research, and her artistry. Some of her work is still hanging in other department spaces, including the LUMINA Laboratory. This design is intended to evoke the cupola of Fondren Science Building, inverted to appear as a mug. The design also contains elements of particle and astrophysics, the twin disciplines of the department. Mayisha considers her greatest accomplishment at SMU as being the best friend of alumna Nicole Hartman (BS’15).
Text from the plaque accompanying the sign
THE BACK PAGE
I want my, I want my, I want my seminars!
While the department speaker series is paused for the next few weeks, here are some places you can find seminars or colloquia about timely subjects in our sub-fields:
- CERN LHC Seminars: https://indico.cern.ch/category/3249/
- Fermilab Seminars and Colloquia: https://news.fnal.gov/fermilab-at-work/seminars/
- SLAC Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC) events: https://kipac.stanford.edu/events
