Physics Department Friday Newsletter for October 22, 2021

In this edition of the Friday Newsletter, we look at the next speaker series event and Ph.D. recruitment efforts, and mourn the passing of the department’s aquatic ambassador.

Contents

CHAIR’S WEEKLY MESSAGE

“Once More to the Texas Section, Dear Friends, Once More!”

Texas is unique in many ways. All Texans know this. For example, Texas has its name on the regional section of the American Physical Society (APS). APS is the largest representative organization of physicists in the United States. The APS is divided into regional units, and the Texas Section of the APS (TSAPS) is actually composed of members from Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. (In addition to this large regional unit of the APS, Texas is also unique in that it’s the only state to have a regional organization composed of its members of the National Academies of Medicine, Engineering, and Science. TAMEST, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas, has an annual meeting and provides special awards just for its state-wide members of these prestigious academies.)

The TSAPS hosts two regional meetings a year, typically moving around the region and hosted by different colleges and universities. The fall meeting is hosted by the University of Houston – Clear Lake (UHCL) and is a hybrid event. People can participate in-person or remotely, though of course they are hoping for a significant in-person component.

Meetings are beginning to creep back to being more in-person. While we are not out of the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions have improved enough that the risks are more akin to what was present in the summer, before the fall surge kicked in across the region. A few members of this department have already arrived in Houston and are on the ground, sharing their work, making new connections, and especially looking for future candidates for the SMU Physics Ph.D. program.

The TSAPS attracts students, staff, teachers, and faculty from across the region. These meetings are co-organized by the regional APS, American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), and Society of Physics Students (SPS) organizations. As a result, they are usually a fantastic cross-section of the region.

It’s exciting to be able to participate in these events again … albeit with a mask on and as responsibly as possible. We hope to raise awareness again at this event about our program and build new connections. In the mean time, in this issue of the newsletter we look at the next speaker series event (which comes with a bonus recitation on Electron-Ion Collider physics!) and mourn the passing of the department’s aquatic ambassador.

Sincerely,

DEPARTMENT VIEWS

Next Department Speaker Series Event: Dr. Aurore Courtoy (UNAM)

The Department welcomes Dr. Aurore Courtoy (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) to speak on efforts “Towards exploring quark-gluon correlations at the Electron-Ion Collider.” Dr Courtoy will review the physics of parton distribution functions at subleading twistand will discuss the state-of-the-art phenomenological knowledge on twist-3 distribution functions and the future plans for the Electron-Ion Collider. Dr. Courtoy will be visiting the department for several days and will be available for discussions and additional research activities.

Learn more: https://www.physics.smu.edu/web/seminars/

Event Calendar

All past speaker series events since August 2020 are available in our YouTube playlist.

Additional Events with Dr. Courtoy – Recitation on EIC and Theoretical Physics (Wed., Oct. 27)

In addition to the Department Speaker Series event on Monday, Oct. 25, Dr. Courtoy will deliver a recitation session on the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) physics program and theoretical physics aspects. Faculty and students interested in participating in this should contact Prof. Pavel Nadolsky for the details (location, etc.). The recitation will be help on Wednesday, October 27 from 3-5pm.

This is an excellent opportunity for anyone even a little curious about the potential and impact of the EIC program to learn directly from one of the experts in the field.

In Memoriam: Goodbye, Feynman the Fish

Many of you who have been to the Physics Department Main Office in the past few years probably spotted the small fish tank on the front desk. This tank had been home to a fish named Richard Feynman. Academic Operations Coordinator Lacey Breaux recalls how the tiny fish became named after the Caltech physicist:

I got [Feynman the Fish] on May 11, 2019. [Graduate student] Jesse Kent came by the office and saw me setting up the tank at the front desk. When I said I’d have to take a vote on names, he told me that it was Richard Feynman’s birthday that day. So I decided it was meant to be.
Lacey Breaux

Sadly, Feynman passed away last Friday. He lived a good life, and for a short time before the pandemic he greeted visitors to the department. We will miss our tiny aquatic ambassador.

SMU Physics Ph.D. Recruitment Events at the Texas Section of the American Physical Society

As reported two weeks ago, the Department of Physics was among a few departments selected this year to receive an inaugural Ph.D. candidate recruitment grant from the Moody School for Graduate and Advanced Studies. The first application of this grant will be for the purchase of booth space at the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS) meeting hosted by the University of Houston – Clear Lake. Prof. Jodi Cooley, who co-authored the grant proposal, and Prof. Stephen Sekula, along with Hamilton Scholar Stephanie Gilchrist, will be at the booth on Friday, Oct. 22 to discuss opportunities for Ph.D. studies in Physics at SMU with potential future candidates.

In addition, the SMU delegation will use social opportunities during the event, including the excellent poster sessions, to meet students who might be interested in a Ph.D. in Physics from SMU, and encourage them to apply. The grant from the Moody School was provided in support of our stated goal to increase the candidate pool for our Ph.D. program in ways that help better reflect the region and its population. This would be in addition to general recruitment efforts internationally and nationally that attract applications to the program.

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: Thanks to those of you requiring masks in your classrooms. You are helping to keep the campus safe by suppressing additional viral transmission. The Provost reminded us last week of how we can get extra masks to provide to students, if needed: “Supplemental masks available through Deans’ offices – Faculty in need of additional masks to provide when students forget them should consult their respective Dean’s office. Supplemental masks have already been delivered to the schools/college for distribution on an as-needed basis. Deans’ offices have the ability to arrange for delivery of additional masks by submitting a service request.” (“Weekly Update – October 15, 2021,” Provost Elizabeth Loboa)
Faculty: If you could not attend the Town Hall for Faculty in Arts and Humanities in support of your colleagues in those communities, you can watch the recording of that town hall online. See the Provost’s update on Oct. 15 for the link. It was very informative, even beyond those two communities. (“Weekly Update – October 15, 2021,” Provost Elizabeth Loboa)
Undergraduates: Thinking about Study Abroad? Go to the SMU Abroad Fair on Oct. 29 from 11:00am-2:00pm in the Armstrong Field House! (“SMU Abroad Fair: You’re Invited,” sent by the “abroad” email account on Oct. 21, 2021)

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!

Majors and Minors Have Physical Mailboxes in FOSC 102

As announced in a letter from the Department Chair this week, all actively listed Physics Majors and Minors, as well as Biophysics Majors, have mailboxes in the Physics Department Main Office (FOSC 102). Please check those at least once per week for information, announcements, and other goodies!

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.