Foundations and Frontiers of Physics

Fall 2023 and Spring 2024

An informal seminar for first year graduate students.
Wednesdays, 5:00pm PSC 2136 (note: this is a change from last semester when seminars were on Thursdays)

Course Description

The Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Seminar is a required non-credit seminar for the first-year graduate students. However, all graduate students are invited to attend. The main purpose of this seminar course is to attempt to convey the sort of "feel" for physics that is ordinarily not communicated in course work, seminars or even colloquia. This includes elementary arguments, analogies and "back-of-the-envelope calculations". The seminars will be presented by various faculty members and other researchers associated with the department. We hope that the course will promote collegiality among the students and faculty, enhance the human side of graduate training in physics, and help students to become familiar with the research going on in the department.

The seminars will start at 5:00 pm every other Wednesday, more or less, according to the schedule below. There may be additional time for further discussion after the seminars.

Schedule, Fall 2023, Spring 2024

 
DateSpeakerArea
Sep 6, 2023Professor Bill PhillipsExperimental AMO and QIS
Sep 20, 2023Professor Sasha PhilippovPlasmas and astrophysics
Oct 4, 2023Professor James GatesParticle theory
Oct 18, 2023Professor Kiyong KimLaser/matter interactions
Nov 1, 2023Dr. Nicholas Butch, NISTQuantum materials
Nov 15, 2023Professor Phoebe HamiltonHEP
Nov 29, 2023Professor Bill DorlandPlasma theory
Jan 31, 2024Professor Chris PalmerExperimental high energy
Feb 14, 2024Elizabeth BennewitzMental Health and Us: Building a Better Department
Feb 28, 2024Professor Mohammed HafeziTheoretical QIS
Mar 13, 2024Professor Raman SundrumParticle theory
Mar 27, 2024Professor Ron WalsworthExperimental AMO and QIS
Apr 10, 2024Professor Maria MukhinaExperimental biological physics
Apr 24, 2024Professor Aaron SternbachCME

Course Requirement

Course requirement: attendance to 10 out of the 13 scheduled seminars over the Fall and the Spring seminars. You will have to complete the course the following year if you do not fulfill this. (Attendance will be recorded.)

Organizers

Prof. Alberto BelloniPSC 3208F56058
Prof Drew BadenPSC 3208D56069

Guidelines for Speakers