http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls9yJTphLxg
By sheer coincidence I had been watching some of great video footage taken of the Earth by the astronauts in the ISS. I had also been listening to good old Stan Rogers for the first time in ages.
In Stan’s “Canol Road” there is a nice set of lyrics:
“It’s God’s own neon green above the mountains here tonight,
Casting brittle coloured shadows on the snow.”
NORLON – New Outrageous Rover Lander ONtario ?
[photo credit: Robert Sica]
As we all know, our current blog site provider ‘Posterous’ was purchased by Twitter a while back, and so has an uncertain future.
We’ve decided to run the blog ourselves locally.
Our new blog is blog.physics.uwo.ca.
You’ll also notice that the “What’s Happening” and “Blogosphere” have been rolled into a single “What’s Happening” blog for now.
I hope you like the look. All comments are welcome.
Current contributors will be notified regarding their WordPress account information and other important stuff, like how to set up posting via email.
Contributors will notice that one side effect of moving our existing blogs from the old site is the loss of author byline information. Perhaps existing blog entries can be modified.
On June 15, 2012, approximately 20 medical physics, medical biophysics, and cancer researchers from Western participated in the Relay for Life 12 hour challenge at TD Waterhouse Stadium.
The two teams were named ‘Physicist for Life’, and ‘CaRTT (Cancer Research and Technology Transfer).
The department announces the appointment of two new Associate Chairs.
Prof. Bob Sica (right) is new Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, and Prof. Martin Zinke-Allmang(left) is Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. These appointments are for a two year term, 2012-2014.
Bob and Martin each bring with them extensive experience of well over 20 years in the Department, and a desire to work actively for the upliftment of our programs.
Outgoing Associate Chairs are Prof. Aaron Sigut and Prof. Jeff Hutter.
Robert J. Sicais a Full Professor and geophysicist whose research focus is on atmospheric dynamics and its effects on constituent chemistry such as ozone, water vapor and aerosols. He investigates these problems primarily by using lidars (laser radars). Since arriving at Western in 1988 he has constructed one of the world’s most powerful lidar systems for studying the atmosphere from the surface to the edge of space. He is also an active participant in the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change lidar measurements from Eureka in the Canadian high arctic. He was awarded Western’s Florence Bucke Science Prize for Research in 2003. Bob has supervised 11 MSc and PhD theses in total. He has introduced innovative new courses at Western in atmosphere sciences as well as the application of basic physical principles to the motion of athletes through the air and water.
Martin Zinke-Allmang arrived at Western in 1990 from the Research Centre in Juelich, Germany, and has been a Full Professor since 1996. He ran a very active and well-funded research program specializing in Thin Film Growth, with well-referenced review articles in Thin Solid Films and Surface Science Reports. Martin has supervised 18 MSc and PhD theses in total. Starting in 1999, he developed a textbook “Physics for the Life Sciences” that has just been published in its 2nd edition with Nelson Ltd. and is used in Canada, the US, South Africa, and soon to be in Germany. He was Director of the Centre for Chemical Physics and a Reviewer of the Canada Research Chair program.
In July, Professor Gordon Osinski’s research team will head up to Victoria Island in Canada’s arctic for what will be his campaign number 14. This latest analogue mission will be the most realistic to date, as the team will search the area of a possible new meteor crater impact site.
[See the full story at the Western News, or the CPSX Victoria Island Blog]
Teaching Assistant award winners for 2011-12 are: Geron Bindseil (also winner of Faculty of Science TA award), Teznie Pugh, and Melanie Wright.
Presenting the awards was Associate Chair of Graduate Studies, Dr. Aaron Sigut. Melanie could not attend the presentation because she was at Resolute Bay (Qausuittuq), Nunavut doing atmospheric research.
Our NSERC summer research students for 2012 are:
Back row:
Alex Tettenborn, James Hopkins (with glasses), Cameron Hopkins
Middle row:
Roger Odell, Leesa Fleury, Andrew Bovin, Ryan Hopkins, William Choi, Saied Sorkhou
Front Row
Maria Goiko, Peter Nguyen, Justin Bandoro, Eamon Duffy, Bartek Ewertowski, Matthew Abado
Dr. Carol Jones (left) is new Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in the Faculty of Science.
Dr. Jeff Hutter (at right) is new Associate Dean Academic, in the Faculty of Science.
Dean of Science Charmaine Dean describes the two as follows;
“Carol Jones is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and has held the inaugural position of Assistant Dean, Diversity and Outreach for the Faculty of Science since 2009. During this time Dr. Jones has developed initiatives designed to enhance the working environment here and to strengthen the image of Western through outreach activities and efforts related to diversity on campus.
Her area of expertise is in theoretical Astrophysics, specifically on disks surrounding massive stars. Massive stars affect their surroundings by providing energy via their radiation fields, stellar winds, and by supernova explosions. They also supply heavy elements, the building blocks of planetary systems. Her research focuses on constructing computer models of disk-like material surrounding massive stars, and comparing the results to observations from world-class observatories. She has developed an extensive list of international collaborators and has built a very active and productive research group in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Jones has established a reputation as an excellent, award-winning teacher. She is extremely effective in the classroom and has served as an inspiration and mentor to many students.
Dr. Jones looks forward to bringing her administrative experience, her skills as a consensus-builder, and her expertise and passion for training to the role of Associate Dean, Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies for the Faculty of Science.
Jeff Hutter is an experimental condensed-matter physicist with an interest in processes and properties at the nanoscale. He received his BSc and MSc in physics from the University of British Columbia, followed by a PhD from Simon Fraser University in 1997. Jeff joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Western in 1999 after completing a postdoctoral term at the Exxon Research and Engineering Company. He has been an Associate Professor since 2006 and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies since 2008.
Prof. Hutter’s current research projects include: in situ studies of the crystallization of calcium oxalate (the main mineral component of kidney stones), and the inhibition of such crystallization by specific proteins and peptides, using the atomic-force microscope (AFM); measurements of the strength of nanofibres such as spider-mite silk using the AFM; and studies of the viscoelastic properties of hydrogels using light scattering and small-angle neutron scattering.
In his term as Associate Dean, Academic, Prof. Hutter looks forward to working with the member departments of the Faculty of Science to facilitate new programs and initiatives that will increase our profile as a destination of choice for students in the basic sciences.”
