February 14, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Spaces and transformations in the eyes of topologists and geometers
Prof.Ye-Lin Ou
Department of Mathematics, Texas A&M University-Commerce
Abstract:
What is a space? How do we study spaces? My talk will begin with a review of various spaces that appear in Mathematics and Physics. These include
“naked spaces”, Banach spaces, topological spaces, various space-times, and “My space”. The second part of the talk will be focused on different
methods people used to study spaces. I will explain why topologists think “1”, “2”, “3” and “7” are the same, why they do not distinguish pants, shorts,
and panties, and how “lucky” geometers were in solving the Poincare conjecture about a space form that lead to the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics".
The last part of my talk will be a brief introduction to my work of using transformations to study spaces. I will explain how transformations that minimize
energy, bi-energy, p-energy, and infinity-energy can be applied to study spaces.
Prof. Ou received his Ph.D in 2005 from the University of Oklahoma. He has been an assistant professor at TAMU-Commerce since 2006. His major
research interest is in differential geometry, especially, the geometry and applications of harmonic, p-harmonic, infinity-harmonic, biharmonic maps and
morphisms between Riemannian manifolds.
February 21, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
NEUTRINOS IN ASTROPHYSICS: GHOSTLY MESSENGERS OF THE HEAVENS
Prof. A. Baha Balantekin
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract:
More than half a century after their existence was first postulated, we finally seem to be getting closer to understanding the elusive physics of neutrinos.
Their seemingly very small masses and feeble interactions with ordinary matter make neutrinos rather special. For a long time very little experimental
information was available about neutrino properties, even though even a small neutrino mass has intriguing cosmological and astrophysical implications.
In this talk, after a brief history of the neutrino physics, recent experimental and theoretical developments in solar, atmospheric, and reactor neutrino
physics will be reviewed. Implications of these experiments for neutrino physics and astrophysics will be discussed. The role of neutrinos in the dynamics
of core-collapse supernovae and the origin of chemical elements will be elucidated.
http://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/~baha/
Biography:
BAHA BALANTEKIN is Eugene P. Wigner Professor of Physics and Chair-Elect at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D.
from Yale (1982). After a postdoctoral research associateship at MIT and Wigner Fellowship at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he moved to
Wisconsin. He was the Chair of the Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) of the American Physical Society (APS), served on DNP and FIP Executive
Committees, served on or chaired various national committees. In addition to being an APS Fellow, he was a Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science Fellow, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior Scientist Awardee; Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Mid-Career Awardee;
Turkish Scientific and Research Council Science Prize recipient; and Fellow of the Institute of Physics (U.K.). He serves on numerous government,
national laboratory, and university advisory committees including SNOLAB Experiment Advisory Committee; LBL Nuclear Science Division Visiting
Committee; TRIUMF (Canada) Advisory Committee; National Institute for Nuclear Theory (INT) Advisory Committee; JUSTIPEN (Japan-U.S. Theory
Institute, Tokyo) Steering Committee; U. Washington Center for Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics Advisory Committee; TUNL Advisory Committee;
NSERC (Canada) Major Research Facilities Selection Committee; Nuclear Science Advisory Committee and its subcommittees. He is currently
Editor-in Chief of Journal of Physics G; and has served on Physical Review C and Journal of Physics G Editorial Boards.
February 28, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Heavy Ion Reactions: Metastable Nuclei and the Nuclear Equation of State
Prof. Joseph B. Natowitz
Department of Chemistry and Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University
Abstract:
Investigations of the collision dynamics, the products of nuclear reactions and the properties of metastable intermediates in low to intermediate energy
heavy ion reactions are providing new information on nuclei over widely varying ranges of proton number, neutron number, excitation energy, angular
momentum and density. Through observations of cluster formation in near Fermi-energy heavy ion collisions, we attempt to probe the equation of state
of nuclear matter at temperatures and densities comparable to those achieved in stars and supernovae. The information obtained in such studies has
important ramifications in both the nuclear and astrophysical contexts. The current status of these experiments and the implications for determinations
of the nuclear symmetry energy at non-normal densities will be discussed.
Dr. Joseph Natowitz
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Bright Chair in Nuclear Science
Biography:
Professor Joseph B. Natowitz received his Ph. D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1965. He is one of the world's most prominent nuclear chemists
and a leading expert in nuclear reaction dynamics and the properties of very highly excited nuclei. His work on the statistical properties of “hot nuclei”
and on the thermodynamics of nuclear matter, employs collisional excitation in heavy ion induced reactions to prepare and study the properties of nuclei
excited to temperatures comparable to those in stars and supernovae, the sites of cosmological nucleo-synthesis. His research, carried out at the
interface of chemistry and physics, has been recognized by election as a Fellow of the American Physical Society (1981), with the American Chemical
Society’s Award in Nuclear Chemistry (1995) and Southwest Regional Award (2000), as well as by an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist
Award (1978) and a Texas A&M University Association of Former Students Research Award (1988). He has been a Visiting Professor at The
University of Caen and the University Claude Bernard in France, the University of Tokyo, Japan and The Catholique University de Louvain, Belgium.
He has been Visiting Senior Scientist at the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, Germany and The Centre des Etudes Nucleaires, Saclay, France.
He has served as a member of the Program Advisory Committees and/or Program Review Committees of many major nuclear science laboratories
in both the United States and abroad. He also served as the Head of the Department of Chemistry and Director of the Cyclotron Institute at
Texas A&M University, and the Chair of the Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology of the American Chemical Society.
March 6, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127 - Cancelled & Postponed
Optical Microscopy: Physics Applied to Biological Imaging
Prof. Frank Miskevich
Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, Commerce
Abstract:
Ever since the earliest microscopes, biologists have depended upon the optical power, resolution, and analyses developed by physicists. I will
discuss a number of optical techniques in microscopy which increase the range and analytical power of light. Several different types of microscopy
will be covered, including fluorescence filters and optical gratings, differential interference contrast (DIC), confocal vs. widefield microscopy,
deconvolution microscopy, total internal reflectance (TIRF) microscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), two photon microscopy,
and subdiffraction limit fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopic methods push the optical and computational power available utilizing
available optical behaviors for imaging every smaller, more specialized molecular properties.
Biography:
Dr. Miskevich received his PhD degree from the California Institute of Technology in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1997. His research
focus is primarily in molecular neurobiology, and utilizes numerous microscopy techniques for quantifying and analyzing molecular interactions.
He has established fluorescence microscopy as a common technique on the A&M Commerce campus, including fluorescence activated cell sorting,
wide field, confocal and deconvolution microscopy. He is a charter member of the Friday Evening Science Society at A&M Commerce.
March 27, 2008, 4-5pm, Science 127
Old and new frontiers in sports medicine and exercise science
Prof. Serge P. von Duvillard
Depts. of Health and Human Services, Texas A&M University-Commerce
Abstract:
Sports medicine and exercise science has evolved into an important and legitimate science over the past century. Historical background revealed
use of physiological measurements first conducted in the late nineteenth century that had a profound effect on development of sports medicine and
exercise science. Much of historical data and subsequent discoveries in biochemistry, physiology and medicine, mechanical analysis of movement,
psychological principles and equipment have shaped the field of sports medicine and sports science. The Scandinavian influence, Harvard Fatigue
Laboratory in 1930s and today's new discoveries of molecular, cellular and genetic composition have yielded unprecedented level of knowledge.
Sports medicine, exercise science, biomechanics, applied physiology, sport psychology and many other sub disciplines have emerged that establish
the foundation for scientific inquiries in both animal and human studies. Implications of these findings and his own work will be described and
discussed during this colloquium.
Biography:
SERGE P. von DUVILLARD is a professor of applied physiology and director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Texas A&M
University-Commerce in Texas, US. His doctoral studies in exercise physiology started at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles
and were completed at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas in 1987. He holds numerous national and international professorships at
various universities as professor
of physiology and medicine. His research interests are energy metabolism, cardiopulmonary physiology, fat and
lipoprotein metabolism, biomarkers of
myocardial insufficiency and heart failure and testing of healthy, recreational, and elite athletes.
He is an author
and co-author of more than 120 scientific
articles, supplements, books, and book chapters, and many of his students went on to earn doctoral
degrees in exercise science and exercise physiology
at various distinguished institutions. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) and the European College of Sport Science (ECSS).
He has received several prestigious scientific awards including the Young Investigator
Award, Visiting Scholar Award and the Senior Investigator Research
Award from the American College of Sports Medicine. A former president of
the Northland Chapter of the ACSM, he remains very active in regional,
national, and international organizations. He is a grant reviewer for the Texas
Coordinating Board and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is also a
member of numerous editorial boards and continues to serve as a reviewer
for many professional peer review journals including Medicine and Science in
Sports and Exercise, the American Journal of Applied Physiology, the
American Heart Journal, European Journal of Applied Physiology, British Journal
of Sports Medicine, International Journal of Sports Medicine,
Ergonomics, and Metabolism and many more. A native of Slovenia and Germany, he is a
former decathlete and international alpine ski competitor.
Humor and laughter are the soul of his life and so are music, nature, animals, his family,
friends, colleagues, and students.
April 3, 2008, 4-5pm, Science 127
Binary Nature of Nuclear Systems
Prof. Pawel Danielewicz
Michigan State University and the National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab
Abstract:
Nuclear constituents, protons and neutrons, are close in their properties.
Nuclear interactions are in practice symmetric under neutron-proton interchange.
The interchange symmetry governs the dependence of density distributions in nuclei and of nuclear energy on the imbalance between neutron and proton
numbers. Rigorous relations can be derived tying those dependencies together. Apart from
systematizing nuclear properties, the implications of
interchange symmetry facilitate extrapolations from nuclei, which are bound by the nuclear interactions and where neutron and proton numbers are
similar, to neutron stars that are bound by and where neutrons dominate
Biography:
Dr. Danielewicz is a Professor of Physics at Michigan State University and the Head of the Theoretical Nuclear Science group at the National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.
http://www.nscl.msu.edu/~daniel/
1977 - M.Sc., Warsaw University
1981 - Ph.D., Warsaw University
1981-84 - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
1985 - Assistant Professor, Warsaw University
1988 - Associate Professor, Michigan State University
1996 - Professor, Michigan State University
Research Interests: modeling of central nuclear reactions, nonequilibrium many-body theory, transport theory and source imaging.
Joint Chemistry-Physics Colloquium
April 10, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Free Radical Species at Transition Metal and Metal Silicide Surfaces
Prof. Jeffry A. Kelber
Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas
Abstract:
The interactions of gas phase atomic oxygen, atomic hydrogen, and other free radical species with various surfaces are of growing practical interest
in plasma processing, catalysis, and micro and nanoelectronics. Existing data indicates that such reactions are often kinetically controlled, and differ
qualitatively from corresponding reactions involving molecular species. This talk will focus on recent work in our laboratory on the interactions of
atomic oxygen with NiSi/Si(100) and with Ru(0001) under rigorously controlled UHV conditions. In the presence of atomic oxygen at 300 K,
aggressive Si oxidation at the NiSi surface results in the kinetically-driven oxidation of Ni to form a Ni silicate, and no passivation of this process is
observed. This is in direct contrast to results for exposure to molecular oxygen, where the oxidation process passivates upon formation of a thin
(6-8 Ả) overlayer of SiO2 . The difference between the two results appears not to be due to O diffusion through SiO2, but in differences between
the dynamics of atomic vs. molecular oxygen accommodation with the surface. Similarly, exposure of Ru(0001) to atomic oxygen at pressures
< 10-6 Torr, results in the formation of a multilayer oxide at 300 K. In contrast, exposure to molecular oxygen under similar conditions results in
the formation of only an adsorbed O monolayer. The difference in the two results again appears to be due to the ability of the atomic species to
accommodate itself to low-coordinate surface sites where the dissociation of molecular oxygen is kinetically slow. Preliminary results of ongoing
studies of oxide reduction using NHx + H (x= 1,2) will also be discussed, where the kinetic road block appears to be the non-reaction of gas
phase H or NHx with surface OH groups.
http://www.chem.unt.edu/faculty/kelber.htm
Prof. Kelber is a UNT Regents Professor of Chemistry and is internationally known for his expertise in surface and materials science. Dr. Kelber
received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1975 and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaiagn in 1979.
After spending 11 years at Sandia National Laboratories, Dr. Kelber joined the UNT faculty in 1990. His research interests include: Corrosion at
oxide surfaces; chemical vapor deposition; and the effects of impurities and defects on the chemistry of oxide surfaces.
April 17, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Applications of Advanced Materials Coatings to Industrial and Automotive Products
Ben D. Cranor, PhD, CIH, CSP
Assistant Professor and Interim Department Head
Department of Industrial Engineering & Technology, Texas A&M University - Commerce
Abstract:
Dr. Cranor’s recent research interests are the application of inexpensive, low-hazard, easy to apply surface coatings for industrial and automotive
materials performance improvements. Enhancements in dry and wet surface lubricity, heat dissipation, heat transference barriers, oil shedding, oil
enhancement, abrasion and corrosion control, architectural coatings, and solar barrier applications are some of the improvements obtained from
application of selected coatings.
Work with commercially available materials developed by TECH LINE COATINGS, INC. and other companies will be presented. Dr. Cranor has
applied many of the TECH LINE COATINGS to automotive racing components. Preliminary results of this activity will be presented. He serves as a
technical advisor for several local automotive race teams. He stated. “Empirical data from the race teams is easy to obtain, but the research now must
move to more scientific methodologies.”
Dr. David Anderson, Assistant Professor in Industrial Technology will be joining Dr. Cranor in this research and they have invited others to participate
in these (currently) unfunded studies. Samples of coated and uncoated race engine components will be presented during Dr. Cranor’s presentation,
“Applications of Advanced Materials Coatings to Industrial and Automotive Products.”
Biography:
Dr. Ben Cranor has seventeen years of experience managing industrial laboratories for quality assurance & control, plating, environmental, and
material evaluation. However, most of his thirty eight years of experience has been in the design and management of environmental health, industrial
hygiene and occupational safety programs for industry and government. His environmental conservation efforts helped AT&T earn one of President
George Herbert Bush’s Environmental and Conservation Challenge Award for Excellence for development of innovative environmental solutions.
Dr. Cranor’s innovative environmental efforts involved the elimination or engineering controls for chlorofluorocarbon cleaning solutions in manufacturing
operations.
He holds U.S. Patent No. 4,358,668 for “Thermally Isolated Fume Exhausting Attachment for Soldering Iron” and was twice recognized as the
Engineer-of-the-Year while working for AT&T & Bell Laboratories for his innovations or professional contributions to engineering. He has sold other
“patent pending” ideas to investors.
References:
http://www.techlinecoatings.com/index.htm
http://users.erols.com/srweiss/user_lnk.htm (last 3 photos)
April 24, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Seismology of Stellar Atmospheres
Prof. Zdzislaw E. Musielak
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
Abstract:
Atmospheres of late-type stars and some white dwarfs are heated by different forms of non-radiative energy generated in convection zones of these
stars. Recent studies show that this energy may also excite atmospheric oscillations, which can be used as indicators of stellar activity. In this talk, I
shall describe newly developed theoretical tools to predict periods and amplitudes of these oscillations in different stars. In addition, best methods to
observe the oscillations will be identified and it will be shown how to use the oscillations to probe the structure of stellar atmospheres.
Zdzislaw E. Musielak received his formal undergraduate and graduate education in Poland. He received his PhD degree in Physics from the University
of Gdansk in 1980. For his dissertation and other graduate research, Dr. Musielak received two awards from the Polish Academy of Sciences. From
1980 to 1983, he was an assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Gdansk. He left Poland in 1982 and spent one year as a visiting scientist
at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics of the University of Heidelberg in Germany. After arriving to the United States in 1983, Dr. Musielak
worked as a researcher at MIT Center for Space Research for 3 years, and then for 3 more years as a Senior NRC Research Associate at NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. From 1989 to 1999, he was professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). In
1999, he joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) as Professor of Physics and was appointed Director of the UTA Astronomy
Program one year later. Dr. Musielak is the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards, including the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt
Research Award for Senior US Scientists (Humboldt Prize) received in 1997 and additional Humboldt Follow-up Research Award received in 2005.
His research has focused on the generation and propagation of MHD and plasma waves in circumstances ranging from the solar-terrestrial environment
to the physics of non-degenerate and degenerate stars. He also works on the effects of extra-solar planets on their host stars, orbital stability in extra-solar
planetary systems, and routes to chaos in dynamical systems with many degrees of freedom. Dr. Musielak’s current research interests involve the origin of
dark matter and dark energy.
May 1, 2008, 4-5pm, Science building 127
Neutrino Astrophysics
Dr. Arturo R. Samana
Department of Physics, Texas A&M University-Commerce
Abstract:
In this talk I review the progresses and efforts during recent years in neutrino astrophysics with emphasis on the neutrino-nucleus interaction in stars
and on Earth. In particular, I will discuss several nuclear models with direct application to the understanding of supernovae neutrinos and neutrino
oscillations in stellar environments.
Arturo_Samana@tamu-commerce.edu
Biography:
Arturo R. Samana received his undergraduate and graduate education in Argentina. His PhD degree in Physics is from the University of La Plata,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2002. His area of research is theoretical nuclear physics with special interest in nuclear structure with application to
nuclear astrophysics. Dr. Samana was previously a postdoc at the Millennium Institute of Quantum Information and Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas
of Brazil. His work on ``Study of neutrinos oscillations and nuclear structure of exotic nuclei" was carried out at the Physics Institute of the University of
Sao Paulo. Before coming to Commerce, Dr. Samana worked at the Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with a postdoctoral
fellowship from the Foundation of Research of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Presently, Dr. Samana is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Physics,
Texas A&M University - Commerce.
Seminars and colloquia in previous years
