Uncategorized – Physics and Astronomy

A roar, a crash and a major scientific tool that was a piece of New Jersey’s roots is gone

wiesea — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 19:17:18 +0000

The loss of the Arecibo Observatory is a significant blow to U.S. science, particularly in the field of gravitational-wave physics, where it played a key role in monitoring the timing of This technique could eventually lead to the detection of gravitational waves from supermassive black hole mergers or from the constant background ‘hiss’ of numerous black hole collisions throughout the universe.

Read Dr. Favata’s full !

Art of Sustainable Science

wiesea — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 18:54:18 +0000

A hand crank power generator has been installed on the second floor of Richardson Hall. The generator is attached to a battery pack which will/can be eventually used to power up computers and other appliances used by students and others. This is a very small contribution to conservation and sustainability but nevertheless, it counts and makes for a great teaching moment.

Anyone in the Math Department is encouraged to come over and put in some crank time towards charging the battery which requires more than 24 hours for complete charging. A sign up sheet has been placed near the instrument for students to log their names, crank time and instructors name. At least 10 minutes of use at a time is recommended, but more time is encouraged.

The “Art of Sustainable Science” project was conducted by Mika Munakata and Ashwin Vaidya a few years ago, and was funded by the American Physical Society.

The Art of Making Science

wiesea — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 18:46:29 +0000

Ashwin Vaidya, Mika Munakata and 90 other contributors have created a magazine called The Art of Making Science (can be downloaded on the right). The magazine showcases the artistic elements of science and the scientific elements of art, and represents a collaboration between CSAM and CART, MSU and middle schools, scientists and artists. The project was sponsored by the American Physical Society through an outreach grant. The magazine fulfills our pledge to encourage public awareness of the beauty of science.

About The Art of Making Science

What defines art? What defines science? In fact, is there a clear definition of either? Are they mutually exclusive?

This magazine explores these questions and challenges you to open your eyes to the art of science around you. In this issue, you will read about physics students and performing artists collaborating on producing sustainability-themed short films through sustainable practices. You will view photographs taken by middle school and university students. Through these photographs, you will gain a sense of what the art of science means to others. You will read poetry written by molecular biology students. These poems use artistic means to describe cutting-edge scientific research. You will hear insights from physicist Dr. Jun Zhang and photographer Dr. Klaus Schnitzer about their thoughts on the intersection between art and science.

What lies inside is a part of an on-going project that promotes science-art connections and encourages students (and others) to see the art in science and the science in art. The project was motivated by our science students’ perception of the disconnect between creative and scientific endeavors. All too often, people associate creativity solely with activities such as writing, painting, dancing—well, the arts. We seldom think of creativity or artistry as having a place in the sciences. This project started with a Physics and Art photo exhibit at ��vlog and has grown to include middle school photo exhibits in local public libraries, a collaboration with a Creative Thinking course offered to the entire university community, the development of a physics course devoted to creativity through a project-based learning approach, a blog, a series of short films, the creation of greeting and postcards, and several publications and presentations describing our efforts. What’s next? We’ll see…

We invite you to contribute to this discussion. Discuss this with others, contribute to our twitter conversation (#artofmakingscience) and write on our !

Attached Media

The Art of Making Science (Vol 1)