1998 IU South Bend physics B.S. recipient, Israel Owens, is currently employed at Sandia National Laboratories as Principal Member of Technical Staff (PMTS). We are excited to share that his “Electro-Optical Sensor (EOS) for High-Energy Environments and Applications” submission has been selected as a winner in the IT/Electrical invention / innovation competition by R&D Magazine… Read more »
Data from June 8th Rainstorm
Here’s an animated gif with TWN data from the June 8 rainstorm, as measured at the IU South Bend station, showing the preceding darkening as clouds rolled in coupled with decreasing distance to lightning strikes. Once the short-duration rain hit, the temperature dropped rapidly, and then the distance to lightning strikes increased again. The rain… Read more »
Andrew Ratkiewicz Receives 2024 Alumni of the Year Award for School of Natural Sciences
Andrew Ratkiewicz, who graduated in 2006 with a B.S. in physics and a minor in math, was honored with the 2024 Alumni of the Year Award for the School of Natural Sciences at the 3rd annual Night of the Titans event on Tuesday, September 17th, 2024. Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus Jerry Hinnefeld was featured in a… Read more »
Honors Night 2024
The College of Arts & Sciences celebrated its annual Honors Night on Thursday, May 2nd. The Department of Physics & Astronomy gave several awards: Excellence Award in Physics Phillip Derrickson Ƶ Scholarship (for 2024 – 2025) Nicholas Good CTS Scholarship in Physics (for 2024 – 2025) Akira Clark Cosmo Cripe Ryleigh Jebson Josiah Nelson
The Titan Weather Network (TWN) Overview
Subsequent to installing a Tempest weather station at the IUSB observatory in March of 2022 (LINK to post about the IUSB station), we’ve started a collaboration to build a local network of weather stations — the “Titan Weather Network.” We note that there’s already an impressive network of Tempest stations (LINK to WeatherFlow’s map of… Read more »
Special Eclipse-Education Meet the Stars Events in January, February and March
Please join IU South Bend faculty and student hosts for all-ages educational programming designed as preparation for the April 8th, 2024, solar eclipse (link to NASA’s eclipse site). These events are free, open to the public, and all are welcome! These are intended to be fun yet educational and structured so that attendees have… Read more »
New Endowment: Dr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Connon Physics and Astronomy Department Fund
We are pleased to announce that a new endowment has been established to support the Department of Physics & Astronomy: Dr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Connon Physics and Astronomy Department Fund Dr. Thomas Connon, O.D., and his wife, Sue Ann Connon, were both students at IUSB in the 1970s. Dr. Connon worked closely with Professors… Read more »
Physics Club Hosts Renewable Energy Competition for IUSB Sustainability Challenge
As part of this month’s Sustainability Challenge (a series of campus-wide activities related to IU’s Climate Action Plan), the Physics Club hosted a “Renewable Energy Competition” on Tuesday, October 24th. Although billed as a competition, this was more of a fun, participation-based activity to get people together and think about renewable-energy technology — harnessing wind… Read more »
2023 Adams’ Night at the Observatory
Physics faculty members Jerry Hinnefeld and Henry Scott hosted the Adams High School Science Department Chair, Matthew McQueen, and students from two of his Fall 2023 astronomy classes, for a special Meet the Stars event at the IUSB Observatory on Monday, October 16th. There were over twenty people in the Adams group, including some parents… Read more »
DTSI Internships at LLNL (Deadline: 1/26/2024)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) offers summer student programs including the Defense Science and Technology Internship (DTSI) with many options that may be of high appeal to physics students. The program includes close mentorship with a staff scientist. Here’s a link to a flyer for the 2024 program: DSTI flyer 2024.pdf. We’re posting information about… Read more »