The department received a generous donation of an 11″ Scmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT), manufactured by Celestron, from a community member last week. It’s an older model, but it has a motorized drive, and the primary mirror is in excellent shape. This won’t replace the 16″ telescope in our rooftop observatory, but we’re excited about new possibilities… Read more »
Departmental News
Prof. Davis Interviewed by ABC57 Regarding Recent James Webb Telescope Findings
Prof. Brian Davis was interviewed on July 9th by Emmet Twomey for ABC57 regarding recent discoveries by the James Webb Telescope; here’s a direct link to the interview hosted by abc57.com.
Alumni & Friends “50/200” Reunion Wrap-Up
The Department of Physics & Astronomy hosted our Alumni & Friends “50/200” Reunion Event during the weekend of Friday, May 12th, to Sunday, May 14th, 2023. This was a tremendous success from our perspective, with alumni coming from as far as California and former faculty member Steve Shore Zooming in from Pisa, Italy. The weekend opened… Read more »
Joy Thompson to Participate in IU-MSI STEM Initiative at IUB this Summer
Physics major Joy Thompson will participate in the 2023 IU-MSI STEM initiative at IUB this summer. Joy has become quite involved in the SPS, while also progressing into upper-level physics courses and looks forward to diving into research this summer. She will receive a CTS scholarship for the 2023 – 2024 academic year and is… Read more »
Commencement 2023
Three students received the B.S. in Physics this year: Jordan Edwards Michael Kopczynski Preston Porter Jordan and Preston were both present for our commencement on Tuesday, May 9th, and that provided us with the opportunity to get a photo with two consecutive Student Excellence Award in Physics winners, as Jordan received it in 2022, and… Read more »
Honors Night 2023
We were pleased to formally announce scholarship and award winners at the May 5th, 2023, Honors Night for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. For the 2023 – 2024 academic year, we will award six CTS Scholarship in Physics: Kevin Augustine Akira Clark Cosmo Cripe Logan Hilbert Ryleigh Jebson Joy Thompson And, we will… Read more »
Physics & Industry Engineering Collaboration
Faculty from the IUSB Dept. of Physics & Astronomy are partnering with MPI Engineered Technologies to study conditions that may cause seasonal corrosion issues with the steel “clutch-separation plates” fabricated at their Fineblanking plant in Knox, IN. The team will use Arduino-based data loggers, custom designed by Prof. Brian Davis, and fabricated by a growing… Read more »
March Issue of the IU South Bend Physics Club Newsletter
The IU South Bend Physics Club has released Volume 3 of their newsletter: This Month in Physics Club March. Here’s the announcement text from the newsletter authors: Hey All! I hope this email finds you well and ready to learn more about the fascinating world of physics! I am thrilled to announce that the third… Read more »
Physics Club Attends 2023 Zone 8 SPS Meeting at IU Bloomington
The 2023 Zone 8 Meeting of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) was hosted by the IU Bloomington chapter this year, from February 24th to February 26th, and five members of the IU South Bend Physics Club made the trip: Phillip Derrickson (’24), Emilee Edmonds (’24), Ryleigh Jebson (’25) Preston Porter (’23), Joy Thompson (’24)…. Read more »
IUSB Physics Club at 2023 Science Alive
The 31st annual Science Alive was held at the St. Joseph County Public Library on Saturday, February 11, 2023. The Physics Club organized a table with the goal of exposing attendees to smart-phone based data collection using the freely available phyphox app. Co-presidents Emilee Edmonds (’24) and Preston Porter (’23) each took shifts, along with… Read more »