Friday Flyer - February 16, 2018
Spotlight on the Rice University/University of Houston QuarkNet Center
This center experienced a tragic loss in early 2017 with the sudden passing of long-time mentor Marj Corcoran. Though Marj continues to be deeply missed, the center came together and continued with a successful 2017 program with the guidance of its new mentor, Frank Geurts. Twelve teachers met on the campus of Rice University during the week of June 26–30, beginning with a three-day cosmic workshop followed by a two-day LIGO workshop. Teachers were also able to hear talks from Rice faculty on space weather, the Higgs boson, and the physics of music.
News from QuarkNet Central
International Masterclasses 2018 officially began yesterday, with the first CERN-based videoconferences of the season. Fermilab-based videoconferences are scheduled to begin on March 9 and will extend into early April. The latest IMC circular includes a link to an editable template that may be used to create a press release for your masterclass, in addition to information on running a masterclass offline. If you have not yet signed up for a masterclass and are interested in joining, contact Ken.
Check out the IMC Twitter page, @physicsIMC. And do not forget to have students in masterclasses tweet their experiences with #LHCIMC18.
QuarkNet Nuts and Bolts
Did you change schools this year? Have you recently acquired or returned a cosmic ray muon detector? Interested in changing the e-mail address associated with your QuarkNet account? Perhaps it's time to update your profile on the QuarkNet website. If you need any help with this process, contact Ken or Shane.
Physics Experiment Roundup
The ATLAS collaboration recently announced the LHC's first high-precision measurement of the W boson mass. After 45 years serving as an all-purpose research tool, Kitt Peak's Mayall Telescope prepares to retool in order to create largest 3-D map of the universe. Mystery deepens as recent results confirm a discrepancy in measurements of neutron longevity.
Resources
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science was on February 11; female Fermilab and CERN physicists, engineers, and computer scientists share some of their stories. Which particle wins the Most Awesome Subatomic Particle of the Millennium? Check out this symmetry article and decide for yourself!
Just for Fun
Perhaps this is a couple of days late, or 363 days early! . . . Express your affection with physics valentines! What goes well with valentines? Poems! Check out the Deep Poets Society from the Sanford Underground Research Facility.
QuarkNet Staff:
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Deborah Roudebush: droudebush@cox.net
Jeremy Smith: jsmith10@bcps.org
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu