Friday Flyer - January 8, 2021
Spotlight on the Fermilab/University of Chicago QuarkNet Center
This center based at Fermilab is led by George Dzuricsko along with mentors Angela Fava and Tom Carter. In 2020, a group of approximately 20 teachers met virtually for three half days in July for a workshop that focused on data activities that feature muons. The workshop included two activities on muon lifetime, one using MINERvA data, and one using cosmic ray data. The culminating activity was the 2020 BAMC analysis. After teachers had worked through each activity with their "student hats" on, they spent time in Zoom breakout rooms discussing how they could bring what they had just learned and experienced back to their classrooms.
Most teachers who participated this year were from the Chicago area, though the remote nature of this workshop allowed for guests to participate from New Jersey, New York, and Maryland.
News from QuarkNet Central
There is still time to register for International Masterclasses. The Doodle polls are closed but e-mail registration is open for both masterclass videoconferences and orientations. QuarkNet masterclass leaders—mentors or lead teachers—can find the information they need by going to quarknet.org > MASTERCLASSES and then to either the LHC Project Map or the Neutrino Project Map. There you will find orientation pages, descriptions of measurements, and schedules at Videoconferences 2021. To learn more and to reserve places in the schedule, send e-mail to Ken. The latest IMC 2021 circular came out today; expect a new one each week now through Masterclass season.
QuarkNet Educational Discussions (QED) will begin again later this month, so be sure to stay tuned!
Beamline for Schools 2021 is on! Get basic information and a registration link in the announcement, and find more resources at the Useful Documents page.
Physics Experiment Roundup
Last year obviously presented many challenges, but there were also many achievements in 2020. In this roundup, we highlight some of the success stories from ATLAS, BNL, CERN, CMS, Fermilab and SURF.
Resources
In a recent Forbes article, Don Lincoln discusses a crisis in cosmology.
For many of us who grew up in the 1980s, 3-2-1 Contact was a beloved PBS after-school show that couldn't be missed. Read all about the making of this show in Physics Today.
With the new year, do you need a new virtual background for your Zoom meetings? You might just find what you're looking for in this collection of virtual backgrounds from the National Science Foundation.
Just for Fun
Seems like 2021 so far is offering no shortage of news and "excitement." We are just over a week in, and some folks are not impressed. Perhaps a few minutes of distraction and relaxation will be good for the blood pressure. Check out a performance by gravity of a Bach piece on this enormous xylophone (H/T to Marge Bardeen). Or how about these mind-bending optical illusions from Smithsonian Magazine?
QuarkNet Staff:
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Spencer Pasero: spasero@fnal.gov
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu