Friday Flyer - December 19, 2014

The Friday Flyer will be on vacation until January 9. Have a nice holiday and a safe New Year. Looking forward to a great 2015.

Spotlight on Virginia: Once upon a time (last month), there was a single QuarkNet center for the Commonwealth of Virginia: the Hampton University - George Mason University - College of William and Mary center, usually called, simply, the Virginia center. That group is still there. It covers the long populated arc from Hampton roads to the DC suburbs. The Virginia center had a workshop last August at William and Mary in which they welcomed new teachers and, for the second time, visitors from Virginia Tech in far Blacksburg. (How far? Look at this map.) The Virginia center has met for a 2-3 day summer workshop each year at one of the universities that make up the center or at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News. They then use their remaining days on Saturdays during the academic year. They also have two masterclasses each year, one at George Mason and the other at William and Mary. The first of the 2014-15 school year Saturday meetings was at the Steward School in Richmond, where the group had a CMS Virtual Visit in which they got to talk and have a look around with CMS physicists Zoltan Szillasi in the control room and Noemi Beni down in the CMS cavern, both able to go where on-site visitors are not allowed. They were joined by students from Steward as well as guest teachers and students connecting from around the QuarkNet nation. And about Virginia Tech: they have now started a new QuarkNet center of their own. Now there are two Viginia centers. 

Friendly Reminder from QuarkNet Central: Cosmic ray detector usage reports due TODAY. We know you are busy, but it only takes a few minutes of your time.
We have heard from 60% of the teachers contacted so far. 65% used the detectors last year. Here's how! (Most of the others had new detectors.)

QuarkNet gets a mention in The Journal, Transforming Education Through Technology.

The last QuarkNet an der Elbe of 2014 is hot off the electrons. Get it while it's fresh.

Resources: LHC Got a Minute? videos : The LHC -  Why  Large - Why Hadron - Why Collider

Just for Fun: How to make physics snowflakes complete with templates from symmetry magazine

QuarkNet Staff Teachers:
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Tom Jordan: jordant@fnal.gov
Bob Peterson: rspete@fnal.gov