Friday Flyer - September 20, 2024
This is the first Friday Flyer of the 2024-2025 academic year. For those new to the Friday Flyer...qThe FF is a newsletter that comes out about twice a month during the academic year, usually on Fridays :-). Look to these for news, updates, and announements from QuarkNet.
Spotlight on Summer 2024
Summer is a busy time for QuarkNet, and summer 2024 was no exception. More than 30 different QuarkNet centers held meetings and workshops over the summer, with many of them incorporating National Workshops from QuarkNet central. Drew University, our newest center, held a workshop in May to kick off activities there and to introduce teachers to the program.
QuarkNet camps bring together teachers from centers all over the country for teacher professional development and to build community. Data Camp was attended by 22 QuarkNet teachers and held at Fermilab July 14-19. Teaching and Learning fellows led this camp where participants analyzed CMS data, investigated activities from the Data Activities Portfolio, discussed classroom implementation, toured Fermilab facilities, and attended presentations by physicists. Coding Camp 1 was held virtually June 17-21, and Coding Camp 2 was held July 16-26 at Fermilab, and included a mix of new participants along with fellows from various QuarkNet centers to practice their skills at programming and lesson design. On the international front, eight QuarkNet teachers attended one of the two-week CERN summer programs for teachers.
Nearly 50 teachers participated virtually in Summer Sessions for Teachers (SST), led by Dr. Allison Hall, a physics faculty member at the U.S. Naval Academy. QuarkNet staff, fellows, and teachers had a strong presence at the AAPT Summer Meeting in Boston, by giving talks, workshops, and by participating in AAPT Committee work, sessions, etc. And a big congratulations to long-time QuarkNet friend and Fermilab staff scientist Don Lincoln, who was presented with the 2024 Klopsteg Memorial Lecture Award at the AAPT meeting.
As we wind down from a busy summer, QuarkNet staff looks forward to continuing to support centers and teachers as we settle in to the new school year. Please do not hesitate to contact any of the QuarkNet staff...contact information can be found at the bottom of the Friday Flyer.
News from QuarkNet Central
About the new QuarkNet website: There is a login issue you should be aware of. Our old site allowed users to login using their email address as their username, while the new site does not. If you're in the habit of using your email as a login, please be aware that you'll need to switch to using your standard username. If you did not get a chance to update your profile this summer, please do so by logging in, then click on My Stuff, then click Edit. Scroll down to update your profile, then be sure to click on Save at the bottom of the page when your update is complete. If you need help, contact Shane or Ken.
Data Activity Portfolio (DAP) Update: QuarkNet's DAP now has 42 activities with the recent addition of Plotting a Concensus...check it out! Look for additional new activities to be posted this fall. A reminder...when you view data activities in the DAP while logged in to the QuarkNet site, you can read comments at the bottom of each activity that are left by users for suggestions, implemenation ideas, and other advice. Feel free to add your own comments as well!
Upcoming Dates:
- World Wide Data Day (W2D2): Registration is now open for World Wide Data Day 2024, which is set for November 14, 2024.
- International Cosmic Day 2024: The 13th International Cosmic Day will take place on November 26, 2024. Click here for more information.
- AAPT Winter Meeting 2025: The AAPT WM 2025 will be held January 18-21, 2025 in St. Louis, MO. The deadline for submitting a presentation is Friday, September 20. Click here to submit a presentation.
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics Teacher Conference: The 2025 KITP Teacher Conference will focus on particle physics, and will take place in Santa Barbara will take place on February 8, 2025. Stayed tuned to future Friday Flyers for more infomation.
- International Masterclasses 2025: Fermilab-based International Masterclasses will be held March 10 - April 11, 2025. Stay tuned to upcoming Friday Flyers for future updates.
Physics Experiment Roundup
CMS W mass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-WeOUBQP5Q
https://cms.cern/news/cms-delivers-best-precision-measurement-w-boson-mass-lhc
W in 60 seconds: https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/explain-it-in-60-seconds-w-boson?language_content_entity=und
From Symmetry, an article on the intesifying search for dark matter, the elusive substance that is theorized to make up a significant portion of the universe but remains undetected. New results from the LZ experiment sets a new record in the search for dark matter.
Neutrinos:
https://interactions.org/first-neutrinos-detected-at-Fermilab
Resources
Don Lincoln has a couple of recent videos on the Higgs: The Race to Find the Higgs Boson, and How the Higgs Boson was Discovered. From Quanta, an article by Matt Strassler on how the Higgs field gives mass to elementarty particles.
MinutePhysics: https://www.youtube.com/@MinutePhysics/videos ?
Just for Fun
Summer is upon us. That means we are entering the heart of baseball season: long summer evenings that let the innings stretch on as pitchers stare down batters, short stops turn amazing pirouettes, and a center fielder just might demonstrate a perfect projectile for a play at the plate. With that in mind, let's clear the bases with science, recalling that Northern Illinois QuarkNet mentor Jared Adelman has some nice short videos on the physics of the beautiful game:
- Understanding the Physics of Baseball
- Physics of Baseball: Curve balls
- Physics of Baseball: Momentum from outfield to infield
- Physics of Baseball: The bat's sweet spot.
From XKCD: a classic plot (and true, too), organelles for cell, and something to think about this summer, especially if you are in the Virtual Center.
Not for fun, but matters: Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It is worth a thought.
QuarkNet Staff
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Spencer Pasero: spasero@fnal.gov
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu