UI Physics & Astronomy 1999 Newsletter Back to Front Page INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Faculty Highlights/Research New Faculty Research Summaries Facilities Updates Graduate/Undergraduate Staff News What's New Special Points of Interest: Iowa Space Pioneers Faculty Directory Undergraduates/Graduates Receiving Degrees New Courses 1999-2000 Alumni Update Form

What's New Physics & Astronomy Placement Office In the spring of 1999, the department started a placement office for physics and astronomy students. The office specializes in resume/CV writing, interview techniques as well as providing employment resource opportunities for students. Starting this academic year, the department will sponsor a Career Development Series focusing on career development and job search programs. The sessions (five in all) will bring together experts from UI Career Development Services, Graduate College, Financial Aid, and faculty, giving students an opportunity to ask questions relating to graduate school, internships, job search methods, and interviewing tips. A career development web site has also been set up to aid students in many areas of career planning. You can visit the web site at http://www.physics.uiowa.edu/career-dev/. New Applied Physics Degree Beginning this fall, the Department of Physics and Astronomy is offering a new undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics. The purpose of this degree is to provide students with rigorous preparation for employment in a topical area of science or engineering upon graduation. The curriculum is a blend between a traditional bachelor's degree program in physics, and professional training in a technologically relevant field. The degree requires an internship or cooperative educational experience with a company, or equivalent experience. This requirement provides the student with a professional perspective, and valuable experience for the student's resume. New Advisory Board This fall the department has created a new advisory board, consisting of alumni, teachers, students, faculty, and industry representatives. Board members are Brian Strayer (former student), Chad Thompson (former student), Dean Gorrell (former student and Regina High School principal), Thomas Hasenberg (faculty), Steven Spangler (faculty), Robert Sternowski (Rockwell), Peter Sauerbrei (former student), Leslie Sauerbrei (former student), Mei-Mei Shen (former student), Carrie McGivern (undergraduate student), Randal Clark (graduate student), Bryant Hichwa (optical coating laboratory), Usha Balakrishnan (UI research marketing), Wayne Polyzou (faculty), and Cheryl Reardon (administrative associate). The board's goal is to improve the quality of educational programs by providing a vehicle for communication between the faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and teachers, employers, and alumni who have contact with our department. The board will meet once a year with its inaugural meeting this November in Iowa City. The advisory board is an exciting partnership that will help the department better prepare its students for careers after graduation. QuarkNet99 This summer saw the initiation of a new program to the department called QuarkNet99. QuarkNet is an innovative program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in an effort to involve high school physics teachers in leading-edge particle physics research. They actively participate in ongoing work at local universities and laboratories during a two-month summer period. The University of Iowa and Iowa State University particle physics groups were selected to participate in the first year of this exciting project. Peter Bruecken, high school physics teacher from Bettendorf, Iowa, was the first to participate in this program at the University of Iowa. Two high school teachers actively collaborated in the common research areas of these two particle physics teams here in Iowa and at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. Peter and the other QuarkNet teachers had the opportunity to work on the construction of calorimeters that will be used in experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Their experience will be of great benefit to the students in their schools. In the second year of this program, ten additional high school teachers will participate.

New Courses 1999-2000

In the spring, Prof. Vincent Rodgers will introduce "Special Topics in Physics: Physics of the Body." This course looks at bridging the areas of physiology, physics, and mathematics and provides the student interested in a medical profession a physicist's view of the design of the human body. The course will introduce any necessary mathematics and will cover such areas as cell functions, respiration, circulatory system, vision, hearing, and the digestive system.