Physics Blog


Physics + Math + Dentistry = Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science

Physics + Math + Dentistry = Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science

Interdisciplinary research team publishes article on geographic tongue Alumna Margaret McGuire ’20, alumnus Chase Fuller ’19, John Lindner, the Moore Professor of Astronomy at The College of Wooster, and Niklas Manz, assistant professor of physics, published a co-written article in early March titled “Geographic tongue as a reaction–diffusion system” in…
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Silver medal in the 2020 University Physics Competition

Wooster team earns a silver medal in the 2020 University Physics Competition
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Physics makes reaction-diffusion waves in Physica A

Physics makes reaction-diffusion waves in Physica A

Professors and students collaborate on physics publication John Lindner, the Moore Professor of Astronomy at The College of Wooster, and Niklas Manz, assistant professor of physics, recently published an article with two Wooster undergraduates, Fish Yu ’21 and Margaret McGuire ’20, and alumnus Chase Fuller ’19, that was a result…
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Physics grads help win Indy 500

Physics grads help win Indy 500

Wooster graduates play significant role in Indy 500 What did the top three finishers of this year’s Indianapolis 500 have in common? They had two Wooster alumni working hard to get them on the podium. Danielle Shepherd ’14 and Collin Hendershot ’18 applied skills they learned during their four years at Wooster to their current occupations in auto racing. Shepherd, a simulation engineer for…
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Physics helps cure “chaos blindness”

Teaching physics to neural networks removes 'chaos blindness' Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered that teaching physics to neural networks enables those networks to better adapt to chaos within their environment. The work has implications for improved artificial intelligence (AI) applications ranging from medical diagnostics to automated drone…
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Meeting 100+ years of experience in nonlinear dynamics

Meeting 100+ years of experience in nonlinear dynamics

I met two scientists for my BZ-history project with a combined age of 177 years. It was a great pleasure and honor to talk to them. Meeting with Horst-Dieter Försterling Meeting with Hermann Haken.
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Hiking to conference

Hiking to conference

Last weekend, I attended a conference in Germany. I used the opportunity during my sabbatical to return to this conference series, which I attended the last time in 2002. The conference takes place in a small village in the Harz, a Mittelgebirge (I didn’t know that this is an English word!) in…
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Senior Abigail Ambrose becomes SPS Associate Zone Councilor

Senior Abigail Ambrose becomes SPS Associate Zone Councilor Abigail Ambrose is a senior physics major at the College of Wooster. From Fall 2018 to Spring 2020 Abigail is serving as the president of the Wooster SPS chapter as well as the Astronomy Club. She is very active in outreach, including writing…
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March Meeting — Guest Blog by Carlos Owusu-Ansah ’21

March Meeting — Guest Blog by Carlos Owusu-Ansah ’21

Carlos in action at his poster, with Andrew Blaikie ’13 and Daniel Blaikie ’19. I thought the March APS meeting was fantastic. It felt great to present our research findings to people who cared about what Dr. Lindner and I were working on at the College. I attended fun talks…
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March Meeting — Guest Blog by Katie Shideler ’21

March Meeting — Guest Blog by Katie Shideler ’21

Having never been to a physics conference, or even to the city of Boston, attending the annual American Physical Society’s March Meeting was all around a new and incredible experience. Being able to present my research to physicists from across the globe was nerve-racking but very insightful to get opinions…
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March Meeting 2019 Boston

March Meeting 2019 Boston

I’m currently in Boston for the 2019 March Meeting, which is as exciting, overwhelming, and exhausting as usual! Circling Boston to approach for landing. Keen viewers can see the Boston Commons (just on the far side of the river), the MIT campus (on the near side of the river, toward…
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Wooster in Boston

Wooster in Boston

As mentioned earlier, I’m at the APS March Meeting in Boston this week.  There’s so much to say about all the talks that I’ve been to, etc, but in this post I’m just going to tell you about all the amazing Wooster connections! First off, of course, we have five…
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Wooster awarded NSF grant for summer research

Wooster Receives $325,000 Grant from NSF in Support of Summer Research Program WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster was awarded a grant of $326,132 on Tuesday from the National Science Foundation, extending support to the department of physics’ long-running and successful Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site.The three-year grant…
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Wooster physics reunion in Eugene, Oregon!

Wooster physics reunion in Eugene, Oregon!

I recently returned from a refreshing and productive leave at the University of Oregon in Eugene.  I received my own Ph D in the field of quantum optics at Oregon, and my leave was a great opportunity to continue work with prior colleagues.  However, I am excited to be back…
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silver medal in the 2018 UPC

Wooster team earns a silver medal in the 2018 UPC
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Physics Today news story on Wooster research

Observing geometric phases in the lab New analysis, simulations, and 3D printing expand the scope and appeal of a classical geometric phase. Richard J. Fitzgerald Falling cats and Olympic divers share the ability to twist, spin, and reorient themselves to land on their feet or make minimal splash. To accomplish…
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Standard Model at 50

Standard Model at 50

From Haidar Essili: All I can think of to describe my experience in the Standard model’s 50th anniversary conference is to repeatedly yell the word wow, until I have lost the will to do so. I am at a loss of words, but I will attempt to put my flustered speech in…
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Spring Outreach Events

Spring Outreach Events

Spring is a big time for outreach here at Wooster Physics. The Physics Club runs demonstrations for local elementary schools, doing often two outreach visits a week during the spring.  (In the fall, we are usually prepping for this flurry of events — sending letters to the schools and doing…
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A look back on 2017-18

A look back on 2017-18

Congratulations class of 2018!  I’ve attached a few pictures of some of our seniors and professors who gathered for a quick photo on graduation day (pics courtesy of Zane Thornburg).  Special congratulations are in order for Avi Vajpeyi (far left in the second photo), who was selected to be one…
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CUWiP 2018

CUWiP 2018

Well, we’re so busy doing things here at Wooster Physics that we haven’t kept up the blogging about all our exciting activities. Case in point — CUWiP 2018! For the last several years, the American Physical Society has been hosting Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP). These are regional conferences…
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