From the Chair
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1 Fall 2012 Newsletter Dear Physics & AstronomyFrom Alumni and the Friends ofChair... the ed to our department. Department: We now have a total of 32 faculty in our de- In reviewing the status of our department in the partment, including full- intervening time since our last newsletter update, I and part-time, plus joint am pleased to report that we have continued to ex- appointments. Books perience remarkable growth, and our faculty and by professors Sergei Ko- students have received many honors and awards in peikin, Carsten Ullrich, and Giovanni Vignale are now recognition of their accomplishments, many of which in print, which you can read about in this newsletter. you will read about in this newsletter. I am apprecia- Our distinguished alumnus Gerald Fishman, a recip- tive of the efforts and generosity of our alumni, which ient of the distinguished Shaw Prize in Astronomy, assist in the support of our department and our stu- was recently made an Adjunct Professor to our de- dents. partment. Jerry was also the Lloyd B. Thomas Dis- Due to the efforts of our faculty, we continue to re- tinguished Lecturer for Arts and Science just prior to ceive new grant money during challenging economic this Leader’s meeting. Harland Tompkins, also alum- nus of our department and recent seminar speaker external grant funding. Worthy of particular notice is and Saturday Morning Science speaker, was made an times. As of fall 2012, we have almost $22.6 million in Adjunct Professor as well. million grant to establish the Sidney Kimmel Institute the participation of our department in the recent $5.5 encourage collaboration from scientists in several Our University’s official 2011 fall enrollment was for Nuclear Renaissance (SKINR) at MU, which will disciplines, including physics, the MU Research Reac- students.33,805, and We the continue 2012 first-day-of-class to successfully meetnumber the was chal a- - lengesrecord 34,255,of providing with aclasses record andfreshman labs to class an ofever-in 6,560- istry. This grant was facilitated by Rob Duncan, our creasing number of students. tor (MURR), engineering, material science and chem Vice Chancellor of Research, and also jointly appoint- To help meet these challenges and in rec- I recently named Dr. Dorina Kosztin as the ognition of a role she was already fulfilling,- partment of Physics and Astronomy. newAn (and important first) Associate initial step Chair toward of our devel De- oping a long term strategic plan for our de- partment was undertaken his spring by Paul Miceli and his Planning Committee as they conducted a survey of department resources and needs and then proposed an initial plan for optimizing the use of space in our de- - ings and recommendations in the upcoming yearpartment. and then We see will what follow is left up toon accomplish their find goals. as we work toward definingContinued our longer-term on page 15 2 precedented power just as they are New Training for Next Generation coming on line. The trainees will Neutron Scatterers at MU develop communication and orga- nizational skills required for geo- graphically dispersed teams to utilize By Hak Taub strumentation, and the potential for these national facilities effectively. Professor, MU new discoveries, the United States has invested nearly $2B in new facil- In addition to training leaders for ities for neutron scattering over the future interdisciplinary universi- past decade. ty-based research, the project will Project Description: Innovative provide a pool of potential users and methods of training the next gener- employees of both national research ation of scientists and engineers are facilities and highly competitive in- MU has received its first award from required to maximize the scientific dustries that depend on complex the IGERT Program (Integrative impact of these new capabilities in materials. The interdisciplinary cur- Graduate Education and Research neutron scattering research. To meet riculum is designed to attract future Traineeship Program) of the Na- this challenge, the MU-led IGERT scientists from fields outside of phys- tional Science Foundation for a pro- Program will implement a new par- ics and students from underrepre- posal entitled “Neutron Scattering adigm for interdisciplinary training sented groups. for the Science and Engineering of of Ph.D. students in the application In addition to training leaders for the 21st Century.” The award pro- of neutron scattering research with- future interdisciplinary universi- vides $3 M for the training of grad- in three major themes of science ty-based research, the project will uate students in neutron scattering and engineering. These themes in- provide a pool of potential users and research. Partners in this project are clude: 1) biological macromolecules employees of both national research Indiana University, North Carolina and biomaterials; 2) the structure facilities and highly competitive in- State University, and Fisk Univer- and dynamics of strongly correlated dustries that depend on complex sity. The Project Director is, Has- electronic materials; and 3) design materials. The interdisciplinary cur- kell Taub, Professor and Director of artificial nanoscale materials. The riculum is designed to attract future of Neutron Scattering, in MU’s De- proposed graduate curriculum will scientists from fields outside of phys- partment of Physics & Astronomy. exploit a combined problem-based ics and students from underrepre- learning/writing intensive approach sented groups. NSF funded approximately 18 IG- accessible to students from tradi- Co-PIs are: ERT awards in this competition out tionally distinct disciplines. It will Dr. Anna Waldron, University of of 100 full proposals submitted. 412 combine in-depth, hands-on train- Missouri, proposals were reviewed in the pre- ing at our unique university-based Prof. Arnold Burger, Fisk University liminary proposal stage of the pro- neutron source MURR, the largest Prof. Roger Pynn, Indiana Universi- gram competition for the Fiscal Year research reactor at a U.S. University, ty, 2011. with innovative theoretical courses Prof. Flora Meilleur, North Carolina encompassing the three major re- State University. Background: Fundamental research search themes. utilizing neutron scattering tech- niques has led to a host of techno- On-campus research and training logical advances in such diverse will be enhanced by research expe- areas as drug design, the develop- riences at Oak Ridge National Lab- ment of high-strength metals and oratory and the National Institute of cements, novel materials for elec- Standards and Technology. tronic and magnetic devices, and hydrogen storage materials. Based Broader Impacts: This project on these achievements in science will enlarge the community of re- and engineering, recent progress in searchers capable of exploiting new MU’s Research Reactor the design of neutron scattering in- neutron scattering facilities of un- 3 will participate in this comprehen- The following is a reproduction of an article written and released on 2/10/12 sive scientific effort. These scientists by Christian Basi of MU on a 5.5. million dollar grant to MU, facilitated in will be studying the fundamental a large way by Rob Duncan, MU Associate Dean for Research, with a joint physics of certain energy producing appointment in the Departmnet of Physics and Astronomy. reactions of an unknown origin in their quest for alternative forms of MU Scientists Receive $5.5 Million Gift from energy. Kimmel Foundation to Search for the Next “Very much like my commitments Big Thing in Alternative Energy to cancer research, I believe in in- vesting for America’s future gen- erations,” Kimmel said. “I chose Gift given by Sidney Kim- not yet occurred.” the University of Missouri for this mel Foundation, created by important gift because it is a com- The Sidney Kimmel Foundation is founder of The Jones Group prehensive university, experienced donating the large gift, believed to in using its deep scientific research be one of the largest to study en- by Christian Basi capacity across many fields with its ergy alternatives. The Foundation MU News Bureau firm commitment to serve the pub- was created by Sidney Kimmel, lic good. This may be futuristic, but COLUMBIA, Mo. — Sustainable the founder and chairman of The when it comes to energy, our future practices and the search for safe, Jones Group, a leading designer i s n ow.” environmentally friendly energy and marketer of branded appar- has been a priority of scientists for el and footwear. The Jones Group In previous studies, scientists from years. With some success, research- includes brands such as Jones New the Naval Research Laboratory; ers across the globe are continuing York, Anne Klein, Nine West, Glo- ENEA, which is the National En- the hunt for an energy source that is ria Vanderbilt, Bandolino and Ra- ergy Laboratory of Italy; and other clean and abundant. Now, scientists chel Roy. The company recently scientific teams around the globe at the University of Missouri are the acquired footwear brands Stuart have reported observing excess recipients of a five-year, $5.5 million Weitzman and Kurt Geiger. Since heat effects when hydrogen or deu- gift from the Sidney Kimmel Foun- 1993, the Sidney Kimmel Founda- terium has interacted with palladi- dation that will help focus efforts in tion and its subsidiary, the Sidney um, nickel or platinum under cer- fundamental, physical sciences in Kimmel Foundation for Cancer tain extreme conditions. However, the search for new alternative ener- Research, have committed more the researchers do not know how gy sources. than $750 million to philanthrop- the excess heat is being created, nor ic causes, including $550 million can they duplicate the same, exact “We don’t know to cancer research. According to results on a consistent basis in some what the next big Business Week, Kimmel is one of these systems. thing is because of four billionaires in the United it probably hasn’t States who have given over half “This phenomenon – excess heat been invented yet,” their wealth to philanthropy.