Physics and Astronomy

CommuniquéAutumn 2013 Award-winning Professors

he faculty in the physics de- institutions to value their own great has trained over 140 Missouri teach- partment are regularly rec- teachers. ers to teach a yearlong physics course ognized for their superior Individuals are chosen for the award in ninth grade. The impact of the pro- Tachievements in research and teach- based on their proven records as ex- gram is still being studied, but Chan- ing. Over the past year, several faculty traordinary teachers with positive, drasekhar says the trend of more stu- members have received university and inspiring, and long-lasting effects on dents taking physics national accolades for their accom- students, along with their records of earlier looks good. plishments. distinguished scholarship. Professor Emeritus Henry White nominated Ioan Kosztin Meera Chandrasekhar Chandrasekhar for those reasons. “I am familiar with her contributions Ioan Kosztin, associ- Curators’ Teaching as an outstanding and inspirational ate professor of phys- Professor of Phys- teacher in the department, in her out- ics, received the 2012 ics Meera Chan- reach activities, and as a role model to Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding drasekhar has been physics teachers and students through- Research and Creative Activity in the selected as one of out Missouri,” said White in his nomi- physical and mathematical sciences three finalists for nation letter. category. This special recognition is for Baylor University’s Chandrasekhar says that as a gradu- MU faculty members who are still in 2014 Robert Foster Cherry Award for ate student, she really enjoyed teaching the developmental phases of their ca- Great Teaching. The winning professor and participating in discussions with reers, have made outstanding contribu- will be announced in spring 2014. other students, which motivated her tions in research and/or creative activi- “This is a great honor,” says Chan- to be a college professor. As the years ty, and have great promise for achieving drasekhar. “I feel like this is a great way passed, teaching started to take on a wider recognition. The selection com- to talk about the importance of teach- broader perspective, and her interests mittee seeks individuals whose accom- ing on a national level.” evolved from teaching college students plishments are impressive but who are As a finalist, she received a $15,000 to developing programs for k–12 stu- still rising in their fields. prize, and the department received dents and training for their teachers. Kosztin received the award for his $10,000 to foster the development of “I began to notice that my students research in biological physics. His main teaching skills. Chandrasekhar will were coming to college with strong goal is to understand how living mat- present a series of lectures at Baylor misconceptions about physics,” says ter is organized and how it functions during fall 2013 as well as a Cherry Chandrasekhar. “They seemed to really at different levels. He employs and de- Award lecture on the MU campus. The hate it, and I couldn’t figure out why. velops computational methods used eventual winner of the award will re- I realized the problem was the way it in molecular modeling and analytical ceive $250,000, an additional $25,000 was being taught.” methods used in theoreti- for his or her home department, and he Theprofessional development cal physics for his research. or she will teach in residence at Baylor. program she started evolved into The Cherry Award was created by the Physics First program in 2006, Bahram Mashhoon Robert Foster Cherry, a Baylor alum- for which she received funding nus. It was designed to honor great from the Missouri Department of Bahram Mashhoon is a teachers and to stimulate discussion in Elementary and Secondary Edu- 2013 recipient of the Presi- the academy about the value of teach- cation and the National Science dent’s Award for Sustained ing and to encourage departments and Foundation. To date, the program Continues on Page 3

University of Missouri

2 Co m muniqué Chair Chat

To our alumni and and strategic plan committee (Ioan We have many professors and stu- friends of the Kosztin) describes the current state dents who, as usual, have excelled in department: of our department. Based on these the past year. Some of their stories As I write this documents and the formulation of 10- are included here, along with recogni- update, we are year objectives for critical areas in the tions of various accomplishments. I well into the fall department, our strategic planning am especially proud that Meera Chan- semester, hav- committee has undertaken the task drasekhar is one of the three finalists ing welcomed our of documenting our 10-year vision. A for the 2014 Robert Foster Cherry new and returning draft plan available later this fall will Award for Great Teaching, by Baylor students and one become our first official strategic plan University, and that once again one of new faculty mem- as we fine-tune our objectives and our own, Angela Speck, was selected ber. The faculty plans for achieving them. for one of MU’s prestigious William T. Professor continues to be As part of our effort to grow the Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Ex- Peter Pfeifer engaged in excit- number of undergraduate students, cellence. ing new research, we hosted three open houses in the I anticipate even more and better and our student groups, PAGSA, SPS past academic year and plan to repeat things for this 2013–14 year, so be and the Student Astronomical Society with the same targeted groups this sure to continue to check back with are planning activities for a busy year. year—current MU students, incoming us through our Web site. As I stated I am especially pleased to welcome freshmen, and transfer students—all in our new department video: we our new faculty member, Deepak part of looking to our future. are a department where the whole is Singh, formerly at NIST, into our con- We were invited to provide a de- more than the sum of its parts. densed-matter research group. You can partment film for the APS spring With warmest regards, read more about his background and meeting in Baltimore, which focused research on Page 15 of this newsletter. primarily on our condensed-matter, Please take note that we are an- biophysics, and education research, nouncing our first ever department re- topics suggested by the APS. Take a union planned for fall 2014. Our hope look at the result, “Collaborative Re- Peter Pfeifer is to welcome many alumni back to search for Tomorrow,” through the link Professor and Chair the department for a weekend of so- on our Web site (see Page 4). Also be cializing, special tours, and possibly a football game. The year 2014 represents the 50-year anniversary of the official dedication in 1964 of our current build- ing and seems an excellent reason to plan an event and welcome as many alums back as possible. As plans mature, we will keep every- one informed by e-mail and on Facebook, followed with an official invitation early in 2014. We will also keep our Web site up to date with more details as they be- come available. Developing strategy for The front entry of the Physics Building. department growth and continued excellence has been a fo- sure to check out videos of our under- cus of the past year. A recent program graduate students discussing our de- assessment report, prepared by the partment and their research in several curriculum committee (Dorina Kosztin) of our labs. Autumn 2013 3 Award-winning Professors Continued from Page 1

Excellence given by the University of Wouter next generation of scientists is well- Missouri System. The award recogniz- Montfrooij trained, Speck focuses on education es faculty for distinguished career-long as the thread that binds her research, sustained excellence in scholarship, re- Wouter Montfrooij, teaching, and service responsibilities. search, or creativity over a period of 15 associate professor, is Her students and colleagues say Speck or more years. Two awards are given one of two recipients has distinguished herself by her acces- each year, and each recipient receives a of the 2013 Presi- sibility, her love of teaching, and her $5,000 cash prize. dent’s Community Engagement Award wide-ranging knowledge of astronomy. Mashhoon has been at MU for 27 given by the University of Missouri “Professor Speck is a shining star in years and has made lasting contribu- System. This award honors those who her field,” wrote Caleb Wheeler, a for- tions to the field of gravitation physics are highly engaged in the community mer student who participated in un- and general relativity during that time. and contribute to an environment that dergraduate research with Speck for “His many achievements include the encourages the cultural, spiritual, and three years before enrolling in an astro- discovery of the spin-rotation-gravity social development of its members. physics doctoral program at Arizona coupling, now known as the ‘Mash- Montfrooij founded Saturday Morn- State University. “The work that she hoon effect,’ and the gravitomagnetic ing Science (SMS) in 2003, and thanks presents is as cogent as it is brilliant. clock effect,” says Giovanni Vignale, to his efforts and those of other vol- She is one of the few scientists I have Curators’ Professor of Physics, in a unteers, it has grown to be one of the met who understands the importance nomination letter. most visible and respected outreach of showing the relevance of their work Following the discovery of the spin- programs in the Columbia community. to anyone who cares to ask. She is a rotation-gravity coupling, Mashhoon’s SMS is a weekly series of informal talks model for how a scientist can be hard- insights into wave phenomena around on a broad range of science topics tar- working, meticulous, family-oriented black holes led to the first theoretical geted to the lay person. and still be an outgoing, social person understanding of the ringing modes of Montfrooij says that when he started with a warm, strong personality.” black holes—also known as quasi-nor- the program, he did not imagine its im- Speck says engaging students using mal modes. pact. Receiving this award is beyond learner-centered and peer-instruction Four years ago, a Festschrift (a col- anything he could have imagined. techniques is a core part of her teach- lection of original and refereed articles “Thanks to the volunteer work of a ing philosophy. She was instrumental by researchers in his field) honoring great many at MU, we now have a ven- in the development of a new course Mashhoon was published as a separate ue that the community appreciates so that aims to provide science, technol- volume in the journal General Relativity much that they even went to the effort ogy, engineering and math (STEM) and Gravitation. of writing supporting letters on my be- graduate students with the tools they “This wonderful collection of papers, half,” says Montfrooij. “This prestigious need to make their own classrooms ac- written by his many friends, collabora- award means that we did something cessible to students with physical and tors, and relativity experts around the right, something of which we can all be learning disabilities. She also reworked world, gives testament to the breadth, proud.” the introductory astronomy courses depth, and scope of his scientific work,” and created a computer-based labora- says Samuel Werner, Curators’ Profes- Angela Speck tory course to improve student learn- sor Emeritus of Physics. ing among non-scientists. Mashhoon also dedicates his time adapted from an to enhancing the knowledge of MU MU News Bureau Hak Taub students. Shortly after coming to MU, story by Nathan he started the Astrophysics Relativity Hurst The Campus Writing Program rec- seminars that are still held every Tues- Professor An- ognized Haskell Taub, professor of day afternoon. The purpose is to pro- gela Speck was physics and as- vide a platform for the exchange of re- awarded a 2013 tronomy for his search findings and ideas between the William T. Kem- dedication to physics and mathematics departments. per Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. teaching writing- Many doctoral students take the op- Kemper Fellowships, which include a intensive cours- portunity to give talks at the seminars, $10,000 check, are awarded to five out- es with a 2013 which helps them practice their skills standing teachers at the University of Writing Intensive Excellence Award. in organizing their ideas and presenting Missouri each year. Only six MU faculty members are before a knowledgeable audience. From improving scientific literacy presented with the award each year in among the public to ensuring that the Continues on Page 5 4 Co m muniqué New Astrophysics Program Preparing Students for Wide Variety of Career Options

By Jerett Rion, reprinted courtesy of the difficult for researchers to teach class- research here at MU, which is some- MU News Bureau es and continue their own research at thing that was not possible before,” This past spring, three University of the same time. Speck says. “In fact, one student who Missouri students graduated with de- “The MU physics department re- graduated this spring is coming back grees in physics with an emphasis in cently hired two new faculty mem- to the program for graduate school to astronomy, or the equivalent of an as- bers, former NASA astronaut Pro- conduct research in the astrophysics trophysics degree. Until field.” now, MU hadn’t offered a Speck says that with a degree in the field and had degree in physics, a stu- been losing Missouri stu- dent’s possibilities are un- dents to bordering states limited. such as Illinois and Kan- “The great thing about sas. Studying astrophysics obtaining a degree in prepares students for jobs physics is that the career everywhere from NASA to possibilities are endless Wall Street. and rewarding,” Speck “Now that MU has es- says. “A degree in phys- tablished this astrophys- ics gives a student good ics degree program, it will problem-solving skills that be the only college in the can be used in many dif- state to offer a degree of ferent areas such as work this type,” says Angela in the financial industry Speck, director of astron- or continuing education omy at MU. “Before, Mis- The force is with Professor Angela Speck and her Star Dust Team. in medical school. Unlike souri high school students Front: Laura Hosmer; back: Sean Baldridge, Matthew Reel, Nelson some other degrees, a who were interested in as- DeSouza, David Arrant, Bradley Mills, Speck, Lanika Ruzhitskaya, physics degree leaves op- trophysics were forced to Adam Eshein, and David Nash. tions open for a student leave the state. Now, MU after graduation.” can hope to not only stop this brain fessor Linda Godwin and Assistant Students interested in learning drain but also attract brilliant physics Professor Haojing Yan,” Speck says. more about a bachelor’s degree in students from out of state.” “Now, MU can offer a degree in phys- physics with an emphasis in astrono- Speck notes a major obstacle pre- ics with an emphasis in astronomy my can visit physics.missouri.edu/un- vented MU from developing an as- without overwhelming our faculty.” dergraduate-program/major-in-physics/ trophysics program in the past. A “Because we have more astronomy plan-of-study-for-bs-in-physics/. shortage of astronomy faculty made it faculty, students can now conduct

New Department Videos Available The Department of Physics and As- curriculum as these topics were part watch?v=JWq3ijjPMUM, and on the tronomy was invited to be one of 18 of the required focus for this opportu- department Web site at physics.mis- departments to get high-level visibil- nity. The March meeting is traditional- souri.edu/mu-physics-astronomy-aps- ity by way of a five-minute video, at ly oriented toward condensed-matter tv/ the APS meeting in Baltimore, March physics. Additionally, the department now 18–22, 2013. The video, “Collaborative Re- has outstanding video and writ- Using funding from the depart- search for Tomorrow,” ran in series ten testimonials of undergraduates, ment and The Mizzou Advantage, with the other department videos which have been added to the Web the department worked with a pro- at the meeting, and it still can be at physics.missouri.edu/undergrad- ducer from the company WebsEdge found under APS TV for the March uate-program/testimonials/ and also to highlight research associated with meeting: http://www.aps.org/meet- can be found on YouTube at www. condensed-matter physics and de- ings/march/services/apstv.cfm, on youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ velopments in teaching methods and YouTube at www.youtube.com/ embedded&v=s_9fQqDgvms. Autumn 2013 5 Student Astronomical Award Society News Winners Continued from Page 3 By Amber Sheppard, business administra- constellation presentation to guests. tion student SAS also teams up with the Central recognition of their efforts to promote The University of Missouri’s Student Missouri Astronomical Association to writing across the curriculum. Astronomical Society (SAS) is an orga- observe astronomical events at Wild- “As the semester draws to an end, nization designed for any Mizzou stu- haven, visit Rockbridge Planetarium, I would like to thank you for being dent interested in expanding his or her enjoy movie nights, and more. a great teacher,” said one student of knowledge about the universe and all Donations are welcome and would Taub’s writing-intensive course. “In it encompasses. The SAS focuses on be used 100 percent toward expan- your class, I had to write the longest making its members more aware of sion and events. Scholarship oppor- paper of my life and while it might not all the incredible phenomena and pos- tunities for members is also a goal; be my best paper, I have never been so sibilities the vastness of space pro- donations would certainly be appreci- proud of my work before. Most impor- vides. The organization provides lead- ated. At this point, unfortunately, SAS tantly, working on that paper reminded ership opportunities as well as a great runs on enthusiasm, bake sales, and me of all the reasons I love physics.” place to meet new people. change found under sofa cushions. Taub’s course, Physics 4080: Major The group meets the second and All Mizzou students are invited to Themes in Classical Physics, is a newly fourth Wednesdays of each month. join, and alumni are always welcome, converted writing-intensive course. Meetings usually include guest speak- so please join us anytime. Please con- ers and star-gazing in the Laws Ob- tact our president, Amber Sheppard, servatory. In addition to meetings, to learn more at [email protected] the SAS participates in a variety of souri.edu. Or visit the SAS Facebook events. These include trips, such as a page at https://www.facebook.com/ recent invitation to Swan Lake Nation- groups/181426638632760/. al Wildlife Reserve in Sumner, Mo., where the group camped and gave a Save the Date–ish! The Department of Physics and Astronomy is planning a fall reunion for 2014. Notification to all alumni will follow when we have a specific date— so please plan to attend. For up-to-date news on ac- tivities and new research, please continue to check our Web site: Physics.missouri.edu.

The Student Astronomical Society. Standing: Luke Ploszek, Amy Spencer, David Litherland, Josh Lewis, Annie Noens, Michael Reed, and Tanner Fortune; kneeling/sitting: Logan Philpott, Jason Briggs, Laura Mikytuck, and Amber Sheppard (president). 6 Co m muniqué A “New Spin” on Emerging Quantum Technologies An update from Carsten Ullrich

Professor The images illustrate how collective created by internal fields known as Carsten Ullrich spin excitations behave under the ef- spin-orbit fields. In general, these tend et al. had a re- fect of the spin-orbit field, with and to act differently on each electronic cent article pub- without external magnetic field. The spin, causing a phenomenon referred lished in Physical electrical currents currently used to to as ‘spin-decoherence.’ This means Review Letters in power electronic devices are generated that the electronic spins will behave October 2012: by a flow of charges. However, emerg- in a way which cannot be completely “Giant Collec- ing quantum technologies such as spin- controlled or predicted, which has im- tive Spin-orbit electronics make use of both charge portant implications for device func- Field in a Quantum Well: Fine Struc- and another intrinsic property of elec- tionalities. ture of Spin Plasmons,” written by Flo- trons—their spin—to transfer and pro- To address this problem, the scien- rent Baboux1,*, Florent Perez1, Carsten cess signals and information. tists looked at semiconductor struc- A. Ullrich2, Irene D’Amico3, José Gó- The experimental and theoretical tures called “quantum wells” where mez1, and Mathieu Bernard1 (1Institut work, carried out by researchers from the spins can be excited in a collective, des Nanosciences de Paris, CNRS/Uni- York’s Department of Physics, the In- coherent way by using lasers and light versité Paris VI, Paris 75005, France; stitute of Nanoscience in Paris, and scattering. 2University of Missouri, Department the University of Missouri, could have They demonstrated that these collec- of Physics and Astronomy, Columbia, important implications for spintronics tive spin excitations possess a macro- Mo. 65211, USA; 3University of York, scopic spin of quantum nature. In oth- Department of Physics, York YO10 er words, the electrons and their spins 5DD, United Kingdom). act as a single entity making them less What was particularly significant susceptible to spin orbit fields, so deco- about this work was that it was an ef- herence is highly suppressed. fect theoretically predicted 10 years The theoretical work was led by ago by Ullrich, which now has been Irene D’Amico, from York’s Depart- experimentally observed. ment of Physics, and Carsten Ullrich. According to the article abstract, in- The project began with their predic- elastic light scattering was employed tion about the effect of spin Coulomb with magnetic fields to study intersub- drag on collective spin excitations and band spin plasmons in a quantum well. developed into a much larger inter- The researchers were able to demon- national project spanning over three strate the existence of a giant collec- years, which was funded in the UK by tive spin-orbit (SO) field that splits the a Royal Society grant, with addition- spin-plasmon spectrum into a triplet. al funding from the Engineering and The effect is remarkable as each indi- Physical Sciences Research Council vidual electron would be expected to (EPSRC). precess in its own momentum-depen- According to D’Amico, “This work dent SO field, leading to D’yakonov- has developed into a strong interna- Perel’ dephasing. Instead, many-body tional collaboration that has greatly effects lead to a striking organization of improved our understanding at the the SO fields at the collective level. The fundamental level of the role of many- macroscopic spin moment is quantized Images illustrate how collective spin exci- body interactions on the behavior of by a uniform collective SO field, five tations behave under the effect of the spin- electron spins.” times higher than the individual SO orbit field, with and without external mag- “By combining experimental and field. The article provides a momen- netic field. theoretical work, we were able to dem- tum-space cartography of this field. onstrate that through many-body in- This international team of scientists and quantum information technolo- teractions, a macroscopic collection of has shed new light on a fundamental gies. spins can behave as a single entity with area of physics, which could have im- The team looked at semiconductors’ a single macroscopic quantum spin,” portant implications for future elec- structures—the base of current elec- she says, “making this much less suscep- tronic devices and the transfer of infor- tronic devices and of many spintronic tible to decoherence. In the future, it mation at the quantum level. device proposals—and the problems Continues on next page Autumn 2013 7

the National Science Teachers Asso- state of Missouri and also was selected ciation’s annual list Research Worth to receive the National Academic Ad- Reading. She also received a National vising Association Outstanding Advis- Faculty Science Foundation grant of over $2.6 ing Award Certificate of Merit in the million for preparation of elementary faculty advising category. Kudos teachers to teach in the physical scienc- Ioan Kosztin was awarded a 2012 es. The title of the project is “QuEST: Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Quality Elementary Science Teaching.” Meera Chandrasekhar was selected Research and Creative Activity. as one of three finalists for the 2014 Fred Hawthorne was awarded a Na- Bahram Mashhoon was selected as Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great tional Medal of Science, the nation’s this year’s recipient of the President’s Teaching, by Baylor University. highest honor for scientists in a White Faculty Award for Sustained Excel- House ceremony. Shi-Jje lence. He also was was selected for the Chen was Kattesh Katti was elected fellow of 2012 Physics Alumni Award. elected the American Association for the Ad- Wouter Montfrooij was selected as fellow vancement of Science. In August, in this year’s recipient of the President’s of the Allahabad, India, a new institute was Faculty Award for Community En- American named for Katti: Kattesh Katti Insti- gagement. He also published a new tute of Green Nanotechnology and Physical Society and was appointed as- book (Kindle edition) titled Aaargh! sociate editor of the journal Agri Nanotechnology. The newly in August. PLoS Com- named institute is within the premises Physics! putational Biology. of Sam Higginbot- Angela Speck was appointed as fac- Suchi Guha was promoted to full pro- tom Institute of Ag- ulty fellow in the Graduate School, as fessor, and she recently received a one- riculture, Technol- institutional coordinator of MU’s par- year NSF grant for $48,081 for Decem- ogy and Sciences. ticipation in the Center of Research, ber 2013–November 2014. Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), and Karen King was she was also awarded the William T. Deborah Ha- selected for the nuscin’s (and her Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Ex- 2012 Physics Alum- cellence. team’s) publica- ni Award. tion, “Supporting Hak Taub was selected as a recipi- the Development Dorina ent of a Writing Intensive Excellence of Science Teacher Kosztin was Award by the Campus Writing Pro- Leaders—Where named out- gram and was elected to fellowship Do We Begin?,” standing ad- in the Neutron Scattering Society of was selected for viser in the America. Carsten Ullrich was promoted to full professor. Ping Yu was Quantum Technologies recognized Continued from previous page as a Siemens Competition mentor for may be possible to use these excitations the results strongly suggest that the his mentoring as signals to transport or elaborate in- quantum nature of the macroscopic of high school students. formation at the quantum level.” spin is universal to collective spin exci- And One Alum After reporting their results inPhysi - tations in conductive systems. last year, the team of “The collaboration with Irene cal Review Letters Alumnus James scientists confirmed and extended the D’Amico and Carsten Ullrich has been W. Seeser, MS results by considering different mate- particularly powerful to disentangle ’67, PhD ’70, was rials and type of excitation. The sec- the puzzle of our data,” says Perez. “In honored by the ond set of experiments were recently our first joint work, we constructed St. Louis Planned reported in (Rapid an interpretation of the phenomenon, Physical Review B Giving Coun- Communication) and highlighted by which was confirmed in a second in- cil with its Do- the journal as an Editor’s Suggestion. vestigation carried out on a different nor Recognition Florent Perez, who led the experi- system. This paved the way for a uni- Award at the 2013 mental work with Florent Baboux, at versality of the effect.” St. Louis Legacy Awards. the CNRS/Université Paris VI, says 8 Co m muniqué UPDATE on Neutron Scattering IGERT National Science Foundation IGERT training program sends young scientists to learn neutron scattering at ORNL

Edited and reprinted with permission of the press office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Among the five days of lectures pre- (originally published March 1, 2013) and with input from Professor Hak Taub, (MU De- sented by neutron sciences staff were partment of Physics and Astronomy) “Neutron Optics and Instrument De- velopment,” by Lee Robertson; “Sur- An Integrative Graduate Education of “sophisticated users” of our nation’s faces and Interfaces–Soft Matter,” by and Research Traineeship (IGERT) premier neutron-scattering facilities. John Ankner; “Large-scale Structures workshop in neutron scattering was In its IGERT program, the NSF antici- in Biology,” by Shuo Qian; “Single-crys- conducted at the Oak tal Nuclear and Magnet- Ridge National Labora- ic Structures,” by Bryan tory (ORNL) Spallation Chakoumakos; “Diffrac- Neutron Source, Feb. tion and Engineering 25–March 1, 2013. The Materials,” by Andrew workshop educated the Payzant; and “Inelastic young scientists and their Scattering–Hard Matter,” mentors in the benefits by Mark Lumsden. of neutron scattering as In addition, Roger a powerful tool for three Pynn, a soft-condensed- major areas of materials matter materials scientist science: biological mac- from Indiana University romolecules and bioma- with a joint appointment terials, the structure and at ORNL, presented “In- dynamics of strongly cor- troduction to Small-angle related electronic materi- Neutron Scattering,” and als, and the design of ar- David Baxter, also from tificial nanoscale materi- IU, presented “Multilay- als. Several students and MU students and professors at Oak Ridge National Lab. ers: A Prototypical Class professors from MU’s of Nanostructured Ma- IGERT program attend- terials.” Greg Smith, of ed this workshop. pates that the most-challenging prob- the Biology and Soft Matter Division, IGERT is the NSF’s flagship inter- lems in science and engineering will gave the Thursday-evening dinner talk, disciplinary training program for edu- be addressed most effectively by inter- “A Brief History of (Neutron Beam) cating PhD scientists and engineers disciplinary teams of researchers. The Ti m e .” from the United States. Since 1998, the IGERT trainees participate in courses Besides tours of the High Flux Iso- program has made 215 awards to more and research internships that promote tope Reactor and the Spallation Neu- than 100 universities in 41 states, the team efforts in neutron-scattering re- tron Source, participants toured the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, search that cross traditional disciplin- Center for Nanophase Materials Sci- providing funding for nearly 5,000 ary boundaries. ences, the Computing and Computa- graduate students. Professor Haskell During the five-day workshop, 13 tional Sciences Directorate’s observa- Taub is the director of the five-year trainees learned how the latest devel- tion deck and EVEREST imaging wall, $3-million IGERT project titled “Neu- opments in neutron-scattering tech- and the historical Graphite Reactor. tron Scattering for the Science and En- niques are advancing important, new MU faculty attending included gineering of the 21st Century.” During science. Research Professor Helmut Kaiser the last decade, the United States has The workshop included lectures, fa- (MURR), Professor Paul Miceli (MU invested more than $2 billion in up- cility tours, and hands-on experience physics) and Taub. Faculty from In- grading its facilities for neutron-scat- at selected instruments, where staff diana University were Roger Pynn tering research at ORNL and the Na- instrument scientists showed partici- and David Baxter, and Flora Meil- tional Institute of Standards and Tech- pants sample environment chambers, leur participated from North Carolina nology Center for Neutron Research. some specifics about neutron instru- State University (jointly appointed at The MU IGERT project’s principal ments and data analysis, and how they ORNL). IU and NSCU are sister or- mission is training the next generation work with users. Continues on Page 13 Autumn 2013 9 Updates from Organic Optoelectronics

Professor Suchi Guha has been Using Photocurrent Spectroscopy, in across the metal-polymer interface in working in the area of organic opto- a focused session of the 2013 March FETs, providing a powerful visualiza- electronics for 10 years, since joining meeting of the American Physical tion tool for correlating the device per- the faculty at MU in 2003. Society. formance to the structural changes This research program has Moghe won of the molecule/polymer. His work on grown with several applica- first prize pentacene FETs demonstrates the tions in displays, sensors, (and $200) unique potential of Raman and sur- and photovoltaics. She was for her face-enhanced Raman scattering for awarded a new three-year the investigation of physical phenom- grant from the National Dhanashree ena at the nanoscale in pentacene- Science Foundation for Moghe, at metal interfaces in FETs. This work $320,146, starting June left. was published in the Journal of Physi- 2013. The project title is cal Chemistry C 116, 12779 “Polarization-induced Trans- (2012). Adil defended his disser- port in All-polymer Field-ef- Danish tation in late spring and started a fect Transistors.” This grant will fund Adil, at position as a device engineer at a flexible electronics program at MU. right. Intel this fall. Guha and Carsten Ullrich received Ndubuisi Ukah, joined the the Brazil–US Professorship from the poster, physics doctoral program in American Physical Society in 2012. titled 2009, working with Guha. He This award allowed them to team- the defended his dissertation, Low teach a course called Electronic Exci- same Dielectric Constant-based Or- tations in Materials: Theory and Ap- as the ganic Field-effect Transistors and plications at Universidade Federal do pre- Metal-insulator-semiconductor ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil in July 2012. sentation above, in the research com- Capacitors in fall 2012. He now works Dhanashree Moghe, an advisee of petition (energy session) of the Nano- as a device engineer for Intel. Guha, has been working in the area frontiers Symposium held at MU in Kehsab Paudel defended his dis- of organic solar cells since 2009. She June. sertation: High-Pressure Spectroscop- has set up a novel method for prob- Danish Adil, an advisee of Guha, ic Studies of Organic Device Materials ing charge transfer states in polymer- has been working in the area of organ- in fall 2012. Paudel worked with Guha based solar cells, which appeared in ic field-effect transistors (FETs) since and Curators’ Professor Meera Chan- Applied Physics Letters 99, 233307 2009. He has co-written more than drasekhar. He is now a postdoctoral (2011). She recently presented her seven papers since 2010. Adil’s dis- fellow at Oregon State University. dissertation, Probing Charge Transfer sertation research has enabled a novel Complex States in Organic Solar Cells technique of generating Raman maps Growing the Department The Department of Physics and As- provided information on department the observatory. Several of our physics tronomy held two additional open scholarships and the advantages and majors participated in a student panel houses during the 2012–13 academic value of a degree in physics. Between to respond to questions from the visi- year following the successful Fall Wel- student visitors and parents, it was a tors and relate their own experiences come Open House in September. full house. The event culminated with within the department. The visitors These events provided an opportu- lab tours to emphasize the opportuni- were also given a presentation on the nity for prospective physics students ties for undergraduate research. MU TRIG program (Transfer Inter- to meet and mingle with faculty and March 7 was the final open house est Groups) and financial aid informa- students from the department and for the year, “Launch into Physics.” This tion from the admissions and transfer explore opportunities for physics and event targeted prospective transfer stu- and financial aid offices. A special tour physics-education careers. dents from community colleges, with of the University of Missouri Research On February 15, “Explore Physics” a special emphasis on Moberly Area Reactor ended the afternoon. welcomed prospective fall freshmen Community College. The afternoon The department plans to repeat during one of the MU Black and Gold began with a general welcome and de- these successful events for the current Days. Our students and faculty mixed partment and physics career informa- academic year. with the visitors and their families and tion, followed by a tour of labs and 10 Co m muniqué

Graduate students in the department informatics category for presenting have been productive this past year as “Modeling Biomechanical Relaxation is evident below. Graduate Processes of Multi-cellular Systems via 2012 Physics Leaders’ Awards for Cellular Particle Dynamics.” Outstanding Student Presentation, Student Congratulations to Mohammad Graduate Level, presented at the Phys- Sherafati on winning the 2013 Don- ics Leader’s fall meeting: first place— News ald Anderson Graduate Research As- Matt McCune, “Predicting the Time sistant Award. This award recognizes a Evolution of Fusing Multi-cellular research assistant demonstrating excel- Aggregates via Cellular Particle Dy- lence and lasting impact through con- namics;” second place—Dhanashree of Near-native Protein Structures;” tributions to research, future promise Moghe, “The Role of Mid Gap States Physical sciences category—Andrew as a researcher, originality, imagination, in Organic Solar Cells;” and Harri- Gillespie, first place, “Measurements satisfactory progress toward a degree, son Knoll, who is currently a gradu- of Increased Enthalpies of Adsorption and research mentoring of peers. ate student, received first place in the for Boron-doped Activated Carbons;” The Public Outreach Award is undergraduate category for research Ashkan Shafiee, second place, “The awarded each semester to a graduate done as an undergraduate, “Quantum Power of Printers from Printed Elec- student in the Department of Physics Entanglement for the Undergraduate tronics to Organ Printing;” and Har- and Astronomy who has made signifi- Laboratory.” rison Knoll, third place, “Quantum cant contributions to science outreach. At Mizzou Adventures in Educa- Mechanics for the Undergraduate Matt McCune received the fall 2012 tion, a half-day event for K–6 students, Laboratory.” award, and the spring award went to the Department of Physics and As- Ashkan Shafieewas selected from Kevin Tarwater. tronomy’s science outreach booth was among the many award recipients at The Harry E. Hammond Prize in awarded the 2013 Chancellor’s Award RCAF to be the keynote speaker at the Physics is awarded each semester to in Public Outreach (1st Place). Partici- 2013 GPC Legislative Awards Recep- graduate students in the department pants were Matt McCune (team lead- tion, an annual event honoring four to who have made significant contribu- er), Kevin Tarwater, Justin Grayer, six state legislators. Chancellor Brady tions to the undergraduate teaching Alex St. John, Harrison Knoll, Zack Deaton later gave a presentation at a program in the department. Fall 2012 Buck, and Lacey Daniels (an under- conference in St. Louis where he high- awards went to Danish Adil and Matt graduate). lighted two Mizzou students (one McCune. Spring 2013 awards went At the 30th annual Research & Cre- graduate and one undergraduate), and to Nelson de Souza and Harrison ative Activities Forum (RCAF) by Shafiee was the graduate student high- Knoll. MU’s Graduate Professional Coun- lighted. Tina Rezaie Matin, Alex St. John, cil (GPC), graduate students received Congratulations to Matt McCune Dhanashree Moghe, Bradley Mills, the following awards in 2013: Biologi- on receiving the 2013 Life Sciences and Justin Grayer were inducted into cal sciences category—Jiong Zhang, Week Research Award. He received Sigma Pi Sigma: The Physics Honor So- first place, “Refinement and Selection first place in the bioengineering and ciety.

Ashkan Shafiee presenting at the GPS Legislative Awards Reception.

Chancellor’s Award in Public Outreach winners from the spring Mizzou Adventures: Zach Buck; Kevin Tarwater; George Justice, then dean of the Graduate School; Matt McCune; Alex St. John; and Justin Grayer. Lacey Daniels and Harrison Knoll are not pictured. Autumn 2013 11 PAGSA 2012–13: A Space Oddity

By Matt McCune and Jesse Kremenak pier-mâché beetle at the 2013 In 2013, the Physics and Astronomy Mizzou Adventures in Graduate Graduate Student Association (PAG- Education event. In April 2013, SA) welcomed four new officers: the Department of Physics and President Harrison Knoll, Vice Presi- Astronomy’s booth, Physics Are dent Alex St. John, Secretary Grant Phun, fulfilled the committee’s Knotts, and Treasurer Andrew Gil- promise and was awarded the lespie. The remaining members of the Chancellor’s Award in Public 2013 executive board include faculty Outreach: 1st Place. adviser Carsten Ullrich as well as the Additionally on April 6th, PAG- committee chairs: Chris Owens (so- SA members ran four events cial events), Yiyao Chen (teaching ex- for the Missouri Science Olym- cellence), and Matt McCune (public piad State Tournament: Reach outreach). for the Stars, Astronomy, Shock The Teaching Excellence Commit- Value and Circuit Lab. In total, New graduate students, fall 2013: Ashutosh tee, chaired by Jesse Kremenak in 21 students, both graduate and Dahal, Milica Utjesanovic, Jialu Yan, Erica 2012, developed the TA Mentoring undergraduate, volunteered at Hroblak, Aayush Regmi, Amrit Laudari, Vi- Program to improve the teaching ex- the two outreach events to in- reak Yim, and Brock Summers (Matt Reel, perience of the department’s TAs and spire and educate the scientists not pictured). enhance the quality of education in of tomorrow. PAGSA gives spe- our classrooms. By pairing new and cial thanks to Professors Yun souri sunshine. We had a large turn- experienced TAs, the program ac- Zhang and Dorina Kosztin for their out in 2012 and expect the event to celerates the learning curve for new guidance and support; the success be a PAGSA fixture for years to come. teaching assistants while expanding of these events would not have been PAGSA also recognizes members the teaching skills of all TAs. In 2013, possible without the hard work from who have made individual achieve- Yiyao Chen took over as the commit- these two faculty members. ments this academic year. Moham- tee chair with high enthusiasm. Chen mad Sherafati was awarded strives to expand and refine the com- one of the most presitgous mittee’s programs, which include the gradute student awards at Miz- new TA Mentoring Program, a two- zou, the Donald K. Anderson day TA training workshop, and the Graduate Research Assistant mid-semester TA evaluations. Award. Ashkan Shafiee was In 2012, PAGSA’s Public Outreach selected to present his re- Committee, spearheaded by Matt search, “The Power of Printers McCune, promised to outdo the ento- from Printed Electronics to Or- mology students and their six-foot pa- gan Printing,” as the keynote speaker at the 2013 Graduate Professional Council’s (GPC) Legislative Awards Reception. Jesse Kremenak serves as the Harrison Knoll shows students a GPC national issues coodinator momentum wheel. and as the regional director of legislative affairs for the Nation- In fall 2012, Chris Ow- al Association of Graduate-Profession- ens started a new PAGSA al Students. Kremenak meets with tradition, the Back-to- members of Congress to advocate for School BBQ. This event, graduate and professional students on held in mid-August, pro- important issues like graduate student vided an opportunity for debt. the incoming graduate The 2012–13 academic year was students to meet and so- another successful campaign for PAG- cialize with the rest of the SA and its members. As we welcome department before classes in a fresh group of talent in fall 2013, Lacy Daniels with young visitors at Mizzou Ad- began, all while enjoying we expect an even brighter future of ventures. some burgers and Mis- service and achievement ahead. 12 Co m muniqué The Physics Leaders—A Success Story

Don Packwood, PhD ’71 physics, tells in his own words how the alumni board in physics in each category. They gave advice to came to be and why he thinks it is a successful example of what alumni can help their de- the faculty on the curriculum and ad- partments achieve. vice to the dean on the department’s needs. The ability to give money has n fall 1996, distinguished alumni physicist who was doing groundbreak- never been a factor in our recruitment from every department in the Col- ing research on the cause of intense of new members for the Physics Lead- lege of Arts and Science gathered gamma-ray bursts originating through- ers, nor is a donation ever required for Iin Columbia for the Third Annual out the universe. Each alum who was membership. Despite the lack of em- A&S Leaders Conference and Banquet. being recruited to join Leaders received phasis on monetary giving, the Lead- David Cowan, who at the time was a letter of invitation from Jerry. When ers have been generous when they have chair of the physics department, had I received mine, I decided to accept, seen departmental needs. Most recent- invited a cross-section of alumni to be- and I called several others who were on ly, the Leaders mounted a campaign to come Physics Leaders and to have the the list of prospects and urged them to establish a $500,000 endowed fund for opportunity to meet astronaut Linda accept. faculty-compensation enhancement. Godwin, MS ’76, PhD ’80 physics, who Physics Leaders include academic We are partway to our goal, and the was a scholar-in-residence at MU that physicists, government lab physicists, fund is making a huge difference. year. industrial physicists, medical physi- We found at our first meeting a de- Cowan chose his Leaders well, se- cists, entrepreneurs, and even a law- partment that produced good research lecting people who had shown an in- yer, a retired Air Force general, and a but was small—far smaller than other terest in the department and who had retired NASA astronaut. The late Jim physics departments at major research lent their support. He tried to find universities. We found a depart- people who had roots and family ment that was focused mainly on in Missouri so they would have producing future professors. The reason to return each year. Cowan From the beginning, the industrial physicists in the group created a terrific program for his “ pointed out that there were sim- Leaders, asking them to talk to focus of Physics Leaders was to ply not enough professorships students and emphasize the fac- available for all the graduates tors that led to their success. The help the students and faculty. being produced and that most Leaders came away acquainted ” would wind up in alternative ca- with the state of the department, reers, so the department needed its faculty, and their research. also to prepare its graduates to be They could see that the department Fergason, BS ’56, ScD ’01 physics, the able to succeed in these other career had many needs, and they felt they inventor of the first commercially suc- paths. The Leaders as a group, and in could help. cessful liquid crystal displays, which are some cases individually on their own Cowan had chosen as the Physics still used today, and Bill Brinkman, BS initiative, began to lobby the dean Leaders’ first president Gerald Fish- ’60, MS ’62, PhD ’65, ScD ’87 physics, about the department’s need to ex- man, BS ’65 physics, an eminent astro- the director of the Office of Science at pand. The dean at the time, Richard the Department of Schwartz, responded by approving the Energy —both are department’s expansion into the field former MU physics of biological physics, and the depart- students. ment began to grow. The growth of the From the begin- department has continued under the ning, the focus of present dean, Mike O’Brien. The de- Physics Leaders was partment is approximately twice the to help the students size that it was when the Leaders start- and faculty. Leaders ed—certainly more in keeping with gave career seminars, that of a major research university. It offered mentoring has strengthened and broadened its and advice to the program in many areas. students, and spon- While the Leaders cannot take com- sored undergraduate plete credit for all this, surely we have and graduate student played an important role. Physics is research presenta- now a department that prepares its Gerald Fishman after the Lloyd B. Thomas lecture in tions with cash priz- students broadly for whatever path 2012. es for the top papers Continues on next page Autumn 2013 13

Continued from previous page third of the physics faculty are women, of the A&S alums who read it will de- their careers may take them, even to and over a quarter of the department’s cide that they, too, want to enjoy the the extent of establishing a joint phys- graduates are women. satisfaction of helping students and ics/electrical engineering degree. The One of Dean O’Brien’s goals has faculty. I encourage you to contact the Leaders been to encourage all of the depart- chair of your department to see if you have been ments in the college to create alumni can join such a group, or perhaps help very grat- boards that are similar in scope to the get a group organized. You will have a ified that Physics Leaders. Helping in that ef- rewarding experience. so many fort is the main thing I can contribute My thanks to my wife, Lona, and to of their as a member of his Strategic Develop- Linda Cunningham, wife of Physics recom- ment Board. In the beginning, this was Leader Robert Cunningham, MS ’66, menda- a hard sell for reasons I simply did not PhD ’70 physics, for many helpful sug- tions have understand, considering the benefits gestions as I was writing this. been act- the physics department received as a ed upon. result of our collective efforts. Surely, I It gives us thought, all the Compton Gamma Ray all a sense departments Observatory launch in of ac- would want to April 1991. complish- gain the support ment and of their alum- satisfaction and keeps us coming back ni and derive each year. similar benefits. The Leaders found that one of the It took years physics department’s strengths was the of beating the unusually large percentage of students drum, but I now who were women. This is not the case am seeing real in most physics departments around change on the the country. Most are unwelcoming, horizon as de- some even hostile to women. We felt it partment chairs was a competitive advantage that our and their faculty department is female friendly, and we members are encouraged even stronger outreach to seeing the ben- The crew of the space shuttleAtlantis in 1991: front, Jerry women. At present, MU is a national efits. Ross, Professor Linda Godwin, and Jay Apt; back, Instructor leader among physics departments in I have written Steve Nagel and Ken Cameron. terms of the percentage of the faculty this article in the and students who are women. One- hope that some Neutron Scattering IGERT Continued from Page 8 ganizations on the MU IGERT grant, everything in a very short period and to and the science that can be done with along with Fisk. There were eight stu- network and make contacts for the in- it from world experts like those at dents from MU, two each from IU and ternships they will seek two years from ORNL. In Taub’s opinion, this work- Fisk University, and one from NCSU. now. They were also able to participate shop provided great motivation for Taub helped organize the week’s pro- in an important poster session to which the students’ doctoral research and en- gram, previewed the lectures, and ad- the ORNL scientific staff were invited. hanced the training of a new genera- vised the speakers on the material they Thanks to the session on proposal writ- tion of “sophisticated users” of our na- should present. Miceli served as coor- ing and discussions with staff, the MU tion’s state-of-the-art neutron-scatter- dinator for the IGERT theory course students were able to submit five beam- ing facilities. on nanostructured materials. Two of time proposals for the next ORNL cy- the lectures were recorded at ORNL cle. The call for proposals ended March and sent to MU so that students here 6, with 582 total submissions, about 40 in Columbia could “attend.” more than the past call. Students gave the workshop rave re- The students learned a lot about views. They were excited to get to see the technique of neutron scattering 14 Co m muniqué The Physics Leaders 2012 Fall Meeting

The Physics Leaders attended the fall Mohammad 2012 department meeting on Sept. 27– Sherafati: 28. On the Thursday evening prior to “Gutzwiller the event, early arrivals enjoyed fellow Variational leader Jerry Fishman’s Arts and Sci- Method for ence-sponsored Lloyd B. Thomas Lec- Strongly ture titled “Modern Astronomy,” pre- Correlated sented to the public in Jesse Wrench Materials” Auditorium. Xiaojun Xu: On Friday morning the leaders re- “Kinetic ceived updates on the status of the de- Mechanism partment, the undergraduate and grad- of Confor- uate students, and the student organi- mal Switch zations PAGSA, Sigma Pi Sigma, and Between the Society of Physics Students. Bistable Specific updates of note included the RNA Hair- The Physics Leaders at the 2012 meeting. Front: Gerald Fishman, recently approved official dual major pins” Linda Godwin, Paul Leath, Don Packwood, and Jim Seeser; back: between physics and electrical engi- All the Henry White, Bill Kennedy, Dan Voss, Mohammed Salehpour, neering initiated by Dorina Kosztin, talks were ex- John Bognador, Chris Wallace, Rosalie Graves, and Carl Anderson. and Karen King’s emphasis on produc- cellent, and ing more qualified physics teachers, a the Leaders joint effort with the College of Educa- had a difficult tion. time deciding on the following winners partment history, as did others in at- Professor Rob Duncan, who is also for outstanding student presentations, tendance. vice chancellor of research, presented which were awarded at the Friday-eve- Discussions with Dean Michael an overview of MU’s Sidney Kimmel ning dinner: O’Brien on Saturday morning centered Institute for Nuclear Renaissance that Graduate category—First prize: Matt on the need for a strategic plan for the has been established at MU and has McCune; second prize: Dhanashree department, which should be available laboratories in the Physics Building. Moghe. Undergraduate category—First by the fall 2013 meeting. The leaders enjoyed the following prize: Harrison Knoll, second prize: The dean explained that MU has student presentations: Nathan Frey and Chris Blessing/Sean slipped in university rankings and that Undergraduate research— Sweany. the university is about to begin a $bil- Chris Blessing and Sean Sweany: “Re- The leaders, faculty, students, guests, lion-plus fundraising campaign—we cord-breaking Methane Storage and family enjoyed a Friday-night din- currently are in a silent period. Kosztin Capacity on Nano-engineered Gra- ner at Reynolds Alumni Center. and Pfeifer were to produce a project phene Adsorbents” During the business part of the pro- request for renovating undergraduate Nathan Frey: “Atomic Force Micros- gram, Peter Pfeifer and Jim Seeser labs, which was approved, and renova- copy Tip Deconvolution and Image presented the 2012 Physics Leader’s tions began this past summer. Analysis” Awards for Outstanding Student Pre- Strategies for startup funds and the Harrison Knoll: “Quantum Entangle- sentation, and Pfeifer presented the size of the department and the ability ment for the Undergraduate Labora- outstanding faculty awards to Bahram of professors to handle additional grad- tory” Mashhoon and Karen King. Pfeifer uate students were discussed, and the Graduate research— also recognized recent gifts to the de- dean also talked about how to increase Yiyao Chen: “In Situ X-ray Scattering partment from Gerald Fishman, Pat the Faculty Enhancement Fund and Investigation of Ag Nano-islands on Danner, and Rose Marie Dishman. general fundraising. Si(111)7x7” A slide show of photos depicting CD copies of Charles Peterson’s His- Matt Connolly: “Adsorbate-induced various events and people from past tory of the Department were distrib- Pore Expansion Carbon in Graphene times in our department ran through- uted. Oxide Framework Materials” out the dinner and was followed by a Carl Anderson was selected to serve Matt McCune: “Predicting the Time panel discussion on department his- as chair-elect with Philip Chumbley Evolution of Fusing Multi-cellular tory by former professors, including continuing for another year as chair. Aggregates via Cellular Particle Dy- Henry White, Cliff Tompson, Guy namics” Schupp, and Bob Hurst. They shared Dhanashree Moghe: “The Role of Mid their memories of the department and Gap States in Organic Solar Cells” provided a personal perspective of de- Autumn 2013 15

Undergraduate Student News

The department is very proud of its is given to only one students, and the accomplishments of student each year these undergraduates will make it ob- whose research proj- vious why they are destined for great ect and academic things in their futures. record merit recog- 2012 Physics Leaders’ Awards for nition. Hurst also Outstanding Student Presentation, received a Life Sci- Undergraduate Level, presented at the ences Undergradu- Physics Leader’s fall meeting: second ate Research Schol- place—a tie between Nathan Frey, arship. “Atomic Force Microscopy Tip Decon- Nathan Frey was volution and Image Analysis,” and co- selected to present presenters Chris Blessing and Sean research at the state Sweany, “Record-breaking Methane capital in Jefferson Storage Capacity on Nano-engineered City, “Correcting Graphene Adsorbents.” First place was Distortions to Im- awarded to graduate student Harrison prove Atomic Force Knoll for his undergraduate research— Microscopy Images.” Scholarship recipient Daniel Van Hoesen. see graduate student awards. Marc Canellas Travis Hurst received the Honors was the primary au- “Development of Planetocentric Ref- College Research Grant. This award thor of a paper with Sergei Kopeikin, erence Frames to Model the Flyby Anomaly,” published in the Journal of Young Investigators. 2012–13 scholarships awarded: Don- ald L. and Lona Lewis Packwood En- New Face in the Department dowed Undergraduate Scholarship in Physics: Christopher Lutsch and The department is very pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Deepak Singh as Scott Melenbrink. its newest member. He brings a wealth of research experience to the condensed- Gingrich Endowment: Nathan matter research group. Frey. Singh was formerly with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Paul E. Basye Undergraduate Schol- Center for Neutron Research, in Gaithers- arship: William Cleeton, Nicholas burg, Md. He graduated with his doctorate Parmley, Gary Gasperino, Cody Al- in physics from the University of Massachu- lard, Michael Andrade, Laura Hos- setts Amherst, and performed postdoctoral mer, and Lacey Daniels. research at MIT with Professor Young S. Lee. Clifford Tompson Scholarship in Singh’s many research interests have in- Physics: Sean Sweany, Colby John- cluded nanofabrication of topographical nano- son, Dylon Register, and Daniel Van engineered materials and research into their Hoesen. magnetic caloritronics properties, the phys- Eugene B. Hensley Scholarship in ics of unusual spin glass and spin ice phe- Physics: Richard Barber. nomena in pyrochlore oxides (geometrically frustrated magnetic materials), and investi- gation of magnetic quantum fluctuations in intermetallic compounds using neutron-scat- tering measurements and other macroscopic probes. Deepak Singh Communiqué is published annually by the University of Missouri Department of Physics and Astronomy at College of Arts and Science the University of Missouri. 317 Lowry Hall Columbia, MO 65211 Editorial Office Department of Physics and Astronomy 223 Physics Building Columbia, MO 65211 Phone: 573-882-3335 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: physics.missouri.edu

Editorial Board Linda Godwin Peter Pfeifer Melody Galen

The department appreciates hearing from alumni and friends. Send announcements or milestones to the address listed above.

Congratulations to our Recent Graduates

Fall 2012/Spring 2013 Nicholas Parmley Spring 2013 BS in Physics Matthew Reel (emph. in astronomy) MS in Physics Jacob Williams Cody Allard Nelson DeSouza Luke Andrea Fall 2012 Justin Greyer Jonah Bates MS in Physics Jesse Kremenak Ryan Bornaman Alex Miller Tyler Cary Lindsey Ortiz Ryan Cleeton Ashkan Shafiee Summer 2013 Laura Hosmer (emph. in astronomy) PhD in Physics Michael Jaris Fall 2012 Scott Melenbrink PhD in Phyiscs Jagath Gunasekera David Nash (emph. in astronomy) Mohammad Sherafati Elizabeth Overcash Liang Liu Keshab Paudel Ndubuisi Ukah