Cross Sections

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY WINTER 2005 Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Message from the Chair

—Arie Bodek awarded the University Award for continue (or begin) that tradition of giv- I would like to thank all of our Excellence in Graduate Teaching. ing that will assure the future excellence alumni who have contributed to the Our graduate students of the department. Other ways to help Mandel Endowment this past year. On have also done well this past year. Grad- our cause are to inform any promising Meliora Weekend 2004, uate student Maria Florencia Canelli students about our summer undergrad- the new Mandel Con- was awarded the URA- Best uate research program (REU) and to ference Room was ded- Ph.D. Thesis Award in 2004. This is the encourage students interested in careers icated (for pictures, see third time that a University of Rochester in physics or astronomy to apply for the department news student has been so honored since this graduate study at Rochester. Application story of October 29, award was instituted seven years ago. material for all these programs is avail- 2004). The Mandel Joe Eberly was elected as vice president able on our Web pages (www.pas. endowment has reached (2004) and president (2007) of the Optical rochester.edu). If you know of any ex- the level of $100,000, and we hope that Society of America. Tom Foster was ap- ceptional undergraduates whom we with additional contributions we will pointed to the prestigious NIH Center for should consider either for our REU pro- raise a similar amount in 2004–2005. Scientific Review (Radiation Therapeutics gram or for graduate studies, we would Several of our faculty and students and Biology Study Section) in 2004. appreciate it if you would please send have received awards during this past The Board of Trustees recently chose their names and e-mail addresses to academic year. I will only mention a a new president for the University of Barbara Warren ([email protected]. few of these awards and refer you to Rochester: J. Seligman, who is currently edu), and we will contact them directly. news stories on our department Web the dean of the law school at Washing- Any help from our alumnae and alumni page for the others. Susumu Okubo ton University in St. Louis. Our own along these lines would be greatly was selected to receive the 2005 Amer- Nick Bigelow chaired the faculty com- welcomed. ican Physical Society (APS) J. J. Sakurai mittee that conducted this search. Several years ago, the University in- Prize in Theoretical Particle Physics Also in 2004, Rochester was selected itiated a tradition of hosting yearly Meliora (see story on page 4). Okubo is the as a Fusion Science Center of Excellence Weekend reunions (see www.rochester. third faculty member of the high-energy by the DOE. This center is to be headed edu/alumni). I encourage all our alumnae, physics group to receive an APS award by Professor Riccardo Betti. alumni, and friends to come and visit us in recent years. He joins Arie Bodek We wish to take this opportunity to in fall ’05. For the latest news about the and Ed Thorndike, who were awarded thank all our friends who have contrib- department, please visit our Web page, the APS Panofsky Prize in Experimental uted so generously to the support of the where you can also find the current and Particle Physics in 2004 and 1999, re- department. By completing the form on several recent issues of Cross Sections spectively. Professor Arie Bodek was the last page of our newsletter, you can online.

Cross Sections On the Cover Important notices: Department phone: (585) 275-4344 and fax: (585) 273-3237. Editor: S. Rajeev and R. Demina If you change your mailing address, please Published by the Department of Physics and The cover shows the decuplet of spin contact Bob Knox with your new whereabouts Astronomy of the University of Rochester, and 3/2 . The Gell-Mann-Okubo mass ([email protected]). Also let him know distributed to alumni and friends free of charge. formula (for which Professor Okubo was your current e-mail address. Copies may be obtained by writing to CROSS awarded the J. Sakurai prize this year) SECTIONS, Department of Physics and Astronomy, predicted the mass of the Omega minus. University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Its discovery was an early success on 14627-0171 USA. the way to building the standard model of elementary particles. To catch up with the happenings at the Univer- sity, log in to www.pas.rochester.edu and find the latest news. For previous editions of this newsletter, go to the Alumni and Friends page from the Home section. Or point your Web browser to http://spider. pas.rochester.edu/mainFrame/home/alumni.html. —Webmaster, Steve Teitel

2 SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Boyd and Howell Use Quantum-Entangled Photons for Imaging

Quantum imaging entails techniques of the imaging detector only when trig- The Rochester team of Robert W. Boyd, that can construct images that are sharper gered by the bucket detector. In this man- Ryan S. Bennink, and Sean J. Bentley at or more noise-free than those produced ner, a sharp image of the object is ob- The Institute of Optics, and John Howell by conventional imaging techniques. tained, even though the photons that of the physics department have put this A laser beam excites a second-order fall onto the imaging detector have never idea to experimental test. And it works! nonlinear optical crystal, and through the interacted with the object to be imaged! These results can be understood from process of parametric down-conversion, Recently Gatti and others have argued the point of view that, in the quantum a pair of entangled photons is created. theoretically that coincidence imaging case, the observer can wait until the One of these photons illuminates an can be performed using classical corre- photon pair is emitted before deciding object, and a non-imaging detector (a lations for an object at a known distance whether to measure the position or “bucket” detector) registers the scattering from the apparatus, but that quantum (transverse) momentum of one of the of the photon from this object. The other entanglement is required if one wants photons. The analogous quantity for photon of the pair is directed onto an to obtain a sharp image of an object the other photon is then precisely imaging device, a photo-detector array. that might be either in the near or far determined. A coincidence circuit records the output field of the light source.

EDFEST: A Symposium to Celebrate E. H. Thorndike’s Contributions to Physics

The department hosted a symposium Harvard University—where he worked NSF Predoctoral Fellowship from 1956 to on Saturday, August 7, to celebrate Ed with Richard Wilson on nucleon-nucleon 1960, an NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellow- Thorndike’s contributions to physics. Ed scattering at the Harvard Cyclotron Lab- ship in 1970, and a Guggenheim Fellow- is the recipient of the Panofsky Prize of oratory—in 1960. After a postdoctoral ship from 1987 to 1988. the American Physical Society for his position at Harvard, he joined the Uni- Thorndike was director of the Rochester discovery of the rare decays of the b- versity of Rochester faculty as assistant 130" Cyclotron Lab from 1965 to 1969. quark, and is one of the leading particle professor of physics in 1961 and was He was spokesperson of the CLEO Collab- physicists in the world. promoted to associate professor in 1965. oration for three years from 1981 to 1984, Thorndike received his A.B. in physics He was made a full professor in 1972. for two years from 1990 to 1992, and from Wesleyan University in 1956, his Thorndike is the author of the book, co-spokesperson (with George Branden- M.S. in physics from Stanford University Energy and Environment, a Primer for burg) for two years from 1997 to 1999. in 1957, and his Ph.D. in physics from Scientists and Engineers. He held an

Rochester Center for Brain Imaging Opens

The goal of the Rochester Center for functional MRI data from the normal doctoral fellows, graduate and under- Brain Imaging (RCBI) is to provide re- adult brain as participants perform a graduate students, and members of the searchers at the University of Rochester, variety of tasks, it is capable of provid- greater Rochester community, including as well as neighboring institutions, with ing structural images of many anatom- the physics department. Jianhui Zhong access to a state-of-the-art 3T magnet ical structures. The RCBI also has a is teaching a related course, MR Imaging: for research using magnetic resonance key educational mission and will offer from Spins to Brains, this fall semester. imaging (MRI). Although the primary courses, summer research experiences, use of the Center will be to gather and demonstrations for faculty, post-

3 HONORS AND AWARDS Physics and Astronomy •WINTER 2005 Okubo Wins the Coveted Sakurai Prize

The American Physical Society’s J.J. matical exercise without any physical whom Marshak discovered the V-A theory Sakurai Prize in Theoretical Particle relevance by most particle physicists. of the weak interaction of elementary Physics was established to recognize This paper helped change that view, particles, received his Ph.D. at Rochester. and encourage outstanding achievement with the first exposition of unitary sym- Faculty included Guralnik and Hagen, in particle theory. The citation for Susumu metry comprehensible to particle phys- who discovered the mechanism for mass Okubo’s award reads: icists. The triumphant discovery of the generation of particles (along with Kibble, “For groundbreaking investigations Omega exactly where predicted Englert, Brout, and Higgs). Bunji Sakita, into the pattern of hadronic masses and by the mass formula convinced even who discovered SU(6) symmetry, and decay rates, which provided essential skeptics of the utility of such mathema- Rabinder Mohapatra, who discovered a clues into the development of the quark tical reasoning in physics. mechanism for neutrino masses, were model, and for demonstrating that CP Okubo has spent most of his career both Marshak’s students. violations permit partial decay rate in physics at Rochester, starting as a Okubo received his B.S. in physics asymmetries.” graduate student in 1954. (Only Shirley (1952) from the University of Tokyo The Department of Physics and As- Brignall can claim a longer association and his Ph.D. in physics (1958) from tronomy hosted a reception in Okubo’s with the department!) After a brief stint the University of Rochester. After a year honor on Thursday, October 21, 2004. in Europe, Okubo was all set to return of postdoctoral research, he left for the The prize will be presented at the APS to Rochester as a faculty member. De- University of Napoli, Italy, and CERN, April 2005 meeting at a special ceremo- layed due to difficulties in getting a visa Switzerland, to extend his work in parti- nial session. Okubo has also been invited to the United States, he spent some time cle physics. He returned to the Univer- to present a lecture at the meeting on the at the University of Tokyo. This explains sity of Rochester in 1962 as a senior re- work for which the prize is being awarded. why both Rochester and the University search associate in the Department of The paper by Okubo, “Note on unitary of Tokyo are listed as addresses in this Physics and was promoted to full pro- symmetry in strong interactions” (Prog. paper. Okubo and Sakurai were friends fessor in 1964. Okubo is the author of Theor. Phys. 27:949–66, 1962), is one from the time they were both graduate the book Introduction to Octonion and of the classics of particle physics. students, Okubo at Rochester and Other Non-associative Algebras in Physics It contains the celebrated mass formula Sakurai at Cornell. (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995). He was for strongly interacting particles, now In the 1950s and ’60s chairman Robert awarded a Nishina Prize in 1976 from the known as the Gell-Mann-Okubo mass Marshak assembled a remarkable collec- Nishina Foundation in for his con- formula. Gell-Mann had obtained a special tion of particle theorists at Rochester. tributions to particle physics. He was a case earlier, and at that time such higher The atmosphere was congenial and ex- recipient of Guggenheim (1966) and Ford symmetries were regarded as a mathe- citing, with new ideas being shared Foundation (1969) Fellowships. He is a among all. E. C. G. Sudarshan, with fellow of the American Physical Society.

Joe Eberly Will Be President of the OSA in 2007

The Optical Society of America (OSA) Eberly’s research interests have been He was invited to give the Gilmore Lecture has announced that its members have focused on the quantum properties of at Oberlin College, the first Asian Lecture elected Joseph Eberly (www.osa.org/ optical radiation, the fundamental inter- of Korea University, the Smoluchowski aboutosa/leaders/election_2004/Eberly. actions of laser light and matter, laser Medal Lecture in Warsaw, the La Caixa asp) as its 2005 vice president. By accept- propagation in resonant media, cavity Lecture in Barcelona, and the Journal of ing the vice presidency, Eberly makes a QED, multiphoton and high-field pro- Physics B Special Lecture in Koscielisko. three-year commitment to OSA’s board of cesses in atoms, nonlinear quantum He has been a member of the advisory directors. As vice president, Eberly will optics, and the dynamics of quantum boards of the Max-Planck Institute for automatically become president elect in entanglement. During his career at Roch- Quantum Optics, the Physics Division of 2006 and then the Society’s president in ester he has supervised more than 30 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 2007. doctoral theses and published more than the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Joseph Eberly, Carnegie Professor of 300 research articles and reviews. In and the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Physics and professor of optics at the 2000, for his innovations in freshman- Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP), University of Rochester and director of level instruction, he received the Univer- and a member of the Triennial Committee the Theory Center for Optical Science sity’s Goergen Award for artistry in un- of Visitors of the NSF Physics Division and Engineering, has written two text- dergraduate teaching. and of the Committee on Atomic, Molec- books: Lasers, written with Peter Milonni, Eberly, a fellow of OSA and APS, has ular, and Optical Science (CAMOS) of the is in its 14th printing, and Optical Reson- been awarded the OSA Townes Award National Research Council of the National ance and Two-Level Atoms, with Les and senior fellowships from JILA and Academy of Sciences. Allen, which has been translated into the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Eberly received his bachelor’s degree Japanese, Polish, and Russian. and has been elected a foreign member from Penn State and his master’s and of the Academy of Science of Poland. doctoral degrees from Stanford. 4 HONORS AND AWARDS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 An Exciting Time in Particle Physics

by Susumu Okubo hydrogen bomb) to explain why the and Zweig independently suggest I have been awarded the 2005 Sakurai present universe has much more matter fractionally charged particles—now prize for two pieces of work I have done than antimatter. called quarks—as the fundamental between 1958 and 1963. The first one is The second topic of unitary symmetry particles of which all hadrons are made: concerned with decay rates of a particle is intimately related to the modern theory thus beginning the modern era of and its antiparticles, while the second of strongly interacting particles (called elementary particle physics.) deals with developments and applications hadrons). In late 1950 and 1960 many Back in 1962, there was not yet much to the unitary symmetry group SU(3). new particles had been discovered. As experimental evidence for either the Gell- After the momentous discovery of the Henri Poincaré once said, “A pile of stones Mann-Ne’eman or the Sakata models. I violation of parity, i.e., reflection sym- does not make a cathedral.” There was could derive a formula connecting the metry (P), and the particle-antiparticle an urgent need to make some coherent masses: (C) symmetry in 1957, it had been noted explanation for all these particles. The 2[M(n)+M(Xi)]=3M(Lambda)+M(Sigma) by Pauli that the product PCT (the com- situation was perhaps similar to the for the the baryon octet and another bination of C, P, and time reversal) must late 19th century when Mendeloff gave M(Omega)-M(Xi^*)=M(X^*)- be preserved in any reasonable theory order to the many chemical elements by M(Sigma^*)=M(Sigma*)-M(Delta) (to be precise, any relativistic quantum arranging them in the periodic table. for the so-called baryon decuplet. field theory). The first attempt was by Sakata One con- (1956), who postulated that the proton, All the particle masses except that of sequence of the neutron, and the Lambda were the Omega were known then, so we could this theorem fundamental particles and all other predict not only that there is such a is that the hadrons are their bound states. Sub- particle but also its mass using this masses of a sequently, Ikeda, Ogawa, and Ohnuki, formula (known now as the Gell-Mann- particle and and—independently—Yamaguchi (in Okubo mass formula). The Omega was its antipart- 1959), suggested an SU(3) symmetry discovered soon after and was predicted icle must be for hadrons, the (p,n,Lambda) forming to boost the reliability of the theory. Okubo in a jolly mood at the same. a fundamental triplet. This could ex- Later in 1963 I could explain a rather the Adrian Fest, 1999 In 1958 I plain the pseudo-scalar octet as baryon- vexing behavior of the nonet of mesons showed that antibaryon bound states. But this scheme in the theory initiated by J. J. Sakurai a partial decay rate of a particle may not failed because it could not account for (after whom the award is named): some be the same as the corresponding decay several baryons known as Sigma and of the particles lived longer than they rate of its antiparticle, unless C or at Xi. In 1962 Gell-Mann and Ne’eman should. It was noted by Zweig and Izuka least CP is conserved by its interactions. independently proposed a more abstract that my explanation is intimately related This is despite the fact that the PCT version of SU(3) in which the Sigma and to the . Now it is known as theorem requires that the total decay Xi particles were accorded equal status the OZI quark-line rule. rates must be the same for a particle with (p,n,Lambda) to form an octet. Since that exciting time, I have been and its antiparticle. This observation Whether there was a “fundamental trip- working mostly on applications of group was utilized quickly by Andrei Sakharov let” was not addressed; certainly the theory in particle theory and in mathema- (who is famous for his peace activities proton, etc., could not be part of such a tical physics. but was also the father of the Russian triplet. (Only in 1964 did Gell-Mann

Emil Wolf Honored Yet Again!

On Monday, October 11, Professor lowed by New York State Senator known simply as Born and Wolf. The Emil Wolf was honored by a daylong Hillary Clinton’s address on the status statistical theory of light—the study of Symposium on Coherence in Physical of science funding in the United States. coherence—has always held a special Optics: 50 years of the Wolf Equations, Wolf is the recipient of so many awards fascination for Wolf. The year 2004 marks given as part of the Optical Society of (including the Ives Medal of the Optical the 50th anniversary of the Wolf equation, America (OSA) 2004 Annual Meeting at Society of America and the Max Born which governs the propagation of co- Rochester. (See www.osa.org/meetings/ Award) that we have given up on list- herence, providing a unified physical annual/program/agenda/#11.) ing all of them. (Previous editions of framework for statistical optics. Applica- The afternoon finished with a Joint this newsletter have noted some of the tions from microscopy to quantum optics Plenary Session of the Frontiers in Optics more recent honors.) Every graduate were covered in the symposium held by and the Laser Sciences where Wolf opened student in physics and optics is familiar the Optical Society of America to mark with a lecture on coherence theory fol- with the classic text Principles of Optics, the occasion.

5 OTHER DEPARTMENT NEWS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Shirley Brignall Celebrates Her 50th Year

On October 18 Shirley Brignall celebrated 50 years in the department. The department honored her with a reception on October 19. Six of the eight department chairs that Shirley served under joined in the celebra- tion. More than 100 people attended with well-wishes to Shirley. If you would like to send your wishes to Shirley, her e-mail address is shirl@pas. rochester.edu. The strength of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Roch- ester has a solid foundation in staff as ex- emplified by Shirley Brignall. Due to the longevity of the staff, we have been able to maintain ongoing contact with each of our alumni. We welcome you to visit campus Shirley Brignall and some of the department chairs with whom she served. anytime during the year. This past year we had several visitors in the summer and over From left to right: Hugh van Horn, Adrian Melissinos, Arie Bodek, Shirley, Meliora weekend. Bob Knox, Harry Gove, and Paul Slattery.

Mandel Room Dedicated; Endowment Fundraising Continuing

A reception was held in the newly re- We would like to raise an additional 2004, from the fund’s vice president furbished Mandel Conference Room to $400,000, which would fully support a Carolyn Larke. dedicate the Mandel Room. Many former graduate student and his or her The Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson students and colleagues of Mandel were research. Help us meet our goal by Charitable Trust is a New York–based present to share in memories with Jean completing the contribution section in foundation that supports a large number Mandel and the Mandel children and the back of this newsletter and mailing of educational activities as well as cancer grandchildren. We appreciate all those it to the department. research conducted in hospitals, univer- who attended. The Department of Physics and Astron- sities, and liberal arts colleges. Members We are excited about the those partici- omy is pleased to have received a $10,000 of the Donaldson Board of Trustees in- pating in the Mandel Endowment Fund- grant for the Leonard Mandel Endow- clude Dr. Marjorie Atwood, Dr. William raising for the endowment supporting ment fund from the Oliver S. and Jennie E. Murray (chairman), Pamela A. Curtis an optics graduate student. We are al- R. Donaldson Charitable Trust. The con- (vice chairman), and Linda R. Francis- most to the $100,000 mark. tribution from the Donaldson fund was covich (managing director). received in a letter on September 2,

Impact on Physics and Astronomy by the New Biomedical Engineering Building (BME)

Since the early 1930s physics has had the cyclotron became obsolete, and the way for new research and teaching space operations in two one-story buildings at building was converted to the “Shop,” for biomedical engineering and The In- the edge of the main campus. Initially or the Sidney W. Barnes Research Lab- stitute of Optics. As a result, all physics they housed an early cyclotron that was oratory. As of winter 2005, the cyclo- operations that were previously housed used by University professors and stu- tron building will be no more. As space there will be moved to Bausch & Lomb dents to conduct research. With the on river campus becomes more cramped, Hall, which will be totally occupied by growth of large federally funded labs the cyclotron will be torn down to make physics and astronomy and the “Shop.”

6 OTHER DEPARTMENT NEWS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Department Welcomes First Marshak Postdoctoral Fellow

The department was delighted to wel- on the CLEO collaboration (“the first B come the first Robert Marshak Postdoc- factory,” Veronique notes) and worked on toral Fellows in High Physics this year. the precise determination of the prob- Theorist David Rainwater and experi- ability for the bottom quark to decay into mentalist Veronique Boisvert joined the an up quark. This measurement sheds department on August 1, 2004. light on the consistency of the Standard The Marshak Fellowship has been Model in the area of CP violation and is established to honor the distinguished related with the asymmetry of matter career of legendary former department over antimatter in the universe. In Ithaca, chair Robert Marshak and to offer young N.Y., she practiced her home country’s scientists the opportunity to pursue in- favorite sport and joined the Ithaca Sirens, novative research at the University of a women’s hockey team. David Rainwater with plane Rochester in the fields of particle and After getting her Ph.D., Veronique held nuclear physics. to squeeze information on the Higgs a two-year CERN fellowship and joined Fellows receive, in addition to full boson out of the CERN Large Hadron both ATLAS and RD50. Back in North salary support, a supplemental salary Collider (slated to begin operation in America, Veronique stipend as well as a research expense late 2007). It was well known that the joined the CDF col- fund to be used at their discretion. The LHC could discover the , laboration working fellowships are meant to give the de- but Dave showed how its properties closely with the Roch- partment an advantage in recruiting the could be measured as well. ester group. Moving up very best and brightest candidates on Dave is not only a fan of classical from the b quark, her the market. music, but also an accomplished cellist. interests now involve the top quark. In David Rainwater, or Dave, as he prefers He is also an avid airplane pilot, as order to establish the top quark on firmer to be known, has joined Lynne Orr’s are Frank Wolfs, Doug Cline, Sergey grounds, she plans to measure the phenomenology group in particle theory. Korjenevski, and others in the electric charge of the top quark. On the After receiving a Ph.D. from the Uni- department. theoretical side, Veronique is collabor- versity of Wisconsin at Madison, Dave Our other Marshak fellow, Veronique ating with Lynne Orr from Rochester as held postdoctoral positions in the theory Boisvert, is currently working with Kevin well as David Rainwater. Since she joined groups at Fermilab and at DESY, in Ham- McFarland on the CDF experiment at Rochester, she has revived the weekly burg, Germany. He describes his work in the Fermilab TeVatron. Veronique com- CDF Rochester group lunch, and to help particle phenomenology as “how to dis- pleted her undergraduate work at Uni- her young CDF colleagues she is in the sect the workings of theory and show versité de Montreal, in the city where process of setting up a database of former how it can be proved or disproved in she was born and raised. She received CDF members now working outside HEP. real experiments.’” In particular, Dave her Ph.D. from Cornell University, where Veronique is still deciding whether to get has made a career out of showing how she was a collaborator of Ed Thorndike’s her hockey skates sharpened!

Tom Ferbel at the U.S. Department of Energy

Professor Tom Ferbel (editor of the last issue of Cross Sections) will be spending most of the next two years (September 2004–August 2006) at the Germantown office of the Department of Energy (DOE) on an IPA assignment from the University of Rochester. During this time, Ferbel will be responsible for all managerial responsibilities for the U.S. program at the (LHC), which is being constructed at the CERN complex in Geneva, Switzerland. Ferbel will oversee the contributions from both the DOE and the National Science Foundation. Jim Whitmore, currently with the NSF, will serve as deputy manager.

7 OTHER DEPARTMENT NEWS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Jack Thomas Is Visiting the Newton Institute

John H. Thomas, professor of mechan- research program on Magnetohydro- tute program enables Thomas to con- ical and aerospace sciences and of as- dynamics of Stellar Interiors. He gave tinue his collaborative research program tronomy, is spending the fall semester two one-hour invited lectures on the on sunspots with Nigel Weiss (Cambridge), in Cambridge, England, as a Senior Visit- physics of sunspots during the opening Steve Tobias (Leeds), and Nic Brummell ing Fellow of the Isaac Newton Institute workshop in September, which doubled (Boulder), who are also participating in for Mathematical Sciences. Thomas is as a summer school for graduate stu- the program. Eric Blackman (Rochester), participating in the Institute’s four-month dents and postdocs under the sponsor- who also collaborates with Thomas on ship of the Marie work in astrophysical MHD, will join the Curie Foundation. Newton Institute Program for three Thomas will be weeks later in the fall. giving other talks This is Thomas’s third long-term stay in the Newton at Cambridge University. He was a NATO Institute and at St. postdoctoral fellow there in 1966–67, in Andrew’s Univer- the Department of Applied Mathematics sity, as well as and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), and a public lecture he returned to DAMTP for six months in sponsored by the 2002 when he was also a Visiting Fellow London Mathema- of Clare Hall, one of the Cambridge col- tical Society at its leges. He has kept his ties with Clare traditional “Spital- Hall, and he and his wife, Lois, are now fields Day” confer- living in the college again as returning ence in December. Life Members. The Newton Insti-

Dan Koltun Retires

After 42 years at the University of Koltun is coauthor, with the late motivation has been to understand the Rochester, Daniel S. Koltun, professor of Judah M. Eisenberg, of the books Theory dynamics of nuclei as many-body sys- physics, retired from the teaching faculty of Meson Interactions with Nuclei (1980) tems, and the role of subnucleon constitu- at the end of the spring 2004 semester. and Quantum Mechanics of Many De- ents in this problem. The constituents of Koltun received his A.B. from Harvard grees of Freedom (1988). He has served special study have been mesons, particu- (1955) and his Ph.D. in physics from as associate editor of Physical Review larly pions, and more recently, quarks. Princeton (1961). After serving as instruc- C and of Physical Review Letters, and Recent work has included the connection tor, then research associate, at Princeton, on the Scientific Advisory Board of the of inelastic response of nuclei to nuclear he was a Visiting Fellow at the Weizmann Space Radiation Effects Laboratory structure and mesonic interactions, the Institute of Science (Israel) as well as at (Newport News). Long associated with study of one-dimensional integrable the Niels Bohr Institute. He joined the the scientific program of the Los Alamos many-body models for quark systems University of Rochester as a research Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF), he was as well as other physical systems, and associate in 1962, was promoted to a visiting staff member for 18 years and applications of chiral perturbation theory. assistant professor of physics in 1963, served on its Program Advisory Com- In addition to being a leader in the meson to associate professor in 1968, and to mittee. physics community, Koltun is well known professor in 1974. He has served as Koltun’s research interests and activ- in the electron scattering community for visiting research associate (1969–70) ities have been in theoretical physics, what is called the “Koltun Sum Rule” for and visiting scientist (1984) at MIT, largely connected with nuclear struc- the scattering of electrons from nuclear visiting professor at Tel Aviv University ture and reactions at intermediate and targets. (1976–77), and Lady Davis Visiting high energy, as well as with many-body Dan Koltun has many friends and col- Professor at the Hebrew University, theory. The experimental data for this leagues at the University, who have ben- Jerusalem (1985). He has been awarded subject has come from the Rochester efited from his sage advice and enjoyed an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Alfred 130" cyclotron; meson “factories” such his wonderful sense of humor. They are P. Sloan Research Fellowship, and John as LAMPF, TRIUMF, and SIN (PSI); and pleased that he will remain in Rochester Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellow- electron accelerators such as SLAC, and continue his affiliation with the ship, and is a Fellow of the American BATES, and more recently the Thomas University as professor emeritus. Physical Society. Jefferson Laboratory. The theoretical

8 ALUMNI AND OTHER NEWS Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Staff News

Staff members Judy Mack and Thang Nguyen celebrated 25 years at the University of Rochester this year. Longtime engineer, Tom Haelen, of the High Energy Physics and Barnes Shop passed away January 19, 2004, after a two-year struggle with cancer. Tom had retired in November 2003 after 47 years of service to the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Bruce French Remembered

The Bruce French memorial lecture was delivered by Boris Altschuler of Princeton University on September 29. Classical dynamical systems can be separated into two classes—integrable and chaotic. For quantum systems this distinction manifests itself, e.g., in spectral statistics. Roughly speaking, integrability leads to Poissonian distribution of the energies, while chaos implies Wigner-Dyson statistics of the levels, which are characteristic for the ensembles of random matrices. Bruce French, who was professor in the department for more than 40 years, was one of the pioneers in the application of random matrix theory to explain nuclear energy levels. Altshuler briefly discussed the problem of Anderson Localization from the spectral statistics point of view and demonstrated that the onset of the chaotic behavior for a rather broad class of systems can be understood as a de- localization in the space of quantum numbers that characterize the original integrable system. He illustrated this conclusion by a number of examples and made an attempt to describe the chaotic nature of the nuclear spectra within the framework of these ideas.

Joe Rogers Obituary

Joseph T. Rogers (Ph.D. ’87), associate while he was a visiting scientist at the the beam-beam interaction; accelerator professor of physics at Cornell University, Italian national laboratory Istituto di feedback systems; and diagnostic instru- died May 25 of neuro-endocrine cancer, Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario. He mentation, as well as physics pedagogy. diagnosed in July 2003. He was 46. was a postdoctoral research associate He was a National Science Foundation Born in Chicago, he lived for most at the University of Rochester from 1987 Young Investigator 1993–98 and a mem- of his childhood in the western suburb to 1989 and associate physicist at the ber of the American Physical Society and of Glen Ellyn. His parents were artists National Synchrotron Light Source at the American Association of Physics who had studied at the Art Institute of Brookhaven National Laboratory on Teachers. He served as director of Under- Chicago. He attended the State Univer- Long Island, N.Y., from 1989 through graduate Studies in Physics in 1998, sity of New York at Stony Brook, earn- 1992. 1999, and 2000 and subsequently on ing a B.S. in 1980. After working as His research focused on the physics the graduate admissions committee. an engineer for a laser optics company contributing to the design of future He is survived by his wife and two for two years, he returned to school, high-energy particle accelerators and young sons: David, 4, and Michael, 6 earning his Ph.D. in physics from the tuning and exploitation of existing ac- months. He also is survived by his father, University of Rochester in 1987. His celerators, such as Cornell’s Wilson Joseph W. Rogers, and brother, Steven dissertation, “Limits on the Electromag- Synchrotron Laboratory. Particular re- Rogers, both of Glen Ellyn, Ill. netic Coupling and Density of Galactic search areas included computational Memorial contributions can be made Axions,” was directed by Adrian Melis- physics for particle beams; collective in his name to the Sciencenter in Ithaca sinos. For part of 1987, he and his wife, instabilities in particle accelerators due or to the David and Michael Rogers Edu- Rene, lived in Frascati, Italy, near Rome to electromagnetic fields, particularly cation Fund, c/o Sandy Grooms, Tomp- those of background ions and electrons; kins Trust Co., P.O. Box 460, Ithaca, NY.

A Montreal Reunion of Rochesterians

A happy minireunion of alumni of the department’s graduate program took place in late summer. Shown in the Bonaparte Restaurant of Old Montreal are, left to right, Su Lin (’90), Fauzia Ali, Phyllis Unger (’67), Judy Kalman, Twareque Ali (’74), Calvin Kalman (’70), Myrta Knox, Bob Knox (’58), Bob Schweitzer (’93), and Stan Unger (’68). The Knoxes and Lin were attending the 13th International Congress on Photosynthesis, while the others are current residents of the Montreal area. The Knoxes celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on the occasion.

9 Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005

You Can Contribute! For those of you who receive this publication, there is a desire to promote the study and research in the areas of physics and astronomy. Within the depart- ment we are interested in establishing a firm finan- cial base on which the future generation can build. A significant way this can be done is through outright gifts to an endowment like the Mandel Fund. Another way is by including the Department of Physics and Astronomy in your long-term financial plans. If you are interested in funding a gift to the University that would give you a lifelong income stream and upon your death would benefit the Department of Physics and Astronomy, please contact Shirley Brignall. Our assistant chair, Sondra Anderson, has experience in setting up gift annuities and charitable trusts and will work with you to establish one of these types of giving agreements.

10 Physics and Astronomy • WINTER 2005 Departmental Funds

The department has established to attract the most talented young nu- The Leonard Mandel Endowment several funds that greatly benefit clear and particle physicists to continue Fund. This will fund the Leonard Mandel departmental activities. They are: their research in the department. Faculty Scholar Award in Optical Science at the University of Rochester and be The David L. Dexter and Elliott W. The C. E. Kenneth Mees Observatory used to support one graduate student. Montroll Lecture Fund. Established in Fund. Established in 1977, this fund is the 1980s in memory of Professors Dex- for the discretionary use of the director Contributions from alumni and friends ter and Montroll, these funds support of the University’s Mees Observatory in are the dominant source of income to an annual lecture by an outstanding support of observatory activities, such these funds. If you would like to support scientist as part of either the Dexter as the upgrade to the facility. the department, please mark the appro- Lecture or the Montroll Lecture Series. priate box on the form below and send it The Physics and Astronomy Alumni with your contribution. Donations may The Robert E. Marshak Memorial Fund. Fund. Established in 1968, this fund is be tax deductible, and donations of ap- This fund will be used to support the for the discretionary use of the chair of preciated securities may also carry tax newly created postdoctoral Robert E. the Department of Physics and Astron- advantages. The department is grateful Marshak Research Fellowships, intended omy in support of departmental activities. for any help you give.

I wish to contribute to the following fund: ❑ The David L. Dexter and Elliott W. Montroll Lecture Funds ❑ The Robert E. Marshak Memorial Fund ❑ The C. E. Kenneth Mees Observatory Fund ❑ The Physics and Astronomy Alumni Fund ❑ The Leonard Mandel Endowment Fund

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If donating by check, please make sure your check is payable to the “University of Rochester,” and indicate that it is for the “Department of Physics and Astronomy.” Be sure to check the specific fund to which your donation should be applied. Gifts of appreciated securities are also gratefully accepted. Please return this form to:

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11 UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS A&S592-?C-105??