Alumni Information New Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion, Such As Hydrogen-Storage Materials, Lithium-Ion Batteries, and 1979 Pseudo- and Super-Capacitors
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UMSL Physicist Department of Physics & Astronomy http://www.umsl.edu/~physics December 2013 Note from Chair William B. Harms, Sr. Delivers Greetings from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. There have been a number of important Alumni Lecture developments in the department in the last year. First, I am happy to report that Dr. Sonya Bahar has been promoted to William B. Harms, Sr. was the guest of honor at the Full Professor. She is a major contributor to our annual Alumni Awards Luncheon and Lecture on May 4. Department through her cutting edge research work, Bill’s lecture, “Medical Physics: A Career Path for a “Real” mentoring of graduate students and exceptional teaching in Physicist” described the diverse talents required of a medical our introductory physics for biology course. I am so pleased physicist and his own job experience. Bill spent most of his that the university has recognized her invaluable career at the Washington University Medical School where contributions to the Department. he served as an Instructor of Radiation Physics from 1985- Last spring, a delegation of physicists from Xiangtan 2002. During this time, he also served as Associate Director University in China visited our Department and started of the NCI Funded Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 3-D negotiations for an exchange program between our two QA Center and Image-Guided Therapy Center. In 2002, he physics departments. The negotiations for physics students formed a consulting medical physics company, C&H from Xiangtan University to spend two years at UMSL and Physics, LLC, which provides radiation oncology physics receive a B.S. degree in Physics from UMSL are now services to various hospitals and free-standing clinics in the complete. I will let you know next year if any physics region. students from Xiangtan University are studying physics at UMSL. This summer, two teaching labs in the department, the introductory mechanics lab and the astronomy lab, have been totally renovated. These renovations include smart boards, new desks, new chairs, new carpeting, and new laptop computers in the astronomy lab. A $250,000 gift from Peabody Energy Company paid for the renovation of the introductory mechanics lab and a grant from the Dean’s office paid for the renovation of the astronomy lab. The reactions of the students and graduate teaching assistants to the new labs have been all incredibly positive. On a related note, the university has just broken ground on the long delayed student science laboratory building. It will be located between the Benton-Stadler complex and Natural Bridge Road. In this new building will be the new physics senior advanced laboratory. In two years, we will move the senior laboratory out of Benton Hall and into the Bruce Wilking, Charles Jones, William Harms and Bernard new building, which will include a smart board, new Feldman (photo courtesy of Deb Godwin) furniture, a dark room, a storage room, and much more laboratory space. Prior to the lecture, the Department recognized Charlie Finally, let me thank those of you who have generously Jones for his outstanding contributions to the Department. contributed to our alumni scholarship fund and let me wish Senior Matthew Freeman received the Jeffrey Earl Award all of you the best during this holiday season. for the Outstanding Physics Senior and a set of the Feynman Lectures. Chris Briggs received the Senior Alumni Award Bernard Feldman ($500). Ellie Ordway received the Outstanding Graduate 1 Teaching Assistant Award which is a $250 prize and a one- “Optical Spectroscopic Surveys of Two Star-Forming year subscription to the American Journal of Physics. Regions”. Tim Sullivan was supported by a graduate fellowship from the NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium. He Faculty Promotion presented his research on the dynamics of a young star cluster in Ophiuchus at the state-wide annual meeting in Dr. Sonya Bahar was promoted this fall to Professor of Biophysics. Dr. Bahar joined the Department as an April at the MS&T campus (advisor: Bruce Wilking). Ellie Assistant Professor in 2004 and was tenured and promoted Ordway-West also presented her research on silicon-on- to Associate Professor in 2009. Since 2006, she has served insulator edge defects conducted as a summer research as the Director for the Center for Neurodynamics. You can intern jointly funded by the NASA/Missouri Space Grant read about Dr. Bahar’s research in the Faculty Updates Consortium and MEMC Electronic Materials (now section. SunEdison, advisor Phil Fraundorf). Graduate students Logan Brown and Ellie Ordway received awards for their research posters at the UMSL Graduate Fair in April. Logan Hans Braun Delivers Moss Lecture also won the Sigma Xi Award for his poster “Spectro- astrometry of Water in DR Tauri” and his work was also Hans Braun visited UMSL to give the most recent Elaine published in the June issue of The Astrophysical Journal and Frank Moss Distinguished Lecture on November 1, Letters (advisor: Erika Gibb). Logan (1st) and Dawn King 2013. Braun, a professor of Physiology at the University of (2nd) received Department awards of $150 and $100, Marburg, and a close friend of Frank and Elaine Moss for respectively, for their posters. many years, spoke on the implications of modern We welcomed four new full-time students to our graduate neuroscience research for the philosophical problem of free program this year: Daniel Barnett (SIU-E), Tabitha Lewis will. The Moss Lecture Series is funded by an endowment (Alabama A&M), and Stephen Ordway and Tera Glaze from the Elaine and Frank Moss Hospitality Fund. (UMSL). NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium 22nd Annual Meeting The 22st Annual Meeting of the NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium was held on the Missouri S&T campus April 19-20, 2013. Undergraduate Matt Dennis discussed his research of Comet Lulin (advisor: Dr. Erika Gibb) and Matthew Freeman his analysis of high resolution spectra of young stars in Corona Australis (advisor: Bruce Wilking). Alyssa McFarlane presented her research on improving the ctcling and capacity of Lithium-Ion batteries (advisor: Eric Majzoub). Anamaria Baluyut also described the UMSL Planetarium Program conducted for area 5th grade students and teachers. Hans Braun, Sonya Bahar and Frank Moss at a conference in Berlin in 2004. Graduate Program Update We awarded five M.S. in Physics degrees and two Ph.D. degrees in 2013. Fahd Fahd, Shane Meyer, David Nafar, Ellie Ordway, and Gang Wang completed Master’s degrees. All are continuing in our doctoral program. Dawn King, Gang Wang, and Dongxue Zhao passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam in January 2013 and four doctoral candidates are expected to take the Qualifying Exam in January 2014. David Peaslee and Kristen Erickson successfully defended their doctoral dissertations. David’s dissertation was entitled “Characterization of Nano-Scaled Metal-Hydrides Confined UMSL participants at the 22nd Annual meeting of the in Nano-Porous Carbon Frameworks” (advisor: Eric NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium. Pictured from left Majzoub). David completed the “triple-crown”, receiving to right: Alyssa McFarlane, Ellie Ordway, Dr. Bruce B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from our Department. Wilking, Anamaria Baluyut, Tim Sullivan, Dr. Erika Gibb, Kristen’s dissertation with Bruce Wilking was entitled and Matthew Freeman. 2 UMSL Hosts Delegation from Physics Club News Xiangtan University The Physics Club has had a great start this semester led by President Dan McKeown. In a rare display of artistic The Department of Physics & Astronomy and the Center talent, the Club took first place in the Colleges Against for International Studies hosted a delegation of 7 faculty Cancer Bra Decorating Contest. The Club has purchased members and administrators from Xiangtan University, model rocket kits and members are in the process of building China on January 28-29 of 2013. Also attending was Prof. their rockets. They are presently looking for a venue farther Aigen Li from the University of Missouri-Columbia and away from a busy airport for launching. There are plans for alumnus Dr. Lu Fei (SunEdison). The delegation received a finals-week study party and a Spring Break 2014 trip to tours of the Center for Nanoscience and the Center for Fermilab. Neurodynamics as well as a campus tour and a brief view of downtown St. Louis. A reception was held at the Chancellor’s residence on the 28th. The first of the planned cooperative agreements is a 2+2 program whereby students from Xiangtan University would complete the last two years of their physics degrees at UMSL. Charles F. Jones Receives Alumni Award In a ceremony held at the Laumeier Sculpture Park in October, Charles Jones (B.S., 1973) was one of three recipients of the Alumni Generativity Award. The award, sponsored in part by the Jubilee Committee in partnership The award-winning physics/astronomy bra. with the UMSL Life Review Project, recognized alumni who (photo courtesy of artist/physicist Cameron Nunn) in later years have passed down their knowledge and experience to a younger generation. Since his retirement in 2005, Charles has generously donated his time to spend 2 More Undergraduate Research days a week at the County Jail tutoring inmates for the GED exam. Part of the award was a donation made to the charity Matt Dennis, Matthew Freeman, Nick Kraftor, and Alyssa of his choice, Friends of Kids with Cancer. Also attending McFarlane made presentations at the annual Undergraduate the ceremony was Charles’ wife Carol, alumnus Jerry Research Symposium held on the UMSL campus on May 3 Lawrence (B.A., 1974), and Bruce and Janet Wilking. and hosted by the Golden Key International Honour Society Charles was nominated by Bernard Feldman. and Sigma Xi. Alyssa and Nick split the Department prize ($250) for the best physics or astronomy poster.