Congratulations to Dr. Tricia Shepherd, Professor and Chair of Chemistry, on her selection as one of the inaugural winners of the Early Career Teaching Award from the POGIL Project! You can find the details of the story here. We’re proud of our NSCI faculty and their dedication to undergraduate education!
Gravitational Waves: Last week, the detection of gravitational waves was announced. The detection was of the merger of a 36 solar mass black hole with a 29 solar mass black hole that occurred 1.3 billion light years away (or 1.3 billion years ago). This was the most powerful astrophysical event ever detected and it was done with the most sensitive detector ever built. Just prior to the merger, the black holes were moving at about half the speed of light relative to each other. Upon their merger they made a 62 solar mass black hole, which tells us (36 + 29 = 65) that 3 solar masses are were given off in the form of energy as gravitational waves. That is equivalent to completely annihilating 3 suns and having them converted to pure energy in a fraction of a second. Power is the rate at which energy is given off, and this event was momentarily 50 times more powerful than the light output of all the stars in the universe.
This is just the beginning of an entirely new way of doing astronomy. To date, almost all astronomy has consisted of measuring light. Predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, gravitational waves travel at the speed of light but are fundamentally different than electromagnetic waves (light). When a gravitational wave passes through you, it will stretch you in one direction while squeezing you in the other. It is that stretching-squeezing effect that was measured by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO). The detector makes precise enough measurements to measure an effect that is one thousandth the width of a proton. Up until now, when violent explosions occur, we can only see the bright light on the outside and are left to infer what may have happened on the interior. Gravitational waves instead allow us a way of probing directly into the heart of the most energetic events in the universe.
The Physics Minor: It is also an exciting time regarding the physics curriculum at St. Edward’s. Starting in the fall we will be offering a physics minor.
Course Listings for the Physics Minor (* denotes a required course):
PHYS 2425 University Physics I* (4 hrs) [or PHYS 2325 + PHYS 2125]
PHYS 2426 University Physics II* (4 hrs) [or PHYS 2326 + PHYS 2126]
PHYS 2126 Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics Lab* (1 hr)
PHYS 3336 Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy (3 hrs) [or CHEM 3336]
PHYS 3337 Thermodynamics (3 hrs) [or CHEM 3337]
PHYS 3338 Numerical and Scientific Methods (3 hrs) [or COSC/BINF/MATH 3338]
PHYS 3345, 3445 Special Topics in Physics (3 hrs, 4 hrs)
PHYS 4146, 4246, 4346, 4446 Independent Study (1 hr, 2 hrs, 3 hrs, 4 hrs)
PHYS 4157 Research (1 hr)
Students must take at least 18 credit hours of the above to satisfy the minor. Note that some of the courses are cross-listed. For those students that are interested in the physics minor, please let your adviser know as soon as possible since it may require careful planning. For instance, PHYS 3338 and PHYS 3345 will only be offered upon sufficient demand. Also, come speak with Paul Walter and he can explain why getting a minor in physics is a great idea.
If you are interested in either of these topics (or in becoming a physics teacher at the secondary level), feel welcome to discuss them with Paul Walter (JBWS 274 — pauljw@stedwards.edu).
Dear NSCI Community Members,
It is the time of year when we identify and award faculty in the School of Natural Sciences for their outstanding contributions in Teaching and in Research. Thanks to the generosity of two donors, we are able to present $1000 awards to two faculty members this year, one for Excellence in Teaching and the other for Excellence in Research. Their names will be added to the plaques that are housed in the awards cabinet in the halls of JBWN.
All members of the community are eligible to submit nominations of their colleagues, faculty members whom they have had in class, or faculty members with whom they’ve worked on a research project. Here are the guidelines for nominees:
• Demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Holy Cross mission by fostering the courage to take risks, offering students an international perspective of subject matter and serving students of diverse cultural, economic, educational and religious backgrounds;
• Evidence of outstanding achievement in research for their field of study or;
• Displayed an innovation and commitment to educating students and igniting their passion for science;
• Non active member of selection committee for either award.
The teaching award committee consists of the last two winners: Dr. Patricia Baynham (2015) and Dr. Jason Callahan (2014)
The research award committee consists of the last two winners: Dr. Jason Callahan (2015) and Dr. Raelynn Deaton Haynes (2014)
One page letters of nomination may be submitted by any current or former member of the faculty and staff as well as by any current students or alumni of St. Edward’s University. Letters of nomination are due by 5 pm on the Friday before Spring Break each year (this year, that is Friday, March 11). It is helpful to describe in your letter how you became aware of the excellent work of your nominee and your reasons for the nomination.
Please send your nominations or any questions you have about the process to NSCIDean@stedwards.edu.
Thanks for your consideration and participation in recognizing our outstanding faculty members.
We’re delighted to welcome Raychelle Burks to the Chemistry faculty at St. Edward’s starting this summer. Raychelle is coming to us from Doane College in Nebraska and brings with her impressive credentials in forensic chemistry in addition to a creative and enthusiastic approach to academic life. Check out her YouTube video announcing her decision to come to St. Ed’s. Also, you can find her on twitter: @DrRubidium. Welcome, Dr. Burks!
From Gloria White, in the Office of Sponsored Programs at SEU:
The National Science Foundation has published a report on payments to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) by state for the prior year 2015 (please see the link below). St. Ed’s had a good year in 2015 for payments from NSF on 3 of our active grants:
Of the 57 Texas colleges and universities that got payments from NSF on their grants last year, SEU ranked in the top half of the group. In fact, we ranked 22nd, receiving $1,820,000—-and this was ahead of Texas State University-San Marcos which ranked 23rd with $1,749,000. (This is NSF’s data, not ours, not self-reported data from the IHEs).
Of the 14 Independent College and Universities of Texas (ICUT) that received NSF payments in 2015, St. Ed’s ranked 4th after Rice ($33,767,000), Baylor ( a total of $5,164,000), and SMU ($2,717,000).
Way to go, SEU faculty!