Speakers Bureau 2015-2016
Department of Physics
University of South Alabama
The Department of Physics at the University of South Alabama is pleased to offer as a free service to
junior- or senior-level high school physics classes a number of interesting and informative presentations
from members of the Physics Department faculty. Presentations will consist of:
• Lectures covering physics topics delivered at a level appropriate for a high school audience
• Demonstrations to pique the students’ interest and make a lasting positive impression
• Questions and answers on the presentation topic
• Information about majoring in Physics and careers that Physics majors may pursue.
The length of the presentations can vary from forty minutes to one hour as desired. The exact content can
be adapted to the needs of a particular class. Teachers interested in having one or more presentations made
in their physics classes should make arrangements by contacting the speaker at the appropriate electronic
mail address given below or by calling or writing the speaker at:
University of South Alabama
Department of Physics, ILB 115
411 University Blvd. N.
Mobile, AL 36688
(251) 460-6224
Speakers and Topics
Dr. Jacob Burress. Email: burress@southalabama.edu
“Adsorption vs. Absorption” Adsorption is not simply an error in autocorrect when you tried to type
absorption. It is the interaction of gas/liquid molecules with a liquid/solid surface. For example, the
extremely short range (think 1 molecule wide) interaction between gas molecules and a solid surface can be
enough to force the gas to condense to a liquid film at temperatures and pressures that it normally could
not. The source of this interaction and its application to solve some of the energy and environmental
problems of today will be presented. Examples of what will be discussed are how to get a football field’s
worth of area into a material the size of a paperclip; and how that material can be used for alternative fuel
storage for vehicles and carbon capture from power plant flue gas.
Dr. Albert Gapud. Email: gapud@southalabama.edu
“Superconductors in the Real World” Superconducting materials are rapidly developing from an exotic
curiosity to a daily reality, enabling higher-resolution cancer-detecting technology, trains that can travel
with record speed and efficiency, and power lines that can carry more electricity with less waste. The
lecture introduces the concept of superconductivity and gives a survey of ongoing developments and
future prospects. The lecture will also include low temperature demonstrations.
Dr. Romulus Godang. Email: godang@southalabama.edu
“Understanding Matter and Anti-Matter in the Universe” Experiments tell us that for every fundamental
matter there exists an anti-matter. The big bang is almost certainty produced matter and anti-matter in equal
numbers. However, our observations indicate that we live in a universe of matter, not anti-matter. In this
talk I will explain our current knowledge of the asymmetry of matter and anti-matter in the universe.
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Dr. Jianing Han. Email: jhan@southalabama.edu
“Repulsive van der Waals Interactions” Van der Waals forces are generally studied in physics, chemistry,
biology, and other fields of science. A common misconception about van der Waals forces is that van der
Waals interactions are attractive. As I will show in this talk, this is only true for ground state atoms. For
excited atoms, van der Waals interactions can be either attractive or repulsive.
Dr. C. Merrill Jenkins. Email: mjenkins@southalabama.edu
“Nuclear Physics.” A brief introduction to the subject of nuclear physics. A discussion of the composition
of the nucleus, the radius of the nucleus, the nuclear force and general properties of the different nuclei
(called nuclides). A presentation of nuclear binding energy, liquid drop model and the nuclear shell model
will be made. A brief introduction of the origins of nuclear decay and the radioactive decay law may be
presented.
Dr. C. Merrill Jenkins. Email: mjenkins@southalabama.edu
“The Special Theory of Relativity” A brief introduction to the subject of special relativity. Classical
Galilean relativity will be discussed and a short discussion of the historical circumstances that led to the
acceptance of the special theory of relativity. The Lorentz transformation, length contraction and time
dilation will be discussed. Time-like and Space-like events will be discussed and a presentation of the polein-the-barn paradox presented.
Dr. Justin M. Sanders. Email: jsanders@southalabama.edu
“Radioactivity” I will cover nuclear isotopes, the three principal forms radioactive decay (alpha, beta, and
gamma), and biological effects of radiation. Demonstrations with a Geiger counter and radioactive sources
will show how each form of radiation penetrates through matter.
Dr. David Westmark. Email: dawestmark@southalabama.edu
“The Amazing Animals in the Particle Zoo” The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near
Geneva have generated a lot of buzz in the last few years with announcements of particle discoveries, like
the discovery of the Higgs boson. However, finding particles has been an ongoing process for more than a
century. This talk surveys the history and properties of selected particles and the methods that have been
used to find them.
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