TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................- 2 -
II.
ORGANIZATION ..........................................................................................................- 3 A. Staff...........................................................................................................................- 3 B. Departmental Committees for 2009-2010 ................................................................- 3 -
III.
FACULTY ......................................................................................................................- 4 A. Areas of Specialization .............................................................................................- 4 B. Honors and Awards...................................................................................................- 4 C. Grants and Gifts (awarded 2009-2010).....................................................................- 5 D. Proposal Submissions (2009-2010) ..........................................................................- 5 E. Publications...............................................................................................................- 5 F. Professional Talks Presented and Meetings Attended ..............................................- 6 G. Service.......................................................................................................................- 9 -
IV.
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT & SUPPORT PROGRAMS ........................................- 13 A. Course Offerings and Enrollments..........................................................................- 13 B. Innovative Curricular Initiatives .............................................................................- 14 C. Research Opportunities for Undergraduates...........................................................- 14 D. Physics Department Colloquia................................................................................- 15 E. SPS/ΣΠΣ Activities.................................................................................................- 15 -
V.
STUDENTS ..................................................................................................................- 16 A. Enrollment Statistics (Past Decade)........................................................................- 16 B. Degrees Awarded....................................................................................................- 16 C. Honors, Awards, and Scholarships .........................................................................- 17 -
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I.
FOREWORD
The Department of Physics & Physical Oceanography continues to live up to its mission of
providing excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service as our faculty offer a range of their
expertise and commitment to our students.
This past year ten students graduated with physics degrees. This was the highest number of
majors since 1996. Of these students, six were accepted to graduate schools such as UNC Chapel
Hill, Georgia Tech, University of Texas at both Arlington and Houston, Ohio State, NC State, and
the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The students plan to major in areas such as nuclear
physics, biophysics, ocean science, food science, and neurophysics. Others are employed in a
variety of positions and some of these are planning to apply to graduate programs later.
The Department of Physics & Physical Oceanography has seen curricular changes this year. The
B.S. new option in Physical Oceanography was approved to begin Fall 2010. Also, Dr. Morrison
designed and will be teaching a new course, Physics for Future Presidents, modeled after the UC
Berkeley’s popular course. Dr. Black developed and taught a trial course on the physics of music,
which was approved this year for the physics curriculum. The Physics of Music will be taught in
alternating years. Dr. McNamara also taught a trial version of a course which has been approved
as Computational Physics and Complexity. This course will be offered every fall.
We have continued in our efforts to involve undergraduates in research. Three seniors wrote
honors theses under the direction of UNCW physics faculty this year and at least two other
physics majors plan to complete honors projects next year. Once again two undergraduate majors
are assisting Professor Liping Gan in research this summer at the Thomas Jefferson National
Laboratory. Two other majors are working with Dr. Black on analyzing data from his projects in
neutron interferometry. This data comes from Dr. Black’s collaboration with a group at NIST
(National Institute of Standards and Technology). Undergraduate research in the department was
the focus of two feature articles in university publications: Dr. Gan’s research was highlighted in
UNCW’s Re:search magazine in Fall 2009. Other research, such as the work Dr. McNamara has
done with his students, was described in the College of Arts and Science Magazine in Spring
2010. We hope that this exposure will help to bring more attention to the department.
During this academic year, physics faculty published fourteen papers, made two dozen
presentations to professional audiences, and brought in over $650,000 in external funding. The
department also applied for and received over $40,000 for special equipment purchases from the
College of Arts and Sciences and the Provost’s Office.
There are two personnel changes this year. First, Dr. Curt Moyer stepped down as Chair after
leading the department for the last decade. Dr. Moyer has been instrumental in growing the
number of majors and the number of faculty and I speak for the department in congratulating him
for his selfless service to this department. Also, Dr. Liping Gan has been promoted to the rank of
full Professor, effective August 1, 2010. Dr. Gan came to us in 2001 and has conducted a
vigorous program of research involving seventeen undergraduates to date as described in
UNCW’s Re:search magazine.
The accomplishments of the faculty are far too many to summarize here as one can see paging
through this report.
Russell L. Herman
June, 2010
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II.
ORGANIZATION
A. Staff
Yvonne Marsan, Laboratories Manager
Bonnie L. Mattis, Department Secretary
Faculty Emeriti
Hildelisa C. Hernandez
Marvin K. Moss
Associate professor emerita of physics
Professor emeritus of physics & physical oceanography
Professors
Moorad Alexanian
Frederick M. Bingham
Brian F. Davis
Russell L. Herman
John M. Morrison
Curt A. Moyer
Edward A. Olszewski, Jr.
Ph.D. Indiana University, 1964
Ph.D. University of California, San Diego, 1990
Ph.D. North Carolina State University, 1982
Ph.D. Clarkson University, 1988
Ph.D. Texas A&M University, 1977
Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1971
Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1976
Associate Professors
Timothy C. Black
Liping Gan
Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1995
Ph.D. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, 1998
Assistant Professors
Dylan E. McNamara
Ph.D. Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD, 2006
B. Departmental Committees for 2009-2010
Lab Development Committee
R. Herman, chairperson
F. Bingham
T. Black
L. Gan
E. Olszewski
Undergraduate Committee
R. Herman, chairperson
B. Davis
D. McNamara
J. Morrison
C. Moyer
Colloquium Coordinator
M. Alexanian
Library Representative
F. Bingham
SPS | Sigma Pi Sigma Advisor
B. Davis
C. Moyer
Computing Resources Coordinator
E. Olszewski
Faculty Senate Representative
T. Black
CTE Liaison
F. Bingham
Academic Advising – Everyone has a responsibility to advise students. New majors are
typically advised by the Chair and then delegated to other faculty: M. Alexanian, T.
Black, B. Davis, L. Gan, R. Herman, D. McNamara.
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III.
FACULTY
A. Areas of Specialization
1. Atomic Physics
Charge exchange in atomic collisions; response of atoms to intense electromagnetic fields; atomic structure studies; autoionization.
Professors Alexanian, Davis, Moyer
2. Marine Sciences
Physical oceanography; general ocean circulation; air-sea interaction and climate;
global distributions of sea surface salinity; ocean observing systems; coastal fluid
dynamics and large-scale coastal morphology; coral reef ecology.
Professors Bingham, McNamara, Morrison, Moss
3. Mathematical Physics
Nonlinear wave equations; complexity theory and chaos; coupled humanenvironmental dynamical systems; general relativity; geometric methods for
pde's; numerical analysis; generalized transforms.
Professors Herman, McNamara
4. Nuclear and Particle Physics
Low energy few-nucleon systems; hypernuclear physics; quantum chromodynamics; string theory.
Professors Black, Gan, Olszewski
5. Physics Education
Instructional technology; general physics pedagogy.
Professors Black, Herman, Moyer
B. Honors and Awards
1. Those recognized by graduating seniors as having an impact on them were
a. Fall 2009: Professors Black, Davis, Herman, Olszewski
b. Spring 2010: Professors Black, Davis, Gan, Herman, McNamara,
and Ms. Mattis
2. Professor Russell Herman received two awards this year,
a. Jack Charles Hall Award, Science Olympiad (March 2010)
b. Chancellor’s Discere Aude Award (December 2009)
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C. Grants and Gifts (awarded 2009-2010)
Agency and Investigators
NASA Earth and Ocean Sciences
Frederick Bingham, Montserrat
Fuentes (NCSU)
National Science Foundation
Timothy Black
National Science Foundation
Liping Gan
National Science foundation
Dylan McNamara
Title / Subject
“Statistical Evaluation of the in
situ Sea Surface Salinity Field for
Comparison with
Aquarius”
“Collaborative Research in
Neutron Interferometry”
“RUI: Test of QCD Symmetries
via Study of Light Pseudoscalar
Mesons”
“Collaborative Proposal:
Modeling New Behaviors
Emerging from Coupling Physical
Coastal Processes and Coastal
Economies”
Amount
$221,000
$62,125
$271,545
$100,000
D. Proposal Submissions (2009-2010)
1. Bingham, Frederick M, Chao, Yi , Lagerloef, Gary, “The SPURS Data
Management System,” Sponsored by NASA, Federal. (pending)
2. Bingham, Frederick M, Morrison, John M, “Towed Profiler Measurements in
Support of SPURS: Connecting the Small- and Mesoscale,” Sponsored by NASA,
Federal. (pending)
3. McNamara, Dylan E, “Collaborative Research: Coastal Geomorphic
Consequences of Wave Climate Change,” Sponsored by NSF, Federal,
$95,000.00. (declined)
4. Morrison, John M, Baden, Daniel G, Styron, Jay, Willey, Joan D,
“Upgrade/Replacement of oceanographic research and education facilities,
University of North Carolina Wilmington.,” Sponsored by NSF-SRI-R2, Federal,
$3,263,125.00. (January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2013). (declined)
E. Publications
1. Alexanian, M. Scattering of two coherent photons inside a one-dimensional
coupled-resonator waveguide. Physical Review A, 81(1), 015805.
http://pra.aps.org/abstract/PRA/v81/i1/e015805
2. Patterson, E. K., Sethuram, A., Ricanek, K., Bingham, F. M. (2009).
Improvements in Active Appearance Models Synthetic Age Progression for Adult
Aging. Washington, DC: Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Biometrics:
Theory, Applications, and Systems (BTAS).
3. Dumas, C. F., Bingham, F. M., Cahoon, L. B., Tobias, C. R., Skrabal, S. A.,
Szmant, A. (2009). The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal North
Carolina. Wilmington, NC.
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4. Huber, M. G., Wietfeldt, F. E., Gentile, T. R., Chen, W. C., Arif, M., Hussey, D.
A., Pushin, D., Yang, L., Black, T. C. (2009). Precision measurement of the
neutron-3He spin-dependent scattering length using neutron interferometry.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics, 611(2 and 3), 235-238.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/505701/descripti
on#description
5. Gan, L. Q. (2010). Hypernuclear Spectroscopy at JLab Hall C. Nucl. Phys.,
A835, 121-128.
6. Gan, L. Q. (2009). Applications of quark-hadron duality in F(2) structure
function. Phys.Rev., C80, 035207.
7. Gan, L. Q. (2009). Neutral Pion Electroproduction in the Resonance Region at
High Q2. Phys.Rev., C80, 035203.
8. Gan, L. Q. (2009). Photoproduction of pi+ pi- meson pairs on the proton. Phys.
Rev., D80, 035203.
9. Gan, L. Q. (2009). Photoproduction of Pseudoscalar Mesons off Nuclei at
Forward Angles. Phys.Rev., C80, 055201.
10. Gan, L. Q. (2009). First measurement of direct f0(980) photoproduction on the
proton. To appear in Phys.Rev.Lett., 102(10), 102001.
11. Herman, R. L., Lugo, G. G. (2009). In Addison-Wesley (Ed.), Open Source
Resources for Teaching and Research in Mathematics (pp. 107-113). Proceedings
of the Twentieth International Conference on Technology in Collegiate
Mathematics.
12. Herman, R. L. and Rose, A., Numerical Realizations of Solutions of the
Stochastic KdV Equation, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, Volume 80,
Issue 1, September 2009, Pages 164-172, Nonlinear Waves: Computation and
Theory VII.
13. Smith, M. D., Slott, J. M., McNamara, D. E., Murray, A. B. Beach Nourishment
as a Dynamic Capital Accumulation Problem. Journal of Environmental
Economics and Management.
14. Sweet, W. V., Morrison, J. M., Kamykowski, D., Schaeffer, B. A., Banks, S.
(2009). Tropical Instability Waves within the Galapagos Archipelago. Deep-Sea
Research Part I, 56(8), 1217 - 1279.
F. Professional Talks Presented and Meetings Attended
Contributed Talks (including Poster Presentations as noted)
1. Bingham, Frederick M (Presenter), Foltz, Greg, McPhaden, Michael, Suga,
Toshio, Ocean Sciences Meeting, “Seasonal Cycles of Mixed-layer Salinity in the
Pacific Ocean,” American Geophysical Union, Portland, OR. (February 22,
2010).
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2. Bingham, Frederick M, Salinity Meeting, “Sea Surface Salinity Balance at 1000
km Scales in the Subtropical Atlantic,” NASA, Pasadena, CA. (December 1,
2009).
3. Bingham, Frederick M (Presenter), Foltz, Greg, McPhaden, michael, Suga,
Toshio, 5th Aquarius SAC/D Science Meeting, “Seasonal Cycles of Mixed-layer
Salinity in the Pacific Ocean,” CONAE / NASA, Buenos Aires. (October 22,
2009).
4. Bingham, Frederick M, Fuentes, M, 5th Aquarius SAC/D Science Meeting,
“Statistical Evaluation of the in situ Surface Salinity Field for Comparison with
Aquarius,” CONAE / NASA, Buenos Aires. (October 22, 2009).
5. Gan, Liping Q, Electron-Ion Collider Workshop: Electron-Nucleon Exclusive
Reactions, “Primakoff Production and Ultraperipheral Processes with an e-p
Collider,” Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ. (March 14, 2010).
6. Gan, Liping Q, INT-Jlab Workshop on Hadron Spectroscopy, “Search for New
Physics via η Rare Decays,” Seattle,WA. (November 2009).
7. Gan, Liping Q, workshop on Hadron Physics in China and Opportunities with 12
GeV JLab, “Test QCD Symmetries via Light Pseudoscalar Mesons,” Lanzhou
University and Jefferson Lab, Lanzhou, China. (July 31, 2009).
8. Gan, Liping Q, The 6th International Workshop on Chiral Dynamics, “Search
for New Physics via Eta Rare Decays,” University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
(July 6, 2009).
9. McNamara, Dylan E, Landscapes in the Anthropocene, “Emergence in Coupled
Human-Environmental Systems,” NSF, University of Oregon.
10. McNamara, Dylan E (Presenter), Murray, A. Brad, Smith, Martin,
Gopalakrishnan, Sathya, Slott, Jordan, Crowley, Tom, Orbach, Mike, Ramus, Joe,
Coupled Human and Natural Systems, “Coastline change and coastal economies
coupled through beach replenishment,” NSF, Washington, DC. (April 20, 2010).
11. McNamara, Dylan E (Presenter), East Carolina University, “Coupled morphoeconomic dynamics at the coastline,” East Carolina University - Geology
Department, Greenville, NC. (March 30, 2010).
12. Hopkins, Chelsea (Presenter), McNamara, Dylan E , Coco, Giovanni, Ocean
Sciences, “Forecasting large-scale coastline change using a genetic algorithm,”
American Geophysical Union, Portland, Oregon. (February 22, 2010).
13. McNamara, Dylan E (Presenter), Murray, A. Brad, Moore, Laura, Brenner,
Owen, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, “Modeling coastline response
to changing storm climate,” American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA.
(December 15, 2009).
14. Carroll, Andrew (Presenter), McNamara, Dylan E, Schupp, Courtney, American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, “Modeling the Response of Human Altered
Natural Barrier Island Dynamics Along Assateague Island National Seashore to
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Climate Change,” American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA. (December
15, 2009).
15. Adams, Pete (Presenter), McNamara, Dylan E, Murray, A. Brad , American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, “Numerical Modeling of Geomorphic Change
on Sandy Coasts as a Function of Changing Wave Climate,” American
Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA. (December 15, 2009).
16. Moore, Laura (Presenter), Brenner, Owen, McNamara, Dylan E, Murray, A.
Brad, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, “Recent Shifts in Shoreline
Orientation along a Cuspate Coast Potentially Linked to Climate Change, North
Carolina Outer Banks,” American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA.
(December 15, 2009).
17. Lazarus, Eli (Presenter), McNamara, Dylan E, Murray, A. Brad, American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, “Unexpected emergent behavior in a coupled
economic and coastline model for stabilized shorelines,” American Geophysical
Union, San Francisco, CA. (December 15, 2009).
18. McNamara, Dylan E (Presenter), Adams, Pete (Presenter), Community Surface
Dynamics Modeling System, “Wave transformation and climate change,” NSF,
University of Colorado - Boulder. (October 27, 2009).
19. McNamara, Dylan E , “Coupled morpho-economic dynamics at the coastline,”
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA. (August 15, 2009).
20. McCulloch, Anita (Presenter), Kamykowski, Daniel, Morrison, John M,
Grabowski, Katy, Sinclair, Geoffrey, Janowitz, Gerald, Benthic Ecology Meeting,
“Near bottom dinoflagellate populations on the northwest Florida Shelf during
July 2009.,” UNCW. (March 12, 2010).
21. McCulloch, Anita A. (Presenter), Kamykowski, Daniel, Morrison, John M,
Sweet, William V (Presenter), Schaeffer, Blake A, Banks, Stuart, 2010 Ocean
Science Meeting, “El Nino Southern Oscillation Related Phytoplankton
Variability in the Galapagos Marine Reserve,” The Oceanography Society,
Protland Oregon. (February 22, 2010).
22. Grabowski, Katie (Presenter), Kamykowski, Daniel, Morrison, John M,
McCulloch, Anita A, Sinclair, Geoffrey A, Janowitz, Gerald, 2010 Ocean Science
Meeting, “Near-bottom Dinoflagellate Population on the Northwest Florida Shelf
During July 2009,” The Oceanography Society, Portland Oregon. (February 22,
2010).
23. Morrison, John M, Nyadjro, Ebenezer Sackitey, 2010 Ocean Science Meeting,
“Structural changes on the northwest Florida shelf during October 2008.,” The
Oceanography Society, Portland, Oregon. (February 22, 2010).
24. Morrison, John M (Presenter), Nyadjro, Ebenezer, Duke/UNC Oceanographic
Consortium Research Symposium, “Spatial and temporal dynamics of benthic
chlorophyll formation on the northwest Florida continental shelf,” Duke/UNC
Oceanographic Consortium, Beaufort, NC. (November 20, 2009).
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25. Morrison, John M, Banks, Stuart, Kamykowski, Daniel, Feldman, Gene C,
Darwin Bicentennial Symposium, “Connectivity and Upwelling Dynamics in the
Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR),” Charles Darwin Research Station,
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. (July 24, 2009).
Invited Presentations
26. Davis, Brian F, UNCW Philosophy & Religion Society, “Archaeoastronomy Solar Interactions on Petroglyphs.” (April 22, 2010).
27. Davis, Brian F, UNCW Public Service & Continuing Studied administered by
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, “The Night Sky (for Spring Semester 2010).”
(January 26, 2010).
28. Davis, Brian F, The College of Arts & Science’s Eighth Annual “College Day”,
“The Electromagnetic Field,” UNCW, DeLoach Hall. (November 14, 2009).
29. Gan, Liping, lecture for Sea and Coffee Club on “Nuclear Energy in 21st
Century” on Dec 17, 2009, UNCW Division for Public Service and Continuing
Studies, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
30. Moyer, Curt A, Physics Colloquium, “The QMTools Project,” UNCW
Department of Physics & Physical Oceanography, Wilmington, NC. (March 26,
2010).
Other Meetings Attended (Professional Development)
1. Herman, R. L. attended Center for Faculty Leadership workshops, Annual
Evaluation of Faculty, Post-Tenure Review, and New Chairs Orientation.
2. Herman, R. L. attended and contributed to the Center for Teaching Excellence
Workshops: Blackboard for Duffers, How to Get Out of the Bookstore and Float
to the Book Cloud, Feedback that works for students and you, Coming soon ...
Web 3.0, A 21st century definition of teaching excellence, Hey You Get Onto the
Clout: Cloud Computing, What Is it? And How to Float There, Open Access
Journals, Clickers: Friend of Foe, Setting Effective Boundaries with Students,
RTP Workshop, Nuts and Bolts of Podcasting, Skillport and Books 24x7,
Teaching Research Methods - Honors/DIS, How to Cheat Online, Google Apps
and other free collaborative software, Incorporating Student Learning Outcomes
into the Classroom
3. Professors Russell Herman and Brian Davis attended the SpinUP Regional
Workshop, sponsored by the AAPT.
4. Professors Russell Herman attended the Academic Chairpersons Conference,
Orlando, FL, Feb 11-12, 2010.
G. Service
Especially noteworthy examples of service to the profession and the community for
the 2009-2010 academic year include:
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1. Professor Moorad Alexanian has reviewed manuscripts for the journals Physical
Review A (9), and Physical Review Letters (3).
2. Professor Fred Bingham serves on the UNCW Faculty Senate Budget
Committee, the University College Advisory Board, the Synergy (UNCW
Common Reading) Committee, and the Center for Marine Science (CMS)
Education Committee. He also chaired the Student Affairs Committee.
3. Professor Fred Bingham continues as Executive Committee member and
webmaster for the American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences Section
(www.agu.org/sections/oceans/).
4. Professor Fred Bingham reviewed a proposal for NSF; he also reviewed
manuscripts for the Journal of Geophysical Research- Oceans, Geophysical
Research Letter, and Deep Sea Research.
5. Professors Timothy Black and Liping Gan have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) committing to forming a UNCW group and participating in
the energy upgrade and GLUEX collaboration at Jefferson National Laboratory.
6. Professor Brian Davis again represented the Physics Department at the College
of Arts and Science’s 8th Annual College Day event in November where he
presented a lecture titled “The Electromagnetic Field”.
7. Professor Liping Gan serves as a committee member of CSURF, the UNCW
Asian Study Committee, and as mentor for Women in Science and Engineering.
8. Professor Liping Gan serves as co-supervisor for the Ph. D. thesis research of
Mr. Liyang Jiang (Mar. 2007- present), a visiting student from the China Institute
of Atomic Energy.
9. Professor Liping Gan continues as designated Spokesperson and Chair of the
Data Analysis Review Committee for the PrimEx Collaboration, Jefferson
National Laboratory.
10. Professor Liping Gan was a judge for 2010 Southeast Regional Science Fair on
Feb 20th, 2010.
11. Professor Liping Gan presented a two-hour lecture at Sea and Coffee Club on
“Nuclear Energy in 21st Century” on Dec 17, 2009, UNCW Division for Public
Service and Continuing Studies, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
12. Professor Liping Gan was a panel member for National Science Foundation
nuclear physics division in 2010 and attend the panel meeting in Washington DC,
Jan. 26-28, 2010. Dr. Gan continues to regularly review NSF proposals.
13. Professor Liping Gan was co-supervisor for a visiting Ph.D. student, Mr. Tarasov
Victor Victorovich, from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow,
Russia. Dr. Gan also sponsored Mr. Tarasov Victor Victorovich to work on the
Jefferson Lab July 2009 to Dec 2009.
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14. Professor Russell Herman served on six honors thesis project, and advised on the
projects of two honors students and three masters degree students.
15. Professor Russell Herman is a member of the CTE Advisory Board, the Center
for Marine Science (CMS) Internal Advisory Committee, and the Senior Member
of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
16. Professor Russell Herman is editor of the Journal of Effective Teaching, is a
member of the MAA Committee on Technologies in Mathematics Education.
17. Professor Russell Herman was an event leader for the Science Olympiad in
March 2010, involving a half dozen physics majors - Events: Pressure B, Pressure
C, Solar System, Astronomy.
18. Professor Russell Herman has reviewed manuscripts for Physics Review Letters
(3), Physical Review E (2), Physical Review A (1), Journal of Physics A (2),
Journal of Optics (1), Physica Scripta (3), American Journal of Physics (1),
Advances in Engineering Software (1), Applied Mathematics and Computation
(1).
19. Professor Dylan McNamara served on three honors thesis committees, directing
two of the theses, and two masters thesis committees, directing one of those.
20. Professor Dylan McNamara served on a Duke University Ph.D. committee for
former student Kenneth Ells. He was also a co-supervisor for postdoc Eli Lazurus,
supported from the NSF Biocomplexity Program through Duke University Earth
and Ocean Sciences Department.
21. Professor Dylan McNamara served on the CMS Internal Advisory Committee.
22. Professor Dylan McNamara served served as session chair at the AGU fall
meeting, “Coastal Geomorphology and Morphodynamics,” within the Earth And
Planetary Surface Processes Focus Group.
23. Professor Dylan McNamara has reviewed manuscripts for Journal of
Geophysical Research (1), Climate Change (1).
24. Professor Dylan McNamara played a major role in planning the curriculum and
new courses supporting the new Physics BS Degree Option in Physical
Oceanography. He is also a member of the CMS Ad Hoc PhD planning
committee, charged with developing a planning document for a new PhD program
in Marine Science at UNCW.
25. Professor Dylan McNamara coaches the UNCW Surf Team and has led them to
east coast championships, a second place finish at the national competition in
2009, and are competing in June 2010.
26. Professor Dylan McNamara is a member of the NSF Community Surface
Dynamics Modeling System Group, and serves as a Scientific Advisor to the
National Park Service.
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27. Professor John Morrison is primary or co-advisor to numerous graduate
students, including doctoral candidates from NCSU and UNCW MS candidate
Michael Taylor (with F. Bingham). He also served on a departmental honors
thesis committee.
28. Professor John Morrison took the lead in planning the curriculum and courses
supporting the proposed Physics BS Degree Option in Physical Oceanography.
He chairs the Ad Hoc Committee on Establishing a Ph.D. in Coastal and Marine
Science.
29. Professor John Morrison chairs the UNCW Faculty Athletic Council and a
member of the search committee for a women’s basketball coach.
30. Professor John Morrison serves as a member of the UNCW Marine Science
Center CRISP (Center Researchers Involved in Strategic Planning), the UNCW
Marine Science Strategic Planning Committee, the Planning Committee for
Master’s Degree in Ocean Policy, and the Review Committee for UNCW Men’s
Basketball Program.
31. Professor John Morrison is a member of various national and regional research
organizations, including the Ocean Color Research Team, the NASA Biodiversity
Research Team, the Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conferences (PORSEC)
Scientific Organizing Committee, and UNOLS Regional Class Advisory
Committee. He serves on the Executive Committees of PORSEC, the Southeast
Coastal Ocean Observing System (SE-COOS) Planning Committee, and SURA’s
Southeastern Coastal Ocean Observing Program (SCOOP). He is also the UNCW
representative to the Duke/UNC Oceanographic Consortium Program Committee,
the Consortium for Ocean Research and Education, the Joint Oceanographic
Institutions, Inc., the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, the Southeast Coastal
Ocean Observing Regional Association, and the Planning Committee for
Carolinas Marine Sciences Cooperative Institute (CMSCI).
32. Professor John Morrison has reviewed grant proposals for NASA, NOAA, and
NSF and has reviewed manuscripts for Journal of Geophysical research (1) and
Deep-Sea Research (1).
33. Professor John Morrison also met the NC Congressional Delegation to discuss
the importance of Marine Science to NC.
34. Professor Curt Moyer served as department representative for both the Academic
Majors Fair (September 30, 2009) and the Annual Visitation Day (March 27,
2010). As Faculty Advisor of Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society, Dr.
Moyer organized the induction ceremony and selected the inductees to the
society.
35. Professor Curt Moyer served on a departmental honors thesis committee and a
post tenure review committee.
36. Professor Curt Moyer serves on several university committees: J. Marshall
Crews Scholarship Selection Committee and the Export Control Advisory
Committee.
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IV.
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT & SUPPORT PROGRAMS
A. Course Offerings and Enrollments
Summer 2009
PHY 101 Elementary College Physics
PHY 102 Elementary College Physics
PHY 201 General Physics
PHY 202 General Physics
Fall 2009
PHY 101 Elementary College Physics.
PHY 101 Elementary College Physics
PHY 101 Elementary College Physics
PHY 103 Great Ideas in Physics
PHY 105 Introductory Physics
PHY 201 General Physics
PHY 201 General Physics
PHY 260 Introduction to Astronomy
PHY 311 Mathematical Physics
PHY 321 Classical Dynamics
PHY 335 Modern Physics
PHY 400 Advanced Lab
PHY 411 Electricity & Magnetism
PHY/GLY 420 Global Climate Change
PHY 444 Quantum Theory
PHY 490 Applied Complexity
PHY 491 Directed Individual Study
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 499 Honors Work in Physics
PHY 499 Honors Work in Physics
PHY 576 CHM & PHY Analysis of Seawater
PHY 599 Thesis
Spring 2010
PHY 102 Elementary College Physics
PHY 102 Elementary College Physics
PHY 102 Elementary College Physics
PHY 102 Elementary College Physics
PHY 105 Introductory Physics
PHY 202 General Physics
PHY 202 General Physics
PHY 260 Introduction to Astronomy
PHY 292 Phenomenon & Physics of Music
PHY 300 Analog Circuits
PHY 322 Classical Dynamics II
PHY 412 Electricity & Magnetism II
PHY 435 Nuclear Physics
PHY 455 Thermal Physics
PHY 475 Physical Oceanography
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 495 Physics Seminar
PHY 499 Honors Work in Physics
PHY 575 Physical Oceanography
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Instructor
Olszewski, E.
Olszewski, E.
Herman, R.
Black, T.
Enrollment
71
77
52
35
Olszewski, E.
Olszewski, E.
Herman, R.
Morrison, J.
Bingham, F.
Black, T.
Davis, B.
Davis, B.
Alexanian, M.
McNamara, D.
Black, T.
Black, T.
Alexanian, M
Bingham/Gamble
Gan, L.
McNamara, D.
Bingham, F.
Black, T.
Herman, R.
McNamara, D.
Bingham/Kieber
McNamara, D.
86
87
86
23
25
44
55
49
10
9
10
5
9
2
5
4
1
1
2
2
0
1
Olszewski, E.
Olszewski, E.
Moyer, C.
Moyer, C.
Bingham, F.
McNamara, D.
Davis, B.
Davis, B.
Black, T.
Black, T.
Alexanian, M.
Alexanian, M.
Gan, L.
Gan, L.
Morrison, J
Black, T.
Herman, R
Davis, B..
Gan, L.
McNamara, D.
Herman, R.
Morrison, J
69
72
27
45
29
18
31
63
9
8
6
6
2
10
9
1
1
1
1
1
1
14
B. Innovative Curricular Initiatives
Professor Timothy Black again taught Phenomenon and Physics of Music, which he
taught on a trial basis as PHY 292 in the Spring ’09 term. This course has been
approved as PHY 220, Physics of Music, be included as a regular course offering. It
was also proposed for the new University Studies.
Professor John Morrison has introduced new courses in the department, including
PHY 104 Physics for Future Presidents and PHY 496 Undergraduate Research
Experience in Physics. PHY 104 was approved beginning Fall 2010 and both were
submitted for inclusion in some phase of the new University Studies.
Professor Dylan McNamara taught a trial course in Applied Complexity. This course
was a precursor to the new course, PHY 315, Computational Physics and Complexity,
which has been approved starting Fall 2010. This course will be part of the new
physical oceanography option and is recommended for all physics majors.
C. Research Opportunities for Undergraduates
The following undergraduate research projects were active during the 2008-2009
academic year:
1. During June and July 2009, UNCW physics majors Erik Minges and Margaret
Schneider assisted Professor Liping Gan with her research at Jefferson National
Laboratory (JLab), developing a low energy recoil detector for experiments
testing predictions of Quantum Chromodynamics. The students were supported by
research grants from NSF and Jefferson Lab. The JLab summer experience is a
unique ongoing research opportunity for undergraduates that has involved more
than fifteen UNCW students since 2001.
2. Physics major Chelsea Hopkins completed an honors thesis in Spring ’10 under
the supervision of Professor Dylan McNamara. Chelsea’s thesis, titled
“Predicting Shoreline Evolution Using a Genetic Algorithm”, explores the use of
nonlinear forecasting techniques to predict future coastline evolution based upon
past observations.
3. Physics major Erik Minges completed an honors thesis in Spring ’10 under the
supervision of Professor Russell Herman. Erik’s thesis, titled “Numerical
Simulation of Air Pollution Dynamics due to Point Source Emissions from an
Industrial Stack”, explores the use of the finite volume method to solve the
isothermal Euler equations with source terms that model the emission of
pollutants.
4. Physics major Zachary Williams completed an honors thesis in Spring ’10 under
the supervision of Professor Dylan McNamara. Zachary’s thesis, titled “Localized
Generation of Low Frequency Swash Motion Through Chaotic Swash Front
Interactions”, presents a simplified model of swash flow interactions and
analyzes the model using nonlinear forecasting techniques.
5. Another honors project directed by Professor Russell Herman was initiated during
the academic year. Nicholas Corak has been studying physics education research
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methods for the design of physics labs which can be applied to secondary school
physics classes. The project is slated for completion in Fall ’10.
D. Physics Department Colloquia
Date
October 9
Speaker/Affiliation
Dr. Amy Oldenburg, UNC Chapel
Hill
Title
Magnetic and plasmon-resonant
nanoparticles for biomedical
optical coherence imaging contrast
November 13
Dr. John Blondin, NC State
University
Students Simulating Stars on
Supercomputers
January 22
John C. Whitley III, Product
Performance Engineer International
Paper
A Brief History of Steam Engine
Thermal Efficiency
January 29
Dr. Ashutosh V. Kotwal, Duke
University
Precision Electroweak
Measurements and the Higgs
Boson
March 26
Dr. Curt A. Moyer, UNCW, Physics
Department
The QMTools Project
April 8
Dr. Jorge A. Lopez, Schumaker
Professor University of Texas at El
Paso
Physics and Art: Was Mona Lisa
dating Michelangelo? Was
Tutankhamen Assassinated? How
old is the Turin shroud?
April 9
Dr. Jorge A. Lopez, Schumaker
Professor University of Texas at El
Paso
The New Nuclear Physics and
Isoscaling
E. SPS/ΣΠΣ Activities
On April 8, 2010, the UNCW chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor
society, admitted to membership: Frederick M. Bingham (faculty), Iain David Joseph,
Brian Thomas Kay, Ashley Marie Martin, Michael Martin Taylor (graduate student),
and Andrew Edward Whitley. The induction ceremony followed a public lecture by
Dr. Jorge A. Lopez, Schumaker Professor University of Texas at El Paso. The title of
the talk was "Physics and Art: Was Mona Lisa dating Michelangelo? Was
Tutankhamen Assassinated? How old is the Turin shroud?” Refreshments (pizza and
soda) were served during a social hour following the ceremony.
Under the leadership of chapter president Erik Minges, the UNCW chapter of the
Society of Physics Students (SPS) sponsored two picnics for physics faculty,
students, and friends. … need dates. Also, a local chapter of SEDS (Students for the
Exploration and Development of Space) was begun by Mark Smith and Andrew
Whitley with Erik Minges and Andrew Tatum. In March, they launched a test balloon
with video capture during the Science Olympiad as part of the Helios Project.
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V.
STUDENTS
A. Enrollment Statistics (Past Decade)
Undergraduate Physics Majors
Year
Freshman Sophomores Juniors Seniors Second Fall
(Fall)
(Fall)
(Fall)
(Fall) Majors Total
(Fall)
20002001
20012002
20022003
20032004
20042005
20052006
20062007
20072008
20082009
20092010
Annual Graduates
0
4
3
6
1
13
B.A.
Degrees
3
0
5
2
5
2
12
2
2
0
2
10
4
4
16
3
1
0
9
5
9
1
23
3
4
0
6
8
8
2
22
0
4
1
1
4
11
1
16
1
6
0
8
7
7
1
22
1
5
1
6
15
10
6
32
3
3
1
4
11
14
4
30
2
6
0
4
13
16
6
33
2
8
B. Degrees Awarded
December, 2009
Bachelor of Arts:
Grace Anne Connelly
Bachelor of Science:
Jonathan Richard Flynn
John E. Hall, Jr
Michael Blalock McClellan
May, 2010
Bachelor of Science:
Bryan James Black
Chelsea Elizabeth Hopkins
Kevin Daniel Majewski
Erik Hall Minges
Robert Kelley Sizemore
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B.S.
Degrees
2
Bachelor of Arts
Margaret Elizabeth Schneider
C. Honors, Awards, and Scholarships
J. Marshall Crews Scholarship in Science: Ashley Marie Martin
This is a school-wide merit-based award for rising juniors or seniors in a science
field, and provides for the full cost of tuition, fees, books, and supplies.
Ashley is the second physics Crews Scholar since the award was established in
2001. She is a double major in physics and mathematics and had also received the
Adrian D. Hurst Mathematics Scholarship.
Hildelisa Hernandez Departmental Award in Physics: Iain David Joseph
The Hernandez award, named for retired Professor Emeritus Hildelisa Hernandez,
recognizes outstanding academic achievement of a rising senior who is seeking
the B.S. degree in physics. The award carries a stipend of $500 to help defray
educational expenses incurred at UNCW.
Iain compiled an overall GPA = 3.625 and physics GPA = 3.666, is in the Honors
Scholars program, and plans to work on an honors project in 2010-2011. He is
also one of four undergraduates inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor
society, for 2010.
Marvin K. Moss Scholarships: Zachary Cole Williams, David Carson Heiskell
Established in 2007, this annual scholarship is named for Professor Emeritus
Marvin Moss and is open to all students in the physical sciences (Chemistry,
Mathematics, and Physics), with preference given to qualifying physics majors.
Selection criteria are financial need followed by strong and demonstrated
academic performance. The award amount is $500 per semester.
Zachary is highly deserving of this recognition. He has earned an overall GPA of
3.511 and physics GPA of 3.448. In 2009 he was inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma.
In Spring 2010 he defended his honors thesis, entitled Localized Generation of
Low Frequency Swash Motion Through Chaotic Swash Front Interactions.
David is a recently declared major starting out with overall and physics GPAs of
3.503 and 3.734, respectively.
Walter Schmid Award: Erik Hall Minges
The Schmid Award is presented to a graduating senior who, in the opinion of the
physics faculty, shows great potential for contributing to the fields of theoretical
or applied physics. The award consists of a plaque inscribed with the winner’s
name, and a cash prize.
Erik has earned an overall GPA = 3.756, a physics GPA = 3.738, and a perfect
mathematics GPA = 4.000. He also completed requirements for the BS degree in
Mathematics. Erik graduates with Honors in Physics, having completed an honors
thesis titled “Numerical Simulation of Air Pollution Dynamics due to Point
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Source Emissions from an Industrial Stack”. Erik had also participated in summer
research at James Madison University in 2007, and worked under Dr. Gan at
Jefferson Lab in 2009 and 2010. Erik plans to continue his studies at UNC,
Chapel Hill in the fall.
Earl Bernard Wilson Scholarship: Brian Thomas Kay
Initiated in 2003, this scholarship is designated for a student who is a declared
physics major, married, and who demonstrates financial need. While the primary
consideration is need, the recipient must have at least a 2.50 GPA on all work
attempted at UNCW. The award this year is in the amount of $1300.
Jefferson Lab Summer Fellowships: Anthony Tatum, Runyon Colie Woods
Anthony and Colie were selected by faculty member Professor Liping Gan to
assist this summer at the Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory, NewPort News,
VA, in developing a low energy recoil detector for experiments testing predictions
of QCD (Quantum Chromodynamics). Students in the program are supported by
research grants from NSF and Jefferson Lab.
Bookstore Scholarship Award Winners: Ashley Marie Martin, Andrew Edward
Whitley. This year each awardee has received $175 to spend in the UNCW
Bookstore.
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