Co/Wy American Association of Physics Teachers and
Society of Physics Students Zone 14
Meeting
SaturdayApril 18, 2015 @ Metropolitan State University of Denver/University
of Colorado-Denver on the Auraria Campus Downtown Denver*
The Co/Wy AAPT and the SPS Zone 14 organizers will host this year’s joint AAPT and SPS meeting at
MSU Denver/UCD on the Auraria Campus. In honor of the Year of Light, the theme for this meeting is
Illuminating Physics Education. We are excited to have Doug Shepherd as our Keynote Speaker. Dr.
Shepherd is on the faculty of CU Denver and he uses light to investigate bio-molecules. The title of his
talk:
More than Just Pretty Pictures: Quantitative Imaging in Biology
* Free Parking - See attached Map
SCHEDULE
Times
8:30 am - 9:15 am
North Classroom 3405
9:15 am - 9:30 am
North Classroom 1607
9:30 am - 10:30 am
North Classroom 1607
10:40 am - 11:25 am
North Classroom 3405
11:35 am - 12:25 pm
North Classroom 1607
12:35 pm - 1:20 pm
North Classroom 3405
1:30 pm - 2:20 pm
North Classroom 3604
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
North Classroom 1607
3:20 pm - 4:00 pm
4:15 pm
AAPT/SPS Joint Meeting
Registration
(Coffee and snacks available)
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Contributed Talks (~15 min. each )
C1. Visual sensations during megavoltage radiotherapy due to Cherenkov radiation
Masoud Asadi-Zeydabadi and Francis Newman - University of Colorado Denver
C2. Kits and engagements to develop practical knowledge needed for physics-based innovation
Randall Tagg - Department of Physics, University of Colorado Denver
C3. Modeling a Satellite Microdosimeter
James Heitmann - USAFA Class of 2015
Collaborators: Lt Col Mario Serna, Capt Brett Castle, and Scott Alsid
Break - Posters in Hallway Outside of NC3405
P1. Acoustical Resonant Transmission in a 1D Duct
Jasmine Knudsen - Department of Physics, Metropolitan State University of Denver
P2. Fluorescent Imaging: Insight into Biological Regulation at the Nanoscale
Eric Rupert - Department of Physics, University of Colorado Denver
Keynote - Dr. Doug Shepherd:
More than Just Pretty Pictures: Quantitative Imaging in Biology
There has been an explosion of quantitative biochemical, imaging, and computational
techniques that enable investigations into biological regulation at the level of individual cells.
One key observation from these techniques is highly variable cell-to-cell expression of
messenger RNA and protein in response to external stimuli in populations of otherwise
identical cells. Understanding the origin and consequence of this heterogeneity may provide a
link between intra-cellular regulation and the pathobiology of disease. This is where physicists
can make a unique contribution, as laser spectroscopy is a commonly used tool to investigate
this heterogeneity. I will provide an overview of fluorescence spectroscopy and singlemolecule spectroscopy, highlighting recent work by my group using super-resolution imaging
to quantify the distribution of amyloid precursor protein in neuronal growth cones, part of an
ongoing project to better understand Alzheimer’s disease.
Lunch
A Motorcycle Problem in need of an SPS Solution
Workshop: Wendy Adams - University of Northern Colorado
Sparking Curiosity: Motivating Student Learning
Contributed Talks (~15 min. each )
C4. Facilitating Student Reflection in a Physics Class
Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer and Daniel L. Reinholz – Physics Dept. CU- Boulder
C5. Visualizing the Rotation of a Rigid Body
Norm Hecht - Front Range Community College
C6. How optics can be used to understand the interplay between gene
expression and cell structure
Evan Shapiro - Department of Physics, University of Colorado Denver
AAPT Business Mtg. in North Classroom 1607
SPS Business Mtg. in North Classroom 3405
Adjourn