Time and Place

• Unless otherwise stated, all physics and astronomy colloquia will take place on Thursday afternoon from 4 to 5 pm in lecture room SC 4327.
• Each colloquium will be preceded by a tea from 3:30 to 4 pm in room SC 6333.

Sample Listing with Links to Abstract, Slides, and References

Date .. Speaker's Name (Institution) -- Title of Talk
Host: Name of Vanderbilt faculty member who invited Speaker
Abstract .. Slides .. References

Spring 2006

Classes begin -> Jan. 11

Jan. 12 -- open

Jan. 19 -- open

Jan. 26 -- Kelle Cruz, American Museum of Natural History (Stassun), "Brown Dwarfs and Their Ultracool Spectra" Abstract

Feb. 2 -- Marcel Agueros, University of Washington (Weintraub), "(Mis)Using The World's Best Optical Survey: SDSS and Neutron Stars" Abstract

Feb. 9 -- Rob Cutler, Bard College (Kephart), "Tropical Bioinformatics" Abstract

Feb. 16 -- Holladay Lecture

       Dan Ralph, Cornell University (Haglund),"Manipulating Nanomagnets Using Spin-Polarized Currents" Abstract

Feb. 23 -- David Weitz, Harvard University (Hutson), "The Elasticity of Composite Actin Networks" Abstract

March 2 -- Forman Lecture

      Robert Brown, Case Western Reserve University (Ernst) "An Evolutionary Gap in Teaching Introductory Physics:   An Intelligent Design?" Abstract  

March 3 -- Robert Brown, Case Western Reserve University (Ernst) "A Simple View of MRI, and its Increasingly Rich View of Us and Our Brain" Abstract (Note time: 2:10-3:00 and place SC 2212)

March -- 9  SPING BREAK

March 16 -- Alycia Weinberger, Carnegie Institute of Washington (Knop) "Composition and Processing of Circumstellar Disks and Clues for Planet Formation" Abstract

March 23 -- Matthias Grosse-Perdekamp, University of Illinois (Greene),  " The Origin of the Proton Spin: What do we Learn from Polarized Proton Collisions at RHIC?" Abstract

March 30 -- Emilio Mendez, State University of New Tork - Stoney Brook (Dickerson),"One Hundred  Years of Physics of Fluctuations in Nanoscience."  Abstract

April 6 -- Slack Lecture

    Phaedon Avouris, IBM Watson Research Center (Hertel) (Note time: 2:35 - 3:35)

April 13 -- Fred Jerome, Rutgers University, (Ernst) "Einstein on Race and Racism", joint with Vanderbilt: Communication of Science and Technology Program, African American Studies Program, Political Science Department, Communications Department, Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center; Fisk University: Department of Physics; Tennessee State University: Department of Mathematics and Physics. Information

April 20 -- John Cumalat, University of Colorado (Sheldon)

Finals begin -> April 26

FALL 2005

First Day of class -> Aug. 24

Aug. 25 -- Gordon Gee, Vanderbilt University (Mrs. Gee), "The State of the University"

Sept. 1  -- Yuri Efremenko, University of Tennessee - Knoxville (Ramayya), "Detection of Geo-Neutrinos with the KamLAND Detector", joint with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Abstract

Sept. 8  --

Sept 15 -- Robert Austin, Princeton University (Hutson), "What Biology Can Do for Physics" Abstract

Sept. 22 -- S. A. Solin, Washington University (Pantelides),"Geometry driven interfacial phenomena
 in semiconductor-metal hybrid structures" Abstract

Sept. 29 -- Richard Blankenbecler, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (Weiler), "From HEP to HEP (High-Energy Physics to Highly Entangled Proteins)" Abstract

Oct. 6 -- Seyfert Lecture

     David Spergel, Princeton University (Scherrer), "Taking the Baby Picture of the Universe" Abstract

     Seminar, Friday, Oct. 7, 11:10 am, "Beyond WMAP" in Butrick 305

Oct. 13 -- Kameshwar Wali, Syracuse U. (Kephart), "A Physicist's Quest for the Secrets of Stradivari: William F. Fry" Abstract

Oct. 20 -- Brian O'Reilly, Caltech (Johns), "Status and recent results of the LIGO experiment" Abstract

Oct. 27 -- Stefan Frauendorf, Notre Dame University (Ramayya), "Left-handed nuclei" Abstract

Nov. 3 -- Robert Eisenberg, Rush Medical College (Hamilton) "Ion Channels: Living Transistors" Abstract, "Life across the length scales"

Nov. 10 -- Geoff Mills, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Ernst) "Experimental Neutrino Physics
Recent Results and Status of the MiniBooNE Experiment" Abstract

Nov. 17 -- Victoria Greene, Vanderbilt University, “Quark-Gluon Liquid?” Abstract 

Nov. 24 -- THANKSGIVING

Dec. 1 -- Francis Halzen, U. Wisconsin (Weiler), "High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy: Towards Kilometer-Scale Neutrino Observatories" Abstract

Dec. 8 -- Antoinette Taylor, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Haglund), "Ultrafast Dynamics in Complex Materials", joint with the Vanderbilt Institute for Nano Science and Engineering, Abstract

Finals begin -> Dec. 9

Colloquia 2004 - 2005