2024
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Friday, October 25, 2024 Join our summer research students as they present their work! |
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Thursday, October 24, 2024 Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium 12:10 pm EDT/GMT-4 A seminar from Professor Clara Sousa-Silva. |
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Friday, October 18, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Our star has provided the perfect conditions for life over the 4.5 billion year lifetime of Earth. Now that the hunt for life outside the solar system is underway, we have to ask the question: is the sun just one example of an ideal host, or is it the only type of viable life-hosting star in the galaxy? The search for new planets outside our solar system has been wildly successful over the last 30 years, and now the hunt for biosignature molecules in the atmospheres of rocky, habitable-zone planets is beginning. To maximize its chances of detecting biosignatures, JWST is targeting small planets around small stars. Do we have any hope of finding life around these small stars, or do their violent magnetic storms make it impossible for life to get started? In this talk, Ruth Angus explores exactly how perfect the sun is for life, and whether we have any hope of finding life on planets orbiting other stars. |
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Friday, October 11, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 This year's Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffery E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” Professors Sven Anderson and Hal Haggard will introduce the basics of machine learning and some of the tools from physics that helped to turn this approach into a practical technology. We will touch on the promise and limitations of machine learning emerging today. |
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Friday, September 27, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 In the past couple of decades there has been a concerted effort to investigate and develop technologies using quintessentially quantum effects to gain an advantage in a variety of information processing tasks. This has spurred a renewed interest in precisely what is meant by the notion "quantum", in the first place. In the literature three often discussed notions of nonclassicality are negativity of a quasiprobability representation, contextuality, and inefficiency of classical simulation, coming from the fields of optics, foundations, and computer science, respectively. Of these, the phenomenon of contextuality, which encompasses the 'no-go' theorems of Kochen and Specker, as well as Bell, can be studied rigorously using tools from topology. In this talk we will discuss the topological approach to contextuality, which includes the study of Bell inequalities. We also make connections to a family of geometric objects, known as Lambda polytopes, that can be used to classically simulate universal quantum computation in which some nonclassical signatures, such as negativity, are entirely absent. Time permitting, we go on to describe some properties of these objects and address some of the open problems. |
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Tuesday, August 13, 2024 Clark Leadership Chair in Science, Distinguished University Professor, and Regents Professor at the University of Maryland Blithewood 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 In 1995 Edward Witten, described by Brian Greene as “a million times smarter than we are,” proposed a solution to the “quantum gravity problem” that evaded Stephen Hawking. Until 2020, no solution consistent with Richard Feynman’s view of quantum theory had been found. Einstein believed “...science and art tend to coalesce,” and following this connection the speaker and two PhD students found the first such solution. This talk describes how artwork solved a mathematics problem. Reception to follow The inaugural MathScape combines an international workshop on cutting-edge research in mathematics with a public lecture linking to the arts and humanities. MathScape 2024 features the mathematics used by the physicists in their quest to create a “theory of everything”. MathScape 2024 is supported by Chuck Doran, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Mathematics and Physics |
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Thursday, May 16, 2024 Download: Senior Project Poster session booklet S24-FINAL CO |
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Friday, May 10, 2024
Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Jacinta Creel: P.U.S.H. For Life Among The Stars: A Scientific and Philosophical Quest for Conceptualizing Uncertainty Chris Hallman: Pumping a Transition |
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Friday, May 3, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Very few games are so lifelike that we think of them as literal simulations of the world, but all games are even less like a real world than people think. In this talk I want to show people a bit behind the curtain of what is lurking just out of frame of their favorite game, how game developers use smoke and mirrors, and why that's actually a good thing. We'll even get a few minutes to look at how one might build a game using the free and open-source engine Godot! |
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Friday, April 26, 2024 Hegeman 107 11:45 am – 12:45 pm EDT/GMT-4 Waves exert forces and torques on illuminated objects. The structure of a wave-mediated force landscape can be controlled by shaping the wavefronts with computer-generated holograms. Holographically imprinting topological defects into the wavefronts of a classical wave can endow it with remarkable properties including quantized angular momentum, diffraction-free propagation, and force-free acceleration. After reviewing the theory of wave-matter interactions, we will use wavefront topology to transform optical traps into real-world tractor beams that transport illuminated objects upstream. Applying the same principles to acoustic traps reveals a class of dynamical states that we call "wave-matter composites" whose emergent properties hint at the existence of new states of active matter. |
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Friday, April 19, 2024
Daniel Yahalomi, Columbia University
Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 We think that there are more planets than stars in our galaxy and yet we have confirmed the existence of only thousands of planets outside our solar system. We thus expect that the majority of these worlds successfully hide from current state of the art telescopes. In this talk, I will present a new framework for detecting unseen worlds by studying the tiny wobbles that exist in time-series datasets due to their gravitational influence. I will also discuss my experience working with, and the importance of developing, research, and mentorship programs for high school students from underserved communities in pursuit of increasing the diversity in astronomy. |
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Friday, April 12, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Inference is a term that encompasses many techniques including machine learning and statistical data assimilation (SDA). Unlike machine learning, which harnesses predictive power from extremely large data sets, SDA is designed for sparsely sampled systems. This is the realm of study of any realistic system in nature. SDA was invented for numerical weather prediction, an inherently nonlinear – and chaotic – problem. My collaborators and I have taken SDA into new fields, to inform the role of neutrinos in astrophysics, biological neuronal networks, and an epidemiological population model tailored to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. We use SDA to seek solutions that are consistent with both sparse measurements and a partially-known dynamical model of the system from which those measurements arose. The versatility of SDA across vast disciplines (and vast temporal and spatial scales) shows how these “distinct” environments possess commonalities that can inform one another. In addition to pure science, I work on science communication. To that end, I will share some relevant techniques from comedy and theatrical improvisation. Eve Armstrong is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the New York Institute of Technology and a research associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. She studies information flow in nonlinear dynamical systems, by means of inference (an umbrella term for machine learning and the “data-driven” paradigm.) Her work spans astrophysics, neuroscience, and epidemiology, and her current focus is neutrino flavor physics in dense astrophysical environments. Also a comedy writer and theatre producer, Eve runs workshops in improvisation, storytelling, and standup comedy for young scientists in the NYC area who seek to develop their communication skills. Both her pure-science research and performance outreach are funded by the National Science Foundation. |
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Friday, April 5, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 On the afternoon of Monday, April 8, the first total solar eclipse to pass over New York State in 99 years will occur. Come join the Physics Program for an overview of what to expect; why eclipses are emotionally, historically, and scientifically important events; and your options for how to view it. |
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Friday, March 29, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Ocean currents shape the distribution and magnitude of ocean carbon and nutrient fluxes with cascading influences on the global carbon cycle. In this talk, I will use ship-board observations and numerical models to examine the interaction between ocean eddy processes and microbial communities revealing how ocean currents impact microbial diversity and the global importance of eddies in the distribution of ocean carbon. The talk will conclude with a discussion of community science work that addresses the impact of high nutrient loads on shoreline communities. |
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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The field of STEM offers many personal and professional rewards. However, emotions may stand in the way of such rewards. In this workshop, we will explore imposter syndrome and other socioemotional phenomena which may affect one’s ability to engage with and succeed in a field as competitive and demanding as those in STEM. Participants will have an opportunity to explore and reflect on their feelings towards studying STEM. Participants begin by reflecting on and sharing their previous learning experiences to place these experiences in context, learning that: (1) they are not alone; (2) their experiences are likely not tied to them as an individual, but are a result of sociohistorical forces. This allows students to think deeply and critically about how they approach their studies. Participants then reorient themselves based on these new realizations and their motivation to succeed. This reorientation includes strategies and tips for studying, focusing on learning mathematics in particular. Finally the workshop gives participants an opportunity to work on a mathematical problem, setting the stage for a positive opportunity to engage with mathematics and their other studies. All participants are encouraged to participate in small-group and whole session discussions throughout the program, reducing the “I’m alone” stigma and forming bonds with others in the group. They are also encouraged to continue working and studying together after the workshop is completed. Dr. Geillan Aly, the Founder of Compassionate Math, is a math educator who centers the socioemotional factors that contribute to success in mathematics. She holds the fundamental assumption that learning math is both an emotional and cognitive endeavor. A former award-winning Assistant Professor who has taught for over fifteen years, Dr. Aly transforms math classrooms through engaging professional development and student-focused workshops that center emotions while establishing a culture of engaging with rigorous mathematics. She received her PhD in Teaching and Teacher Education and Master’s in Mathematics from the University of Arizona. Underlying Dr. Aly’s work is a dedication to equity and social justice. She enjoys traveling and seeing live music and is an avid chef, wife, and mother to a beautiful boy. |
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Friday, March 15, 2024 Hegeman 107 1:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 The landscape of academic science has changed significantly in recent decades and is poised to change even more in the future. We can leverage these cultural changes to create an environment that is both inclusive to more people and more effective in preparing students (science majors and non-majors alike) for a wider variety of careers and more broadly defined success. I’ll share my own path to science and a variety of science projects I have been involved in along the way to becoming tenured faculty at the City University of New York, including: planetarium shows, parody music videos, media appearances, an concept-oriented lab manual, Astronomy on Tap public outreach events, STARtorialist science fashion blog and shop, the AstroCom NYC research mentorship program, and last but certainly not least, the BDNYC brown dwarf research group. The implicit mission that connects these eclectic projects is to expand support for, participation in, and even the definition of science. |
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Thursday, March 14, 2024
Hegeman 106 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Come celebrate Pi Day with us by enjoying pizza, pie, and games! |
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Friday, March 8, 2024 Hegeman 204A 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5 Plato reserved high esteem for mathematics, even saying in the Laws that learning mathematics was a necessity, that without the use or knowledge of mathematics, ‘a man cannot become a God to the world, nor a spirit, nor yet a hero, nor able earnestly to think and care for man.’ Bertrand Russell remarks on this passage in The Study of Mathematics, “Such was Plato’s judgment of mathematics; but the mathematicians do not read Plato, while those who read him know no mathematics, and regard his opinion upon this question as merely a curious aberration,” (Russell 1963, p. 85). Reflecting on Bertrand Russell’s ruminations about Plato, it is well known, though we no longer have direct evidence, that before the entrance to Plato’s Academy was the inscription, “no one should enter here unless he is a geometer.” Sprinkled throughout Plato’s dialogues are geometry problems (Meno), statements about the Odd and the Even (Phaedo, Euthyphro, Parmenides), and of course, that well known claim in his Republic VII, 526g-527c that while there are two kinds of numbers, those used in practical endeavors like star gazing and military soldier formation on the one hand, and those that can only be grasped in the mind on the other, that even those who are slow at calculation or reasoning, if they are educated in it, even if they gain nothing else, improve and generally become sharper in thinking than they were. So if mathematics, and especially the study of geometry, improves the quality of the soul and makes it easier to see the form of the Good (526e-527b6-8), then could Plato’s treatment of mathematics in his dialogues tell us something about his theory of forms? In this talk, I’ll lay out some of the problems of understanding Plato’s theory of forms and why we have yet to solve these problems. While Plato saw the form-sensible relation as essentially a non-expressible mathematical relation, contemporary scholars commonly think of the form-sensible relation in terms of sets and its members. My own view is that we are unable to solve the problems of understanding Plato’s theory of forms because of our own advances in mathematics. |
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Friday, March 1, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5 Planetariums have long been referred to as virtual spaceships, capable of whisking their passengers to far off stars or distant galaxies. Through a carefully crafted union of scientific data visualization and cinematic techniques, we can watch the sun set on Mars or eat lunch at the center of the Milky Way. Another use of these immersive theaters is to serve as virtual time machines, enabling scientifically accurate visualizations of night skies and other astronomical objects as they were observed and recorded centuries, even millennia ago. This talk will explore immersive experiences we've created that port ancient data sets to a decidedly modern venue. |
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Friday, February 23, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5 Textiles are vital to our survival across different scales, from medical textiles that repair our most vital organs to blankets that provide warmth and protection. Even as the fibers and textiles we produce become more advanced, we still only view textiles as static and disposable goods. In this talk, Forman will discuss his recent work, FibeRobo, which subverts this understanding through the invention of shape-shifting fabrics. This talk will span scales and disciplines from the chemistry of liquid crystal elastomer synthesis to the interaction design of dynamic compression garments for human-dog interaction. By blending textiles' softness and flexibility with actuators' morphing capabilities, these interfaces offer a novel approach to designing interactive wearable systems that can seamlessly integrate into our daily lives. Jack Forman is a Ph.D. Student at the MIT Media Lab and Center for Bits & Atoms where he also received his M.S. Before coming to MIT, Jack received his B.S. in Materials Science & Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. |
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Friday, February 16, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5 How is mathematical geometry related to real, physical space? With the proliferation of non-Euclidean geometries in the nineteenth century, this question became known as the “problem of space”. By around 1900, a consensus formed around the following purported solution. The possibility of measuring spatial magnitudes depends on the possibility of moving rigid bodies (such as rulers and compasses) without changing their dimensions. As only the constant curvature geometries could represent this kind of rigid transport, only these geometries were candidate physical geometries — or so they thought. However, it was only after the development of general relativity in 1915 that the physical significance of transport along affine geodesics (“straightest” lines) was understood. When an object is not affected by external forces and moves inertially it moves along an affine geodesic, but if this takes place in a curved space, those geodesics do not stay a fixed distance apart. Thus an extended object will experience elastic tension when it moves in a curved space, even when there are no forces acting on it. In this talk I will explore what impact this insight might have had for the nineteenth century problem of space. In particular, I will outline the consequences for the two main positions in the philosophy of geometry that are still with us today: geometrical empiricism (the view that experiments determine which geometry is “true”) and geometrical conventionalism (the view that we ourselves must decide, based on simplicity and convenience, which geometry is best to use). Joshua Eisenthal is a Research Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the California Institute of Technology and an Editor at the Einstein Papers Project. His research focuses on the history and philosophy of physics, particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and early analytic philosophy, particularly the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. |
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Friday, February 9, 2024 Hegeman 107 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST/GMT-5 Almost every physical interaction we observe or experience is presently viewed as being governed by the rules of electricity and magnetism, and the understanding of these rules underlies the development of most modern technologies. Despite their pervasive nature, electric and magnetic phenomena were for millennia obscure, occult topics and investigations into them took a number of surprising, unorthodox, and occasionally tragic turns before their ubiquity was understood and the rules governing them codified. In this talk, intended for a general audience, I'll review some of the key experiments and insights of past centuries that led to our present understanding electricity and magnetism. |