Concordia
Physics Newsletter
Volume
1, Issue 1 (Summer 2002)
NSF Grant Awarded For Nuclear
Physics Research
 The
development of powerful new radioactive beam facilities is enabling nuclear
physicists to investigate exotic neutron-rich nuclei normally found only
on the surface of neutron stars or in the centers of exploding stars.
Dr. Bryan Luther was awarded a $100,000 grant by the National Science
foundation to help build a new highly efficient neutron detector to take
advantage of these new capabilities.
The Modular
Neutron Array (MoNA) is being constructed by a collaboration of 10 colleges
and universities at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory
(NSCL). Dr. Luther and three Concordia students (Melanie Evanger, Mustafa
Rajabali and Ramsey Turner) are spending the summer at the NSCL working
on the MoNA detector.
John Gergoire
Receives Goldwater Scholarship
 Physics
and Mathematics major John Gregoire has been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater
Scholarship. Scholarships are given to undergraduate sophomores and juniors
in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering from
the 50 states and Puerto Rico. This year 309 scholar-ships were awarded
from a field of 1,155 students who were nominated by faculty members.
John plans to get his Ph.D. in mathematics and to conduct research as
a theoretical mathematician or a nuclear physicist.
The Goldwater Foundation is
a federally endowed agency, which was established in 1986 The Scholarship
Program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and
encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics,
the natural sciences, and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the
premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
Physics Professor Named Flaat Distinguished Teacher
Dr. Bryan Luther was awarded
the Ole and Lucy Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award at the Fall 2001 opening
banquet. The Flaat Teaching Award is given anually to a member of the
Concordia faculty based on recommendations of students, staff and faculty.
Dr. Luther joined the Concordia College Faculty in 1994 and is an Associate
Professor in the Physics Department.
Physics Alumni
News
- Concordia
grads Nathan Frank (Physics, '00) and Holly Koskovich (Education,
'00) were married on July 20, 2002 at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in
Le Center, MN. The Franks currently live in East Lansing, MI where Nathan
is pursuing a Ph.D. in nuclear physics at Michigan State University.
- Matt
Fulkerson
('98) received his Ph.D. in Physics from The Ohio State University in
May, 2002. His thesis was titled "Gas Sensor Array Modeling and
Cuprate Superconductivity from Correlated Spin Disorder"
- Shane
Lynch ('98) is the now an Assistant Professor of Music/Professor
of Choral Music at the University of Wisconsin--Barron County in Rice
Lake, WI.
SPS Holds First Annual Egg
Drop Contest
 The
Concordia Chapter of the Society of Physics Students held it's first egg
drop contest at the end of the 2002 school year. Students competed to
design a device that would not only protect their egg but get it to the
ground as quickly as possible. A wide variety of contraptions were dropped
off the back of Jake Christiansen Memorial Stadium. First place went to
senior physics major Todd Fergussen whose winning design included nylons,
an empty peanut container and a cinder block.
Patrick Sundberg ('02) initiated
the egg drop contest and hopes to see it become an annual SPS event. Patrick
sees the contest not only as a fun outing for Concordia students but as
a way to reach out to the wider community. “It’s a really good thing just
to get people together with some sort of physics project that promotes
physics in the community” he said.
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