Meet Shania Wolf, Black Hole!
(Halloween Science Snippet: Shania's dressed as M87's Super Massive Black Hole, the first one directly imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope)
Sarah Stangl, Unicorn Rancher!
And finally Jon Dale Nichols - the Plague Doctor!
The winner for the 2ND annual Unofficial Halloween Costume Contest for Graduate Students was announced Tuesday, November 2nd.
Graduate students are encouraged to wear a costume to work and submit a picture of themselves wearing the costume via email to the department’s Student Services Assistant, Ashley Price. A picture ballot is then emailed to the graduate students asking each student to vote for their favorite costume by replying to the email. The winner is declared “Pumpkin King” and wins $50 cash.
This year’s Pumpkin King is Jon Dale Nichols. This is the second year in a row Jon Dale has won the contest. Last year, Jon Dale dressed as “Pikachu”, this year Jon Dale dressed as a “Plague Doctor”. Other 2021 participants included Shania Wolf as the “Black Hole” and Sarah Stangl as a “Unicorn Rancher.”
Thanks to Ashley for organizing the Halloween Contest - we all appreciate it!
The winner for the 2ND annual Unofficial Halloween Costume Contest for Graduate Students was announced Tuesday, November 2nd.
Graduate students are encouraged to wear a costume to work and submit a picture of themselves wearing the costume via email to the department’s Student Services Assistant, Ashley Price. A picture ballot is then emailed to the graduate students asking each student to vote for their favorite costume by replying to the email. The winner is declared “Pumpkin King” and wins $50 cash.
This year’s Pumpkin King is Jon Dale Nichols. This is the second year in a row Jon Dale has won the contest. Last year, Jon Dale dressed as “Pikachu”, this year Jon Dale dressed as a “Plague Doctor”. Other 2021 participants included Shania Wolf as the “Black Hole” and Sarah Stangl as a “Unicorn Rancher.”
Thanks to Ashley for organizing the Halloween Contest - we all appreciate it!
Dear Physics and Astronomy Department,
For my farewell, I thought I would let you know a little bit about me. I started my career at OU in November, 2009 in the Bursar’s Office helping students and their families, with their Bursar's accounts. In November of 2014, I accepted a position in the CAS Dean’s Office where I helped with financials. In March of 2017 I started here in the Physics and Astronomy Department managing the state and foundation funds.
While working full time at OU, I graduated from OU in May 2015 with my bachelor’s degree.
My decision to resign has been the hardest decision in my career. It has truly been a pleasure working with all the Faculty, Post Docs, and Students. I wish you well and I will miss you all!
Sincerely,
Amanda
Before her departure, Amanda gifted us a treasure trove of photos from previous departmental celebrations. Thanks Amanda and good luck in your new position in the College of Medicine at the Health Sciences Center!
Amanda Vance-Tabor (left), high-fiving Cindy Pack (right), during P&A Awards Ceremonies, 2019!
When most people hear about WWW and CERN, they immediately think about the World Wide Web.
The WWW was invented at CERN in 1989, however OU physicists B.Abbott, M. Alhroob and J. Lambert have recently discovered a different WWW at CERN. This WWW refers to the production of three heavy W bosons. The OU physicists along with researchers from Argonne National Lab and the University of Michigan recently announced the first observation of WWW production using data from the ATLAS experiment. In order to make the discovery, a multivariate analysis using a boosted decision tree was trained to separate signal from background. The measured cross section is higher than theory predicts but more data will be needed to see if the disagreement is significant.
An announcement in the CERN courier and a video describing the WWW analysis are available describing this exciting result.
On October 23rd, 2021, the first workshop between the researchers (including graduate students, post docs and faculty) of OU’s Center for Quantum Research and Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Quantum Group took place over Zoom from 8am– 2pm CST. The program included research presentations from each institution seeking areas of mutual interest. The plan is to build to future collaborations between the two institutions including researcher exchange.
Possible topics of joint research include defects and dopants in diamond, novel phases in heavy metal oxides, unique tools (e.g. table top laser x-ray sources for dynamic diffraction, atom probe tomography), coherent helium cluster dynamics, and spin liquids. There is also the possibility of future collaborations on photovoltaics that would involve current CQRT faculty as well as others in Chemistry and Electrical Engineering departments.
The Society of Physics students hosted the annual Halloween Party on Tuesday, October 26. Photos courtesy Kieran Mullen.
Pictured Below: Mike Santos in the thick of Halloween action, as Zach Yarbrough looks on.
Pictured Below: Joe Tischler and Arne Schwettmann looking a bit serious at the party.
Saesun Kim won the international hackathon for quantum startups hosted by quantum startup accelerator (Creative destruction lab) in Canada.
More information is available below. Congratulations Saesun!
https://www.creativedestructionlab.com/blog/founders-find-practical-applications-for-quantum-computing-at-cdls-2021-quantum-hackathon/
Message from Cora DeFrancesco on behalf of Women in Physics:
Women in Physics hosted Dr. Amanda Schilling this past month on staying organized in grad school. Attendees were provided with resources hand-picked by Dr. Schilling for managing stress, using the library to help with research, and strategically building a time management plan.
Stay tuned for our next meeting: A discussion with OU Career Services on job search skills, including resume writing and interview prep!
