High on a sleeping Mexican volcano, a new particle astrophysics observatory is about to blink to life, commencing an all-sky search for very high-energy gamma rays — a search that could greatly expand the catalog of known gamma ray sources and chip away at the mystery of the cosmic rays that constantly bombard our planet.
News Archives
New polar neutrino detector on the way
IceCube, the cubic kilometer, sub-polar detector that in 2013 gathered the first-ever evidence of cosmic neutrinos, is the star of particle astrophysics at the South Pole. Soon, however, a complementary detector known as the Askaryan Radio Array or ARA will join the hunt for the highest energy neutrinos.
Physics Teaching Assistant Richard Sayanagi wins an Early Excellence in Teaching Award!
The University of Wisconsin-Madison employs over 2,000 teaching assistants across a wide variety of disciplines. The contributions of TAs in the classroom, lab, studio and field are essential to the University’s education mission. In order to recognize excellence on the part of TAs across campus, each year the College of Letters & Science, with funding support from the Graduate School, administers awards for exceptional teaching.
Physics Fair
The Department of Physics welcomed in the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, for its fifth annual Physics Fair.
8th Annual Physics Fair, 11am – 4pm
You are invited to attend the 8th Annual Physics Fair! This will be an open house in which members of the public can come to learn about the research and teaching that are a part of our department. The Physics Fair will include laboratory tours, hands-on demonstrations, activities for kids and families, and informal conversations with scientists. We will have exhibits representing research groups in the department as well as displays on more general physics topics. Additionally, the Ingersoll Physics Museum will be open and the 31th Annual Wonders of Physics public presentations will take place.
3-D printed trumpet by Garage Physics student Daniel Montez
Undergraduate student Daniel Montez uses the 3-D printer in Garage Physics for rapid prototyping of a trumpet. He wanted to see if it was possible to produce a brass instrument with similar sound aspects, while being inexpensive to make and be able to survive being dropped, making it ideal for younger music students first trying out the instrument. Each piece was 3D printed separately using PLA plastic, and they fit together to create the instrument.
Wonders of Physics, multiple show times
The Laws of Physics: Professor Sprott has been accused of breaking the laws of physics! Is that possible? If not, how can physicists explain the seemingly impossible things that happen in some experiments? Join Professor Sprott and the UW-Madison Physics Crew as they unravel this mystery!
Volunteer opportunities may be available, please follow link below.
Show times:
February 7 – 1, 4, and 7 pm. February 8 – 1 and 4 pm. February 14 – 1, 4, and 7 pm. February 15 – 1 and 4 pm.
Felipe Gutierrez, AMEP major, wins a WID Frontier Fellowship
The purpose of this project is to build an interactive display to promote community learning. A sculpture will be developed to facilitate interactive learning about the brain and the neural pathways involved in every-day tasks. The goal is to develop a presentation to benefit people of all ages in the community and communicate the exciting research being done in the field of neuroscience. The team will be working closely with the WID and Town Center in order to participate in Outreach events as well as other events held in the Madison community.
Particle Fever @ Marquee Theater, Union South, 7pm
On Wednesday, January 21, 7pm, a special edition of Wednesday Nite @ the Lab will feature a screening of Particle Fever at the Marquee Theater in Union South, UW–Madison. The film follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet. 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries join forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. Particle Fever is a celebration of discovery, revealing the very human stories behind the tale of this epic experiment.
UW physics professors that had key roles in the Higgs discovery will give an introduction to the film. The screening is presented by the Physics Department, Wednesday Nite @ the Lab, and WUD Film.
The Department is saddened by the passing of Prof. Ugo Camerini.
Prof. Camerini, 89 years old, died peacefully at home on November 21, 2014. Prof. Camerini was mentor to more than 20 graduate students during his 42 year career at Wisconsin. For his innovation in the development of Physics 109 – Physics in the Arts – he was given a University Teaching Award in 1984. After his retirement in the Fall of 1999, Ugo focused his energies on the Physics Museum, developing new exhibits. Ugo was a very lively person who shall aways be remembered for his colorful use of language, his candor, and his wit.