NEWSWORTHY NOTES IN THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
FOR 2007 - 2009
2008:
2007:
Newsworthy Archives
2008:
New technology at UMaine
from Science Briefs, January 25, 2008
Joe Carr
The latest in combined scanning electron and focused ion beam microscopy instrumentation for use in nanofabrication and life sciences applications is now at the University of Maine.
The $1.7 million NVision 40 CrossBeam workstation, manufactured by Carl Zeiss SMT AG and SII NanoTechnology Inc., offers cutting-edge, 3D nanoscopic (molecular level with 1.2nm resolution) imaging, structuring and analysis. Its purchase was made possible by a 2004 R&D bond passed by Maine voters.
"This is a big step in the advancement of our capabilities," says Scott Collins, a professor of chemistry who specializes in nanotechnology in UMaine's Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology (LASST). "For high-end electron imaging and nanofabrication, this is the place to go in Maine."
The microscopy workstation with its combined technologies, including a Focused Ion Beam (FIB) for nanoscale milling, EDAX elemental surface analysis, Raith electron/ion beam lithography, and gas injection system for nanoscale depositions/etching, offers a unique suite of technologies for nanoscience.
In addition, a cryogenic stage with Scanning Transmission Electron Micrsoscopy (STEM) provides the UMaine biologist unprecedented opportunities to image and reconstruct samples in 3D at nanometer resolution.
At UMaine, the advanced instrumentation is an important nanofabrication tool complementing LASST's clean room facility. In addition to precision manufacturing, environmental sciences, and biotechnology also will benefit in the state-of-the-art technology through interdisciplinary research, education and industrial outreach projects.
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Thompson Selected for Fulbright Award - 2008-2009
John Thompson (Associate Professor) has been selected by the Fulbright Commission in Ireland, in co-operation with the US Board of Foreign Scholarships, for a 10-month lecturing/research position at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) for the academic year 2008-2009. His award is entitled "Studies of the learning and teaching of physics concepts and problem solving."
To read press release, click HERE.
To read article, click HERE.
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2008 Graduate Research Exposition Winners Announced
Congratulations to the following Graduate Students in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy who won awards for their presentations:
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Testing by UMaine professor, student aids feds in case of stolen emeralds
Friday, July 11, 2008 - Bangor Daily News excerpt
An international criminal. Stolen emeralds. A secret government mission. It’s all very exciting, and not the sort of action that usually makes its way to quiet Orono.
University of Maine physics professor C. Thomas Hess and one of his students, however, found themselves embroiled with the U.S. Department of State in April as it closed a case of stolen treasure.
Hess conducted testing, at the request of the State Department, on 14 emerald necklace pieces and an emerald frog figurine that were part of a collection of more than 60 pre-Columbian artifacts seized in 2005 that were returned Tuesday to the Colombian government, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Florida law enforcement officials discovered many of the artifacts in 2005 during the execution of three federal search warrants at various South Florida locations.
For more information on "The case of the stolen emeralds", click here (from UMaineToday Insights section, Vol. 8, Issue 5 - November-December 2008).
Edward T. Bryant Recognition Banquet 2008
Physics Department recipients for 2008 are Michael Mihalco (Engineering Physics Graduate Student Teaching Award) and Sam T. Hess (Early Career Teaching Award).
Some previous winners of the Graduate Student Teaching Award from the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy are Travis Gould (2007), Vincente Guiseppe (2003), and Matthew Robinson (2002).
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2007:
LOVE OF PHYSICS
UMaine Today - Student Focus
November/December 2007
Katie McCann was 5 when she fell in love with science. Inspired by each edition of Your Big Backyard, then Ranger Rick, she headed outdoors and "checked stuff out."
That thrill of discovery stayed with her through middle school, when astrophysics became her passion. But in high school, McCann hit a self-described rough patch. Classes in chemistry and physics were uninteresting, mostly because they didn't seem to have real-world applications.
To read more about Katie, click here.
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A BETTER VIEW OF THE MOLECULE:
New method of microscopy using fluorescence photoactivation could help address biological questions
UMaine Today
July/August 2007
Science has limits. Defined by theories, laws and formulaic equations, these limits define the boundaries within which scientific discoveries are made.
In most cases, having boundaries that are clearly defined by justifiable rules is a good thing. In science, however, the existing limits often interfere with the overall quest: the search for a cure, the advancement of technology, the depth of our understanding of ourselves and our universe. For scientists, the goal is often to break through those limits to reveal the discoveries on the other side.
Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Sam Hess, left, and Assistant Professor of
Chemical and Biological Engineering Mike Mason
For University of Maine Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Sam Hess, a breakthrough idea that would redefine the limits of scientific microscopy arrived late at night, accompanied by a heavy backbeat and a lot of yelling.
To read more about microscopy, click here.
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UMaine physics and astronomy professor finds niche as author.
Click here to go to the Authors' Guild site for Professor Comins, which includes more information about his books, his work and his life.
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Albion Native Named UMaine Valedictorian
News Release - May 7, 2007 -
Joe Carr
ORONO -- Erik Perkins of Albion is the Class of 2007 valedictorian at the University of Maine.
Perkins will graduate from UMaine on Saturday May 12, with a degree in physics and mathematics. He plans to enroll in graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he will pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. The son of Henry Perkins and Henrietta Beaufait, Perkins graduated from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in 1998.
To read more about Erik, click here.
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