Friday Flyer - February 2, 2018

Spotlight on Marge Bardeen

You may recall the announcement from last week's Friday Flyer that Marge Bardeen would be retiring this week from Fermilab after several decades building and working with its education and outreach programs. Marge has been a pioneer in this work at Fermilab in many ways, not to mention her key role in the creation of the QuarkNet program, for which she has been spokesperson and co-principal investigator over the years. We had a chance to sit down and chat with Marge about her educational experiences as a child, her work as an educator, and her thoughts about QuarkNet, among other topics. We were even able to dive in the big questions like, "Cubs or White Sox?" to which she replied, "Do you even have to ask?!"

News from QuarkNet Central

Masterclass organizers: Do you have questions as you prepare for the 2018 masterclass at your center? Get answers directly from the experts during one of the upcoming Vidyo Q&A help sessions; see the latest International Masterclass circular for information regarding these preparatory help sessions. You can also check out the same circular to find out more information about this year's masterclass measurements. Fermilab masterclass videoconferences begin in just over a month. Check to see if your QuarkNet center is on the schedule. Questions? Want to join? Contact Ken.

Physics Experiment Roundup

Meet the three detectors of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program: SBND, MicroBooNE and ICARUS. During the LHC's year-end technical stop, it's not just the LHC receiving upgrades. And finally, an update from the Muon g-2 detector at Fermilab as it nears the end of its commissioning period before experiments can properly begin. (More on Muon g-2 from Science online.)

Resources

Read in symmetry about Brown University's SciToons, short science cartoons offering three- to five-minute explanations on various scientific concepts, including this one on how we see color. Think understanding the physics involved with stars and black holes can be hard to "digest?" Here's a recipe from Cook's Illustrated in partnership with PBS's NOVA to help . . . there's even a video that explains the process!

Just for Fun

Check out xkcd's cartoon on forming new exotic fruits using a "fruit collider." Physicists often have ideas on how to make improvements to all sorts of things, including the "fruit collider" cartoon! Our very own QuarkNet staff member and physicist Mark Adams shares his idea. :-)

QuarkNet Staff:
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Deborah Roudebush: droudebush@cox.net
Jeremy Smith: jsmith10@bcps.org
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu