Friday Flyer - October 4, 2019
Spotlight on the Boston QuarkNet Center
First off, congratulations are in order. The "Boston Group" has been a part of QuarkNet for 20 years with the same lead teacher and the original mentors (plus a few more). This year, the group met on three different evenings during the academic year, one full day for their CMS masterclass, and for a two-day workshop in the summer. In the evening meetings, which all started with snacks and conversation, the teachers explored cool astrophysics, gravitational waves, and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project with its amazing imaging of a black hole. Related to that last event, the only undergraduate member of EHT, Joe Farah, was a student of Mike Wadness at Medfod High School. Encouraged by Mike, Joe found his way to ATLAS and later to EHT after he started college. Joe gave the talk that evening! The group had a neutrino workshop to round things out in August with Rick Dower and Paul Sedita. Paul hails from the Rochester center, but [Quiz Question!] "How many QuarkNet fellows are members of the Boston Group?" [The answer is somewhere below.]
News from QuarkNet Central
World Wide Data Day (W2D2) registration closes on Wednesday, October 9. That's in five days, so get that registration in! To learn more, check the W2D2 pages. (Mentors, we need moderators, too. You can moderate from your office wherever you are. Please contact Ken.) Also, check the latest W2D2 memo.
Mentors and lead teachers, if you have not yet done so, please send in your attendance sheets and any other paperwork from your summer activities; also submit your annual report ASAP. If you have any questions, contact Ken or Shane. We are making progress, so thanks a bunch to those of you who have already sent some or all of your deliverables.
And here are a few calendar reminders:
- World Wide Data Day is Wednesday, October 16, 2019.
- International Cosmic Day is Wednesday, November 6, 2019.
- International Masterclasses 2020 will run from February 26 through April 8, 2020. Registration will begin later this fall. Stay tuned.
Physics Experiment Roundup
There are a lot of happenings in the experiment world. CERN Bulletin tells of a fixed-target experiment in the SPS that found ultra-rare kaon decays. The LIGO-Virgo collaboration has found the first evidence of a merger of neutron stars and the gravitational waves produced, according to symmetry. Fermilab News "vents" some progress toward DUNE at Sanford Lab. We'll round this section out with an experiment roundup from Latin America in symmetry.
Resources
Physics and engineering? Of course! Fermilab News spends a minute with Miguelangel Marchan to show how and why. Physics Today serves a slice of a new education program on physics innovation and entrepreneurship. Cosmic ray detectors can be a resource in seaching for dark matter, as told in symmetry. And let's not forget that the Boston center has great resources in its three QuarkNet fellows: Mike Wadness (LHC-Neutrino), Rick Dower (LHC-Neutrino), and Gerard Gagnon (Teaching and Learning).
Just for Fun
Art and physics? Sure! Fermilab News tells all about the extra dimensions of artist Shanthi Chandrasekar. Musics is an art, too; right? So check out the Science Wars video from Acapella Parody. And, finally, lights out.
QuarkNet Staff:
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu