Astronomical Observations
The first of a series of public astronomical observations will be held on Friday, November 13 at 6:30 PM. Observation of the planet Jupiter and identifying Fall constellations will be the main topics of the evening. The observations will be held at the football practice field of William Paterson University. To find out more about scheduled observations at William Paterson University, please contact G. Swangin at 908-479-1322 or S.H. Chung 973-720-3458.
Successful Strategies for Studying Physics
On October 13, Professor Harry Weston gave a presentation on "Successful Strategies for Studying Physics" to the MAST & GSLSAMP Workshop hosted by the Associate Dean Dr. Jean Fuller-Stanley. Attached above is a copy of the study strategies.
Professor Gary Swangin of the Physics Department, will be the Keynote speaker at the annual Science Day event on Friday November 20, 2009. He will discuss the search for life in the universe, based on his award-winning documentary, “Are We Alone in the Universe?” sponsored by the American Chemical Society and W.R. Grace & Co. In an informative and entertaining multi-media lecture, Professor Swangin will take us on a cosmic journey through the universe to unravel life beyond Earth. Professor Swangin draws upon his interviews with Dr. Carl Sagan, Dr. Frank Drake, and other scientists to discuss the age-old search for extraterrestrial life with modern technology.
To accommodate student needs and growth, during the past year the Department has restructured the scheduling of classes, increased the number of course sections, and offered its first on-line course during the Winter session . All physics courses experienced an increase in enrollment size, with the largest increase found in Astronomy PHYS 170. Fall 2009 student enrollment as of October 1, 2009 is 377, an increase of 55% from last year's enrollment of 243. The percent increase in student enrollment for Spring 09 and summer 09 are 31% and 95% respectively.
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In June 1982 Professors Sung La (Physics Department) and O. Shimomura published a paper:
S.Y. La and O. Shimomura, Fluorescence polarization study of the Ca+2-sensitive photoprotein, FEBS LETTERS, Volume 143, #1 (1982).
Professor Shimomura was one of the three recipients of the 2008 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry.
International Year of Astronomy 2009
In the year 2009, the world will celebrate the International Year of Astronomy
as it commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of a telescope
to study the skies, and Kepler’s publication of Astronomia Nova. 2009 is
also the anniversary of many other historic events in science,
including Huygen’s 1659 publication of Systema Saturnium.
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