News 2003 - 2009
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2009-2010
Fall 2009/Spring 2010 News
Students
Physics major Coral Franklin has been awarded a scholarship through the McKee Foundation.
Only six of these are awarded per year.Physics majors Coral Franklin, Erin Middlemas, and Qiongge Li attended the First Annual Southeast Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, held at Duke University January 15 - 17, 2010. Coral Franklin presented a poster entitled 'Modeling the Mice Interacting Pair of Galaxies Using a Genetic Algorithm'.
Physics major Sabrina Hurlock participated in the 'Posters at the State Capitol Day'
in Nashville in February 2010. She presented a poster on her research titled 'Automatic
Detection of Coronal Mass Ejections'.
Several Physics majors gave presentations on their research at the March 2010 ETSU
Undergraduate Student Research Forum/Symposium.
Sabrina Hurlock (shown at left) gave a talk entitled 'Programmatically Detecting Coronal Mass Ejections'
(Advisor: Don Luttermoser), as well as a poster titled 'Multi-Wavelength Comparison of Interacting Galaxies' (Advisor: Beverly Smith). Ryen Lapham gave a talk on 'Venusian Mantle Modeling and Corona Formation' (Advisor: Suzanne Smrekar, Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Coral Franklin presented a poster entitled 'Modeling the Mice Interacting Pair of Galaxies using a Genetic Algorithm' (Advisor: Beverly Smith). Jessica Webb presented a poster titled 'Phase Lags in the Optical-Infrared Light Curves of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars' (Advisor: Beverly Smith). Jason Beaulieu, Thomas Gemmer, and William Jamieson were all co-authors on a poster entitled 'Dynamical Behavior of the Discrete-Time Logistic Model' (Advisor: Dr. Ariel Cintron-Arias, ETSU Math Dept), along with Physics Minor Jeremy Brooks and two other students.
Physics major Sabrina Hurlock won the ETSU 'Unsung Hero' award at the ETSU Summit
Awards on March 12, 2010, for her work in public outreach in physics and astronomy.
Two physics majors, Erin Middlemas (left) and Qiongge Li (right), performed at the
2010 Piano Concert 'Chopin 200/Dances', held in the ETSU Music Dept April 17.
Qiongge Li won the 'Outstanding Physics Major of the Year' award. This prize is awarded
to the graduating senior physics major with the highest overall GPA. She will graduate
in May 2010, and will attend the University of Georgia in the fall, as a graduate
student in Physics.A collection of Physics majors at the Spring 2010 lunch for majors. From left to right: Coral Franklin, Chance Brown, Tom Gemmer, John Burdette, Jason Beaulieu, Trisha Massenzo, Erin Middlemas, Olivia Miller, and Qiongge Li.
Graduating senior Sabrina Hurlock gave a presentation on her Honors thesis on Monday
April 26, 2010. Her thesis was titled ' Automatic Detection of Coronal Mass Ejections
Using Advanced Coronal Image Separation Methods' . In this picture, she is shown with
her thesis advisor Dr. Don Luttermoser.
Seven physics majors graduated in May 2010. They include Qiongge Li (left) and Weisong
Tu (right), along with Jason Beaulieu, Sabrina Hurlock, Daniel Phillips, Jesse Delatte,
and Alfred Hopkins (not shown).
Three more of our May 2010 graduates are shown here. Left to right, they are Alfred
Hopkins, Jessie Delatte, and Sabrina Hurlock.Alumni
ETSU Physics graduate Chris Carver (2009) started medical school at ETSU this Fall.
Physics graduate Rachel Miller (2009) started graduate school in Physics at the University
of Tennessee at Knoxville this fall.
ETSU Physics graduate Wes Erbsen (2008) started graduate school in Physics at Kansas
State University this fall.ETSU Physics graduate Tommy Byrd (2008) started graduate school in Physics at the College of William and Mary this fall.
ETSU Physics graduate Phil Davis (2005) started graduate school in Math at ETSU this fall.
ETSU Physics graduate Mike Houchins (2001) started a new job at Liquidia, a nanotechnology
company that specializes in the design and manufacture of micro- and nanoparticles
for applications in the life and material sciences. Mike received a masters degree
in Material Science from Clemson University in 2006.ETSU Physics major graduate David Begley (2008) started graduate school in Civil Engineering in January 2009 at the Colorado School of Mines
Jennifer Salyer Houchins (Math Major/Physics Minor Class of 2004) is now working at SHODOR, a national resource for computational science education, in Durham NC.
Sean Mathews (Class of 2006) is now a Medical Physicist at the Baylor Health Care
System in Dallas, Texas. He received a master's degree in Medical Physics from the
University of Kentucky in 2009.
Dave Haefner (Physics major Class of 2004) received his PhD in Optics from the University
of Central Florida in May 2010. His thesis title was 'Near-Field Optical Interactions
and Applications'.Summer 2010
General
This summer, the Tennessee Board of Regent approved an Astronomy Minor for ETSU. For more information about the requirements for the minor, click here.
Faculty
Dr. Beverly Smith attended the Extragalactic Star Formation Conference held at the
Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, England, July 5 - 7, 2010. She gave a talk entitled
'The Larson-Tinsley Effect in the UV: Interacting vs. Normal Spiral Galaxies'.
Mr. Brian Espino left ETSU this summer, to begin graduate school in Geophysics at
Binghamton University, State University of New York. Brian has been a lecturer at
ETSU in Physics for the last three years. Brian previously obtained an M.S. in Physics
from Kansas State University in 2007.Students
During summer 2010, ETSU Physics major Coral Franklin is participating in an undergraduate
research program in atmospheric science at the NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia.
ETSU Physics major Jessica Webb is participating in a summer Research Experience for
Undergraduate program in Physics at Purdue University this summer.New Physics graduate Sabrina Hurlock is working in the Department this summer with
Beverly Smith on comparing radio and UV observations of interacting galaxies.
ETSU Physics and Math major Ryen Lapham is working in the Dept this summer with Beverly
Smith on UV, optical, and infrared observations of interacting galaxies.
ETSU Physics major Ben Madsen-Larsen is working with Rico Ignace this summer on the
Hanle Effect in Keplerian disks
ETSU Physics major Erin Middlemas is working this summer with Gary Henson on Be stars
ETSU Physics major Olivia Miller in working this summer with Beverly Smith on Chandra
X-ray data of interacting galaxies
ETSU Physics major Tom Gemmer is working with Mark Giroux this summer on Galactic
high velocity cloudsETSU Physics major John Burdette is working with Gary Henson this summer on polarized light observations of the eclipsing binary star Epsilon Aurigae
Butler University Physics major Michael McFall is working with Rico Ignace this summer on rotationally modulated X-ray emission from structured Wolf-Reyet Wind, as part of the SARA REU program
Weber State University physics major Charla Boom is working with Tabetha Hole this
summer on spectropolarimetry observations of supernovae, as part of the SARA REU programAlumni
Rachel Baker (Class of 2005) will start a new job teaching physics at Daniel Boone High School in Fall 2010. She received an M.S. in Education from ETSU in 2009.
Scott Price (Class of 2009) is now working at Safety and Ecology Corporation in Knoxville TN.
Twyla Smith Hall (Physics major Class of 2003) graduated from the Georgia Washington University with an M.B.A. this year. She has started a job as a Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Engineering Consultant. Twyla received an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2006.
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2008-2009
Fall 2008 Spring 2009
Faculty/Staff
Dr. Mark Giroux (left) won the 2008 ETSU Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching.Mr. James Tittle (right) started work as a temporary instructor in the dept in Fall 2008. Mr. Tittle received his B.S. in Physics from ETSU in 1976, and his M.S. in chemistry in 2000.
Exec Aide Debbie Starnes left the Dept in September 2008 for a new position in the Public Safety Dept. She was replaced in October by Karen Sullivan.
Dr. Mark Giroux and the ETSU mace. He was the Mace-Bearer at the December 2008 and
May 2009 graduation ceremonies.
Dr. Richard Ignace won a 2009 ETSU College of Arts and Sciences Research Award
Dr. Mark Giroux was the featured speaker at the 2009 Academic Excellence Convocation
Students
Physics majors Rachel Miller, Sharon Gray,and Sabrina Hurlock (left to right), at the Physics and Astronomy Dept display at Homecoming, October 18, 2008
Physics major Chris Carver (on left) at Dept Display at Homecoming, October 18, 2008.
Physics major Sharon Gray (on right) at Dept Display at Homecoming.
Physics majors Chris Carver and Sharon Gray (on right) at Dept Display at Homecoming.
Physics majors Chris Carver (on right) and Sabrina Hurlock gave talks during the April
7, 2009 ETSU Undergraduate Student Research Symposium. Chris' talk was on 'Cortical
Thickness in Children', while Sabrina spoke on 'A Real-Time Space Weather Tool'. Chris
also served as a moderator of one session.
Physics major Sharon Gray won the ETSU Unsung Hero Award in Spring 2009. Sharon graduated
in May 2009.
Rachel Miller won the 2009 Outstanding Student in Physics award. She graduated in
May 2009, and will be attending graduate school in Physics at the University of Tennessee
at Knoxville in the Fall.Physics major Chris Carver successfully defended his honors thesis on April 27, 2009. His thesis is titled 'Investigating the Effectiveness of Genetic Algorithms when Modeling Galaxy Collisions'. Chris is in both the ETSU University Honors program and the Physics Honors-in-Discipline program, and is also majoring in History in addition to Physics. He graduated in May 2009, and will attend the Quillen Medical School at ETSU starting in Fall 2009.
A collection of Physics majors from the Spring 2009 physics student reception. From left to right: Brandon Little, Rachel Miller, Sharon Gray, Scott Price, Cameron Shawver, Alfred Hopkins, Jesse Delatte, and Sabrina Hurlock. Brandon, Rachel, Sharon, Scott, and Cameron graduated in May 2009, along with Chris Carver (not shown).
Alumni
Ryan Deskins (Physics major class of 2008; left) started graduate school in Physics
at Florida State University Fall 2008Tommy Byrd (Physics major class of 2008) started graduate school in Physics at Clemson University Fall 2008
Dr. Jason Osborne (Physics major class of 1999) started a position as a Visiting Professor in the Math Department at Florida State University this fall. Dr. Osborne received his PhD in math from North Carolina State University in 2007.
Jonathon Qualls (Physics major class of 2007) started graduate school in Engineering Physics at Appalachian State University this fall.
Kristin Stone Holmes (Physics major class of 2005) successfully defended her masters thesis in mathematics at ETSU on March 24, 2009. The title of her thesis was 'Locating-Domination in Complementary Prisms'. She received her masters degree in May 2009.
Amanda Moffett (Physics major class of 2006) has been awarded two graduate research fellowships: a NASA Harriet Jenkins Fellowship and a North Carolina Space Grant Fellowship. Amanda is a graduate student in Astronomy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Physics major David Begley graduated from ETSU in December 2008. David is shown with Drs. Beverly Smith and Mark Giroux in this picture.
Wes Erbsen also graduated from ETSU in December 2008.Summer 2009
General
The Department hosted an international astronomy conference entitled 'Galaxy Wars: Stellar Populations and Star Formation in Interacting Galaxies', that ran from July 19 - 22, 2009 at the Millenium Centre in Johnson City. This meeting had 102 attendees from 16 countries. Dr. Beverly Smith was the lead organizer, and Drs. Richard Ignace, Gary Henson, Don Luttermoser, and Mark Giroux were members of the Local Organizing Committee. For more information, see the Conference web page.
Faculty/Staff
Dr. Richard Ignace attended the Magnetism in Massive Stars meeting at the Observatoire de Paris, France May 11 - 15, 2009
Drs. Beverly Smith and Mark Giroux attended the Tidal Dwarf Galaxies meeting in Bad
Honnef, Germany, May 23 - 29, 2009. Dr. Smith gave a talk on 'GALEX-Identified Tidal
Dwarf Galaxies and Other Peculiar Tidal Structures in the Spirals, Bridges, and Tails
Interacting Galaxy Sample'. Dr. Giroux (left) presented a poster entitled 'An Atlas
of GALEX UV Images of Interacting Galaxies'.Dr. Don Luttermoser attended the 'Stellar Pulsations' meeting held in Santa Fe New Mexico June 1 - 5, 2009.
In May 2009, Dr. K. Tabetha Hole (left) started a position as Post-Doctoral Researcher
at ETSU. She will be working with Dr. Richard Ignace on supernovae and stellar winds.Students
ETSU Physics major Coral Franklin (left) is working with Dr. Beverly Smith this summer
on computer models of interacting galaxies. This research is supported by a NASA LTSA
grant and NASA Spitzer and Chandra grants, as well as an ETSU Research Development
Grant.
ETSU Physics major Trisha Massenzo (left) is working with Dr. Beverly Smith this summer
with Spitzer data on interacting galaxies. This research is sponsored by a NASA LTSA
grant and NASA Spitzer and Chandra grants.ETSU Physics major Jessica Webb (left) is working with Dr. Beverly Smith this summer
on COBE DIRBE infrared light curves of variable stars. She is being supported by a
NASA LTSA grant.
ETSU Physics major Michael Goodman is working with Dr. Richard Ignace this summer
modeling free-free radio emission from axisymmetric massive star winds. He is being
supported on a National Science Foundation grant to ETSU.
ETSU Physics major Sabrina Hurlock is doing a 'Research Experience for Undergraduates'
project this summer at the University of Hawaii, on coronal mass ejections.ETSU Physics major John Burdette is doing a summer internship at the NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. His project involves methane emissions from Mars.
Clemson undergraduate Jessica Herrington (left) will be working this summer with Dr.
Richard Ignace on a project involving modeling forbidden emission lines from aspherical
ejecta shells of supernovae. She is being supported by the SARA REU grant.
University of Iowa undergraduate Mark Gorski (left) is working this summer with Dr.
Richard Ignace on Chandra data of the weak wind in the early B star alpha Cru. He
is funded by the SARA REU grant.
Whitman College Undergraduate Shannon Hall (left) is working this summer with Dr.
Gary Henson on polarimetry using the C-14 telescope at the Harry D. Powell Observatory.
She is being supported by the SARA REU grant.
ETSU Physics major Alfred Hopkins is working with Dr. Richard Ignace this summer on
OB X-ray sources in the vicinity of WR 142.
ETSU Physics minor Heather Fries has a summer internship this summer at the Bays Mountain
Planetarium in Kingsport Tennessee. She is also working with Drs. Ignace and Henson
at ETSU on Be stars.Alumni
ETSU Physics graduate Chris Carver (2009) is doing a summer internship this summer
at the St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. He will be attending medical school
at ETSU in the Fall.
ETSU Physics graduate Scott Price (2009) is working as a research assistant in the
ETSU Dept of Physics and Astronomy this summer with Dr. Richard Ignace. He is modeling
X-ray emission lines from clump bow shocks in massive star winds.
ETSU Physics graduate Sharon Gray (2009) is working this summer as a research assistant
in the ETSU Dept of Physics and Astronomy with Dr. Gary Henson studying variable stars.In Fall 2009, ETSU Physics graduate Tommy Byrd (2008) will be starting graduate school in Physics at the College of William and Mary.
Rachel Baker (Physics class of 2005) had a baby daughter, Reagan Michaela, on August 17, 2009
Amanda Moffett (class of 2005) attended the Galaxy Wars: Stellar Populations and Star
Formation in Interacting Galaxies conference held at the Millenium Centre in Johnson
City July 19-22, 2009. Amanda is now a graduate student in Astronomy at the University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. -
2007-2008
Fall 2007
General News
The Natural History Museum and Visitor's Center at the Gray Fossil Site opened officially to the public on August 31, 2007. The museum had roughly 5000 visitors during its first weekend.
Faculty Activities
Dr. Frank Hagelberg started as a new faculty member in Physics this fall. He received
his Ph.D. in Physics from Bonn Germany, and came to ETSU from a previous faculty position
at Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Dr. Arpita Nandistarted as a new faculty member in Geology this fall. She received
her Ph.D. in Geology from Kent State University this last year.Brian Espino Brian Espinostarted a position as a lecturer in Physics this fall. Brian
obtained his masters in Physics from Kansas State University this last year. His bachelors
degree is from the University of Central Florida.Drs. Blaine Schubert and Steve Wallace gave presentations at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference, held in Austin Texas from Oct 17-21, 2007.
Dr. Arpita Nandi presented a paper at the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists general meeting held in Los Angeles, CA from September 24-29, 2007. The title of her paper is 'Ultimate Bearing Resistance Calculation in Weak, Fractured Rock Mass'.
An article on Dr. Beverly Smith's research on interacting galaxies appeared in the 2008 ETSU Explorations Magazine.
Dr. Mark Girouxwon the 2008 College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching.
Student and Alumni News
Physics Majors Jonathon and James Qualls graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics on August 14, 2007. They both also had a minor in Mathematics.
ETSU graduate Sean Mathews (Physics Major, class of 2006) started graduate school in Medical Physics at the University of Kentucky this fall.
ETSU graduate Amanda Moffett (Physics Major, class of 2006) started graduate school in Astronomy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall.
ETSU graduate David Simpson (Physics Major, class of 2007) started graduate school in Physics at Penn State this fall.
ETSU graduate Kristin Stone (Physics Major, class of 2005) started graduate school in Mathematics at ETSU this fall.
In Fall 2007, ETSU graduate Mike Houchins (Physics Major, class of 2001) started a new job as a Field Service Engineer for Bioptigen, a firm that makes optical tomography equipment. He received a Masters degree in Material Science from Clemson University in 2006.
The Society for Physics Students display on sunspots for the Fall 2007 Homecoming Event. From left to right: Sharon Gray, Alfred Hopkins, Sabrina Hurlock, Ryan Deskins, and Scott Price.
Geology major Robyn (Nikki) Gibson graduated in December 2007 as Honors-in-Discipline in Geology. She is the first person to graduate from the new revised Geology program from ETSU, and the first to be Honors-in-Discipline in Geology.
In January 2008, ETSU graduate Daniel Hall (Physics major, Class of 2003) started a new job as a System Engineer for Lockheed Martin in Chantilly Virginia.
Physics major alumnus Moises Serrano (Class of 2005) was in the Johnson City Press on March 13, 2008. Moises is currently a graduate student in the Biomedical program at ETSU.
Four physics majors presented research projects at the Appalachian Student Research Forum/ETSU Undergraduate Student Research Symposium, held at ETSU in April 2008. These include:
Sharon Gray: Talk on "H-alpha Study of Beta Lyrae"(Advisor: Dr. Richard Ignace)
Sabrina Hurlock: Poster on "The Effects of Galaxy Interactions on Star Formation and Morphology"(Advisor: Dr. Beverly Smith)
Chris Carver: Talk on "Computer-Generated Models of Collding Galaxies"(Advisor: Dr. Beverly Smith)
Ryen Lapham: Talk on "Permutations and Recursions: A Recursion Formula for the Kendall Mann Number, a Sequence of Balanced Permutations" (Advisor: Dr. Anant Godbole, Math Dept)Physics majors Sabrina Hurlock and Coral Franklin were accepted into the Honors-in-Discipline program in Physics in Spring 2008.
Physics major Ryan Deskins won the 'Outstanding Senior in Physics' award for 2008.
He graduated in May 2008 as a Physics Honors-in-Discipline student. His honors thesis,
which he presented on May 1, 2008, was titled 'Functionalizing Metallofullerenes:
A Look at the Regional Control Induced by SC3N@C78 on an attached CH2Molecule'. His
honors thesis advisor was Dr. Frank Hagelberg. Ryan will be starting graduate school
in Physics in Fall 2008 at Florida State University.Physics major Tommy Byrd also graduated May 2008. He will be starting graduate school in Physics in the Fall at Clemson University.
Physics major alumnus Wyatt DesOrmeaux (Class of 1993) is a graduate student in Math at ETSU. In May 2008 he received an award for Excellence in Teaching by a graduate teaching assistant.
A collection of department students and faculty in April 2008. Seated, left to right: Gary Henson and Mark Giroux. Standing, left to right: Rico Ignace, Don Luttermoser, Mark Hancock, Frank Hagelberg, Sharon Gray, Sabrina Hurlock, Scott Price, and Wes Erbsen.Summer 2008
The Geology program left the Department on July 1, 2008, leaving behind the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Geology merged with Geography to form the new department of Geosciences.
As part of the ETSU Summer Opportunities for Research in Astronomy for Teachers program, three local high school teachers are conducting research in astronomy this summer, in collaboration with ETSU astronomy faculty. Pictured above, left to right, are Ramona Pedigo (Cherokee High School, Rogersville TN), Mike Garrett (Sullivan Central High School, Kingsport TN), and Tom Rutherford (Sullivan South High School, Kingsport TN). Ramona's faculty mentor is Dr. Richard Ignace, while Mike and Tom are working with Dr. Gary Henson. This program is funded by a NASA Education/Public Outreach grant to Beverly Smith.Ramona (Raye) gave a talk on July 30, 2008 in the Dept on her research entitled 'Modeling Infrared Helium Recombination Lines and the Continua of Wolf-Rayet Winds'.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Mark Hancock left ETSU in August 2008, to start a new
position at the University of California at Riverside. For the last three years, Mark
worked with Dr. Beverly Smith on various projects involving interacting galaxies and
star clusters.Student Activities
ETSU Physics major Alfred Hopkins is working this summer with Dr. Beverly Smithon
a project involving dwarf galaxies. He is funded through a NASA grant.
ETSU Physics major Scott Price is working this summer with Dr. Richard Ignace on colliding
winds in binary stars. He is supported through the NSF-funded SARA Research Experience
for Undergraduates (REU) program.
Justin Rosales, a Physics major at the College of New Jersey, is working with Dr.
Gary Henson this summer on polarimetry of epsilon Eridani. He is supported through
the SARA REU program.ETSU Physics major Sabrina Hurlock participated in the NSF-funded REU Program in Solar
and Space Physicsat the University of Colorado at Boulder this summer. Her faculty
mentor was Curt de Koning, and her project was entitled 'A Real-Time Space Weather
Tool to Specify the 3-D Speed and Direction of a CME.'
ETSU Physics major Chris Carver married Karen Capps on Saturday, August 9, 2008. Karen graduated from ETSU with a B.S. in Chemistry May 2008. This summer, Chris did an internship in medical physics at St. Judes Hospital in Memphis. His research project was entitled 'Quantifying Typical Cortical Thickness Development in Children'.
ETSU Physics major Wes Erbsen participated in the NSF-funded REU Program in Physics at Kansas State University. His faculty mentor was Chris Sorensen, and his project was titled 'Adaptive Camouflage'.
Kristin Stone (Physics major class of 2005) married Jonathan Holmes in May 2008. Kristin is now a graduate student in the math dept at ETSU.
A scene from the Dept Pizza lunch on June 3, 2008.
Left: 2008 Physics major graduate Ryan Deskins. Ryan will be attending graduate school in Physics at Florida State University in the fall.
Right: Physics major Scott Price.
Another scene from the June 3, 2008 Dept Pizza lunch.
Left: Jim Dosser, a teacher at Science Hill High School (Johnson City TN) and an adjunct faculty member in the Dept.
Right: Retired Dept faculty member Harry Powell. -
2006-2007
Fall 2006
Dr. Donald Luttermoser became the new Chair of the Dept of Physics, Astronomy, and
Geology on August 15, 2006, replacing Dr. David Close.
Dr. Blaine Schubert started as a new Assistant Professor of Geology Fall 2006. He
received his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 2004, and was a post-doctoral
research fellow at the Gray Fossil Site from 2004 - 2006.
Left image: Dr. Donald Luttermoser. Right image: Drs. Mark Giroux and Bev Smith. These pictures were taken in front of the Dept display at the Johnson City Mall during the 'Arts and Sciences at the Mall' event September 15, 2006.
Drs. Steve Wallace and Blaine Schubertattended the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Ottowa, Canada, in October. They presented three posters, entitled:
'Amphibians and Reptiles of the Mio-Pliocene Gray Fossil Site and their Paleoecologic Implications', by B. W. Schubert and S. C. Wallace.
'The Cave of Sloths: A Description of the Magalonyx jeffersonii Remains from ACb-3 Cave, Colbert County, Alabama', by W. Shaver, B. Schubert, and S. Wallace.
'Postcrania of Bristol's Red Panda, Pristinailurus bristoli', by S. C. Wallace and B. W. Schubert.Drs. Yongli Gao and Michael Whitelaw attended the Geological Society of America meeting in Philadelphia PA, in October 2006. They presented a poster entitled 'Rebuilding a Geology Program at East Tennessee State University through Outreach, Scholarship, and Recruiting Activities', by Y. Gao, M. J. Whitelaw, C. Gregg, S. C. Wallace, T. Burnham, and J. Brooks.
Dr. Chris Gregg attended the National Science Foundation, Human and Social Dynamics, Principal Investigator's Meeting in Washington D.C. from September 13 - 15, 2006. He and his collaborators presented two posters at this meeting, entitled:
'Natural warning signs of tsunamis: A case study in Thailand following the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami events of 2004', by C. E. Gregg, B. F. Houghton, D. Paton, R. Lachman, J. Lachman, S. Wongbusarakum, and D. M. Johnston.
'Tsunami preparedness and effectiveness of warnings in USA', by B. F. Houghton, C. E. Gregg, D. A. Gill, D. Paton, L. A. Ritchie, D. M. Johnston.Dr. Chris Gregg attended the 7th New Zealand Natural Hazards Management Conference 2006 in Christchurch New Zealand August 22 - 25. He gave a talk entitled 'Tsunami Warnings: Perspective from Hawaii and Thailand'.
From November 6 - November 10, 2006, Dr. Donald Luttermoser attended the 14th Cambridge Workshop on 'Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun' held in Pasadena California. He presented a poster entitled 'Cool Stars Sing the Blues -- The Encore'.
Drs. Richard Ignace and Mark Hancock attended the Jan 2007 meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Rico gave a talk on An X-ray View of the Interacting Binary Beta Lyrae with Suzaku and Mark gave a talk on Restarting Galaxy Formation in Arp 82: An UV, Optical and Mid-IR Study of Star Formation in NGC 2535/6.
Dr. Richard Ignaceattended the 'Solar and Stellar Astrophysics' symposium in Glasgow, Scotland on January 28, 2007, given in honor of the 60th birthday of Professor John C. Brown Regius Professor of Astronomy and Tenth Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Rico gave a talk entitled 'The Hanle Effect for Circumstellar Envelopes'.
Randy KeelingFormer ETSU Physics Major Randy Keeling (Class of 2001) recently started
a new job as an Algorithms Engineer for Global Energy Decisions.
David Chamberlin-LongFormer ETSU Physics Major David Chamberlin-Long (Class of 2002)
recently started working at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel Maryland.Some pictures from the Upper East Tennessee Regional Science Olympiadfor middle school students held at ETSU on February 24, 2007. These pictures include pictures of the middle school participants as well as ETSU Physics majors and faculty, who assisted with the Olympiad.
Front row, from left: ETSU Physics majors Alfred Hopkins, David Simpson, and Sabrina Hurlock.
Standing, in back: Physics majors Sabrina Hurlock, David Simpson, and Alfred Hopkins.
Taylor Burnham During Spring Break 2007, Dr. Steve Wallace took a group of students
to Florida to dig at a fossil site near Gainesville, Florida. This picture shows geology
major Taylor Burnham holding a claw and phalanx (finger bone) of the giant ground
sloth (Eremotherium eomigrans). For more pictures from this trip, click here.A group of ETSU Geology students attended the Tennessee Geoconclave in Fall Creek Falls State Park, Pikeville Tennessee, from March 30 - April 1, 2007. The ETSU team won the Rock identification event and the Rock Bowl, the geological equivalent of Jeopardy.
David Simpson won the 2007 Outstanding Senior in Physics Award. Here is a picture of Dept Chair Don Luttermoser presenting him the award. David is graduating in June, and will be attending graduate school at Penn State next fall.
Physics major David Simpson presented his Honors Thesis project, 'A Mathematical Derivation of the General Relativistic Schwarzschild Metric', on Tuesday, April 24, 2007.
Here's a picture of David Simpson (middle) and his Honors thesis advisors, Dr. Robert Gardner (Math Dept) (on left) and Dr. Mark Giroux (Physics, Astronomy, and Geology Dept) (on right).
Geology major Taylor Burnham presented his Honors Thesis project on Monday April 23, 2007. The title of his project was 'Geologic Controls of Washouts in the Chilton Coal Seam'.
Geology major Robyn (Nikki) Gibson presented her Honors Thesis project, 'Sewell Coal Seam Case Study: Insight into Coal Bed Methane' on Monday, April 23, 2007.Summer 2007
The Dept hosted an international Astronomical Conference on 'The Biggest, Baddest, Coolest Stars' from July 16-18, 2007. The conference was held at the Millenium Center across the street from ETSU. Dr. Don Luttermoser was the chair of the Organizing Committee; Drs. Beverly Smith, Richard Ignace, Gary Henson, and Mark Giroux were members of the committee. For photographs from the Conference, click here.
Lattie Collins and Gail Carrier retired from ETSU in June 2007. For the last two years, Lattie had been working part-time as director of the Medical Professions student advising office. Gail was the secretary in the Medical Professions office. Lattie retired from the full-time physics faculty in summer 2005. retirement party
A picture from the retirement party. Lattie is on the left, Gail is in the solid blue dress in the middle right. Dept Exec aide Debbie Starnes is in pink on the left.Student Activities
ETSU Physics major Sharon Gray is working this summer with Dr. Richard Ignaceon an
H-alpha study of Beta Lyr.
ETSU Physics major Chris Carver is working this summer with Dr. Beverly Smithon modeling
galaxy collisions.ETSU Physics major Sabrina Hurlock is working this summer with Dr. Beverly Smith analyzing optical images of interacting galaxies obtained with the SARA telescope.
James Madison University undergraduate Robert Mesler is working with Dr. Gary Henson this summer, as part of the SARA Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. He is working on a project on variability in post-AGB stars.
Christina Bunker, an undergraduate student from SUNY Stony Brook, is working with
Dr. Richard Ignace this summer as part of the SARA REU program. Her project is titled
'Microlensing of Dusty Envelopes'.
Jason Carson, an undergraduate from Western Kentucky University, is working with Dr.
Richard Ignace this summer as part of the SARA REU program. He will be studying polarization
of circumstellar envelopes.
New ETSU graduate David Simpson (Physics major, graduated May 2007) is working this
summer with Dr. Beverly Smithon various projects. He will be attending grad school
at Penn State in the fall.
Recent ETSU graduate Amanda Moffett (Physics major, graduated May 2006) is working
this summer with Dr. Beverly Smithon GALEX observations of galaxies. She will be attending
grad school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall.ETSU Physics major Ryan Deskins is participating in the Ohio Wesleyan REU programin Delaware, Ohio this summer. He is working with Dr. Bob Harmon on 'Stellar Surface Imaging via Light Curve Inversion'.
ETSU Physics major Tommy Byrd is participating in the Undergraduate Internship Program in Nanotechnologyat the University of California at Berkeley this summer.
ETSU Physics major Wes Erbsen is participating in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He is working on designing a device to measure flexure of substances in a strong electromagnetic field.
ETSU Geology major Jess Buckles is doing research with Dr. Yongli Gao this summer.
Six ETSU geology majors are working with Penn-Virginia Oil Company this summer, either as part of their student co-op program or as full-time summer workers. These include Morgan Pate, Taylor Burnham, Robyn (Nikki) Gibson, Tom Strader, Ralph Bandy, and Kyra Hubbard.
ETSU Geology major Taylor Burnham has been awarded an Honors College Summer Research Fellowship to study the geology of the Mongolian petroglyphs in the Altai Mountains. He will be traveling to Mongolia July 12 - August 15 with Dr. Mick Whitelaw.
Five undergraduate students and 4 graduate students are working with Dr. Steve Wallace and Dr. Blaine Schuberton paleontology projects this summer. The undergraduates include ETSU students Brian Compton, Megan Bates, John Graybeal, and Aliana J. Reichert-Eberhardt, along with Melanie Miller, an intern from Sewanee University. The graduate students are ETSU students April Nye, James Scott, Keila Bredehoeft, and Grant Boardman.
Rachel Baker (Physics major, 2005) has been named a Quillen Graduate Scholar for 2007.
She is currently a graduate student in Education at ETSU.A nice picture of six of the students working on astronomy projects the dept this summer. This picture was taken during the Biggest, Baddest, Coolest Stars Conference. From left to right: Christina Bunker, Sharon Gray, Robert Mesler, Sabrina Hurlock, Chris Carver, and Amanda Moffett. For a bigger picture, click here.
A scene from the Dept Pizza lunch on June 6, 2007. From left to right: David Simpson,
Rico Ignace, Jason Carson, Yongli Gao, and Jess Buckles.
A scene from the Dept Pizza lunch on June 6, 2007. From left to right: Jess Buckles, Bob Mesler, Amanda Moffett, Yongli Gao, and Christina Bunker.
A scene from the Dept Pizza lunch on June 6, 2007. From left to right: Chris Carver, Bob Mesler, David Simpson, Rico Ignace, and Yongli Gao.
A scene from the Dept Pizza lunch on June 6, 2007. From left to right: David Simpson,
Yongli Gao, Jess Buckles, Christina Bunker, and Chris Carver. -
2005-2006
Fall 2005
Chris Gregg started as a new Assistant Professor of Geology Fall 2005.
Mark Hancock started working with Beverly Smith as a post-doctoral research scientist
in Astronomy Fall 2005.
Martin Hendry, an Astronomer from the University of Glasgow, is visiting ETSU during
Fall 2005 as the Basler Chair of Excellence.
Rico Ignace is the Basler Faculty Fellow for 2005-6.
Martin Hendry and Rico Ignace before the September 29 Basler Lecture on 'How Scotland
Changed the World'.
Martin Hendry's wife Ruth Wilkinson, Martin Hendry, and Sam Crawford after the Sept 29 Basler lecture. Ruth, a classical musician, and Sam, an ETSU student, performed some Scottish folk songs during the presentation.
Lattie Collins retired from the ETSU faculty after 40 years of service. He will be
working part time at ETSU for the next four years as the pre-med advisor.Niall Shanks (Professor, Philosophy Dept; Adjunct Faculty in Physics, Astronomy, and Geology; Adjunct Faculty in Biology) has left ETSU for a Distinguished Faculty position at Wichita State University, Kansas.
Beverly Smith was awarded the 2005 Distinguished Faculty Award in ResearchBeverly Smith presented the College of Arts and Science Jewell Friend Lecture August 24, 2005
By chance, Gary Henson, Don Luttermoser, and Mark Giroux all arrived at work on Monday September 12, 2005 wearing the same outfit, their SARA shirts.
Beverly Smith and Mark Hancock attended the Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy Evolution conference in Pasadena California in November 2005 and presented posters.
ETSU Physics Majors Kristin Stone and Phil Davis graduated from ETSU December 2005.
Physics Majors Amanda Moffett and Sean Mathews graduated from ETSU May 2006.
Former ETSU Physics Major Rachel Baker (May 2005 graduate) had a baby boy, Jacob Ivan Horn, November 14, 2005.
Physics Major Amanda Moffett was awarded the 2006 Outstanding Senior in Physics Award. Construction on the Visitor's Center at the Gray Fossil Site began in October 2005, and continued throughout the year.
Dept Exec Aide Theresa Marlow left the Dept in Spring 2006, for a new position in the Student Affairs Office. She was replaced as Exec Aide by Debbie Starnes.
Summer 2006
Physics Major Sabrina Hurlock is working this summer with Dr. Beverly Smith analyzing optical images of interacting galaxies obtained with the SARA telescope. This research is sponsored by a NSF Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) grant.
Sabrina married Dan McGuire on July 1, 2006. Dan is a teacher at Science Hill High
School.
Physics Major Ryan Deskins is working this summer with Dr. Gary Henson. This research
is sponsored by a grant from the NASA Tennessee Space Program.
New ETSU graduate Sean Mathews (Physics Major, graduated May 2006) (shown above with
his diploma) is working this summer with Dr. Mark Giroux on searching for analogs
of the Local Group of Galaxies in the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey. This research is
funded by an ETSU Research Development Grant.
New ETSU graduate Amanda Moffett (Physics Major, graduated May 2006) is working this
summer with Dr. Beverly Smith on GALEX observations of galaxies. This research is
funded by a NASA grant.
New ETSU graduate Danny Lamb (Physics Minor/Math Major, graduated May 2006) is working
this summer with Dr. Beverly Smith on computer modeling of interacting galaxies. This
research is sponsored by an NSF RUI grant.
Berry College undergraduate Ryan Bessey (left above) and Vassar College student Alex Burke (right above) are working this summer with Dr. Richard Ignace on modeling stellar emission lines. They are funded by the SARA Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program. Alex's project is entitled 'X-Ray Emission from Clump Bow Shocks in Massive Star Wind Flows', while Ryan is working on Forbidden Line Profiles from Massive Binary Colliding Winds'.
ETSU Physics Major David Simpson is working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the summer.
Physics Dept graduate Rachel Baker (Physics Major class of 2005) will be starting the Masters in Education in Teaching program at ETSU in Fall 2006.
Daniel Hall and Twyla Smith ETSU Physics Majors Alumni Daniel Hall and Twyla Smith
got married June 10, 2006. They both graduated from ETSU December 2003, and subsequently
obtained master degrees in Engineering from Virginia Tech.
Physics alumni at Twyla and Daniel's wedding. From left to right: Jackie West (Class of 2002), Mike Houchins (2001), David Chamberlin-Long (2002), Daniel Hall (2003), Twyla Smith Hall (2003), Jennifer Salyer Houchins (2004 Math Major, Physics Minor), and Kristin Stone (2005). Jackie is currently a graduate student in Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University, Mike is a grad student in Material Science at Clemson, David recently finished a masters in Applied Physics at Virginia Tech, and Jennifer just finished her masters in Applied Math at Clemson. Jennifer's thesis was titled 'Parallel Implementation of Finite Element Code using PETSc'. Kristin will be starting a job as a Field Engineer for Schlumberger Oil Services in New Mexico later this summer.
Another photo from Twyla's and Daniel's wedding. From left to right: Dr. Beverly Smith,
Dr. Mark Giroux, Dr. Gary Henson, Kristin Stone, Dr. Donald Luttermoser, Jackie West,
David Chamberlin-Long, Mike Houchins, Jennifer Salyer Houchins.
A collection of students and former students, taken at the July 25, 2006 Dept Pizza Lunch.
Back row, left to right:
Alex Burke (REU student from Vassar College), Ryan Deskins (ETSU Physics major), Ryan Bessey (REU student from Berry College).
Front row, left to right:
Sabrina Hurlock McGuire (ETSU Physics major), Amanda Moffett (2006 graduate), Kristin Stone (2005 graduate). <font=+1>Faculty Activities
Dr. Richard Ignace presented a poster at the 'Mass Loss from Stars and the Evolution of Stellar Clusters' meeting in Lunteren, the Netherlands, May 29 - June 1, 2006.
Dr. Gary Henson flew on the NASA 'Weightless Wonder' in August 2006 as part of the Hands-On Regional Museum's 'Zero G Zoomers' team. The team participated in NASA's Reduced Gravity program for Museums and Science Centers. Hands-On, partnered with Greeneville High Shool teachers and students and with ETSU through Dr. Henson and the Engineering Technology department to perform an experiment on soap bubbles in a weightless environment. Dr. Henson led the science efforts in writing their proposal 'The Sustainability of a Spherical Soap Film in Microgravity'. The team was testing to see if soap bubbles will last longer in the absence of gravity since the soap film should not thin out as rapidly as it does under normal gravity. The team designed a totally enclosed apparatus under computer control which would create soap bubbles to be filmed during the flight. Mr. Bill Hemphill and Dr. Paul Simms (ETSU dept. of Engineering Technology) were invaluable as the engineers behind the apparatus which successfully flew August 10 and 11. The bubbles did indeed last longer in microgravity, floating as freely as the experimenters themselves!
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2004-2005
Fall 2004
Dr. Gary Henson was awarded the 2004 University Distinguished Faculty Service Award.
Dr. Yongli Gao (Ph.D. Geology 2002 Univ. of Minnesota) joined the Department faculty this semester as an Assistant Professor.
New Dept Executive Aide Theresa Marlow joined the Dept over the summer, replacing Brenda Aldridge.
ETSU Physics Majors David Simpson and Sean Matthews were admitted to the Honors in Physics program, joining Rachel Baker in the program.
Dr. Blaine Schubert started a position in the department as a post-doctoral research scientist in geology associated with the Gray Fossil Site.
Dr. Beverly Smith was awarded the 2005 College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Faculty Research Award.
Graduating senior physics major Rachel Baker has successfully completed the requirements for the Honors-in-Discipline degree in Physics. She is the first ETSU student to graduate with this degree.
Rachel being awarded her Honors-in-Discipline medallion by the Physics Honors advisor, Dr. Mark Giroux.
Rachel with her medallion around her neck.
Rachel with Dr. Smith and Dr. Giroux
Rachel with Dr. Beverly Smith and Dr. Mark Giroux.
ETSU Physics major Moises Serrano won the 2005 Senior Physics Major award.
ETSU Physics major Amanda Moffett won the 2005 Rosel award for the outstanding junior in the sciences (including all students in biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science).
Moises Serrano and Amanda Moffett with their awards.
Here is a picture of the department faculty at the spring 2005 student awards lunch.
Back row, left to right: Yongli Gao, Beverly Smith, Mark Giroux, Gary Henson, Dave Close.
Front row, left to right: Rico Ignace, Don Luttermoser, Yuriy Razskazovskiy.Summer 2005
Faculty
Mark Giroux and Beverly Smith attended the American Astronomical Society meeting in Minneapolis Minnesota May 29 - June 2, 2005. For abstracts of their posters, click here.
Students
- ETSU Physics major Sean Mathews is working with Mark Giroux on a research project entitled 'Searching the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey for Local Group Analogs'.
- ETSU Physics major Amanda Moffett is participating in the American Museum of Natural History Research Experience for Undergraduates program in New York City this summer. She is working with Sebastien Lepine on a 'Pilot Survey of 350 Square Degrees for Stars with Proper Motions mu > 0.05"/year'.
- ETSU Physics major David Simpson is an intern at Oak Ridge National Laboratory this summer.
- ETSU Physics minor/Math major Daniel Lamb is working with Beverly Smith on various projects.
- New ETSU Physics graduate Moises Serrano is working with Gary Henson on various projects.
- ETSU computer science graduate student Sam Perkins is doing an independent study project with Beverly Smith and Phil Pfeiffer (Computer Science) on 'Modeling the Interactions between Galaxies with a Computer Cluster'.
- Jeremy McLaughlin (Radford College) is working with Gary Henson on a project entitled 'Variability in Post-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars'. Jeremy is working at ETSU as part of the SARA REU program.
- Adam Brimeyer (Iowa State University undergraduate) is working with Rico Ignace on a project entitled 'Thin Emission Lines from Non-Spherical Stellar Winds'. Adam is working at ETSU as part of the SARA REU program.
- New ETSU Physics graduate Rachel Baker is teaching Upward Bound classes at ETSU over the summer.
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2003 -2004
Spring 2004
Gary Henson has been awarded the 2004 College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Service Award.
A rare red panda tooth 4.5 to 7 million years old has been found at the Gray Fossil Site. Click here to read the February 15, 2004 article in the Johnson City Press about it.
Drs. Mark Giroux, Gary Henson, Richard Ignace, and Beverly Smith attended the American Astronomical Society meeting in Atlanta Georgia January 4 - 8.
December 2003 Physics Graduates Twyla Smith and Daniel Hall are now in Engineering graduate school at Virginia Tech.
Summer 2004
Department Events...Department Executive Aide Brenda Aldridge retired in June 2004 after many years at ETSU.
The Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geology hosted a conference on The Nature and Evolution of Disks Around Hot Stars July 7 - 9, 2004 at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City. This conference is being organized by Dr. Rico Ignace.
The ETSU Dept of Physics, Astronomy, and Geology is hosting a Science Teacher's Workshop on Variable Stars this summer at the Harry D. Powell Observatory. The workshop will run from June 15 - August 3.
Dr. Don Luttermoser gave an invited talk at the 204th American Astronomical Society (AAS) Meeting held in Denver, CO from 30 May through 3 June 2004 at a Special Session titled "What's New with Old Variable Stars?" His talk, titled The Dynamic Atmospheres of Mira Variable Stars, was the first talk of this session held on Thursday morning, 3 June 2004.
Dr. David Close presented an invited talk at the Computational Center for Molecular Structure and Interactions in the Dept. of Chemistry at Jackson State University (May 13, 2004). His talk was entitled'DFT Calculations on the Primary Radiation Induced Free Radicals Observed in DNA Model Compounds'.
Drs. David Close and Yuriy Razskazovskiy attended the 8th International Workshop on Radiation Damage to DNA on May 25-30 in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Dr. Close chaired the opening session on Radiation-Induced DNA Base Damage I, and presented an invited talk on 'Oxidatitive Damage to Cytosine: Implication for Radiation Induced Damage in DNA'. Dr. Razskazovskiy presented an invited talk on 'Modification of Direct Damage to DNA by Histone-Mimicking Polypeptides'.
Dr. David Close attended the 2004 Teaching Nonproliferation Institute on June 11- June 15 in Asheville, NC.
Dr. Close presented an invited talk at the Curriculum Development Workshop on 'Physics 1030, a new course on Physics and Society'.
Dr. David Close attended the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research 2004 workshop on Delegitimizing Nuclear Weapons (June 22-27) in Takoma Park, MD. Dr. Close presented a talk entitled 'Is Radioactivity bad for you?'Student News and Events...
Amanda Moffett (ETSU Physics Major) is working with Dr. Beverly Smith on variable
stars this summer. This research is supported by a NASA Long Term Space Astrophysics
grant.
Physics major Rachel Baker is attending an NSF funded Research Experience for Undergraduates
at the University of Wisconsin this summer. She has placed an on-line description
of her project at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~baker/.
Katie Hicks (Guilford College Physics Major) is working with Dr. Gary Henson in an
NSF funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program through the SARA consortium.
Katie is acquiring and analyzing BVRI photometry data for a select group of Post -
Asymptotic Giant Branch stars, looking for variability in these stars.Congratulations to ETSU Physics graduate Dave Haefner who has been accepted to the Physics graduate program at the University of Central Florida.
Congratulations to ETSU Physics alumni Mike Houchins (2001) and his new bride Jennifer Salyer (Math major, Physics minor 2004). Mike and Jennifer will both be starting graduate school at Clemson University in August 2004. Mike was accepted into the Ceramics and Materials Engineering program while Jennifer will be pursuing her advanced degree in Applied Mathematics.