February 22, 2010

I hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather we're having! I heard it will soon turn in to rain, so get out and enjoy it while it lasts!

Meeting Minutes: We had a great meeting last week with lots of updates in curriculum changes and schedules.
Physics Summer Qtr Classes: Note that the summer time schedule currently lists Phys 227 however this will be changed to Phys 228. Also Phys 334 will be changed to a full-term class and Phys 335 will be dropped from the schedule.

Astronomy Spring Qtr Classes: Check out the time schedule to see the variety of classes being offered this spring!

New Physics/Astronomy Degree Requirements: Both physics and astronomy will be changing the degree requirements which is planned to be effective Autumn 2010. This will not impact anyone currently declared in both departments. However if you are declared Astronomy only, have been planning to declare physics but have not done so I would suggest to do this before autumn quarter so you are under the same requirements. More details on these changes will come out sometime in spring quarter.

New Astronomy Classes: Starting autumn quarter there will be several new classes. ASTR 400: Undergraduate research seminar (1 credit, CR/NC) hear about faculty research in the department, ASTR 427: Numerical Methods in Astrophysics, ASTR 498: Independent Research (this differs from ASTR 499 and is for students working on non-research projects, reading articles prior to working on research, etc.). We are trying to move away from using ASTR 497 for classes that are offered continuously.

2010-2011 Course Schedule Available: on the web: http://staff.washington.edu/sterrs/AnnualCourses10-11.pdf

Undergraduate Research Symposium: Deadline to submit abstracts is today!! (Feb. 22) http://www.washington.edu/research/urp/symp/

Physics GRE Exam: There has been some concern over student preparation for the Physics GRE exam. If you have any comments or suggestions about your preparation for this exam, please feel free to send these to me or leave a note in my mailbox.

Volunteer for an Astronomy Conference!: The Department is hosting the 16th Cool Stars conference August 29-Sep 2 here on campus! We are seeking student volunteers for a variety of jobs and those volunteers that complete 15 hours of work will be able to attend the conference for free (note this does not include excursions and banquets). If you will be available the week prior to the conference and during the conference please sign up on the list in the computer lab. We will be holding a meeting in the spring to make final assignments.

Space Grant Summer Undergraduate Research Program: Looking for summer funding to stay on campus and do research? Check out the WA Space Grant SURP! http://www.waspacegrant.org/u-gradsum.html SURP offers part-time $2K stipends and full-time $4K stipends for undergraduates working on research projects with faculty.

Colloquium: Please join us on Thursday at 4pm in Phys/Astr A102 for a talk by Lloyd Knox (UC Davis) on "Anisotropies in the infrared background as a probe of the complete history of star formation". Coffee, tea and cookies are served at 3:45pm in the foyer!

Astro Lunch: Tomorrow (2/23) YoungChul Kwon (UW) will give a lunch talk (noon-1) in the reading room (B356A) on "SkewReduce: Skew-Resistant Parallel Processing of Feature-Extracting Scientific User-Defined Functions". Please feel free to bring your lunch!

Page O'announcements: classes, campus events and more! http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

Best,
Sarah

February 16, 2010

Good morning! Please join us today at 3pm for the winter quarter undergrad meeting. We will meet in Physics/Astronomy A216 to discuss class scheduling (including courses offered for 2010-2011), changes to the degree requirements as well as an opportunity to volunteer for an astronomy conference this summer. Snacks will be provided!

Spring Registration: Starts this week or next for many of you! Please be sure to check your DARS (found on MyUW) to double check which classes you still need to complete. You can also stop in to see me or send me an email.

Suggested General Ed Classes: Are you looking for a VLPA or I&S class? Check out the main campus advising website that compiles all of this information for you! http://www.washington.edu/uaa/gateway/advising/registration/sgec.php There is also a link on the right of the page for new courses or special offerings courses.

Undergrad Astronomy Wiki: There is an Astronomy Wiki available to you that has lots of great tips and advice! You can access the wiki when you're on a computer in the Department. http://librarian.phys.washington.edu/astro/index.php/Academics:Undergraduates

Career Center: The UW has a great career center to help you with building your resume, improving your interviewing skills and offering tons of workshops! Check out all they have to offer: http://careers.washington.edu/

Page O'Announcements: Updated with 2010-2011 course schedule! http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

Best,
Sarah

February 8, 2010

We will hold our winter quarter undergraduate meeting on Feb. 16 at 3pm in Phys/Astr A216. Please plan to attend as we will be discussing spring quarter classes as well as the 2010-2011 course schedule. Snacks will be provided!

Planetarium Movie Night: You are all invited to attend a movie night hosted by Pre-MAP on Thurs., Feb. 18 at 7pm. Join us in the Phys/Astr auditorium on the second floor! Bring pillows and snacks to relax. You can also bring a DVD as we will be voting on what to watch.

WiSE Conference: The UW Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) conference will be held on Sat., Feb. 20 from 8:30am-5pm. Check out more information about the WiSE conference here: http://www.engr.washington.edu/curr_students/studentprogs/wiseconfhilights.html

AstroLunch: This Wednesday at Noon in Phys/Astr B356A (aka the reading room), Sarah Martell (ARI/Univ of Heidelberg) will be giving a presentation on "Globular Cluster Contributions to the Galactic Halo". Feel free to bring your lunch!

Colloquium: This Thursday at 4pm in Phys/Astr A102, Christian Marois (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics) will give a talk on" Imaging Planets Orbiting other Stars: The HR8799 Multi-Planet System". Join us at 3:45pm in the foyer for coffee, tea and cookies.

Page O'Announcements: Looking for a something to do on campus? Career workshops? Check out the blog at http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/.

Astronomy Night at Shorecrest High School: Shorecrest High School is looking for volunteers to give mini-talks (10-15 min. repeating) at their annual Astronomy Night to be held on March 30. If you are interested in giving a talk, please contact the teacher Vince Santo Pietro at vince.santo.pietro@shorelineschools.org.

Post-graduation job opportunity: **Work for Change after Graduation. The Fund is Hiring** We?re looking for smart, socially conscious students who work well in a team and are eager to make a real impact on some of the most critical issues facing our society.

The Fund for the Public Interest (aka ?the Fund?) helps some of the top progressive organizations in the country work on issues like clean energy, equal rights, and pushing our country in a new direction. And we're hiring!

Specifically, we're hiring Citizen Outreach Directors to run our grassroots campaign offices across the country next fall -- working on behalf of groups like the Sierra Club, WashPIRG, Environment Washington, and the Human Rights Campaign.
We are looking for smart, motivated students who want to lead the way in working for the change our country needs.

If you are interested in applying, visit our website at www.fundjobs.org, or contact me directly ? 206-621-8334, krosen@fundstaff.org .

I'm looking forward to speaking with you more about our positions! Katrina Rosen, Canvass Director- Fund for the Public Interest.

Have a great week! Hope to see you all at the meeting next Tuesday!

Best,
Sarah

February 1, 2010

Hi everyone,

We're well into the quarter now and I want to check in and be sure you're utilizing the resources available to you! There are study centers (Physics in the Auditorium Building, CLUE for a variety of classes in MGH, and the instructional center at 1307 NE 40th St). There are also Study Smarter Workshops available to you for free from the counseling center (on the 4th floor of Schmitz). Workshop topics include time management and text anxiety. In addition, remember to attend office hours or schedule a separate appointment with your professors if you're not understanding material in class.

Here are some events to keep in mind this week:

Spring Schedules: Let me know if you have questions as you begin to think about your spring quarter schedule. Registration begins as early as Feb. 19 for graduating seniors.

Undergraduate Research Symposium: Are you working on research? Present it to the UW Community at the 13th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The symposium will be on May 21 in Mary Gates Hall. You must submit an application to participate by Feb. 22. Check out some of the workshops available for writing the application:

Abstract Writing Workshops are tailored to students who are applying to the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

The session includes a review of the Symposium application process, the logistics of the Symposium day, followed by information on what exactly is an abstract, how to write one, and what information to include. If you already have a draft, you may also bring this to the session for feedback.

Winter Quarter 2010
Wednesday, 2/3, 4-5
Thursday, 2/4, 12:30-1:30
Tuesday, 2/9, 4:00-5:00
Wednesday, 2/10, 3:30-4:30

To register, visit: http://www.washington.edu/research/urp/courses/abstractwriting.html Space is limited!

More information about the Symposium can be found at: http://www.washington.edu/research/urp/symp/index.html

Graduating seniors? Have you filled out a graduation application? If you plan to graduate in spring quarter, please see myself as well as Margot (for physics double majors) to fill out the paperwork for graduation. We will be sending out graduation information in a few months and want to be sure we have everyone on our list.

Colloquium: This Thursday at 4pm in Phys/Astr A102, David Schlegel (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab) will be giving a talk on "Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Surveys, BOSS and BigBOSS". Join us at 3:45pm in the foyer for coffee, tea and cookies.

Summer Projects: A few more options for those looking at summer research projects; Johns Hopkins: http://www.Aplapp.com and Goddard: http://education.gsfc.nasa-telophase.com/

Page O'Announcements: Check out the different events happening on the Page O'announcements: http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

Sarah

January 25, 2010

Hello,

I hope you had a great weekend! Here are some things to keep in mind this week.

Spring Classes: The time schedule for spring is available this Friday. In Astronomy there will be: ASTR 323- extragalactic; ASTR 423- High Energy; ASTR 480- Data Analysis; ASTR 497A- Extrasolar Planets; and ASTR 497B- IDL Programming. Also note a class being offered in Applied Math under AMATH 483 on High-Performance Scientific Computing.

Jobs at the Pacific Science Center: PSC is looking for an astronomy person to work at the Planetarium. Check out the jobs available at PSC: http://www.pacsci.org/jobs/

Colloquium: This Thursday at 4pm in Phys/Astr A102, Rob Gibson (UW) will give a talk on "10% Inspiration, 40% Perspiration and 50% Simulation". Join us at 3:45pm for coffee, tea and cookies.

Page O'announcements: Lots of events are posted here including career center workshops!! http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

Best,
Sarah