November 28, 2011

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did and I'm still eating left over turkey. A couple of great talks happening this week and long with a research opportunity for those interested in radio astronomy.

Undergraduate Course Assistants needed for Winter 2012: The Department of Astronomy is hiring additional course assistants for winter quarter. Assistants will be mostly grading for introductory level classes but also assisting with lab setup, photocopying and a variety of other tasks that support instructors and teaching assistants. No teaching duties will be assigned. The position has the possibility of renewal for spring quarter based upon course needs, funding and job performance.

Minimum qualification: Completion of Astronomy 321, 322 and 323. Preference will be given to applicants with a minimum 3.5 grade in each course.



Course assistants will be paid $10/hour for up to 5-10 hours/week during the quarter.


To apply: Submit your resume and unofficial transcript to Sarah Garner in Phys/Astr C319 or in her mailbox by December 1 (Thursday).


Radio Astronomy Research:
Call for students who want to work with the Student Radio Telescope

This message is to invite Astronomy majors to work with the Student Radio Telescope (a 7-ft-diameter dish on the roof of a nearby building). It is best if you have had the ASTR 321-22-23 sequence (esp. 322) and an EM course (but you do not have to know electronics). If you are interested in learning about the basics of radio astronomy and doing any of the projects below, please sign up for 1 hr of ASTR 499 - Sarah can give you an entry code. If you're interested in more than 1 hr credit, then we should talk beforehand. It is not absolutely necessary to sign up for 499, but it helps the Dept. if you do so.
We will meet once weekly (exact time chosen to fit everyone's schedules) to discuss data, etc. from the previous week, as well as plans for the following week. For one hour credit, you will be expected to attend this meeting, observe at the SRT for at least 1.5 hrs per week, and analyze your data as needed.

- Woody Sullivan

======================

Possible projects with the Student Radio Telescope (SRT)


- monitor the 1400 MHz flux of the sun (we are at the start of the next cycle of the 11-yr sunspot cycle, and the radio intensity varies a lot, too)

- map the galactic plane in continuum radiation

- study the distribution of atomic hydrogen by measuring the 21 cm line at various locations

- study the rotation of the Milky Way by measuring shifts in the velocities of the 21 cm line

- detect very weak sources such as the Crab Nebula (Tau A), the supernova remnant Cas A, the galactic center Sgr A, the H II region Orion A (Orion nebula), and the Moon

- develop some standard software for data analysis

- work on Web pages for the SRT

- work on write-ups of standard projects (such as those above) for future students to use

2012 Summer Internships for Undergraduate Students: 10 week research experience; $5000 stipend plus travel expenses. Areas of research: Engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological/life sciences, environmental science, emergency and incident management, social sciences. Projects offered at: National research laboratories: Argonne, Idaho, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, Sandia, Savannah River. DHS laboratories: Transportation Security Laboratory. Other research facilities, including Air Force research Laboratory, Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Locations include: CA, CO, ID, IL, MD, NM, NJ, OH, SC, TN, WA & VA. US citizenship required. Application deadline: January 5, 2012 www.orau.gov/dhsinternships Administered by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

AstroLunch: This week we have TWO astro lunch talks. Tuesday at Noon, Renbin Yan (NYU) will give a talk on "The Puzzle of LINERs and the Warm Ionized Gas in Early-type Galaxies" then on Wednesday at 12:30 Andrew Youdin (Harvard CfA) will give a talk on "Planet Formation Near and Far". Feel free to bring your own lunch to these informal lunch-time talks. All talks take place in the Reading Room, PAB B356A.

Astrobiology Seminar: Tuesday at 3pm in PAA A118, Aomawa Shields (UW Grad) will give an overview discussion on her summer research rotation at NASA. Coffee, tea and cookies served at 2:30pm in the lobby.

Colloquium: Thursday at 4pm in PAA A102, Ben Brown (Univ. of Wisconsin- Madison) will give a talk on "How Stars like the Sun get their Spots". Join us at 3:45pm in the foyer for coffee, tea, cookies and conversation!

Page O'Announcements: Updated with some interesting looking winter quarter classes for those of you still looking: http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

Have a great week!

November 14, 2011

Hi everyone,

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend! Here are some things going on in the Department this week.

Graduate School Webinar: APS Webinars is offering an exciting, free video webinar next week, entitled, “Graduate School in Physics: a Minority Perspective,” on Thursday, November 17 at 3:00 pm EDT. Senior graduate student, Dwayne Joseph at Florida A&M University, will present his unique perspective on some of his experiences in graduate school and tips on succeeding while there. Students will learn what goes on in physics graduate programs and gather ideas for getting the most out of their experiences. This webinar will be moderated by Peter Muhoro, APS Minority Bridge Project Manager, and Arlene Modeste Knowles, APS Career & Diversity Programs Manager. Because video feeds are limited, we can only accommodate 20 students. Those interested in participating should send an email request to Bushraa Khatib (khatib@aps.org) with their name, institution, and year (e.g. junior/senior). Race/ethnicity and gender are optional. The first requests will be considered first.

Registration for ASTR 300: Astr 300 is full, but if you still want/need the course please email Dr. Toby Smith (smith@astro.washington.edu) to be added to the wait list.

Photos for undergrad board: Keep those photos coming in! The board is looking better but could still use more of you on it!

Astrobiology Seminar: Tuesday at 3pm in PAA A118, Dr. David Des Marais of the NASA Ames Research Center will be presenting a talk titled: "Exploring Mars for Evidence of Habitable Environments and Life". Coffee, tea and cookies are served at 2:30 in the foyer.

AstroLunch: On Wednesday this week at Noon in PAB B356A, Sarah Ballard (Harvard) will give a talk on "Validating and Characterizing Transiting Exoplanets from Space with EPOXI, Kepler, and Warm Spitzer". You're welcome to bring your lunch to this informal talk.

Astronomy Colloquium: Thursday at 4pm in PAA A102, Shirley Ho (Lawrenece Bekerely Lab) will give a talk on "What can you do with the Largest Multi-color image?" A talk about SDSS a cosmology. Join us in the foyer at 3:45pm for coffee, tea and cookies.

Page O'Announcements: Lots of campus events going on http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/ so check them out!

Have a great week,
Sarah

November 7, 2011

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great weekend. Remember that this Friday is Veteran's Day so there are no scheduled classes and the building will be locked. Also, good luck to all the GRE Physics test takers this Saturday!!

Astrolab Computers: Remote users on the astrolab computers have been preventing classes from using them. Please be socially responsible in using the astrolab machines:
1) Use condor for long running/CPU intensive jobs.
2) I you need to use them interactively log off during class hours, or if someone is logged on at the console.

Phys 225 in Winter: Many of you have inquired about taking Phys 225 without having completed Phys 227. Prof. Garcia will be holding a 227 knowledge test in a few weeks that will determine if he will let you into the course. Please email him if you would like to be added to the list to be notified when the "placement test" will take place. I have a few more details if anyone needs them.

Interested in Teaching? The UW College of Education is hosting a Masters in Teaching information session for secondary-level teaching on 11/21 at 10am. Check in at Miller 206. RSVP at: http://education.washington.edu/infosessions Please stop by to see Paula Szkody or myself if you have questions about teaching careers. Astronomy students will often obtain an endorsement to teach Earth and Space Sciences and/or Physics. Read more about teaching options here: http://education.washington.edu/areas/tep/secondary/index.html

NW Women in Physics Conference in January 2012: This is a great free conference for physics/astronomy women! I highly encourage you all to attend. http://depts.washington.edu/nwuwpc/Northwest_Undergraduate_Women_in_Physics_Conference/Home.html

Page O'Announcements: Updated all the time with campus events, courses for winter and more: http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/

AstroLunch: Tuesday at Noon in PAB B356A (that conference room off the undergrad lab), we host an informal talk where you can bring your lunch. This week we have, Antonela Monachesi (Univ. of Michigan) giving a talk on "The resolved stellar populations of M32".

Astrobiology Seminar: Tuesday at 3pm in PAA A118, Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar (University of Toronto, Geology) will give a talk on "Geochemical Prospecting for Microbial Life in the Deep Subsurface Biosphere".

Astronomy Colloquium: Thursday at 4pm in PAA A102, Dr. Jennifer Johnson (Ohio State Univ.) will give a talk on "Illuminating the Middle Ages of the Milky Way". Join us in the foyer at 3:45pm for coffee, tea and cookies.

Have a great week!