Madison Physics & Astronomy: Events

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With twenty faculty members and over one hundred and ten physics majors, there are a lot of exciting things going on in the Physics & Astronomy department. Check out what's been happening recently below:

This Week's Seminar

The Department of Physics & Astronomy at James Madison University welcomes Dr. John Yukich from Davidson College. Dr. Yukich's talk is titled Photodetachment: When Negative Ions See the Light. The seminar will take place at 4:00 pm on Thursday, March 3 in Phys/Chem 2212.

Current semester and archive of seminars.

Graduation 2010

Congratulations to the 2010 graduationg class! This year, the Department graduates 17 physics majors. Check out some pictures from the May 8th College of Science and Mathematics Graduation:

Honors Banquet

On April 7th, the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the College of Science and Mathematics held their annual honors night and banquet. The department honored its oustanding senior and junior, presented its research, service, and teaching awards, handed out 4 scholarships, and inducted seven new members into the JMU chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma. The department also presented First, Second, and Third prizes for talks from its undergraduate research symposium.

Department Picnic

Each fall and spring, the department of Physics & Astronomy holds a departmental pinic. The picnic is sponsored by the faculty and the Society of Physics sttudents. The most recent picnic was on Saturday, April 10 at Purcell Park in Harrisonburg. Check out some pictures of the event below:

Research Symposium

Each Spring, the department of Physics & Astronomy holds its Undergraduate Research Symposium. Our students get to show off what they have been doing in the lab for the past year. The event was held this year on Saturday March 27 in the Montpellier Room in the East Dining Hall. The symposium featured 13 student talks and a keynote by Dr. James Roberto, Director of Strategic Capabilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Roberto also gave the Friday Departmental seminar. Dr. Roberto spoke about the search for new elements. Check out some pictures from the event below:

JMU Honors Bob Gordon

On Thursday, April 22, Bob Gordon was honored by JMU administrators, faculty, and former students for his fifty years of service to the JMU community. Bob, who was born in eastern Rockingham county, received his masters degree in physics from the University of Virginia. He joined the then Madison college faculty in 1959. Bob served two stints as department head, "retiring" in 1999 but has continued to teach each semester since. Bob will return to JMU in the Fall 2010 to continue his teaching. Check out some pictures of the event below:

April Star Party

The Department of Physics and Astronomy held a Star Party at the JMU Astronomy Park on Friday, April 2nd from 8:30 - 10:00 PM. About 120 people from JMU and the local community attended the event. Visitors were able to view Venus, Mars, and Saturn in the warm spring evening.