Physics

entsand Programsin the Collegeof ScienceLetter From the ChairBiochemistry &BiophysicsDear Friends,http://physics.oregonstate.edu/BiologyIt has been many years since we havedistributed a newsletter, and as aresult we have quite a few things toshare with you.Botany & encesMathematicsMicrobiologyMolecular &Cellular BiologyPhysicsPre-professionalPrograms in theHealth SciencesProfessionalScience MastersScience &MathematicsEducationStatisticsZoologyVolume 1, Issue 1, January, 2007INSIDE:page 2In Memoriampage 3New Facultypage 42005-06 Bachelors Degreespage 5First Graduates:Computational Physics ProgramProfessional Science Masterspage 6AWIS Workshop PhotosPage 7ContributionsPage 8Janet Tate’s LaboratorySince our last newsletter in 2000, sixnew faculty members have joinedthe department. You will find a shortdescription of these outstanding newprofessors later in this newsletter. TheDepartment has not grown, however,since several faculty members haveretired. These retired faculty membersare John Gardner, David Griffiths, CarlKocher, Ken Krane, Rubin Landau, PhilSiemens, Al Stetz, and Allen Wasserman. Currently, Ken Krane, RubinLandau, and Al Stetz are still active inthe Department on part time teachingand/or research appointments. I canassure you, however, that hiring theseyoung faculty members in the Department resulted in an infusion of newenthusiasm! We are currently advertising for another faculty position.A sad change to report is the passingaway of several emeritus facultymembers. David Griffiths will be trulymissed, and it is too unfortunate thathe was not able to enjoy his retirement very long and to fulfill all planshe had made. Please see the obituarywritten by Rubin Landau in thisnewsletter. Also, Mel Cutler (retired1988) and David Burch (retired 1989)passed away.We report two first occurrences. Weare now awarding BS degrees in Computational Physics; the first graduatewas Jon La Follet. We are also awarding MS degrees in the ProfessionalScience Masters program; the firstgraduate was Lisa Eccles.Physics is newsworthy even to thegeneral public. Viktor Podolskiy wasjust featured on KEZI news, wherehe described his work towards fasteroptical communication. John Gardnerwas on KEZI news a while ago talkingabout his special printers for the visually impaired.A former student, Steve Gass (1986BS Physics) is profiled in Time Magazine, (May 15, 2006 pg A16) for hisinvention of the SawStop.I wish everybody a great 2007, keepthinking physics!Henri Jansen

PhysicsIn MemoriamDavid John Griffiths15 June 1938 –15 January 2005Dave Griffiths passed away on January 15, 2005 at home surrounded by family aftera brief illness. He had just retired from Oregon State University in June 2003 after36 years in the professorial ranks and was looking forward to following many of hisdiverse and passionate interests.David studied physics at undergraduate and graduate levels at the University ofBritish Columbia in Vancouver, the city in which he grew up and whose hockey teamhe cherished. He received his Ph.D. in 1965 after research on radiation from orientednuclei and optical Faraday rotation of parametric resonances in various materials.He then became a research fellow in the Department of Electrical Engineering at theUniversity of Southern California, and was made a faculty member there after oneyear. David did original research on type II superconductors at USC until 1967, whenhe came to OSU.While at OSU, David did research on a number of topics in solid state physics including superconductivity, amorphous materials, X ray diffraction, and the hypervelocityimpact of small particles. He undertook research sabbaticals at Oak Ridge NationalLaboratory and at the National Research Laboratory in Saclay, France, and spent anumber of summers working on the Stardust program at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.His research, seminars and work with graduate students displayed the clarity anddepth of a thoughtful, well-organized and caring physicist who was enthusiasticabout his work.David taught classes at all levels, did not complain if the load was heavy or thesubject was one he had not taught before, and was an excellent teacher in all. Insome sense this is to be expected since he had the “gift of the gab”, a keen interestin most every subject, a true caring for people around him, and an infectious laughthat let everyone know that while he took his work most seriously, he did not takehimself all that seriously. In 1978 he received the OSU Carter Award for excellence ininstruction, in 1986 he received the Alpha Lambda Delta outstanding teacher award,and from 1986-90 he was a guest lecturer as part of the American Institute of Physics’ Visiting Professor Program.As part of David’s strong commitment to community and university service, he wasactive in Corvallis politics, especially those dealing with land-use issues. He gavemany hours to work with the Faculty Senate and other committees at OSU, includingeight years in the Senate, two years on the Senate’s Executive Committee, and fiveyears as chair of the Condon Lecture Committee. He also was a strong supporter of afaculty union at OSU, which he hoped would be a vehicle to obtain more leverage indiscussions with the Administration regarding improved and more equitable salariesfor all faculty, and not just the superstars.On a personal level, David, with his combination of keen intellect and laughter thatechoed down the halls, was a fun and rewarding person to be around. He readvoraciously and diversely, and loved to discuss the latest books he was reading(especially when they revealed the historical proof of some conspiracy). He was asfundamentally good and responsible a person as could be found, and brought out thebest in others. His children carry this spirit as their heritage, while we who knew himgrieve the loss of his treasured friendship. There is a bench dedicated to David in thepark near the historical end of Circle Boulevard, upon which one can sit and enjoythe beautiful view across the valley to the Cascades.RHL2

PhysicsNew FacultyEthan D. Minot will join the department in January 2007 as an AssistantProfessor. He received his Ph.D.from Cornell University in 2004. Hisresearch focus is on the development of nanoscale biosensors usingsemiconducting carbon nanotubes. Inpursuit of single-molecule sensitivity,he investigates interactions betweencharged molecules in aqueous solution and electron transport in singlenanotube transistor devices.David Roundy joined the departmentin September 2006 as an AssistantProfessor. He received his Ph.D. fromUniversity of California at Berkeley in2001. His research concentrates oncomputation of electronic, mechanical and other properties of condensedmatter systems including superconductors, nanotubes and defectsin semiconductors. Currently, he isfocusing on the creation of a classicaldensity functional to describe water,and application of this approach toaqueous interfaces and systems inaqueous solution.Oksana Ostroverkhova joined thedepartment in January 2005 as anAssistant Professor. She received herPh. D. from Case Western ReserveUniversity in 2001. Her researchinvolves the Organic Photonics andElectronics Group which exploreslight-matter interactions in organicoptical materials. Of particular interestare the basic physics of exciton andphotogenerated charge carrier dynamics in organic semiconductors andinorganic-organic polymer nano-composites, photophysical and electronicproperties of individual molecules instudies of complex environments, andapplications of organic molecules innanoscale electronic and all-opticaldevices.Viktor Podolskiy joined the department in September 2004 as an Assistant Professor. He received his Ph.D.from New Mexico University in 2002.His research includes some fundamental problems of electromagnetism incomposite media, development of newnanostructured materials, photonicdevices, and interplay of optical phenomena on nano- and micro-scales.Yun-Shik Lee joined the departmentin September 2001 as an AssistantProfessor. He received his Ph.D. fromUniversity of Texas in 1997. His research focuses on terahertz spectroscopy and ultrafast carrier dynamics insemiconductors using femtosecondlasers. Major activities are (i) development of new schemes to manipulateteraherz (THz) pulses using optical rectification in nonlinear crystals (LiNbO3, ZnTe, and GaAs), (ii) optical and THzmeasurements at cryogenic temperature to investigate exciton dynamics insemiconductor quantum wells (QWs)under strong THz fields, and (iii) studyof large amplitude motions in proteinsvia THz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS) investigating the feasibilityof using THz spectroscopy for biosensing and analysis. In May 2006, Dr. Leewas awarded tenure and promoted toAssociate Professor.Günter Schneider joined thedepartment in September 2006 asan Assistant Professor. He is anOSU Physics Department Alum; hereceived his Ph.D. in 1999. He studiesproperties of advanced materialsand systems on the nanoscale usinga variety of computational methods.Current research focuses (i) on thethermodynamics of metal clustersusing Monte Carlo simulations withempirical and ab-initio potentials, and(ii) the study of transport in systemswith reduced dimensionality andstrong correlations using a real-timeapproach within the density matrixrenormalization group.3

PhysicsSUMMER 20052005-06BachelorsDegreesDaniel M. NovalBS, Physics/Engr PhysicsFALL 2005Joshua A. ClementsBS, Engr PhysicsDouglas J. FettigHBS, PhysicsAttending graduate school at University of Rochester.Susan A. E. GuylerBS, PhysicsNathan B. PaulBS, PhysicsWINTER 2006Benjamin F. BurnettBS, PhysicsSPRING 2006Timothy M. AnnaBS, PhysicsKyle C. AugustsonBS, Physics/Computational PhysicsAttending graduate school at University of Colorado, Astrophysics.Connelly S. BarnesHBS, Computational PhysicsAttending Princeton University, Computer Science.Micah J. BriedwellBS, PhysicsWorking as an Electrical Engineer atRockwell Collins.Philip C. CarterBS, Computational PhysicsAttending graduate school at Christopher Newport University, Computational Physics.Joseph W. PetersonBA, PhysicsCoaching a water polo team at a highschool in Beaverton and preparing toapply for graduate studies in physicsor medical physics.Zack PetersonBA, PhysicsWorking for Bredero Shaw Oil, settingup a new quality control lab.James C. SandersHBS, PhysicsChristopher S. SmithHBS, PhysicsChristopher J. SomesBS, PhysicsJoshua P. StagerBS, PhysicsAlison L. StoneklifftBS, PhysicsMatthew W. ChristensenBS, PhysicsBrett A. ValentiBA, PhysicsAttending graduate school at OregonState University, Mechanical Engineering.Micah C. EastmanBS, PhysicsAttending graduate school PortlandState University, Physics.Brent M. ValleBS, PhysicsAttending graduate school at CaseWestern Reserve University.Roger H.C. WongBS, Physics/Engr. Physics4