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While most campus activity remained virtual this summer, three Hamilton faculty members brought colleagues and students from around the globe together by hosting academic conferences. Assistant Professor of Physics Kristen Burson co-chaired the 81st Physical Electronics Conference (PEC), Associate Professor of Sociology Jaime Kucinskas convened a Social Mindfulness Symposium, and Associate Professor of Philosophy Russell Marcus co-organized the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) summer series.

Dean of Faculty Suzanne Keen recognized 10 faculty members with Dean’s Scholarly Achievement Awards in three categories at the May 19 faculty meeting.

“There’s a lot of really cool things that you can study with physics, but I feel that if we don’t solve our energy crisis within my lifetime, none of that’s really going to matter. ... I want to help with that matter, help with that push, by either working on renewable energy or carbon capture that can really make in impact before it’s too late,” said Catherine Ryczek ’21, who will soon join the physics doctoral program at the California Institute of Technology.

While COVID-19 may have changed the way we work, socialize, and learn, problem solvers like Patricia Shiebler ’21 have tapped their creativity to make the most out of the challenging “new normal” created by the pandemic.

The Physics Department is taking learning out of the lab and into the field. Physics 100/200 and Physics 190 classes have been experimenting with launching pressure rockets behind the campus athletic fields. Faculty members Kristen Burson, Viva Horowitz, and Seth Major, and Director of Laboratories/Head Technician Adam Lark are making the most of this outdoor lab to teach the concepts of pressure and distance.

Catherine Ryczek ’21 spent her summer in Germany working with Assistant Professor of Physics Kristen Burson and a team of physicists from around the world at the Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. During her internship, Ryczek collected and analyzed low energy electron diffraction (LEED) data, a process which enabled her and her fellow researchers to learn more about the structure of materials. She also worked to design and assemble a new ultra-high vacuum (UHV) system to allow for the closer study of thin films.

Four Hamilton researchers were among the presenters at the American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting that recently took place in Boston.

After months of hard work, physics students launched their high altitude weather balloon, along with camera equipment to record the flight into the stratosphere and a parachute to bring it back down to Earth.

An article about sensing high-stress in solid-state batteries, co-authored Assistant Professor of Physics Kristen Burson, was recently published in Science Advances.

Assistant Professor of Physics Kristen Burson and Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics Charles Collett presented papers at the American Physical Society (APS) March Meeting in Los Angeles.