Seminar Feb 5th “Of Course There are No Two-level Atoms and Sodium is Not One of Them!”

Feb. 5, 2019  2:00 PM Buckman Theatre

Dr. Douglas Goodman Assistant Professor of Physics

Legend has it that Nobel Laureate William D. Phillips once said, "Of course there are no two-level atoms and sodium is not one of them!" It is a familiar joke within the Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics community. The saying serves as a warning not to apply the quantum mechanical two-level atom approximation to situations where it does not belong, including the description of atoms when they are trapped and cooled by lasers inside a magneto-optical trap (MOT) Since the 1980s, this two-level approximation has been used to describe the electronic-state distribution arising from the trapped atoms’ interaction with the laser light. However, by using a unique hybrid ion-neutral trap, we were able to directly measure the fractional excited-state population of sodium atoms held within a MOT. Doing so allowed us to compare the experimental results with the two-level model prediction, revealing the conditions under which the two-level model succeeds and when it fails. It is true, there are no two-level atoms, but sodium sometimes acts like one of them

Dr.  Goodman is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Quinnipiac University. He earned his B.S. (Trinity, 2006) and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics (UConn, 2015). Prof. Goodman's research interests are in the field of experimental ultracold atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, which includes the study of laser cooling and trapping of atoms/ions, electrodynamic ion traps, and cold ion-neutral.

Spring 2019 Sigma Xi

Welcome to an exciting series of events for Sigma Xi for this spring! 

We will be sponsoring the Northeast Regional Sigma Xi Student Conference on Wed. April, 24, 2019. This conference coincides with our Annual Sigma Xi Student conference. Students from colleges all over the Northeast are invited to attend and present their posters at our conference. Due to space limitation, we can only host 100 student posters, so please encourage your QU students to apply early!

Distinguished Lecturer: Good news! We received a Distinguished Lectureship grant from Sigma Xi for the 7th straight year to help fund our Spring, 2019 Distinguished Lecturer. Dr. Paul Anastas has accepted our invitation as the Keynote and Distinguished Lecturer for 2019.

Judges Needed for Conference!!!!
One great need for the conference will be judges for our Graduate and Undergraduate poster contest. Please contact Neil to volunteer! (Neil.Schultes@ct.gov)

2019 Spring Lecture Series

• Feb. 5  Dr. Douglas Goodman 2:00 pm Buckman Theatre  Of Course there are No Two-level Atoms and Sodium is Not One of Them!
• Feb. 27 Dr. Alison O’Neil 4:00 pm Buckman Theater Modeling ALS with Patient Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
• April 24 Dr. Washington DaSilva 1:00 pm, Buckman “Small Things Considered: The Impact of Plant Viruses on Wine Production”
• April 24 Dr. Paul Anastas 5:45 pm Mt Carmel Auditorium

Register Early for the 2019 Sigma Xi Northeast Regional Student Research Conference

The NE Regional Sigma Xi Conference will be held on Wednesday, April 24th in the Burt Kahn Court. Students from ANY discipline who are involved in a systematic investigation are invited. Students may present any aspect of their research (literature review, methods/procedures, manualized intervention, or final data, if finished). Trifold poster boards and clips will be provided for displaying posters on an easel or long table.

                                                         Conference Schedule

2:00-3:00: Set-up

3:00-4:00:  Poster Session I

4:00-5:00: Poster Session II 

5:00-5:45: Speaker Reception with Dr. Paul Anastas

5:45-6:45: Distinguished Lecturer Presentation Dr. Paul Anastas, “Green Chemistry”

6:45-7:00: Graduate and Undergraduate Awards Presentation

Conference Locations: Burt Kahn Court and Mt Carmel Auditorium

Registration Opens: Feb. 5, 2019                Registration Closes: April 5, 2019

Registration Site:  www.SigmaXiQuinnipiac.org 

Submission Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/sigmaxiNE19 

For information, contact Dr. Lisa Cuchara: lisa.cuchara@quinnipiac.edu

Distinguished Lecturer, April 24th

Distinguished Lecturer, April 24th     
Dr. Paul Anastas, Yale “Green Chemistry” 5:45 pm, Mt Carmel Auditorium

Paul T. Anastas is a Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment. He has appointments in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Department of Chemistry, and Department of Chemical Engineering. In addition, Prof. Anastas serves as the Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale. Anastas took public service leave from Yale to serve as the Assistant Administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency Science Advisor from 2009-2012. From 2004 -2006, Paul Anastas served as Director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute in Washington, D.C. He will be the Keynote and Sigma Xi Distinguished Speaker for the Northeast Regional Sigma Xi Student Conference at QU.