Happy Independence Day July 4th, 2008

From us here at SPS, we wish you a happy and safe 4th of July.

Dr. William Requarth Passes Away

Dr. William H. Requarth, the beloved and accomplished alumnus for whom the Requarth Observatory was named, passed away June 2, 2008 at the age of 95.

Dr. Requarth, a 1935 Millikin graduate, was a retired Decatur surgeon and an emeritus member of the Millikin Board of Trustees. A tireless volunteer for the university (and for countless other organizations), Dr. Requarth played significant volunteer roles in every Millikin capital campaign since the 1950s. Most recently, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he spent five years chairing the Campaign for Science to build Leighty-Tabor Science Center.

In recognition of his many contributions to the university, Dr. Requarth received the Millikin University Alumni Merit Award in 1960 and was named Alumnus of the Year in 1970. In 1996, the University honored him with a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

In his honor, the James Millikin Estate, a Decatur foundation Dr. Requarth served in various capacities for many years, made the gift to the Campaign for Science naming the Requarth Observatory. Today, Dr. Requarth’s legacy lives on in the continued educational mission of the Observatory, and also in the countless Millikin projects and programs he led and inspired.

Marsh White Award and Chapter Report

Over 6 months ago the Millikin SPS chapter applied for the Marsh White Award.  Thankfully, National SPS granted our chapter this prestigous award.  The monetary benefits of the award were used for High School Physics Day event in the Spring.  A full report can be found on the National SPS website here.  It is also that time of the year to file a full chapter report.  Most of what is in the report is also on this news page.  It has been a very productive and educational acadamic year and next year should prove to be just as fruitful.

First Christian Church Tours Observatory - April 23, 2008

Elementary students of First Christian Church stopped by the observatory on Wednesday evening to learn a little more about the galaxy that we live in.  Dr. Casey Watson guided them through an online quiz before taking them up to the observation deck for some sight seeing of the cosmos!  The students were able to see the rings of Saturn as well as a handful of stars before the evening was over.  If you would like to schedule a tour of Requarth Observatory for your school or group please contact Sue James.

Alumnus Killpatrick to Present On His Invention, The Laser Gyro - April 25, 2008

Millikin University alumnus Joseph E. Killpatrick '55 will present a talk entitled "The Laser Gyro" on Friday, April 25 at 10:00 a.m. in room 115, Leighty-Tabor Science Center.  The lecture is free and open to the public and is a part of Millikin's College of Arts & Sciences Celebrations of Scholarship.

Killpatrick, retired Chief Scientist of Minneapolis Operations of Honeywell Sensors and Guidance Products, directed and led the research and development of the laser gyroscope from 1961 until his retirement from Honeywell in 1999.  The laser gyro, which stabilizes and guides airplanes and ships, has now become standard navigation equipment on virtually all of the world's commercial aircraft.  Killpatrick's work at Honeywell resulted in his receipt of 44 patents and numerous awards.

Killpatrick studied pre-engineering at Millikin University from 1951 through 1953 and graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1955.  He completed graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota.  He is married to Carole Getz Killpatrick, Millikin Class of 1955.

High School Physics Day - April 19, 2008

The first annual High School Physics Day went off on Saturday afternoon.  3 area high schools (Cerro Gordo, Eisenhower, and Central Catholic) participated. Since the weather was not cooperative we had to move the action indoors but that did not stop the festivities in the least.  After Rich Dunsworth, VP for Enrollment, and Dr. Watson welcomed the high schools the competition began with the fuzzy projectile launcher.

After the preprepared projects Millikin students accompanied the high school teams over to the Science Center for a tour and some physics demos.  Students toured the beginner lab, laser lab, and observatory before beginning the onsite part of the competition. The onsite part of the competition forced the students to think on their feet.  The two events were balloon cars and egg springs.  All three teams did very well in both of these competitions minus a small goof in the mass calculation for the egg spring challenge that resulted in 1 pulverized egg. To complete the day, the senior Millikin students demonstrated some explosive physics in the form of a potato and carrot gun.  These demos were highly enjoyable.

After the last demonstration was complete everyone reconvened inside for the announcement of the final results for the physics fun packed day.  Cerro Gordo was the overal winner because they were the only team to submit a house project.  Central Catholic took second place with Eisenhower coming in a close third.  Well done!  The full results can be downloaded here.

We are looking forward to seeing all these teams and more come next year for an even larger and more exciting event.  A larger collection of pictures of the event have been posted here.  See you next year!

APS April Meeting, St. Louis - April 12-14, 2008

The American Physical Society, APS, held its April meeting this year in St. Louis.  With a national meeting taking place so close to Millikin we could not resist the chance of attending such a prestigious conference.

Early on Saturday morning Dr. Martell, Dr. Watson, along with seniors Rick, and Rob with junior Brock, and sophomores Bobby and Andrew loaded up in a Milli-van for the 3 hour drive to the conference.  For the next 2 days we listened to a multitude of talks given by professionals in their respective fields.  The talks covered almost every field of physics from Astrophsyics to teaching high school physics.  With such a great variety of presentations everyone found something enjoyable and informative.

Besides the conference a trip to St. Louis also let us catch up with Matt Hicks, a Millikin physics major who is in the 3-2 program(Also see the news article here).  The 3-2 program is a cooperative offering between Millikin University and Washington University where a student spends 3 years at Millikin and then 2 at Washington to get a double major in physics and engineering. Matt reiterated how the program is going very well for him and he is on track to graduate next year.

Not only does a national conference offer hundreds of talks from professionals in the field but it also offers undergraduates a chance to present some of their research in the form of either a talk or a poster.  Three students, Robert Mentzer, Bobby Arn, and Andrew Schenk prepared posters for the conference by working with faculty for months in advance.  Their hard work was rewarded by two awards, one to Rob and one to Andrew as well as an excellent chance to network and open doors in the field.

A big thanks goes out to the Professors for arranging this trip and covering travel costs.  Also a large thanks goes to Cathy Mader and Gary White for providing travel funds for the presenters.

Boy Scouts Explore the Solar System - April 9, 2008

On Wednesday evening a boy scout troop came to Millikin University to learn more about the stars and planets.  Dr. Watson and Dr. Miller presented some general information to the boy scouts and answered questions before leading them up to the observatory for some hands on activities.  Despite the mostly cloudy evening, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon were visible for the scouts.  A special thanks goes to Dr. Beck for coordinating the trip for the boy scouts.  

MacArthur High School & Red Hat Ladies - April 2, 2008

On Wednesday evening MacArthur High School students and the Red Hat Ladies came to Millikin to tour the Physics and Astronomy Department. 

The first stop on the tour was the laser lab for a brief explanation of three projects that are being carried out there by students.  Then both groups proceeded to the roof for a look through the 20" telescope.  Despite the patches of clouds the Orion Nebula and Saturn made appearances for the visitors.  Following the short stargazing session both groups watched a video about the Very Large Array (VLA).

A special thanks goes to Dr. Watson and Dr. Miller for presenting to the groups.

Green Bank Telescope - March 16, 2008

Learning at Millikin does not stop in the classroom and there is no greater testament to this than Spring Break 2008.  Three physics students, Shae Trumpy, Bobby Arn, and Andrew Schenk along with Mathematics Professor Dr. Dan Miller went to West Virginia for a two day class in how to use a radio telescope.

Radio telescopes are incredibly useful scientific tools because they can peer into many places in the cosmos that optical telescopes cannot.  This is because radio waves can pierce through clouds of dust that would normally reflect the shorter wavelengths that compose visible light.

The Green Bank Observatory is located deep within the Appalachian Mountains in a remote part of West Virginia.  This allows the extraordinarly sensitive dish to listen for radio waves without interference from terrestial sources such as radio stations, cell phones, microwave ovens, and even electric toothbrushes!  The FCC has designated the area around the Green Bank facilities as a quiet zone for such interference.

The Green Bank Observatory is actually home to many large radio telescopes although the Green Bank Telescope, GBT, is by far the largest.  It holds the title as the largest man-made moving object in the world!  A football field could rest inside the massive parabolic dish with room still left over on all sides.

Perhaps one the greatest parts of the trip was the fact that we were able to get some hands on experience with radio telescopes.  No, we did not get to operate the GBT, instead we were able to use the educational telescope to look for atomic hydrogen in the Milky Way. Our little 40 foot telescope couldn't hold a football field on its dish but it was still an amazing piece of equipment to use that provided us with a rich assortment of data that we could draw conclusions from.

A special thanks goes to Sue Ann Heatherly our Greenbank host and teacher and Dr. Miller for accompanying us on a very long road trip.

Girl Scout Lock-In - March 7, 2008

Local girl scout troops had a sleepover in LTSC.  They started their evening by listening to some presentations from different departments with the Physics and Astronomy department kicking off the evening.  The Physics and Astronomy department took the girl scouts on a three station tour of the building starting in a ground floor lecture hall with a brief talk by Professor Casey Watson on the Universe.  The girl scouts then visited either the observatory on the 5th floor for a tour of those facilities or they went to the advanced physics lab in the basement for a demonstration of the levitron and charge to mass ratio experiments.

Total Lunar Eclipse - February 20, 2008

The Society of Physics Students held a very special event on February 20th. Viewable from North America was a total lunar eclipse. This is a rare event, which will not occur again until December 2010.  A total lunar eclipse is when the sun is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the moon. The Earth thereby creates a shadow on the moon before it reaches totality, or the point when the Earth blocks most or all sunlight from reaching the moon.

This night, the weather cooperated with our plans.  It was a clear night, allowing for a very amazing event. Though the temperature was slightly chilly, over 200 people joined SPS out on Millikin's Track and Field. When the moon entered totality, the view of Mars, Saturn, and the Orion Nebula was spectacular.

In addition to a viewing session, a webcast of this event was made available on the internet. Over 40 people tuned into this for a chance to see the eclipse from a (hopefully) warmer location.

A special thanks goes out to Drs. Martell, Watson, Miller, and Professor Werner for their assistance in hosting this huge event. Another special thanks goes to Craig Janssen for making it possible for us to host the webcast.

SPS Meeting Notes - February 22, 2008

SPS had a brief meeting at 5pm to further discuss High School Physics Day plans and travel plans for the APS conference in April.  Due to the inclement weather the meeting was cut short and rescheduled for next Wednesday (February 27th).

New Forum Up and Running

The Society of Physics Students has a new forum up to help foster communication between SPS members and the surrounding area.  High School Physics students can take special advantage of the section reserved just for them to discuss their projects for HSPD.  The forum is open to all and can be accessed here.

High School Physics Day Widget Available

Mac users can now take advantage of a helpful countdown widget to signal the start of High School Physics Day. The widget can be downloaded here.

Are you ready?

SPS Meeting Notes - January 16, 2008

SPS had it's first meeting of the semester to get everyone up-to-date on various activities and trips that are in the works. Dr. Martell led the discussion with new information on the APS conference in April. He also discussed plans of making physics t-shirts for sps members.

A major opportunity that Dr. Martell presented was an unique chance to have a distinguised physics alumni join us for a day. Joe K. class of '55 invented the laser gyroscope and is wanting to visit his alma mater and speak to faculty and students. A date still needs to be set for this. Other subjects that were revisited were:

-Trip to Six Flags
-High School Physics Day
-Allocations and budget
-Immersion Trip to Peru
-Greenbanks Radio Observatory, Spring Break Trip

Red Hat Society – January 15th, 2008

SPS kicked off the new year in an exciting way. Ladies from the Red Hat Society came by this afternoon to tour the observing facilities as well as experience a solar viewing session. Though it was a tad bit chilly, these ladies didn’t mind the cold as they were able to see various sunspots. Dr. Watson explained all about solar activity and how we are near a solar minimum. Afterwards, sophomores Shae Trumpy and Bobby Arn took them inside the dome to look at Millikin’s 20” telescope. The group was very impressed and couldn’t wait to come back. A special thanks goes out to Dr. Watson for organizing this event.

Semester Ends, Happy Holidays!

December 18 marks the official end of the Fall semester at Millikin University but many students are already leaving to spend the holiday season with their families. To finish up the semester SPS was planning on hosting several guests for a night of stargazing, unfortunately the weather hit Decatur with a blizzard that swept across much of the Midwest. Next semester will be a bustling semester with the return of Dr. Eric Martell from his sabbatical, trips to Greenbanks and Peru, and last but certainly not least High School Physics Day .

Safe travels and happy Holidays!
Millikin University Physics and Astronomy Departments

Public Observation Nights Conclude for '07-November 27, 2007

Two months ago Shae Trumpy debuted the Public Observation Program with her presentation about the Moon and its significance. Since then, the program has seen several other speakers including Bobby Arn, Andrew Schenk, and Dr. Dan Miller, but the premise has remained the same. Give the audience a brief talk about the universe we live in and then let them see the sights for themselves with Millikin's multimillion dollar astronomy setup.

The result has been a phenomenal response from Millikin students and the general public. Nearly 200 people have attended the talks and stargazing sessions within the last two months, astronomy interest has been piqued with students looking into astronomy courses offered at Millikin, and members of the public bringing in astronomy books and sharing their own knowledge on the topic.

Public Observation Nights will restart in mid February with a tentative date of 2/12/08. A special thanks goes to all of the faculty that helped make this possible and a very special thanks goes to everyone that stopped by to see what Millikin Physics and Astronomy is all about!

See you next year!
~ The Society of Physics Students ~

Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

State Farm, Research Division-November 15, 2007

On Thursday morning several physics students and professors headed up to Bloomington, IL to take a tour of State Farm's research labs. After a late start everyone made it up there and were treated to a nice lunch courtesy of State Farm. Students from Illinois Wesleyan were also in attendance however there was not much time built into the schedule to interact with them.

Dr. John Werner the director of the research division and also an adjunct professor at MU kicked off the event. Following John were several State Farm employees who presented information on the type of research that is done at State Farm and how a plethora of it relates directly to the physics field. After this informative session the Millikin students parted ways from the Wesleyan group and the Big Blue students headed over to State Farm's vehicle labs. At that lab we were able to see first hand some of issues that State Farm faces. A new and complicated problem is the use of carbon fiber in automobiles. Currently carbon fiber is really only used in Ferrari's because of the speed benefits it provides. However the issue is that carbon fiber cannot be repaired in the traditional methods that steel and aluminum can be. This has forced State Farm to find new methods to repair this unique building material.

The final stop on our tour was the structural labs that State Farm has. These labs are focused on issues that pop up in insuring homes. Electrical engineers address problems that start electrical fires. Structural engineers analyze the stability of walls versus the varying forces that they are pitted against. Hail and airborne debris threaten the exterior of a house and materials are being researched to strengthen and fortify the house from outside damages.

In conclusion, the trip to State Farm's research division showed that physics can truly take you anywhere. Just when you think that there is something that physics is not in you find that the shingles on your roof have been studied and tested with physics concepts to determine their durability, the stove in your kitchen might have a fire extinguisher built into it, and the car you are riding in predicts when a crash is going to happen and prepares the vehicle to maximize your chance of survival.

A very special thanks goes to Dr. John Werner and the State Farm team for hosting these tours. Also a special thanks goes to Dr. Watson and Dr. Miller for driving.

Pinckneyville Elementary School-November 6, 2007

On Tuesday morning Dr. Miller, Amy Tegethoff, and Andrew Schenk travelled south to visit the fourth graders of Pinckneyville Elementary School in Pinckneyville, IL. Mrs. Tegethoff, Amy's mother, teaches the class and prepared her students for the Millikin visitors by discussing topics such as the planets of our solar system, constellations in our night sky, and meteorites. Dr. Miller further explained how stars are born and how they die. He also explained several current projects that are underway in the astronomy community. Mrs. Tegethoff's class was full of questions which was a testament to how well their teacher had introduced the subject of astronomy to them. Before lunch, everyone had a chance to look at the sun through one of Millikin's eight inch telescopes with the appropriate solar filter.

A special thanks goes to Mrs. Tegethoff for feeding us lunch and to her fourth graders for being such a great audience!

Science Night-October 29, 2007

On Monday night the Leighty-Tabor Science Center opened her doors to 125 Taylorville Junior High students. These students rotated between five different venues within the science building listening and participating in brief science talks ranging from computer science to chemistry. SPS was the host of the chilliest stop of the night. SPS treated Taylorville students to a range of telescopes on the roof of LTSC where students were able to look at the stars and ask questions about the equipment. A special thanks goes out to all the faculty presenters and to the astronomy lab students for helping out!

Impromptu Stargazing-October 28, 2007

After poor weather conditions made stargazing a no-go on the October 25th Public Observation Night, SPS members decided to hold an impromptu stargazing night on Sunday evening. About 30 visitors stopped by between the open hours of 8 and 10pm to look through 1 of the 2 eight inch telescopes or to view the heavens through the 20 inch telescope. Even though the night air was chilly guests stayed for a long period of time soaking in astronomy knowledge from SPS members.

The next formal stargazing event is the November 8th Public Observation Night scheduled to begin at 8:30pm in Leighty-Tabor Science Center, room 001.

State Farm, Millennium Girls-October 13, 2007

On Saturday morning several SPS members drove up to Bloomington, IL to set up an exhibit at State Farm's Millennium Girls event. The Millikin exhibit was comprised of several 8" telescopes that SPS was planning on using to observe sun spots and solar flares with. However, the weather was overcast so the Millennium Girls had to settle for reading the fine print off signs a quarter mile away. In total 230 individuals visited the Millikin booth and caught a glimpse of what Millikin is all about.

After the Millennium Girls left SPS members packed up all of the equipment into Dr. Miller's car. Then Bobby Arn, Shae Trumpy , and Andrew Schenk stayed behind to attend a luncheon hosted by State Farm. The luncheon consisted of a dialogue between attendees about the shortage of women and minorities in IT careers. Also State Farm discussed what kind of work environment State Farm offers.

A special thanks goes to Dr. Miller for setting up this event for SPS, Megan Sims for helping out with the exhibit, and State Farm for inviting us.

Homecoming Weekend, Class of '77-October 6, 2007

Homecoming weekend was an exciting time especially for Alumni of the class of '77. They came up to the observatory to do some stargazing courtesy of SPS. Millikin Alumni and family were treated to a wide variety of astronomy objects that included the planets Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus, as well as globular clusters such as M13. Guests also were able to view many binaries and open clusters.

Perhaps one of the most admired sights of the evening was not the stars but of the facilities themself. Many Alumni had graduated before Leighty-Tabor Science Center was built in 2000. So it was an interesting chance to explore how the Big Blue has grown over the years. All in all a good time was had by all sharing stories of years past and seeing some of the most magnificent sights in the Galaxy.

East Peoria High School-September 18, 2007

East Peoria High School was hosting an open house to celebrate the opening of their new observatory and Millikin was invited to come and check out their new setup. The physics and astronomy department immediately jumped on the opportunity and four students as well as Dr. Miller loaded up the truck with 3 eight inch telescopes in preparation for our jaunt over to Peoria. After arriving about an hour early we had set up and greeted other visitors with views of Jupiter and some of its moons. East Peoria HS gave a nice astronomy presentation to the crowd numbering somewhere around 100 and afterwards everyone toured their dome. A special thanks goes to East Peoria High School for inviting us, Dr. Watson for arranging travel plans, and Dr. Miller for driving and ice cream!

Decatur Public Library-June 18, 2007

Even during the summer months, Millikin is bustling with activity. Through the Decatur Public Library's summer program Mission Read: To the Library and Beyond, 60 students ages 1st-grade and up visited Millikin University to get a lesson in astronomy. Students were exposed to a virtual tour of the planets, a tour through Millikin's facilities, an astrophotography presentation featuring photos taken by Millikin students, videos which took a tour through the universe, and a general astronomy quiz which gave interesting facts about the universe around us.

Unfortunately, the weather did not work in our favor. With a heavy overcast and scattered showers, the students were not able to use the telescope. Instead, they learned how to do astronomy on their own, without any big or expensive equipment. Looking out into the crowd of students, it was easy to see that most were really interested in astronomy.

Camp Cilca-May 9, 2007

Last night a group of SPS members accompanied by Dan Miller and John Werner scuttled over to Springfield to host a stargazer’s night for some 6th graders at Camp Cilca. After packing up five 8" telescopes and equipment we hit the road (Special thanks to Dr. Watson for helping us load up). After some setup time and swarms of unwelcome bugs, we had everything ready to go for our inquisitive campers.

After showcasing Venus, Saturn, double stars, some galaxies, and some clusters, we packed up the truck in the dark and headed back to Millikin. Overall it was a great learning experience for everyone and we are looking forward to doing many more events like this.

Argonne National Laboratory-April 28, 2007

A big thanks goes out to Dr. Eric Martell, Dr. Casey Watson, and Dr. Paris Barnes for setting up a special inside tour for SPS members to travel to Argonne labs this past week. Members took a sleepy 3 hour van ride up to the Chicago area for the special occasion, with highlights being inside tours of ATLAS and APA.

We weren't allowed onto the research grounds, but we did get to look on from a glass viewing area. APS is a large donut shaped building that houses an electron "race track". Electrons whiz around the track close to 99.999999% of the speed of light giving off powerful x-rays as they complete laps. It is these x-rays that APS scientists utilize to do a large host of experiments ranging from protein structure analysis to fuel technologies.

Washington University Trip - Fall 2006

Millikin and Washington University have a 3-2 program where students can enroll at Millikin for three years and receive a physics major and then attend Washington University for 2 years and receive an engineering program.  In the fall SPS members and faculty went to visit this partner institution to get a better idea of what the program is like and how it would suite some of our students.  The trip was very informative and some Big Blue students are considering it!