Physics and Astronomy

UMaine News Release, April 11, 2005 ORONO – Music and science melded April 14, as California musician, composer and physicist Brian Holmes was scheduled to deliver an inspiring combination performance-lecture at Minsky Recital Hall in the Class of 1944 Hall. His appearance was arranged through Nancy Ogle, a UMaine music professor and vocalist who has […]

UMaine Today, March/April 2005 Maynard Jordan believed that the sky’s the limit when it comes to education. The native of Little Cranberry Island started his collegiate teaching career at the University of Maine, his alma mater, in 1917. It lasted nearly four decades. Jordan taught mathematics, which was his area of study, and astronomy, which […]

UMaine Today It’s no secret that water is critical to the way cells function, but a UMaine research team has now added a new view on water in proteins, the workhorses of cellular processes. Interactions with water molecules affect protein stability and function, but how and where those interactions occur is just now beginning to […]

On Saturday, February 26, over 50 of Maine’s top engineering firms, engineering schools, government agencies, and industries set up exhibits throughout the Fieldhouse and shared their ideas and knowledge of engineering and technology. In addition to the demonstrations and exhibits, there were activity tables set up by engineers and educators for kids, parents, and the […]

UMaine Today – January/February 2005 A new $16 million Engineering and Science Research Building on campus is now the home of the University of Maine Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology. A highlight of the facility is a 3,500-square-foot clean room for research and development in the […]

UMaine News Release – January 2005 Writing in the Jan. 26 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, R. Dean Astumian of the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy proposes a model for a molecular motor that can generate controlled force. To read a copy of the article, click here (PDF format). He […]

Michael C. Wittmann led a workshop on using Activity-Based Tutorials (introductory and modern physics) at the 130th meeting of the American Association of Physics, Albuquerque, NM, January 8-12. Wittmann also hosted a session on physics education research that has been carried out on the topic of Einstein’s “annus mirabilis” in 1905.

And in other Physics Department news: Jace Cohen, a senior Physics major, was the Department’s selection to present his research at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Research Conference, April 26, 2003. Jeffrey Morgan, a Ph.D. candidate in Physics, working with Assistant Professor Michael Wittmann, was chosen to receive the American Association of Physics […]

Received over $6.5 million dollars in externally funded research grants in FY2000-2003. Professor C. Thomas Hess – winner of the 1999 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award. Professor Neil Comins – coauthor of the world’s leading introductory astronomy textbook. Professor William Unertl – winner of the 1993 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award. Professor R. […]

HIGH-ACHIEVING STUDENTS: Valedictorian 1992; Salutatorian 1994; Tri-Valedictorian 1997; Valedictorian 2001. Goldwater Scholar 1997-2000. Over 60 undergraduate majors, more than twice the average for a university our size. 100% of Engineering Physics graduates since 1993 have passed the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) Exam, the first step toward becoming a licensed professional engineer. Twenty current students qualified […]