Fw: Chautauqua College Faculty Short Courses - Ten Have Now Made Quorun - Selected Courses Here - Apply Now

[Tom Crowley]

All, here is an update on the Chautauqua courses.  If interested please contact George Miner directly.

 

slainte,

 

Tom Crowley

 

From: George Miner

Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2016 7:49 PM

To: George K Miner

Subject: Chautauqua College Faculty Short Courses - Ten Have Now Made Quorun - Selected Courses Here - Apply Now

 

Dear Colleague:

 

Ten of the 2016 Chautauqua Short Courses have already reached quorum and will definitely run as scheduled.  The other four, scheduled in July or later, are still working on quorum with our optimism.  Quorum is the minimum number of participants for a course to be viable.  We recommend application before April 5 for all.

 

We invite you to consider the following selected courses:

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DAY-26  Essential Nanotechnology, May 23-25, 2016 in Dayton OH - reached quorum

 

The impact of nanotechnology can be seen in all aspects of our lives, most notably in the miniaturization of modern electronics. Its applications include: aerospace materials, medicine, energy, environment, food industry, and personal care.  This course provides an introduction to the topic and will cover three aspects of nanotechnology: materials, fabrication and characterization.  These are the essential elements of nanotechnology upon which the field is based. The participants will have a blend of lectures, in-class exercises, hands-on demonstrations and virtual lab visits to reinforce the subject matter. Basic concepts in electrodynamics and quantum mechanics will be integrated into the course to provide a foundation for understanding specific nanotechnology devices. The course directors will draw on their experience teaching undergraduate nanotechnology courses to provide knowledge and materials to faculty to enable them to develop suitable material for undergraduate courses or course modules.   Presentations will assume basic science, and will not assume specific topic information.

 

Alternate course at the same time:

DAY-24  Concepts for Teaching Introductory Meteorology, May 23-25, 2016 in Dayton OH - reached quorum - max 18

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DAY-27  Radio Astronomy Update 2016: Pulsars and Gravitational Radiation, Dark Matter and Galaxy Evolution, June 6-8, 2016 in Green Bank WV - reached quorum

 

The recent very significant headline read:

"Gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes about 1.3 billion years ago have been detected by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, confirming a prediction Albert Einstein made a century ago in his general theory of relativity."

 

The local Chautauqua headline for the Astronomy Update 2016 course reads:

Dr. Ryan Lynch, National Radio Astronomy Observatory NANOgrav scientist, will give a presentation on "using pulsars to detect gravity waves, and the LIGO discovery" at the Chautauqua Astronomy Update course (DAY-27) at Green Bank WV June 6-8, 2016

 

This course takes place at the home of the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), the world's largest fully steerable single dish radio telescope.  This introductory course includes the basics of radio astronomy, descriptions of the GBT, and discussions of the research work done on the scope.  In this course we offer an update on some of the "hot topics" in astronomy: pulsars, gravitational radiation, dark matter and galaxy evolution.  Participants experience the culture of a national laboratory with no fence or gate, in a community of 400, where people do first class work on a world class scope in relative isolation (the closest regular food store is 65 minutes away).  Participants are given guidance on and make measurements on a forty foot radio telescope during the course.  (One need not be an astronomer to participate.)

 

Companion Course:

DAY-28  Astronomy 101 = Stealth Physics: Using Astronomy to Teach Physical Ideas, June 9-11, 2016 in Green Bank WV - reached quorum

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DAY-21  Earthquakes and Tsunamis: Alaska 9.2, June 29 - July 1, 2016 in Anchorage AK - reached quorum - max 18

 

Participants will experience:

  --tours of 1964 earthquake destruction in Anchorage, including stops at the infamous “sensitive clays” that failed, and to the landslides

  --an understanding of Tsunamis and how an earthquake in Alaska killed over 100 people in California 

--explore the sites of maximum subsidence and the “ghost forests” resulting from salt water incursion into the coastal forests, and a tidal marsh exposure that gives evidence of earlier earthquakes

  --a visit to Earthquake Park in Anchorage 

  --a focus on tsunamis including a tour of the Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer AK where tsunami warnings are issued within eight minutes of major earthquakes

  --an optional six hour cruise out of Seward to Resurrection Bay and the Kenai Fjords National Park and out into the Pacific with possible sightings of sea lions, whales, porpoise, and many bird varieties

  --scenic drives along the Turnagain Arm, and a visit to the Seward seaport

  --lunch at the famous "Bake Shop" at the Alyeska Ski Resort; optional evening group dinners at various Anchorage restaurants

 

Companion Courses:

DAY-12  Ecology of South-Central Alaska, June 22-24, 2016 in Anchorage AK - reached quorum - max 18

DAY-8   Glaciers in Alaska, June 26-28, 2016 in Anchorage AK - reached quorum - max 18

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DAY-6   Exploring the Frontiers of 21th-Century Astrophysics with the VLA and VLBA, July 13-15, 2016 in Socorro NM - seeking applicants

 

Participants in this course will:

--tour the site of the VLA (Very Large Array), a group of 27 eighty-two foot telescopes working in concert to provide a radio telescope as large as 22 miles in diameter

--hear descriptions of how these scopes work together, and tour the control room and maintenance facilities

--find out about the recent upgrade to the enhanced VLA which more than doubled its effectiveness

--tour the control room and correlator facility for the VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array), a group of ten scopes ranging from Hawaii to Puerto Rico providing a telescope some 5000 miles in diameter.  The correlator room is where the recordings from the ten scopes are physically brought together and formed into images of the sky

--hear talks on the current research on the world's most published radio telescope (VLA); recent topics have included Black Holes, Dark Matter, Gamma Ray Bursts, Star Formation and New Planets

 

This course is held at the base of operations of the Very Large Array (VLA), on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro NM.  During the course visit to the telescope array site some 60 miles west, participants are usually taken up into one of the scopes for an up-close look at the hardware.  They also examine the rail system that makes possible the moving of the 230 ton dish antennas from one configuration to another.  Tours include the control room and the maintenance facility.

 

An observation from the Course Director about the recently upgraded VLA: "With a new name and vastly-improved observational capabilities, the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) has begun producing scientific discoveries that previously were impossible to achieve. Early scientific results from this impressive research tool have yielded new insights on the processes of star and planet formation, the life cycles of stars, and the evolution of galaxies throughout the age of the Universe. Speakers will bring news from this latest frontier of astrophysics, and outline the research areas where the Jansky VLA is expected to change our understanding of cosmic processes."

 

Companion Course:

DAY-27  Radio Astronomy Update 2016: Pulsars and Gravitational Radiation, Dark Matter and Galaxy Evolution, June 6-8, 2016 in Green Bank WV - reached quorum

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DAY-13  Geology and Ecology of the Colorado Western Slope, July 31 - August 4, 2016 in Grand Junction CO - reached quorum - max 18

 

In this five-day course participants will:

--examine geological features and ecological communities on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rockies

--see an ecological transition zone from the lowland and canyon riparian communities along the Colorado River to the high elevations of the Grand Mesa

--see and contrast a large number of geological formations from a single site at the Colorado National Monument

--explore the geology and ecology of the beautiful Arches National Park with a landscape of contrasting colors, landforms and textures that is unlike any other in the world

--experience Canyonlands National Park which preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries

--this Western Slope course is preceded by one on the Front Range for contrast, based at Mount Evans CO

 

This course is offered at a general level which assumes only a basic science background, and no specific disciplinary training.

 

Companion Course:

DAY-18  Ecology and Geology of the Colorado Front Range, July 26-29, 2016 at Mount Evans CO - reached quorum - max 18

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DAY-29  Contrasting Volcanism at Mount Shasta and the Medicine Lake Volcano, July 31 - August 3, 2016 in Weed CA - seeking applicants - max 18

 

Participant experience in this course includes:

--in classroom sessions learn about the tectonic setting and geologic processes that are shaping the southern Cascades

--gain a solid understanding of plate tectonics

--review how volcanic hazards are being monitored and assessed in the region

--tour a typical High Cascade stratovolcano, Mount Shasta, a 14,000 foot peak with steep ice-clad flanks.  Participants will review its geologic history.

--explore Medicine Lake volcano, one of two large shield volcanoes in the region.  Its surface is dotted with smaller cones and domes that have produced both fluid basalts and pasty rhyolites during the past several thousand years.

--contrast pairs of volcanoes that exhibit landforms and eruptive products unique to each volcano

--this course is followed by another one which explores two additional volcanic sites, all four unique

 

Companion Course:

DAY-30  Contrasting Volcanism at Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Parks, August 4-7, 2016 in Weed CA - seeking applicants - max 18

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Each course has a $100 application fee.  In addition each has a course fee.  For courses numbered 6, 24, 26, 27 and 28, the course fee is $195.  The others which have significant field components have higher course fees based on the needs of participants in the field.  Also, lower cost lodging options are offered at all locations.  Additional details on course content and cost information can be found on our web site at:

 

http://campus.udayton.edu/~physics/gkm/chau/

 

[If your browser settings do not allow clicking to access it, please copy and paste, or retype it.]

 

On the web site there is a simple application form which can be emailed back to me.  The $100 application fee can be sent by regular mail to me at the address below via check made out to "Chautauqua Program."  (The application fee is refunded in full if the quorum is not reached.)

   

Some details:  An individual can participate in more than one course.  High school teachers and retired college faculty, as well as fully participating adult companions, are welcome in courses.  In addition, one may repeat a course taken previously.

 

If you plan to request institutional support, we recommend that you request it now, since as time goes by funds tend to be exhausted.

  

We hope that you will consider these opportunities which are detailed on the web site.  They could provide a real advantage to you and your students.  If you have questions, please email me.  We hope to hear from you!

 

George

 

George K Miner, Ph. D.

Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, and

Director, Chautauqua Field Center

University of Dayton

300 College Park

Dayton, OH 45469-2314 (Need all 9)

Office direct: 859/344-3060 (email is quicker)

Email: mi...@udayton.edu (Alternate: gmi...@udayton.edu)

Fax: 937/229-2180

URL: http://campus.udayton.edu/~physics/gkm/chau/