Fwd: Physics Colloquium on sports physics on Monday!

[Jessica Kleiss]

You might wonder what a physics colloquium on sports physics has to do with ENVS / ESS? A lot! 

How many Big Macs it takes to win thé tournaments de France? This has to do with energy and power, which are at the heart of climate science and earth’s energy budget. 

Kinetics of soccer balls is relevant for planetary motions like spin and even tides. (Drag not so much, because space is approximately a vacuum) 

If you can make it to this talk on Monday, I recommend it!it sounds informative and entertaining. 

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Stephen Tufte <tu...@lclark.edu>
Date: Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Subject: Physics Colloquium on sports physics on Monday!
To: cas-faculty <cas-f...@lclark.edu>

Hello,

I normally don't advertise our Physics Colloquia to the entire faculty list, but this coming Monday's talk is one that might be of interest to a broader audience: 

The Joy of Researching the Sports World by John Eric Goff, Physics Dept. Univ. of Puget Sound. 

Monday, Oct. 20 at 4pm in Olin 204

Here is  Dr. Goff's abstract:

Abstract: Two of my research projects over much of the past 20 years have been modelling the Tour de France and studying the aerodynamics of soccer balls. My colloquium talk will highlight several fascinating aspects of that research, including how many Big Macs one must consume to win the Tour de France and why South Africa's 2010 World Cup ball, Jabulani, was not a good soccer ball. Students interested in careers that combine science and engineering with sport are particularly encouraged to attend.

Dr. Goff has published 2 books and many journal articles on topics within the physics of sports.  

Come if you can, or suggest it to a student that you think might be interested.  

Regards,

Steve Tufte

Department of Physics, Chair

Lewis & Clark College

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