Art McDonald
Queen's University

Join us for a free event with our own Dr. Art McDonald. Starting at 7:00pm, Dr. McDonald will give an exciting talk about how we come to learn about the history of the Universe by going deep underground, and how this history comes to rely on various mysterious things like dark matter and neutrinos.

Dr. Art McDonald is the Gordon and Patricia Gray Chair in Particle Astrophysics, emeritus, at Queen's University. He is also a co-recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Physics for the discovery that neutrinos have mass. 

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George & Maureen Ewan Lecture Series

This talk is part of the George & Maureen Ewan Lecture Series. Dr. Ewan focused on nuclear physics and sub-atomic research, particularly the solar neutrino problem as a co-founder of the Nobel Prize-winning Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) experiment. With his work recognized at the highest level, Dr. Ewan pushed ahead with a goal of influencing the next generation of scientists here at Queen’s, remarking that “it is vital that we scientists make our work accessible to the general public.” His wife, Maureen, agreed, saying “his work is so remote from what most people would find comprehensible.” Effective communication skills are vital to successful research. As he put it, scientists have so much of value to share with the world. “As a rule, scientists don’t inform the educated public, there are people who work on exciting experiments who could give very good talks. My dream is to have them come to Queen’s to give lectures on the state of their experiments and especially about their results, and to do it in a way that people without PhDs can understand.”

This is why Dr. Ewan and his wife decided to donate $100,000 to Queen’s to create the George & Maureen Ewan Lecture Series, which will support seminar and lecture programs designed to increase scientific discourse and culture within the Particle Astrophysics community at Queen’s University.

Dr. Ewan’s gift gives the department access to $10,000 a year until the fund is depleted. A $10,000 annual budget will make it possible for the department to look farther afield for guest lecturers and host them for a longer stay. “The idea is to have the guest lecturers stay for a while and spend some quality time with the students, interacting with them and working with them in the labs,” says Dr. Tony Noble, former SNOLAB director and the current Scientific Director of the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute.

The McDonald Institute and Queen’s University are very excited about the opportunities offered by The Ewans’ generous endowment, and look forward to organizing public lectures that will benefit researchers in the Physics department, and the wider Queen’s and Kingston communities!

John Schreuders
M Eng, P.Eng

Abstract

We will begin by explaining the design, implementation and testing of the Operational Control Software (OCS) used to control the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) currently deployed on the International Space Station. The talk will cover how requirements were developed along with the underlying architecture for the OCS on the SSRMS and beyond with the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM or Dexter). Additionally, the talk will walk the audience through how the OCS was tested and ultimately delivered to NASA for launch with the robotic hardware. From there, the talk will briefly expand on the career of John over the years and lead into lessons learned during that time. Specifically, the talk will examine the importance of capturing requirements and strategies to accomplish this. Then, the talk will focus on the need for testing at all levels, from software with a simulated reality to flight hardware testing. Then, the talk will delve into the crucial need for engineers to hone their communication skills throughout their careers.

This speech aims to give the listener a perspective on the career of a professional engineer whose first significant project was sensational: placing a robotic arm on a space station and making it work. From there, the talk will give the audience a quick walk-through of John’s career and his lessons along the way.

Timbits, coffee, tea will be served in STI A before the colloquium.

Carlos Paz-Soldan
Columbia University

Abstract

Fusion energy has entered a second era of major investment worldwide. Spurred on by advances in technology, science, and computation, a flood of venture capital investment has accelerated the timescale for fusion system prototype deployment. How did we get here? This presentation will explore some of the motivations and progress that led to this moment in the field. I will also spend time discussing the role of academic groups in supporting a private ecosystem of VC-backed startups. Specifically, I will discuss some activities of my research group in supporting these next generation of fusion devices. We perform calculations to inform the design, assembly, and operation of these devices, employing reduced models of plasma physics and electromagnetism.

Timbits, coffee, tea will be served in STI A before the colloquium.

Prof. Tobias Junginger
University of Victoria

Abstract

Did you know that MRI machines in hospitals work without a power source, as the current in the magnet flows without any resistance – or that superconductors enable magnetic levitation trains going as fast as 600 km/h? These are only two examples of superconductivity, a phenomenon that was discovered more than 100 years ago out of pure curiosity. In this colloquium, I will start with a basic introduction to superconductivity before presenting how it is used in particle accelerators for radiofrequency cavities at TRIUMF and worldwide. The behaviour of superconductors under radiofrequency is distinctively different from the DC case, requiring a tailored research and development material science program, which I will present at the end of my talk.

Timbits, coffee, tea will be served in STI A before the colloquium

Prof. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Hampshire

Abstract

Prof. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is giving two talks at Queen’s University on November 9th. Originally from East L.A., Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is a graduate of Harvard College, University of California — Santa Cruz, and the University of Waterloo. She is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of New Hampshire where she is a theorist in particle physics, cosmology, and astrophysics with an emphasis on dark matter. Her physics colloquium: “Cosmic Probes of the Dark Sector” will motivate the 2020’s focus on astrophysics and cosmology for determining what exactly dark matter is comprised of. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein’s talk will focus most especially on questions relating to large-scale structure and axion-like particle models, as well as on asymmetric dark matter in neutron stars as valuable exemplars of interesting work that is underway.

Walter Pettus
Indiana University

Abstract

The ghostly neutrinos remain the only fundamental fermions whose masses are unknown. Neutrino flavor transformation measurements definitively demonstrate neutrinos have mass, breaching the Standard Model of Particle Physics, but cannot determine that mass scale. Searches capable of directly probing the neutrino mass now indicate neutrinos are at least six orders of magnitude lighter than the next fermion.

In this talk, I will review progress in the field of direct neutrino mass experiments. I will focus on advances by Project 8, an experimental concept based on the novel Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) technique. Project 8 has recently published its first measurement of the tritium beta spectral endpoint, enabling the first RF-based direct neutrino mass limit while demonstrating high precision spectroscopy. An R&D campaign is now underway to demonstrate scalability of the CRES technique and to develop the atomic tritium source required. Building on these successes, a next-generation experiment is envisioned with neutrino mass sensitivity down to 40 meV, covering the inverted mass ordering region.

Timbits, coffee, tea will be served in STI A before the colloquium.