Astrophysics REU 2008

U of Wisconsin-Madison

Schedule

Week 1

Tue, May 27 Travel to Madison

Tue, May 27 5:00 – 8:00 pm The Regent

All program pizza dinner at the Regent (Come any time. We will have an informal meeting at 7:45)

Wed, May 28 10:00 – Noon Sterling 4534A

Astrophysics REU program orientation. Bagels, coffee, and juice! Brief tour of astronomy and physics departments.

Wed, May 28 Noon – 1:00 pm UW-Memorial Terrace

Lunch at UW-Memorial Terrace.

Wed, May 28 1:00 – 2:00 pm UW-Union South

Walk to Union South to get ID cards

Wed, May 28 2:00 – 4:00 pm Meet with Advisors

Wed, May 28 4:30 -- 5:30 pm Bus Pass Distribution

Great Hall, Memorial Union

Wed, May 28 5:30 – 6:30 pm All-Programs Welcome Dinner

Great Hall, Memorial Union, Pasta Buffet!

(followed by a tour of the University at 6:30)

Thu, May 29 10:30 – 11:30 am Sterling 4534A

Introduction to IDL with Nick Murphy. The basic syntax of IDL, how to

write a simple program, function, or script, how to plot things, and commands that Nick finds useful.

Fri, May 30 1:30 – 2:15 pm Sterling 4534A

Introduction to the Astronomy and Physics Libraries with Kerry Kresse

Sat, May 31 6am-2pm [Farmer’s Market] §

Capitol Square. Held every Saturday morning during the summer, you can get all manner of fresh produce, as well as cheese curds so fresh they make your teeth squeak! (http://www.madfarmmkt.org/)

Week 2

*Mon, June 2 10:45 – Noon Sterling 6515

Astronomy Seminar series: Dr. Edwin Mierkiewicz, Department of Physics, Title: “Exploring Interstellar Temperatures Using a Novel Interference Spectrometer”

Tue, June 3 9:30 - Noon The Space Place

Field Trip: UW Space Place Tour & Special Seminar: Dr. Jim Lattis, Space Astronomy Laboratory, “The History of UW Astronomy” (http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/)

Week 3

(Ed is at Kitt Peak.. Please see Susan Nossal if you need help!)

Mon, June 9 10:45 – Noon Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Eric Wilcots, Department of Astronomy, “Radio Astronomy”

Wed, June 11 5:30 – 7:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: Chemistry, room B371; 5-week general GRE test prep. (Session #1) Will include instruction for each test section: quantitative, reading/verbal, writing.

Week 4

(Ed is at Kitt Peak.. Please see Bob Benjamin if you need help!)

Mon, June 16 10:45 – Noon Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Bob Benjamin, Department of Physics, Univ. of Wisconsin – Whitewater, “All About the Galaxy”

Wed, June 18 5:30 – 7:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: Chemistry, room B371; 5-week general GRE test prep.

(Session #2).

Sat, June 21 6:00 pm [Universe in the Park]

Universe in the Park: New Glarus Woods State Park

See: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/uitp/; sign-up at:

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/uitp/intern/signuitp.pl

Week 5

Mon, June 23 11:30 – 12:30 pm Sterling 4534A

Web Page Design with Prof. Bob Benjamin

Tue, June 24 10:45 am Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Ellen Zweibel, Department of Astronomy, “Magnetic Fields in the Universe”

Wed, June 25 7:00 pm [Concerts on the Square]

Capitol Square: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra starts their weekly series of outdoor classical music concerts. Bring a picnic dinner and a blanket, or buy your dinner there. The series continues weekly through July 30.

(http://www.wcoconcerts.com/new/cos/concertsonthesquare.php)

Wed, June 25 5:30 – 7:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: Chemistry, room B371; 5-week general GRE test prep.

(Session #3).

Thu, June 26 6:30 am Meet at The Regent (Yes, I did say 6:15 am)

Field Trip: Fermilab. Fermilab is one of the top particle physics laboratories in the world, and also has been a major partner in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, one of the most important sky surveys of the last decade. http://www.fnal.gov/

Sat, June 28 7:00 pm [Rhythm and Booms!]

Warner Park. Madison’s premier firework show. Although you can see the fireworks from the UW-Memorial Union, for the full effect you’ll want to bus or bike over to Warner Park. Warning: It can get crowded, and be sure to bring mosquito repellent. (http://www.rhythmandbooms.com/index.php)

Week 6

Mon, June 30 10:45 am Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Edward Churchwell, Department of Astronomy, “ALMA: The Largest, Most Sensitive Millimeterwave Telescope Ever Conceived”

Tue, July 1 8:00 am Meet at The Regent

Field Trip: Synchrotron Radiation Center & Physical Sciences Laboratory. Come see one of the largest synchrotron sources in the country, run by the University of Wisconsin-Madison on behalf of the National Science Foundation. At the Physical Sciences Laboratory, you can see where they are making components of IceCube, a neutrino telescope at the South Pole.

(We will also stop at a local grocery store… stock up on supplies!!)

Wed, July 2 5:30 – 7:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: Chemistry, room B371; 5-week general GRE test prep.

(Session #4).

Fri, July 4 All day

University holiday (Independence Day observed)

Week 7

Mon, July 7 10:45 am Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Dan McCammon, Department of Physics, “Hot Gas in the Galaxy: the Soft X-ray Diffuse Background”

Tue, July 8 5:00 pm Meet at The Regent

Field trip: Yerkes Observatory. One of the last and greatest refractors in the world, this telescope was built in Wisconsin by the University of Chicago. (A book on the history of the telescope is on the bookshelf in REU central.) You can marvel at the telescope design, the architecture, and the fact that the site is still used for scientific research. (http://astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/)

Wed, July 9 5:30 – 7:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: Chemistry, room B371; 5-week general GRE test prep.

(Session #5).

Thu, July 10 3:00 – 4:30 pm Graduate School Fair

Great Hall, Memorial Union

Sat – Sun July 12-13 9:00 am – 6:00 pm [Art Fair on the Square]

The unique and large selection of fine, handcrafted work includes ceramics, fiber, glasswork, graphics, jewelry, leather, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture, and wood. (http://www.mmoca.org/events/artfair/index.php)

Week 8

(Ed is at COSPAR… Please see Susan Nossal if you need help!)

Mon, July 14 10:45 am Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Snezana Stanimirovic, Department of Astronomy, “TBA”

Fri, July 18 11:30 am Sterling 4534A “Brown Bag Lunch”

Dr. Andrea Cox, Medical Imaging, “Applying your skills to other fields”

Fri – Sun July 18 – 20 8:00 am – 6:00pm [Maxwell Street Days]

A Madison tradition since 1975, this annual sidewalk sale and community event showcases downtown's unique State Street shopping district. More than 100 shops, boutiques, galleries and restaurants--many locally owned--offer terrific bargains on clothing, jewelry, gifts, artwork, food, drink and more in a festive, family-friendly event. www.maxwellstreetdays.org

Week 9

Mon, July 21 10:45 am Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Stefan Westerhoff, Department of Physics, “Cosmic Rays and Auger”

PS, You are also encouraged to check out www.physicsgre.com before next Friday’s session on the Physics GRE with Bob!

Thu, July 24 6:00 – 7:00 pm Chamberlin Hall

How to Put Together Your Final Presentation, 2223 Chamberlin Hall

Thu, July 24 7:00 pm Chamberlin Hall

Scientific Ethics Movie Night: “Contact” room 2223 Chamberlin Hall

Fri, July 25 Noon – 1:30 pm Sterling 4534A

Scientific Ethics Discussion, moderated by Prof. John Fields, Department of Philosophy, Edgewood College. There will be Pizza!

Fri, July 25 1:30 – 3:00 pm Sterling 4534A Physics GRE

Practice Physics GRE/ Physics GRE advice. All rising seniors are highly encouraged to attend. Suggestions on how to prepare for this exam will be discussed (Prof. Bob Benjamin)

Week 10

Mon, July 28 10:00 – 11:00 am Sterling 4534A

Grad School panel discussion. We will have a panel discussion of current graduate students and faculty who have served on the graduate admissions committee to discuss when, how, and where to apply for Astronomy and Physics graduate schools.

Mon, July 28 11:00 am – Noon Sterling 4534A

Astronomy Seminar series: Dr. Peter Frinchaboy, Department of Astronomy, “Dark Matter and Tidal Disruption”

Wed, July 30 10:30 – Noon Sterling 6515

Final Presentations, Part 1. Coffee and cookies at 10:15 am

Thu, July 31 10:30 – Noon Sterling 6515

Final Presentations, Part 1I. Coffee and cookies at 10:15 am.

Thu, July 31 4:00 – 6:00 pm All-Program closing ceremony

Lowell Hall

Fri, Aug 1 Noon Sterling

Farewell pizza lunch! Roof of Sterling Hall (Rain location: Sterling 5517)

Sat, Aug 2 All-day The Regent

Depart for airport. Airport transportation arrangements will be e-mailed to everyone.

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§ All locations given in square brackets indicate that the event is not a planned event, but merely suggested. You will need to make your own plans for these events.

* Each Astronomy seminar is preceded by a 15-minute “check-in” period, and followed by lunch with the speaker at noon at the UW-Memorial Union (assuming speaker is available). A pre-talk reading will be handed out in the week previous to the talk (and can be picked up in Sterling 4569).