Astrophysics REU 2009

U of Wisconsin-Madison

Schedule

Week 1

Tue, May 26 Travel to Madison

Tue, May 26 5:00 – 8:00 pm The Regent

All program pizza dinner at the Regent (Informal group meeting at 7:45)

Wed, May 27 10:30 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 4274A

Astrophysics REU program orientation. Bagels, coffee, and juice! Brief tour

of Astronomy and Physics Departments.

Wed, May 27 Noon – 1:00 pm UW-Memorial Union Terrace

Lunch at UW-Memorial Union Terrace.

Wed, May 27 1:00 – 2:00 pm

ID cards and buss pass distribution: UW-Memorial Union

Wed, May 27 2:00 – 4:00 pm Meet with Advisors

Wed, May 27 5:30 – 7:00 pm All-Programs Welcome Dinner

Great Hall, Memorial Union, Lasagna Dinner!

(followed by a tour of the University)

Fri, May 29 12:30 – 1:30 pm Chamberlin Hall 5280

Department of Astronomy Welcome Pizza Party!

Fri, May 29 1:30 – 3:30 pm Chamberlin Hall 5280

Introduction to Universe in the Park: with Ella Braden and Jim Lattis

See: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/uitp/

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.dcfm.org/)

Week 2

*Mon, June 1 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Dr. Matt Haffner, Department of Astronomy, Title: “The WIM with WHAM”

Mon, June 1-- Fri June 5 [The Monster’s Fiery Breath]

Feedback in galaxies, groups, and clusters

Location: Fluno Center

(http://www.astro.wisc.edu/feedback/Welcome.html)

Wed, 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

Mon, June 8 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Dan McCammon, Department of Physics, “The Hot ISM”

Mon, June 8 1:30 – 2:30 pm Chamberlin Hall TBA

Web Page Design with Prof. Bob Benjamin

Wed, June 10 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

6-week general GRE test prep. (Session #1) Will include instruction for each test section: quantitative, reading/verbal, writing.

Thu, June 11 10:30 am [Target Run]

Meet at the Charter Street entrance to Chamberlin Hall

Fri, June 12 1:30 pm [Training for the Rooftop Telescope]

Meet near the Astronomy Library 6^th floor Sterling Hall

Week 4

Mon, June 15 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Ed Churchwell Department of Astronomy, “Revealing the Unseen Milky Way”

Wed, June 17 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #2).

Fri, June 19 Noon – 3:00 pm Meet in front of Chamberlin Hall

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. (http://www.src.wisc.edu/)

Sat, June 20 [Planet Trek Fest.]

Location: Monona Terrace

(http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/fest.html)

Sat, June 20 [Universe in the Park.]

Location: New Glarus Woods (short trip)

(http://www.astro.wisc.edu/uitp/)

Week 5

Mon, June 22 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Dr. Susan Nossal, Department of Physics, “Climate Change and the Upper Atmosphere”

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

Wed, June 24 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 24 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #3).

Fri, June 26 10:00 am – Noon Graduate School Fair

Great Hall, Memorial Union

Fri, June 26 Noon – 1:30 All Program “Picnic”

Memorial Union in the Wisconsin Room.

Sat, June 27 [Universe in the Park.]

Location: Governor Dodge (short trip)

Sat, June 27 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 29 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Ellen Zweibel, Department of Astronomy, “The Magnetic Universe”

Mon, June 29 1:30 – 3:30 pm Chamberlin Hall 5280

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)

Wed, July 1 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #4).

Week 7

Mon, July 6 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Dr. Ayesha Sinha, Department of Astronomy, “Dwarf Galaxies as Cosmological Probes”

Tue, July 7 5:30 pm Meet at The Regent tentative date

Field trip: Yerkes Observatory. One of the last and greatest refractors in the world, this telescope was builtin 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 8 Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

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.

Wed, July 8 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #5).

Thu, July 9 7:00 pm Chamberlin Hall

Scientific Ethics Movie Night: “Contact” room TBA

Fri, July 10 Noon – 1:30 pm Sterling 4534A

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

Sat, July 11 [Universe in the Park.]

Location: Wildcat Mountain

Sat – Sun July 11-12 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

Mon, July 13 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

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

Wed, July 15 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #6).

Wed, July 15 6:30 am Meet at The Regent (Yes, I did say 6:30 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/

Fri – Sun July 17 – 19 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 20 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

Astronomy Seminar series: Prof. Cary Forest, Department of Physics, “Where do the magnetic fields found on planets and stars come from?”

Tue, July 21 1:30 – 2:30 pm Chamberlin Hall 5280

How to Put Together Your Final Presentation

Wed, July 22 6:00 – 8:00 pm [General GRE Test Prep.]

Location: The Chemistry Building, 1101 University Avenue, Room B371

(Session #7).

Fri, July 24 Noon Chamberlin Hall “Brown Bag Lunch” tentative date

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

Fri -- Sat, July 24 --25 [Universe in the Park.]

Location: Interstate/Willow River

Week 10

Mon, July 27 10:45 – Noon Chamberlin Hall 5280

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

Wed, July 29 10:30 – Noon Sterling 6515

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

Thu, July 30 10:30 – Noon Sterling 6515

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

Thu, July 30 4:00 – 6:00 pm All-Program closing ceremony

Lowell Hall

Fri, July 31 Noon Sterling

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

Sat, Aug 1 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).