SACS-AAPT Spring 2017 MeetingGeorgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA

April 21st and 22nd, 2017

Meeting ProgramFriday, April 21st – Large Venue Interactive Space (LVIS), Building E, Student Center

5:00pm – Registration 6:00pm – Buffet Dinner 6:30pm – Keynote Speaker, Dr. Robert Hilborn, “Phys21: Preparing Physics Students for 21st-

Century Careers.”

Saturday, April 22nd – B-1500 and B Atrium

7:30am – Breakfast and Registration 8:00am – Presentations 10:00am – Break, Coffee and Snacks 10:30am – Presentations 12:30pm – Lunch and Business Meeting 2:00pm – Workshops 4:00pm – Dismiss

Questions, comments, suggestions: Ted Forringer

eforring@ggc.edu(678) 471-0186

Contributed Talks – Session 1Saturday, April 22nd, 2017. B-1500, GGC

8:00am – 8:12am: Joseph Ametepe, jametepe@ggc.edu

A new electrode-less rf excitation technique for generating excimers in the VUV and UV spectral regions for potential biological/chemical applications. Spectra data of Xe2*, XeI*, and KrI* generated by this new technique are presented. Optical efficiency of the lamp system ranges from 3 to 6% for KrI*, 7 to 13% for XeI* and 15 to 20% for Xe2*. Also, results of irradiating E-coli with XeI* discharge from this lamp system is presented to show one of the promising applications of such electrode-less apparatus. This new rf lamp system offers an interesting addition to the already existing technologies for generating VUV and UV light for various biological, physical, and chemical processes especially those requiring large area for high productivity.

8:12am – 8:24am: Charles Dean, deancl2@email.sc.edu

Filter circuits for ac and pulsed signals: Audio equipment is constantly improving, but many of the baseline methods of amplification, signal processing, and sound generation rely on the same basic design principles. There is a great deal to be learned from simple DIY level audio projects. These are a great tool in understanding the physics behind electronics in general, with a good bit of classical mechanics thrown in. Optimum crossover/filter design (Freq filters, Lpads, notch filters, Zoebel Circuits), that take into account speaker driver differences and types, and box designs are essential in obtaining the best speaker performance.

8:24am – 8:36am: Cynthia Woodbridge, cwoodbridge@ggc.edu

Principles of Physics and Principles of Chemistry are critical introductory courses for STEM students, which must be successfully completed before advancing to many upper level STEM courses. The purposes of this work are to determine effectiveness of cross-training physics and chemistry instructors to provide a more interdisciplinary approach to introductory undergraduate physics and chemistry courses. Currently, one of us (JA) is observing Principles of Chemistry I with the intent of teaching this course in Fall 2017 and another (CMW) is observing Principles of Physics II with similar intent. Lessons learned from this semester and future plans will be discussed.

8:36am – 8:48am: Milind Kunchur, kunchur@sc.edu

Frequency-phase and pulsed measurements: The purpose of this talk is to share my experiences with automated software based complex impedance and frequency-phase-time relationship measurements. The measurements, the information they extract, and the relationship to the underlying physics and technology are of a level suitable for undergraduate and even high-school research. I will discuss the results of one application of these techniques.

8:48am – 9:00am: JB Sharma, jb.sharma@ung.edu

Cloud Computing Tools for Remote Sensing: Cloud Computing tools like the Google Earth Engine are emerging as powerful tools for the analysis of increasing ‘big data’ steams from satellite and aerial based sensors. These remotely sensed physical attributes of Earth surface, atmosphere and oceans are developing databases of land-air-ocean interactions and will allow the emerging generation of scientists

to understand the underlying mechanics of these interactions. 21st century science will increasingly cross disciplinary boundaries and will be predicated upon deep physics literacy. Examples of the types of satellite data being collected and a demonstration of cloud computing based analysis will be presented. Applications of this technology in the physics classroom and K12 outreach will also be discussed.

9:00am – 9:12am: Bob Powell and Ben Jenkins, bpowell@westga.edu

DARKNESS IN THE AFTERNOON: SOLAR ECLIPSE ON AUGUST 21, 2017. A total eclipse of the Sun will occur on August 21, 2017. The path of totality crosses Northeast Georgia near Clayton and South Carolina near Clemson, Columbia, and Charleston. The remainder of both states will experience a partial eclipse of the Sun. This is the first eclipse whose path of totally crosses the two states since the one on March 7, 1970. Plans are being made to observe this eclipse in August at two locations. One site is on campus in Carrollton, Georgia (west Georgia), where about 95% of the solar disk will be covered at mid-eclipse. As part of its public service which has been a major role of the West Georgia Observatory since 1979, telescopes equipped with solar filters and solar shades will be available for students, faculty and staff, and the community to observe the eclipse. Another group of West Georgia faculty and students will travel to the path of totality and transport portable telescopes. Although the northeastern section of the State of Georgia is in the path of totality, the most readily accessible locations for many observers are in South Carolina via I-20 or I-85.

9:12am – 9:24am: Sarah Formica, sarah.formica@ung.edu

The flipped classroom is an environment where instructional content is delivered from instructor to student outside the classroom and activities and problem solving are done during class time. This teaching method was introduced more than 20 years ago and has dramatically evolved in that time. I began to partially flip my classroom 10 years ago with the implementation of Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and Peer Instruction, and my teaching methods and classroom environment, too, have evolved over the years. I will present effective strategies that enhance student engagement and learning both in and out of the classroom. These best practices – reading assignments, interactive pre-lecture videos, Peer Instruction with “clicker” questions, online tutorials – have effectively improved student learning in my calculus-based Principles of Physics I (PHYS 2211) course. In the last 5 years, the average gain on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) for students in my flipped, active-learning classroom was approximately 40%, which is a factor of 2 higher than the national average. This year, after I implemented a social learning platform that enables students to collaboratively read and annotate the textbook, this cohort’s average gain on the FCI was 55%.

9:24am – 9:36am: Zdeslav Hrepic, drz@columbusstate.edu

Physics and Life Success Principles: Is it possible that the Laws of Physics can serve as analogies and metaphors in exploring the time tested principles of life success as established through both empirical practices and spiritual disciplines? And in a way that simultaneously deepens the understanding of physics and improves the students’ general sense of well-being? I will demonstrate preliminary evidence that the answer to those questions is – Yes.

9:36am – 9:48am: Qing Shao, qshao@ggc.edu

Engage IT and Physics Students by Developing Educational Videos with Blended Digital Media: The rapidly increasing use of digital media technologies offers students opportunities to represent science

content in different ways. In this interdisciplinary research project, students from digital media class and introductory physics class are paired to form a team to develop videos for explanation of physics concepts and phenomena. Physics students determine the content of video. IT students implement the content with different digital media forms and integrate them into a video as a whole. After three years implementation of this project at Georgia Gwinnett College, we found that IT students not only become more aware of the importance of digital media technologies in their career but also get more interested in science. Similarly, survey and assessment data also show that physics students not only understand physics concepts better but also become more interested in digital media technologies. By working together, students from both classes enhanced skills in communication, creative thinking, and problem solving.

9:48am – 10:00am: - Edwynn A. Wallace and Malav Shah, edwynn.wallace@mga.edu

ALG Textbook Transformation Grant at Middle Georgia State University: In the spring of 2015, physics faculty members at Middle Georgia State University were awarded a textbook transformation grant from Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG), a University System of Georgia initiative to lower education costs to students. The goal of the grant was to lower textbook costs by adopting a free OpenStax textbook for the Introductory Physics (algebra/trigonometry-based) sequence. As part of the grant, student success was measured using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), and a use/satisfaction survey. This presentation will report the preliminary results of this project.

Contributed Talks – Session 2Saturday, April 22nd, 2017. B-1500, GGC

10:30am – 10:42am: Donald Franklin, donfranklin8@gmail.com

Science 100- Can this replace AP Sciences in high schools. Unlike other AP courses, Science has all fields covered. Students do not get exposed to other Sciences in preparing for their college major. Very few get degrees in the AP Science they took in high school.

10:42am – 10:54am: Katja Biswas, Katja.Biswas@ung.edu

Involving Students in Structural Optimization in Computational Physics: Structural arrangements of atoms or molecules are of particular interest to industry and materials science, as different structures can have different electrical, optical, mechanical and chemical properties. Finding new structures is a computational challenging task and requires good programming skills. I will talk about my experience introducing undergraduate students at the Sophomore and Freshman level to research in this area.

10:54am – 11:06am: Saif Ali and Brian Thoms, sali50@gsu.edu

The Effects of a Redesign on Students’ Attitudes and Evaluations for an Introductory Calculus-Based Physics Lab: This study assesses student reactions to a redesign of an introductory calculus-based physics lab. The original lab consisted of one three-hour verification-style lab session. In the redesign, this three-hour lab was replaced with a one-hour tutorial followed by a two-hour inquiry-based lab. After confirming that the redesign improved the students’ performance in a separate study, this work evaluates students’ opinions of the lab to determine if they were “buying in” to the process of the

redesign. Students from both lab sections were asked a series Likert-scale and free-response questions at the end of the semester. The responses were analyzed to determine exactly what they thought of the tutorial and lab. To do this, a coding rubric was developed and applied to the responses. The results of the coding gave insight as to what aspects of the lab they felt had positively and negatively affected their learning the most. It was determined from the student responses that there was an overwhelmingly negative take on the Tutorial section of the new lab. Interestingly, tutorials were also among the most frequent positive comments. This finding, along with others, was scrutinized further to see if there were any useful trends that allow us to make hypotheses and significant observations.

11:06am – 11:18am: Lior Burko, lburko@ggc.edu

The gamification of Physics with crossword puzzles: We have been using crossword puzzles in the physics with calculus course (both PHYS 2211K and 2212K). We assign weekly cross-word puzzles as an extra credit activity. Student response, as measured by the participation in this extra credit activity, is high.

11:18am – 11:30am: Varsha Kulkarni, kulkarni@sc.edu

Dust reddening, depletion of elements on dust grains, and searches for specific dust signatures: Interstellar dust reddens and dims star light. Observations of distant galaxies are thus necessarily affected by the presence of foreground dust. Dust also plays an important role in the physical and chemical processes of the interstellar medium in galaxies. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the dust in distant galaxies is far from complete, and many observational studies simply assume the dust to be similar to that in the Milky Way or nearly galaxies. I will describe our ongoing studies based on UV, optical and IR observations of galaxies aimed at characterizing the dust in distant galaxies.

11:30am – 11:42am: Kenneth Sales, ksales@ggc.edu

Use of scaffolding for electric and magnetic field direction: Students consistently struggle with correctly drawing the direction for either an electric or magnetic field when solving a problem. The most common error is to start drawing the electric field vector at the source charge and not at the point in space that is of interest. The use of simple worksheets that focus only on determining the direction of the field and not on the magnitude has significantly reduced the errors on assessments.

11:42am – 12:54pm: Mikhail Agrest, MAgrest@Citadel.edu

Understanding the Tools: On the way of exploring the Universe, performing one of its main functions, Homo Sapiens created endless number of tools, both hardware, as well as software. Optimal use of the exponentially growing world of becoming more and more complicated tools develops into a separate goal. Undergraduate Physics lab is a great place and time to educate students about the tools useful in learning about properties of the universe around them. Algorithm of linear regression1) built in into Microsoft Excel, became a Magic Wand helping to present and interpret data in the students’ lab studies and undergraduate research. Although, while reading some students’ Lab reports, it is not easy to avoid the impression that some students have very little idea how the tool they use is actually working. This presentation is to encourage teaching students not only how to use the tools, but how and why the tools work the way they do. To show how new tools are related to the tools already knew.

12:54pm – 12:06pm Tatiana Krivosheev, tatiana_krivosheev@yahoo.com

Using Jupyter Electronic Notebooks in Introductory Physics Laboratories: We present the pros and cons of conversion of the traditional laboratory manuals used in the Introductory Physics courses into an integrated Jupyter notebook: a web-based interactive computational environment to combine code execution, text, mathematics, plots and rich media into a single document. The electronic notebooks are provided to students as a free of charge, electronically shareable file, which amounts to an average savings of $25 per student per semester. The Jupyter environment also generates additional student learning opportunities such as numerical simulations and programming.

12:06pm – 12:18pm Christopher Wozny, cwozny@daltonstate.edu

A revision of eCore Calculus-based Physics I: The eCore course, PHYS 1211k, was revised in Spring 2016. A new text was chosen along with new experiments, homework assignments, discussion questions, and assessments. This talk will present an overview of the curriculum and discuss student performance in the class for Fall 2016 and Spring 2017.

12:18pm – 12:30pm Frank Lock flock@gsu.edu

edTPA and the challenge of preparing well qualified physics teachers for their first year in the classroom: There are 735 Educator Preparation Programs in 38 states and the District of Columbia participating in edTPA.. Georgia is among those 38 states. Currently, at least one provider of teacher preparation- either traditional or alternative- is exploring or trying out edTPA. During my two years as a physTEC Teacher In Residence, I found the edTPA certification program inhibited the preparation of high school physics student teachers. My experience indicates that university teacher education programs requiring students to complete edTPA hamper the preparation of those students for their first year in a classroom. Evidence for this will be presented in this talk.

Student PostersSaturday, April 22nd, 2017. B Atrium, GGC

Nahid Shayesteh Moghaddam, shayestn@email.sc.edu

Depairing current density of NbTiN superconducting films: The strength of a superconductor when it is subject to very harsh conditions is an important part of superconductivity. It is known that above the critical temperature, the superconducting states disappears. The same happens when a high enough magnetic field (the critical field) is applied. However, relatively few studies have been done in which a high applied current kills the superconductivity, which is the phenomenon of current induced pair-breaking. Our work investigates current induced pair-breaking in micro-bridges, and its dependence on different applied magnetic fields and temperatures.

Caitlin kunchur, kunchur@gmail.com

Exposure Response and Dynamic range in CMOS Imaging Systems: The goal of this project was to understand the physics of CMOS imaging and to conduct measurements to evaluate and compare the dynamic range and response of two CMOS cameras. A CMOS imaging system uses changes in electric charge and voltage to record the light energy received per unit area of the sensor (radiant exposure or H). The changes in voltage are converted and stored as binary numbers for each primary color (red, green, and blue) and every pixel. These numbers represent the camera exposure or C. H can be viewed as the “cause” and C as the “effect”. H depends on the subject luminance or L, aperture value or Av, and time value or Tv. The procedure of the experiments was to provide various radiant exposures for a variety of Av and Tv combinations. The C values were measured to study the linearity between C and H, and to determine the dynamic range, which is limited by noise and saturation of the maximum voltage. It is known that staying with low ISO values and short time values gives a higher dynamic range. But this project provides quantitative information for how low these values need to be and provided a quantitative comparison between the two CMOS cameras."

Ebru Oncul, Zeynep Topdemir, and Brian Thoms, eoncul1@student.gsu.edu

Can lecture be as effective as SCALE-UP? Teaching old dogs new tricks: In 2008, GSU started offering algebra-based introductory physics courses adopting the SCALE-UP approach as an alternative to the traditional courses. We examined the effect of SCALE-UP on conceptual learning and compared FCI normalized gains of traditional and SCALE-UP classes. SCALE-UP normalized gains improved rapidly over two years, after a decline second year, the gains increased steadily over next three years. Traditional normalized gains increased slowly over seven years, and became similar as the gains of SCALE-UP in last two years. First, we thought the reasons behind this similarity were the instructors who employed some form of active learning strategies in their traditional classrooms and the existence of possible indirect effects. Next, to further explore the reasons, we have adopted a web-based survey for instructors who teach both classes. This poster reports on the results of our survey of physics faculty regarding their actual classroom practices and the characteristics of their classrooms.

Brian White, Josiah Davis, Michael Swindell, and Edwynn Wallace, bjwhite1981@yahoo.com

Using Image Analysis Software to Measure the Magnetic Moment of Magnetotactic Bacteria: Magnetotactic bacteria are a diverse group of aquatic prokaryotes that use organelles known as

magnetosomes to orient themselves along geomagnetic field lines. The magnetic moment of the individual bacteria can be determined using an external electromagnetic field whose polarity can be reversed. As the polarity is reversed, the magnetotactic bacteria reorient themselves in the new direction of the magnetic field. Images of the magnetotactic bacteria changing direction are captured by a Moticam-5 CMOS digital camera mounted to a Motic BA310 compound microscope. ImageJ software is then used to analyze the images to determine the velocity and the radius of the bacteria along with the diameter of the turn. This information together with the viscosity of water and the strength of the magnetic field is used to calculate the magnetic moment using the Bean model. The magnetic moment is used in the identification and classification of these types of bacteria.

Saro Zobian, Kathryn Manly, Tatiana Krivosheev, tatiana_krivosheev@yahoo.com

Collimator Shift Studies of Stereotactic Breast Cancer Radiotherapy We present a Monte Carlo simulation of the absorbed dose in the GammaPod, a novel device that is used for stereotactic radiotherapy of the breast cancer. The simulation accounts for the total of 36 collimator/Cobalt – 60 radiation source units used in the GammaPod. We randomly shift the positions of these collimator/radiation source units in addition to changing the geometrical shape of the device to study the effects that the small shifts due to mechanical vibrations have on the absorbed dose distribution.

WorkshopsSaturday, April 22nd, 2017. H - Building

PICUP collaboration (H-1211) – Dr. Larry Engelhardt, Francis Marion University

In this workshop, we will make a case for integrating computation into physics courses and will guide participants in discussing and planning how they might integrate computation into their courses. We will also connect participants to a community of local peers to support them as they work towards this end. In support of these objectives, the PICUP partnership's research has produced guidelines for effective computational integration. PICUP has also developed illustrative materials for a variety of physicscourses built upon a variety of computing environments including Excel, Python/VPython, C/C++, Fortran, MATLAB/Octave, Java, and Mathematica. Participants will examine these computational materials, will discuss ways they might adapt them to their own classes, and will learn about opportunities to receive support by collaborating with their local community. Ifpossible, please bring a laptop computer with the platform of your choice installed.

Using Case Studies in Physics Instruction (H -1212) – Dr. Lior Burko, Georgia Gwinnett College

We will review the case studies method, the main types of cases, and what kind of lesson plans can be supported by them, and how they can be used in the physics and astronomy classrooms. We will then brainstorm ideas from the audience on how to create new cases that can be used in our own classes.

Design Projects as a Framework for Instruction (H-1139) – Dr. Paul Camp, Georgia Gwinnett College

My workshop will briefly discuss some of the cognitive principles underlying the use of design projects as a framework for physics instruction, and how I have implemented them. I will show some of the course materials I've developed. Participants will construct one of the design artifacts for the mechanics course and think about how to build a course around it.

An introduction to Monte Carlo Simulations (H-1140) – Dr. Sairam Tangirala, Georgia Gwinnett College

I plan to provide a brief overview of Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulation techniques along with some of their applications. The applications may use pseudo codes like the C language and would be easy to follow even without programming experience. This workshop is appropriate for faculty interested in learning the basics of computational physics research to develop undergraduate research projects or create an undergraduate computational physics course.

ParkingPlease park in the “B Parking Lot” next to B building. You may park in spots marked “staff” or “visitor.”

The B parking lot is located at GPS coordinates: 33.981078, -84.004101

Building E (Friday) is located at GPS coordinates: 33.979480, -84.005657

Building B (Saturday) is located at GPS coordinates: 33.980842, -84.005512

There are two entrances to GGC from Collins Hill Rd. Use the Northern entrance at University Center Lane (not Collins Industrial Way). Once on campus, take an immediate right on Lonnie Harvel Blvd (at the baseball field). Continue on Lonnie Harvel to the first left which will take you to the “B Parking Lot.”

HotelsWhen you call to register, please identify yourself as being from Georgia Gwinnett College to get the special hotel rate.

Country Inn & Suites989 DULUTH HWY (GA HWY 120)LAWRENCEVILLE, GA 30043(770) 339-1991**Key Word: Georgia Gwinnett CollegeRate: $89.00 plus tax – king; $92.00-95.00 double queen if king not available

Hampton Inn1135 Lakes ParkwayLawrenceville, Georgia, 30043(316 & Riverside Parkway)770-338-9600**Key Word: Georgia Gwinnett CollegeRate $94.00 plus tax – king; $92.00-95.00 double queen

Holiday Inn Express520 John B. Wilson CourtLawrenceville, GA 30046770-277-8009**Key Word: Georgia Gwinnett CollegeRate: $109.00 plus tax - king

SHUTTLE INFORMATION – In case you prefer not to drive from the airportSuperior Shuttle Servicehttp://www.atlsuperiorshuttle.com/770-457-4794Rates from the airport to one of the hotels would be $110.00 roundtrip. Theshuttle runs from the airport from 6:30 am till 11:30 pm.