DATES: 10:30-11:30 a.m., Feb. 6, 13, 20; March 13, 20, 27; April 10, 17, 2009.

EVENT: Winter 2010 Saturday Morning Physics.

Speakers will tackle a wide range of thought-provoking topics including climate change, energy technology and string theory. The celebration of the museum theme semester continues, with talks about mammoths and evolutionary biology.

A University of Michigan tradition since 1995, this lecture series lets scientists discuss their work in easy-to-understand, non-technical terms.

The schedule includes:

Feb. 6
Laura MacLatchy, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology

The Oldest Hominoids: Locomotor & Dietary Variation in Our Ape Ancestors

Hominoids, the group of primates that include humans and apes, first appear in the fossil record just prior to 20 million years ago. New fossils and analytical techniques have revealed that the oldest hominoids were more diverse than previously recognized, with both dietary and locomotor variability. This leads us to rethink the early stages of ape and human evolution.

Feb. 13
Perry Samson, associate chair and professor in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, & Space Sciences

Hurricanes and Tornados and Floods! Oh, My! What’s Climate Got to Do With This?

It seems like every recent extreme weather event (and a growing list of non-weather events) has been attributed to “climate change”. This talk presents video and data from recent University of Michigan storm chasing expeditions to illustrate the dynamics of severe storms. Samson will overview what is known and not known about the state of the atmosphere with specific focus on if and how a warmer climate might produce changes in the frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events.

Feb. 20
Vanessa Sih, assistant professor in the Department of Physics

Light and Semiconductor Devices

Today’s computers, solar cells, and digital cameras would not exist without semiconductor technology. Sih will examine the important role that light plays in making and better understanding these devices and in developing future technologies, such as spintronics. She will also explore the increasing role of semiconductors as light sources and detectors, and in new optical devices that could enable faster communications and data transfer.

March 13
Leo Pando Zayas, associate professor in the Department of Physics

Black Holes and Chaos in String Theory
String theory is the only consistent theory of quantum gravity and has already explained important microscopic aspects of some black holes. In this talk, Pando Zayas will consider the motion of some strings around black holes and show that in some cases this motion is chaotic. Additionally, he will argue that this chaos might provide a window into interesting processes in black holes physics such as the information loss paradox.

March 20
Stephen Forrest, professor in the Department of Physics and vice president for research at U-M

Plastics?Can They Be Used to Save the Planet?
Plastics are supposed to be a major source of pollution. But many plastics are electronic materials as well. In this lecture, we will explore the possibility that plastic electronics can be used to make very efficient white light, and even harvest energy from the sun, perhaps giving us hope that these materials can lead us to a cleaner and less expensive energy future.

March 27
Daniel Fisher, Claude W Hibbard Collegiate Professor of Paleontology

The Inside Story on Lyuba, a Baby Woolly Mammoth from Siberia
In May 2007, nomadic Nenets reindeer herders in northwest Siberia found the frozen body of a woolly mammoth calf. This specimen, subsequently dated to about 42,000 years ago, is better preserved than any previously discovered mammoth. Analyses of her internal anatomy yield new information on the biology of mammoths and validate methods currently in use to study the causes of mammoth extinction.

April 10
Stephen Maldonado, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry

Solar to Chemical Energy Storage: Prospects for Artificial Photosynthesis
Economic, geopolitical, and environmental pressures have revived interest in solar energy technologies. For implementation at globally-relevant scales, systems that only convert light energy to electrical energy are not enough. This talk will highlight current regional, national, and international research efforts for designing systems that produce clean chemical fuels from sunlight.

April 17
Levi Thompson, the Richard E. Balzhiser Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering and professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Beyond Fossil Fuels: Options and Challenges
Securing our nation’s energy supply is arguably the most important challenge we face. Presently, the U.S. depends heavily on foreign energy resources. With growing demands from emerging economies, declining environmental quality and potential for global conflict, there is a pressing need to develop a more sustainable energy strategy. This presentation will review options for a sustainable energy economy including the use of hydrogen and fuel cells, and describe some of the key challenges.

PLACE: Rooms 170 and 182, Dennison Building, 500 Church St., on the University of Michigan’s Central Campus in Ann Arbor. A map is available at: http://uuis.umich.edu/cic/map/central/index.cfm?region=D5.
Refreshments are served before the lectures. Question-and-answer sessions follow. Parking is available at the Church Street structure for $2 per vehicle.

SPONSORS: U-M Department of Physics, the M. Lois Tiffany Endowment, the Hideko Tomozawa Endowment, and gifts from friends of the program.

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