Welcome to the


Pacific Northwest Association for College Physics


(PNACP) web site for the Spring 2005 Meeting

Physics Demonstrations -- The Good and The Bad

University of Portland

April 15 & 16, 2005




Program (for a PDF version, click here)
   For Abstracts, click here.

Click on a title link for the Presentation
in either PowerPoint or PDF format


Friday, April 15, 2005
Chiles Center Hall of Fame Room

 
Time
Title
Speaker/Contact Info
8:00
Welcome
Shannon Mayer, University of Portland
8:10
Interfacing the Lego RCX to the Outside World
John Larkin, Whitworth College
8:30 Do  you see?  Improving Visibility in Physics Demonstrations
Brett Carroll, Green River Community College
8:50
The Do's and Don'ts of Demos
Dean Hudek, Brown University
9:50
Treasurer's Report
Sharon Rosell, Central Washington University
10:05
Break

10:25
Favorite Demonstrations after 25 years of Using Computers in Physics Teaching
David Vernier, Vernier Software and Technology
11:25
Angular Momentum, Torque, and the Balancing Bird
Jeffrey Bierman, Gonzaga University
11:45
The Kelvin Generator
Donald Schnitzler, Linfield College
12:05
Lunch Break
Board of Directors Meeting
2:00
The 1-D Step in 2-D -- Where Quantum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics, and Classical Optics Agree
Brian Houser, Eastern Washington University
2:20
A Geophysicist's View of Mt. St. Helens and the Asian Tsunami
Robert Butler, University of Portland
3:20
Break

3:40
Controlling Chaos in a Simple Electronic Circuit Richard Wiener, Pacific University
4:00
Einstein: The Sage of Princeton versus the Scientist as a Young Man
Michael Janssen, University of Minnesota



Banquet

University Commons, Terrace Room, 6:00 pm

Einstein's Miracle Year, 1905: A Centennial

Barry Parker, Idaho State University



Saturday, April 16, 2005
Chiles Center Hall of Fame Room

Time
Title Speaker/Contact Info
8:10
Knowledge and Attitudes of Introductory Science Students
Jim Hamm, Big Bend Community College
8:30
Three and a Half Things to do with Microscope Slides
Robert Ruotsalainen, Eastern Washington University
8:50 Important Guidelines for the Demonstrative Physicist
Wolfgang Rueckner, Harvard University
9:50
Tops, Rattlebacks, and Tippe Tops
Eric Kincanon, Gonzaga University
10:10
Break

10:30
James Gerhart Lecture:  Coordinating the Universe
Stanley Micklavzina, University of Oregon
11:30
Psi meets Y:  Methods from the "particle-in-a-box" problem applied in forensic genetics Dennis Garvey, Gonzaga University
11:50
Demonstrating Chaos with Sprott Circuits
Michael Braunstein, Central Washington University
12:10
Galileo and His Time: An Inquiry-Based Course for Non-science Majors
Lois Kieffaber, Whitworth College
12:30
Stellar Photometry, Spectroscopy, and Astrophotography in the Introductory Astronomy Course  Tom Olson and Steven Tufte, Lewis and Clark College
12:50
PNACP elections
Steve Hoffmaster, Gonzaga University






Lodging
Conference Motel
Oxford Suites Jantzen Beach/Portland
12226 N Jantzen Drive
Portland, OR 97217
1-800-548-7848

Room rate $75 (until March 15, mention PNACP)
Includes free hot breakfast and evening reception

Map to the Motel --> click here.

Campus Map

For a PDF campus map, click here.


PARKING

We have been cleared to park in the Main parking lot.
The parking vultures will not be circling on these days
(or so the Germans would have us think).


SPS
The Zone 17 SPS meeting will be held on Saturday, April 16, at 1:00.
The meeting will be held in Science Hall room 201.





Please contact me if you have any comments/concerns about the meeting.

Steve Hoffmaster
Executive Officer, PNACP
(509) 323-6755








AJG 4/18/05