Colloquium Series

Department colloquia usually meet on Fridays at 12:45 PM (unless otherwise noted) in the Cunniff lecture hall (Science Center 199). These research talks are aimed at a broad audience of undergraduate physics, astrophysics, and astronomy majors. Visitors are welcome.

A casual lunch (such as pizza) is served at 12:25 PM in the lobby outside room 199.

Cunniff Hall, also known as Science Center (SC) room 199, is not in the Physics Department but rather is on the other side of the Science Center, near the Chemistry Department office, and almost directly under the observatory dome (making it easy to locate from outside the Science Center). In fact, to find your way to Cunniff Hall, you can follow these directions to the observatory and at the last step, you'll find the room directly opposite the elevator, on the first floor.

Spring 2026 Colloquium Schedule

Unraveling the Physics of Knotted Materials

Elizabeth Dresselhaus (UC Berkeley)
Friday, February 6, at 12:45

Knotted materials are ubiquitous in our everyday lives, especially in February in the Northeast. Yes, I am talking about your sweater! But that is just the beginning. Mathematics, mechanics and more collide in the study of knotted materials with physics. In this talk, I will share the interwoven history of physics and knot theory and then survey the emerging field at their intersection, which encompasses possibilities ranging from “smart clothing” that could transform the lives of people living with disabilities to a cosmological theory of the matter-antimatter asymmetry. Then I will focus on the mechanical behavior of knitted fabrics, a material whose presence in our everyday lives comes from millennia of artisanal knowledge and collaboration. I will share our recent work demonstrating that knitted fabrics remember how they have been stretched, specifically that they exhibit return-point memory, a phenomenon originally discovered in ferromagnets. I will also describe a phenomenological model we developed for this phenomenon, inspired by plasticity theory from mechanics, and a theory for the origin of memory in these materials. Bring your favorite sweater and get excited to learn new ways it relates to your courses and research.

Rethinking Ethics in Physics

Scott Franklin (Rochester Institute of Technology)
Friday, February 20, at 12:45

Ethics in physics and science are often conceptualized either in the negative --- “don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, and don’t treat people badly” --- or as large, macro-ethical, dilemmas (e.g. environmental or societal impact. In this talk I present an alternative in the form of a new, research-based physics course that centers on micro-ethics, the ethics of daily living that exemplifies and develops who we are and who we want to be. Course activities (which can be adopted for modular use in more standard disciplinary courses) use mindful noticing and critical reflection to help students articulate their interests, values, and short- and long-term goals as both physicists and people. Manifesting consistency and coherence between interests, values and goals is a definition of ethical practice that traces back to Aristotle as that most likely to result in flourishing. For STEM students, these can be practiced in smaller decisions, for example attending class (showing responsibility), asking questions despite a fear of judgment (demonstrating courage), and navigating one’s academic path towards a career (purposefulness). The class thus encourages students to think about their daily choices as opportunities to practice, develop and actively maintain an ethical equilibrium that is necessary as they confront an ever-changing, complex world. In addition to presenting course materials, activities, and philosophy, I’ll present the results of two smaller studies that have supported its development. Students and faculty were interviewed to elicit their conception of ethics in scientific research and academic practice, revealing that most saw ethics as exclusively macro, something to draw upon when dilemmas arose. In the second study, focus groups and interviews were conducted with physics majors to identify traits and topics of such a course that they would find most appealing. It has also been hypothesized that training in micro-ethics complements and strengthens the ability to deal with macro-ethical issues, and I’ll conclude with our plans for future research and evaluation to test this hypothesis. 

Sarah Burke-Spoalar (West Virginia University)

Sarah Burke-Spoalar (West Virginia University)
Friday, March 20, at 12:45

Title and Abstract TBA

Lamiya Mowla (Wellesley College)

Lamiya Mowla (Wellesley College)
Friday, April 3, at 12:45

Title and Abstract TBA