Talking with Light: Simple Fiber Optics
Thomas O'Neill, Shenandoah Valley Governor's School, o'neill@csvrgs.k12.va.us
This project develops some simple devices for demonstrating the transmission of signals through optical fiber (in this case PMMA). The receiver and transmitter are built on prototype-boards using an LED as the transmitter and an optical transistor with a simple amplifier as the receiver. The circuit diagrams and parts list will be available as handouts and on the SVGS website.

A FUN General Eduction Physics Course: Physics of Sports
J. Eric Goff, Lynchburg College, goff@lynchburg.edu
Physics departments are often challenged to offer general education courses which hold the interest of their students over an entire semester. The purpose of this talk is to report on the successes I had when I taught Physics of Sports at Oberlin College during the Fall 2000 and Fall 2001 semesters. In addition to having enrollment quadruple from the first offering to the second, my course was the subject of two newspaper articles. Successes in the course ranged from nice student involvement, improved analytical skill in the students, and independent student work in the form of course projects. The talk will focus on these successes as well as course content, student assessment, and project ideas that extend beyond the course all the way to the senior physics thesis level.

Application of amateur radio to teaching physics
Rob Edmunds, Radford High School, redmunds@mail.rcps.k12.va.us

Hans Bethe and American Physics
William H. Ingham, James Madison University, inghamwh@jmu.edu
Hans A. Bethe was part of what has been called the "intellectual migration," leaving his native Germany to come to the United States as a young man. Over the decades since his arrival, Bethe has had a profound effect on physics and the American physics community. This presentation recounts some of the achievements of his extraordinarily long and productive career.

Yes, you can do particle physics experiments in the classroom
Ken Cecire, Hampton University/Quarknet, ken.cecire@hamptonu.edu
Can your students learn some particle physics without memorizing particle names or you hand-waving through theoretical concepts? They can, if we can overcome the perception that particle physics experimentation is way beyond the expertise or budget available to a high school physics teacher. Our experience in QuarkNet, a program funded by DOE and NSF to bring particle physics into the classroom, indicates that particle physics can indeed be introduced through meaningful activities. Come and learn ways that students can do lab work in which they make measurements of elementary particles and/or learn the techniques of particle physics.

Growing up with Science and Technology in the 21^st Century
Adam Niculescu, Virginia Commonwealth University, vanicule@cedar.vcu.edu
The issue of the relevancy of what we teach and what the students should know in the 21st Century where science and technology has permeated every aspect of our life is not a local but a global concern. We are at the point of discovering that the traditional approach of teaching and learning will not be sufficient to prepare students for life and career choices. New skills will be necessary for more than one reason. The issues involved and other features will be the theme of an international conference on Science and Technology Education to be held in Williamsburg, VA on May 30 - June 3 2003. The talk will detail some of the highlights envisioned for the conference.

NASA EOS Aqua: Eyes on the Hydrologic Cycle
Katherine Bender and Steve Dacey, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, kbender@pop400.gsfc.nasa.gov, sdacey@pop400.gsfc.nasa.gov
On May 4th, 2002, NASA's Earth Observing System launched the second of its science observatories, Aqua. Aqua's six instruments will provide a wealth of data on many aspects of Earth's water cycle. Katherine Bender and Stephen Dacey from the Special Project Initiatives Office at Goddard Space Flight Center will give an update on the satellite, and share the materials they have developed to enhance science curricula through the topic of satellites and the data they provide about Earth. Piloting a new graphical user interface designed in-house to provide easy access to NASA products, they will demonstrate how easily you, the teacher, can energize your lessons with current scientific resources from NASA.

Global warming science in a concepts course
Frank Munley, Roanoke College, munley@roanoke.edu
Global warming is a great topic to teach at the conceptual level. Radiation balance, "friendly" greenhouse gases, isotopic dating, Earth oribt parameters, feedback effects, global warming fingerprints, and computer modeling are just some of the physics-related concepts relevant to global warming. I will discuss my experience teaching this issue.

The Lorentz Angle and the Hubble Constant--Is the Hubble Constant Constant?
Lewis F. McIntyre; GRD, Inc. , McIntyreL@GRD.COM
This paper presents a derivation of the Hubble Constant using the Lorentz Velocity Angle, developed in previous presentations by the author.  This paper shows that the Hubble 'Constant' thus derived should in fact vary as a function of distance H=1/(cT-x), where T equals the age of the universe, and that T should be twice the maximum observable distance in the Universe.  The geometry developed demonstrates an intuitive approach to the expanding universe, assuming only collocation at T=0.

Introducing Renewable Energy - Photovoltaics, into Applied Physics Courses and the Advanced Physics Laboratory
Gerald R. Taylor, Jr., James Madison University , taylorgr@jmu.edu

A unit on photovoltaics has been integrated into an undergraduate calculus-based thermal physics course for integrated science and technology students and into the advanced physics laboratory as an applied physics experiment for majors. The unit introduces solar energy and energy production using photovoltaic cells, their current-voltage characteristic, their efficiency, and quantum efficiency. In the advanced physics laboratory students are given the opportunity to undertake a semi-opened experiment to electrically characterize photovoltaic panels, their electronic characteristics, and their efficiency as a function of incident photon wavelengths. A review of the photovoltaic unit, the experiment, and my experience teaching these courses will be presented.

Analytic Solutions, Wien's Displacement Law, and Lambert's W Function
Walter S. Jaronski, Radford University, wjaronsk@radford.edu

There will be a number of intertwined themes in this talk: (a) the meaning and usefulness of analytic solutions vis-à-vis numerical or algorithmic solutions; (b) using upper-level physics to teach uncommon mathematics; (c) an expression for Wien's displacement law constant derived using Lagrange's inversion theorem; and (d) "analytic" is in the eye of the beholder - the W function. The larger question which will be raised is: "In this age of the ubiquitous computer and the ever more sophisticated symbolic math program, what importance should we place on training our students in classical analytic methods?"

A Decade of Workshop Physics
James A. Warden, Emory and Henry College, jawarden@ehc.edu

Our physics department of two adopted the curricular materials of Dr. Priscilla Laws for our two-semester General Physics course ten years ago. Dr. Duffy and I believe that the workshop approach serves both majors and non-majors well. However, we have found that both the approach and the pedagogy have needed to evolve to solve a number of problems with apparatus, departmental constraints, and student attitudes. This paper will share our experiences and invite your comments.

Finding New Uses for Physics Hardware with MBL Tools
Tyrone Jackson and Arthur Reynolds (Mentor: James Toy), BEST Lab/Physics, Norfolk State University, sold_out@hotmail.com, precise_24@yahoo.com (jltoy@nsu.edu)

The interfaces, probes, and software of any microcomputer based laboratory system provide generalized tools ideal for inquiry-based learning. At Norfolk State University, as we move toward a fully research-based guided inquiry laboratory curriculum, we are seeking ways of integrating elaborate (and expensive!) experimental systems with a consistent MBL approach. Efforts to do this with several different Pasco systems for studying rotational dynamics and oscillations in combination with Team Labs Thinkstation MBL will be discussed.

Search For Extragalactic HII Regions and Supernovae Remnants
Jedidah C. Isler, BEST Lab/Physics, Norfolk State University; Guy Mentor, South Carolina State University; Patrick Michel, City College of New York; Mentor: Donald K. Walter, South Carolina State University; jedidahisler@hotmail.com

HII regions and supernovae remnants (SNR) have been identified in the NGC 6946 galaxy. Optical spectra were analyzed to determine whether features in the NGC 6946 galaxy were SNR or HII regions. The energy source for the ISM is UV or X-ray photons from a hot star (O, B, white dwarf, neutron star) causing ionization that leads to recombination and/or excitation. Supernovae explosions also include a shock wave front that further compresses the ISM atoms in the gas, and thereby increases the density and the number of collisional excitations and deexcitations per unit time. The light from these processes is captured by the telescope then it falls through a spectrograph and is broken down into its component wavelengths. Since the light is not obstructed in any way, it also contains spatial information. The spectral and spatial information from this galaxy was recorded onto CCD images, where it was analyzed line by line, and then visually inspected for signs of emission. Once an object of interest was identified, the composite rows were further analyzed using the splo t IRAF application. A total of twenty-four emission spectra from objects of interest were analyzed; twenty-one HII regions were identified; and three SNRs were confirmed. Future work will include additional object spectra analysis, result tabulation, and wavelength and flux calibrations. The analyzed and calibrated data will then be compared with radio data from the objects for further study. *This work was funded by NASA Grant # NCC-5-534

Novel X-Ray Zone Plate Design Evaluation Using Visible Light Model
Ayisha Fullerton, BEST Lab/Physics, Norfolk State University; (Mentor: Alexander Liddle, Center for X-Ray Optics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) ayishafullerton@hotmail.com

Zone plates have been essential to the advancement of X-Ray microscopy. Since refractive lenses utilized in optical microscopes are not applicable to X-Rays, zone plates are used. The purpose of this investigation includes designing and constructing a visible light analogue of the X-Ray microscope at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for testing, educational purposes, and enabling the exploration of novel zone plate concepts such as photon sieve. Currently, the XM-1 at LBNL can resolve features as small as 25nm. However, novel zone plate designs that relax the fabrication requirements are predicted to resolve features half that size. The resolution of the X-Ray microscope is dependent on the wavelength of light (?) and the numerical aperture (NA) by the equation: ?/NA. In conventional zone plates the numerical aperture is dependent on the width of the outermost zone, which is limited by the fabrication process. Decoupling the dependency of the numerical aperture to the width of the outermost zone would eliminate the resolution dependence on the fabrication and potentially allow for better resolutions. Decoupling this dependency using novel zone plate designs is therefore an important goal of this work. Results for different designs have been obtained and will be presented. The most effective designs could be implemented to improve the resolution of the X-Ray microscope at LBNL.

Master of Arts in Physics Education (MAPE) Program
R. A. Lindgren and S. T. Thornton, University of Virginia, ral5q@virginia.edu, stt@virginia.edu

Seventeen teachers have completed the Master of Arts in Physics Education degree at the University of Virginia since the program began in 1999, and over 20 teachers are currently enrolled. The program is directed towards in-service high school teachers who do not have an undergraduate degree in physics, but desire to teach physics. The core courses are calculus based with labs including considerable conceptual inquiry and problem solving. These courses are taught in two summers, each lasting four weeks. The best teachers serve as assistants in class and as tutors-in-residence in the dorms. The remaining classes are earned through distance learning during the academic year and are accomplished via videotapes and the Internet using proctors and home based delivery systems such as physlets, WebAssign, email, chat rooms, and streamline video. Teachers obtain the 30 hours needed for the Masters degree within 2 1/2 years while maintaining their current teaching position.

Physics principles in one demo
Ahmad Halim, Wilson High School, eagle1_travel@saudia.com

Many physics principles can be explained in one demo. For example, using air pressure as a primary mover for air. The energy stored in the air is converted into kinetic energy to turn a turbine. The rotation of a turbine in a magnetic field results in the generation fo electricity. There will be a live demo during this presentation.

Importance of satellite imagery in the classroom
Dan Blake, Radford University, dblake@radford.edu

A brief survey of different aspects of the use of satellite imagery in classrooms at all grade levels is discussed. The presentation highlights some of the different ways that imagery can be useful to all age groups. Showing demonstrations ranging from explaining solstices, lake effect snow, and even calculating the distance between satellites and the moon, it emphasizes that the real need is in having suitable technology to accomplish the task.

A semester project for electricity in introductory physics--some examples
Rhett Herman, et al, Radford University, rherman@radford.edu
This talk will feature students from last year's second semester of the General Physics class showing their "home wiring" projects. In these projects, the students had to create individual "rooms" within "apartment houses" that were really inexpensive metal unitlity shelves. This project has proven to be a great success in terms of student learning as well as student enjoyment.

Cheap Toots: Demonstrations of the harmonics in blown PVC tubes and whistles.
Bob Williamson, Oakland University Emeritus , Williamson23@aol.com

Dick & Rae: Fluid Flow and Arterial Disease
Rae Carpenter and Dick Minnix, VMI (retired), rae@cfw.com>, dickm@rockbridge.net>

The UVa Electroscope
Richard A. Lindgren, University of Virginia, ral5q@virginia.edu

Astrophotos using a digital camera and a telescope--how to adapt
Rhett Herman, Radford University, rherman@radford.edu

snail mail	phone/email
Dr. Rhett Herman Associate Professor of Physics and    Adjunct Professor of Geology Dept. of Chemistry and Physics 135 Curie Hall Radford University Radford, Virginia 24142	(540)831-5441 (office) (540)831-6443 (department) (540)831-6615 (fax) e-mail:rherman@radford.edu