Physics Research And Education

Electromagnetism

June 11-16, 2006
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA

Chairs: Kerry P Browne & Stamatis Vokos
Vice Chairs: Bradley S Ambrose & Wolfgang Christian

This conference is the fourth in a series of Gordon Research Conferences on Physics Research and Education. The purpose of these conferences is to help foster interactions between traditional physics researchers, physics education researchers, and undergraduate physics educators. Each conference focuses on a specific subfield of physics. Past conferences have emphasized thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and classical mechanics.

The 2006 conference will concentrate on electromagnetism and applications of electromagnetic phenomena in modern research. The goal of this conference is to promote cross fertilization between cutting edge physics researchers and undergraduate physics classroom instructors. Electromagnetic phenomena are pervasive in our everyday lives as well as in active areas of research. While the fundamental principles of electromagnetic interactions are well understood the application of these principles still occupies the minds of researchers including: atomic, molecular and optical physicists, electrical engineers, plasma physicists, astrophysicists and biological physicists to name only a few. In addition, as the field of physics education research has advanced, researchers have begun to apply what they have discovered about student learning to the teaching of electricity and magnetism at both the introductory and advanced levels.

Throughout the course of this one-week conference participants will attend sessions and engage in discussions with the goal of infusing new ideas from modern research into their teaching of electromagnetism.

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm OPENING SESSION
Discussion Leader: Robert Hilborn (Amherst College)
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm David Griffiths (Reed College)
"The Charge Distribution on a Conductor"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:20 pm Bill Dorland (University of Maryland)
"Teaching Plasma Physics, Where E&M Mixes with Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, and Fluid Dynamics"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm CURRICULAR APPROACHES TO ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM
Discussion Leader: Tom Moore (Pomona College)
9:00 am - 9:50 am Ruth Chabay and Bruce Sherwood (North Carolina State University)
"Restructuring the Introductory Electricity and Magnetism Course"
9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:20 am Igal Galili (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
"Teaching Electromagnetism as a Discipline-Culture"
11:20 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:20 pm Bruce Patton (The Ohio State University)
"Why a Hands-on Active Learning Approach Works Best: Experiences with a "Jackson by Inquiry" Electromagnetism Course"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm APPLICATIONS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM IN BIOLOGICAL AND MATERIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
Discussion Leader: Lydia Sohn (University of California, Berkeley)
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm Brent Hoffmeister (Rhodes College)
"Magnetically Induced Electric Currents in the Human Body: Medical Implants and MRI"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:20 pm Laura Clarke (North Carolina State University)
"Observing Rotational Motion in Molecular Structures by Dielectric and Fluorescence Spectroscopy"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH IN ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM
Discussion Leader: David Maloney (Indiana University-Purdue University)
9:00 am - 9:50 am Peter Shaffer (University of Washington)
"Student Understanding of Some Basic Concepts in Electricity and Magnetism"
9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:20 am Robert Beichner (North Carolina State University)
"Assessing Student Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism"
11:20 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:20 pm Stephen Kanim (New Mexico State University)
"Student Learning of Electrostatics Concepts: Research, Assessment, and Intervention"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ELECTROMAGNETISM
Discussion Leader: Joe Redish (University of Maryland)
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm Dan Siegel (University of Wisconsin)
"The Uses of History in Teaching E&M: Maxwell and Others"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:20 pm Bob Morse (St. Alban’s School)
"From Franklin’s Experiments to Volta’s Electrophorus: History and the Pedagogical use of Historical Experiments"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROMAGNETISM IN ATMOSPHERIC AND ASTROPHYSICAL RESEARCH
Discussion Leader: Kristina Lynch (Dartmouth College)
9:00 am - 9:50 am Michael Brown (Swarthmore College)
"Undergraduate Plasma Physics Research at the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment"
9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:20 am Ramon Lopez (Florida Institute of Technology)
"Plasma Physics in Undergraduate E&M Courses"
11:20 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:20 pm E. Philip Krider (University of Arizona)
"Lightning - A Striking Phenomenon"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROMAGNETISM IN MODERN OPTICS RESEARCH
Discussion Leader: Charles Holbrow (Colgate University)
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm Gabriel Spalding (Illinois Wesleyan University)
"Optical Trapping and Manipulation in the Single- and Many-body Limits"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:20 pm Enrique (Kiko) Galvez (Colgate University)
"Gaussian Beams and the Orbital Angular Momentum of Light"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm COMPUTER SIMULATIONS FOR TEACHING OPTICS AND ELECTROMAGNETISM
Discussion Leader: Wolfgang Christian (Davidson College)
9:00 am - 9:50 am John Foley (Mississippi State University)
"The Optics Project on the Web (WebTOP)"
9:50 am - 10:00 am Discussion
10:00 am Coffee Break
10:30 am - 11:20 am John Belcher (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
"The MIT Teal Simulations and Visualizations in Electromagnetism"
11:20 am - 11:30 am Discussion
11:30 am - 12:20 pm Noah Finkelstein (University of Colorado)
"Learning Virtually: Examining the Potential of Computer Simulations in Learning E/M"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm THEORETICAL AND MATHEMATICAL CHALLENGES TO LEARNING ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM
Discussion Leader: Chandralekha Singh (University of Pittsburg)
7:30 pm - 8:20 pm Rachel Scherr (University of Maryland)
"Student Resources for Problem-solving in Electricity and Magnetism"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:20 pm Corinne Manogue (Oregon State University)
"Easing the Transition to Upper-Division E&M"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am Departure

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Copyright ?2005 Gordon Research Conferences Last Updated: 3/3/2006 by Brad Sharkey