By Brad Moser
5
1010 ratings
The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.
Maple Syrup. Champion of breakfast, the perfecter of pancakes. Sweet addition to butter, beans, and even bacon. But how does that treat travel from tree to table? Phenomenal physics is in no short supply, and Abby van den Berg, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center, shares her joy and her expertise. She discusses the wonder of sap flow, long-term tree health, production methods, and the pigments associated with autumn foliage.
www.physicsalive.com/maple
Also visit other University of Vermont webpages:
UVM Proctor Maple Research Center YouTube channel
UVM Extension Maple Program
Other links Abby suggested:
Today's Guest:
The universal design for learning (UDL) framework is an approach based on educational research that can guide the development of flexible learning environments that are supportive of and accessible to all learners. I’m speaking with Melissa Eblen-Zayas and Kristen Burson, authors on a recent paper describing their efforts to implement UDL and promote student mental health. They specifically focus on physics course modifications that provide multiple means of engagement.
Go to the full episode show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/udl
Today's conversation is with Melissa Eblen-Zayas, Professor of Physics at Carleton College, and Kristen Burson, Associate Professor of Physics at Grinnell College. They author a paper, along with Danielle McDermott, titled "Course Modifications to Promote Student Mental Health and Move toward Universal Design for Learning." Their paper appeared in the November 2022 issue of The Physics Teacher.
What if I told you that you could do velocity, acceleration, friction, rotations, impulse and momentum, pressure, sound, color, and magnetic field labs all with a single measurement device? And what if I told you that almost every student is walking into the classroom with their own device already in hand? Welcome to Physics with Phones curriculum. Each lesson details activities using built-in smartphone sensors to illustrate key physics concepts, including elevation, g force, and angular velocity. David Rakestraw, a senior science advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, has put together many lessons that are freely available online. He’s here to talk about how he got involved with this technology, what sensors our students can access, and how we can use these in our classes.
www.physicsalive.com/phones
Webpage for Physics with Phones
Phone apps to try out:
David Rakestraw is a senior science advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) in California. A multi-program national security laboratory, its primary stated mission is to enhance the nation’s defense and reduce the global threat from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Prior to LLNL, he spent 12 years at Sandia National Laboratories, where he engaged in a wide range of research and development activities. He even co-founded a company that specialized in applying microfluidics for chemical analysis.
Webpage for Physics with Phones
See even more opportunities at LLNL's Teacher Research Academy
The Physics Alive podcast is on the road this week! A busy semester has made it challenging to produce new episodes, so your host has taken his microphone on the road, recording while driving. Hear updates about Brad's classes and experiences this semester at his new teaching institution, Plymouth State University. The ups, the downs, the good, the frustrating -- the teacher's journey.
ISLE, the Investigative Science Learning Environment, is an intentional holistic learning environment for physics. It addresses two main goals: to help students learn physics by engaging them in the processes that mirror scientific practice and to improve their well-being while they are learning physics. Eugenia Etkina started this approach nearly 40 years ago and has been an ardent teacher educator in the years since. This interview with Eugenia provides the educational philosophy behind ISLE, specific examples of how the approach works, and the support network that can get you started.
Show notes: www.physicsalive.com/ISLE
Learn more about Eugenia and her work:
www.islephysics.net
You can email Eugenia at:
ISLE website:
Join the Facebook group -- Exploring and Applying Physics
ISLE resource page on PhysPort
ISLE Implementation Guide on PhysPort
Articles:
In this episode, I talk about DNA: a simple DNA diffraction and interference experiment using the spring from a pen, and the DNA, the structure of my introductory physics class during the spring '22 semester.
Full show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/dna
DNA Diffraction and Interference Lab and/or Demonstration
Figure 1: X-ray diffraction pattern of B-DNA labeled Photo 51 by Rosalind Franklin.
Figure 2: Interference pattern from a pen spring. Pattern produced from a red diode laser passing through the spring from a pen. Projected on a screen 8 meters away.
Here are the articles I referenced about DNA interference and diffraction experiments:
Revealing the Backbone Structure of B-DNA from Laser Optical Simulations of Its X-ray Diffraction Diagram
X-ray diffraction and DNA optical transform from the ICE (Institute for Chemical Education) Online store at wisc.edu
DNA of Brad's introductory physics class (Spring 2022)
Star grading system:
Here's the entire syllabus for the spring 2022 semester of PHYS 105: Survey of Physics II for life science majors:
Specifications grading:
Sara Seager is Professor of Planetary Science and Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on discovering new exoplanets and characterizing their atmospheres. She hopes to find and identify another Earth and searches for signs of life. In this episode, Sara describes how we find planets around other stars and how we can possibly know how their atmospheres are composed.
Check out the full show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/exoplanets
Learn more about Sara and her work:
Here are some of the great resources that Sara Seager suggested!
Discover some of the great exoplanets we've found at:
For instance, you can check out the travel posters for some new worlds you might like to visit.
The NASA website is full of great information.
You can also learn more about Sara's Venus work:
Venuscloudlife.com
For some great images, a tutorial on light curves, and the data from my transit classroom experiment, go to the full show notes at:
www.physicsalive.com/exoplanets
Jeff Young is an editor and reporter focused on technology issues and the future of education. He is currently the managing editor at EdSurge and the producer and host of the EdSurge Podcast, a weekly look at the future of learning. We talk about developments he’s seen throughout his career reporting on education, MOOCs and their place in education, the themes of the EdSurge podcast, and his take on the future of education. Check out the EdSurge Podcast!
Go to today's Show Notes at:
physicsalive.com/edsurge
EdSurge reports on the people, ideas, and tools shaping the future of learning. EdSurge is at the forefront of reporting on changes in education and their consequences. They do this through award-winning journalism, research and analysis. They share stories that elevate the voices and experiences of educators, entrepreneurs, researchers and other stakeholders working to support equitable opportunities for all learners.
Check out some of Brad's recent favorite episodes of the EdSurge Podcast:
Jeffrey R. Young is an editor and reporter focused on technology issues and the future of education. He is currently the managing editor at EdSurge and the producer and host of the weekly EdSurge Podcast about the future of learning.
Learn more about Jeff and his work:
In this episode, I summarize four articles from the Winter 2022 issues of The Physics Teacher: reflecting on a difficult year, group work equitability, lab activities on temperature and thermodynamics, and polarimetry measurements for food science. I also reflect on the purpose of this podcast, the many types of episodes you can expect to hear, and how I might better support you - the listener, the educator - to put new ideas into practice. Also, Physics Alive is now on Slack!
www.physicsalive.com/tptwinter22
Physics Alive is on Slack. Join the Slack workspace.
You can also leave comments and share discussion on the Physics Alive Twitter feed.
Journal: The Physics Teacher
Article #1:
Article #2:
Article #3:
Article #4:
Wouter Hoogkamer, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is the director of the UMass Integrative Locomotion Lab. He studies human locomotion, integrating neurophysiology, biomechanics and energetics. In today’s episode, learn about his research on running economy and breaking the two-hour marathon mark. Plus, we’ll take his expertise and distill it down to some experiments and concepts that we can use in the high school and college intro physics classroom.
Show notes: www.physicsalive.com/running
Learn more about Wouter and his work:
The University of Massachusetts Integrative Locomotion Lab (UMILL)
National Biomechanics Day
Video analysis software
Force plates
Selected articles written by or quoting Wouter Hoogkamer
More articles at Media Coverage on the UMILL website
The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.