PAMS Focus  -  August 2006

PAMS Focus is a periodic e-mail newsletter about activities, achievements and other news from the NC State College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them with us by e-mailing pams_info@ncsu.edu.

Register now for PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend 

The second annual PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend will be held Oct. 13-14. In addition to an afternoon of engaging classes on timely, intriguing topics, the program includes a dinner with a keynote speaker. This year's speaker is Dr. Peter J. Webster, who has stirred international controversy with his findings that global warming is causing an increase in the number of severe hurricanes. The topic was the No. 1 science story of 2005 in Discover magazine, which cited Webster’s work. The weekend also offers plenty of time to catch up with acquaintances old and new. To review the program and to register, visit: http://www.pams.ncsu.edu/weekend/.

Statistics Department to celebrate 65th anniversary

As part of the PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend, the Statistics Department will celebrate its 65th year at Embassy Suites in Cary, 9 a.m. until noon, Saturday, Oct. 14. The celebration will include a brunch, research poster session, and several featured presentations, including one on the department’s notable history. Alumni, friends and associates of the department are invited to attend. You may register through the PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend Web site, listed above.

Groundbreaking set for new mathematics/statistics building

The remnants of Riddick Stadium are now gone, and in its place will soon be the new home of the Mathematics and Statistics departments. Chancellor James Oblinger and Dean Dan Solomon will lead a groundbreaking ceremony on the site at 5:15 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13. To assist us in planning for this event, please register through the PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend Web site, listed above.

Alumnus cashes in on poker skills

A PAMS alumnus recently won third place in the World Series of Poker, and $4.1 million in winnings. Known among friends and family as a lifelong math whiz, Michael Binger earned his BS in applied mathematics, BS in physics and MS in physics from PAMS - all in 1999.  According to news reports, he received his PhD in physics from Stanford University in 2006, and plans to continue his research in theoretical particles at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. To read the full story, visit http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/471387.html.

So how do CDs and DVDs work?

Believe it or not, no one really knew for a long time. That changed when Dave Baker, a physics doctoral candidate, worked with Drs. Michael Paesler and Gerald Lucovsky of NC State, as well as colleagues from the Colorado School of Mines and the Indian Institute of Technology, to discover how DVD-RAMs work on the microscopic level. Their findings, published in the July 7 edition of Physical Review Letters, may lead to advances in data storage as well as within the computer industry as a whole. For more, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/06_07/119.htm.

 

Reynolds to speak about historic supernova

In 1006, ancient societies watched what is believed to have been the brightest supernova in recorded history. Well-documented by the Chinese and others, SN 1006 was bright enough to be seen in the daytime, and cast shadows at night. Dr. Stephen Reynolds of the Physics Department is one of only a select few scientists to speak about SN 1006 at a news conference on Friday, Aug. 18, at the International Astronomical Union’s conference in Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.astronomy2006.com/index.php.