Krishna will be available on Fri. Oct. 5 from 1- 2pm in the Cave.

I’ve written up a detailed example of Gaussian elimination (click here), and I wanted you to get it right away, in case you’re working on the LA homework this evening. I’ll bring paper copies of this handout to class tomorrow. If you can, please read through it before Thursday’s class. -BW

• The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2018 was awarded for “for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” with one half “for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems” and the other half for “for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses”. Popular science level explanations are available here and here, and a more advanced explanation is available here.
• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2018 will be announced Wed. Oct. 3. A popular science level explanation will be available here and a more advanced explanation will be available here.
• Any prize structure can be usefully viewed through lenses that includes politics, power, privilege, identity, diversity, equity, and access. Nevertheless, the Nobel Prizes in science do reflect important advances in the field.
  • I think that it is important to celebrate that Dr. Donna Strickland is the third woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. I also think it is important to note that there have been 209 individuals who have won the Physics Nobel. The other two women were Marie Curie (1903, and also the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911) and Maria Goepper-Mayer in 1963.

• It seems appropriate to link to these resources as well (let me know if this deserves its own post and if you can give me more resources like this to post):
  • Woman Physicist of the Month
  • Bouchet Award
  • The Mathematicians Project

Information about the Geoduck Student Union Assembly available by clicking here.

• You can pick up a key fob for access to our physics cave from Key Services, which is at the first floor of Lab 2 near the entrance with the elevator. You will need photo id (Evergreen ID preferred).
• If you already have an electronic fob for your on-campus job or other, access to 054A has been added.

All of the following are optional opportunities to attend math/science conferences relevant to our program content and themes.

• Washington Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers Fall Meeting. Saturday October 13, 2018 at Bellevue College in Bellevue, WA. Transportation (college van) provided. Olympia West Side pickup around 6am, campus pickup around 6:30am. Return to campus by 6pm. Cost to students: $5 + cost of lunch (or bring own). Theme: Equity and Inclusion in Physics Education. Please let Krishna know ASAP if you are planning to attend.
• Northwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium (NUMS). Saturday November 3, 2018 at Willamette University in Salem, OR. Transportation details TBD. No registration cost to students, as far as I can tell, but if we decide to go on Friday evening, students will be responsible for lodging and meals. Please let Brian/Krishna know ASAP if you are planning to attend.
• Linus Pauling Medal Award Symposium. Saturday November 17, 2018, at the University of Washington – Bothell in Bothwell, WA. Cos to students: Symposium & reception free; $10 for (optional?) banquet. Ask members of Chemistry and Other Sciences (ChaOS) Club for transportation details. Flyer.
• Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics. See this post for more details. Reminder: application deadline is Fri. Oct. 12.