Community outreach is an integral part of the JILA Center for AMO physics. Center investigators participate in science presentations for students and the community at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a science display at a local mall.
Science Presentations at the University of Colorado Boulder
Nine JILA Physics Frontier Center investigators present Saturday morning Wizard’s shows for elementary school children and their parents at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB). David Nesbitt of the AMO Physics Center directs the Wizards program. Some of the offerings include:
- The Chemistry of Cooking with David Nesbitt.
- From Big to Very Small: Microscopy & the Powers of Ten with Tom Perkins.
- Waves and Radios: The Physics of the Information Age with Konrad Lehnert.
Recent Wizards shows have also featured:
- At the End of the Rainbow with Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane.
- The Physics of Sports with John Bohn and Debbie Jin.
- Sink or Swim with Mathias Weber.
- Speed! with Eric Cornell.
Five center scientists offer Science Saturday talks for high school students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Some of the talks have included:
- Strings & Drums: Microresonators Go Quantum by Cindy Regal.
- Stone Cold Science: Bose-Einstein Condensation & The Weird World of Physics a Millionth of a Degree from Absolute Zero by Eric Cornell
- The Supercool Atom Computer by Anna Maria Rey.
- Ultrafast Photography with Lasers by Andreas Becker.
- Physics of Baseball at Mile High by John Bohn.
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.