Centennial Meeting Tutorials

The APS is hosting five tutorials during the APS Centennial Meeting, to be held on Sunday, March 21, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Arranged by MIT's Lawrence Rubin, the topics to be featured are listed below. Further information can be found in the Centennial Meeting at: http://www.aps.org/meetings/baps/cent99.cfm.

Applications of Magnetic Force Microscopy in Magnetic Imaging of Materials. An overview of the development of magnetic force microscopy and its application in three major areas for the study of materials: imaging under external fields, quantitative studies, and using MFM as an imaging and measuring technique.

Cellular Automata Simulations with Mathematica. An introduction for students to the use of computer simulation as a tool for the study of natural phenomena in a wide range of fields. Specific topics to be covered include diffusive processes, solidification, interfacial diffusion fronts, solid electrolytes and fast ion conductors, coalescence, and surface adsorption-desorption.

The Physics of Cold Atoms at Millikelvin, Microkelvin and Nanokelvin Temperatures. An overview of the physics of laser cooling and its impact on various areas, such as a new generation of atomic clocks and atom interferometry. Laser-cooled atoms, which were crucial to the realization of gas phase Bose-Einstein condensation, were recognized by the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Perspectives on Career Choices in Industrial and Applied Physics. An overview of the goals, career choices, technical activities, motivation and other aspects of the professional life of industrial physicists, intended to broaden the scope and perspective of physics students, postdocs, and faculty.

Development of Key Concepts in Surface Science. An historical overview of the development of key areas of surface science up to the present frontiers. Topics include low energy electron diffraction, photon spectroscopy, dynamics of molecule-surface interactions, and key issues in atomic imaging.