Page 10 - Eureka! Fall 2005

Faculty news A century later, Faculty news

Einstein is still right

he late Albert Einstein would un- we record them in our detectors are there that comprises the rest. Other
tdoubtedly be pleased. all consistent with Einstein’s special unknown particles may make up
His revolutionary theories of the relativity theory,” says Vincter. this mass and indeed we’re looking
early 1900s have stood the test of The ATLAS project is at a pivotal for them,” says Sinclair, adding SNO
time. In fact, they continue to guide moment in its life: Researchers there is one of the world’s best places to
major research undertakings through- are preparing for an experiment that study neutrinos as well as candidates
out the world, including those with could unlock secrets about the cosmos. for dark matter because the rock Bob Burk, PhD/90, chemistry professor
Carleton connections. “We’re going to recreate for a frac- filters out cosmic rays that would
In 1905, the great German scientist tion of a second the conditions of early otherwise cause interference. High-tech teacher receives highest honours
described some of his most influential times,” explains Vincter, adding CERN’s Einstein would be “fascinated” to
theories — light quanta, Brownian mo- particle accelerator will attempt to learn of SNO’s potential, Sinclair
tion and the special theory of relativi- replicate the extreme heat that existed says, especially since scientists have hen it comes to incorporating OCUFA President Michael Doucet when they’re studying.
ty — in three separate papers. To mark when the universe was created. recently learned that dark matter also wtechnology into the classroom, says the association’s awards com- “This is totally different from get-
the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s According to Einstein, if there is contains dark energy. Bob Burk, PhD/90, is ahead of the curve. mittee was impressed with the many ting an email the next morning or
“miraculous year”, the International enough energy in a fixed amount of “This is something we’re all flum- Over the last nine years, the Chem- accolades Burk had received from col- holding office hours,” he says. “This
Union of Pure and Applied Physics de- space, then it can be converted into moxed at,” he says. “We just don’t istry professor and director of the leagues and students for his teaching way, when they have a question, they
clared 2005 the World Year of Physics. new matter. ATLAS researchers will have an idea of what the dark energy College of Natural Sciences has suc- expertise and for his innovative work type it in, and, if I’m there, they’ll get
The remarkable thing is that Ein- bank on this theory during the 2007 ex- is. Getting Einstein’s view on this cessfully introduced a host of high- in course development. an answer and they can continue onto
stein’s work continues to be proven periment in which they hope to see the would be immensely valuable.” tech learning aids to his first-year Burk began his high-tech journey in the next page.”
true, says Manuella Vincter, pro- elusive and mysterious Higgs boson. Sinclair reflects for a moment on chemistry course, including online 1996 when he posted his lecture notes Student surveys reveal Burk’s meth-
fessor and Canada Research Dubbed “the God particle” and “the Einstein’s contribution to science. video-streaming, quick-messaging, on the Web. That has since grown into ods are working. About 80 percent of
Chair in Particle Physics. Holy Grail of particle physics,” it’s be- “Our whole way of thinking has PowerPoint, and a giant course Web a video stream of the actual lectures. his first-year class uses one or more of
Every few years, scien- lieved that the mechanism which pro- been influenced by him and that semi- site that ensures archived lectures are “It’s just grown and grown,” he says these aids. Roughly all students attend
tific journal articles crop duces this key particle gives mass to nal period of work — the tentacles of only a mouse-click away. of the course Web site, which is now the live lectures and 10 percent will go
up, claiming he is right … matter in the universe. The particle’s which spread through not only sci- Combined with his practical dem- one of the largest, if not the largest, home and view them a second time on
again and again, she says. discovery promises to answer some ence but our daily lives.” onstrations in class, Burk has used course sites on campus. “The students their computers in case they missed
Vincter would know. fundamental questions about how the technology to make Chemistry can go there, get the course lecture something in class. The video-stream
She conducts cutting- other sub-atomic particles acquire 1000 more accessible and digestible notes, assignments and answers, old feature proves especially useful in the
edge research at the their mass. for those who take it. He has also exams with answers, online tutorials, days leading up to exams, says Burk,
world’s largest sub- An ocean away, and about two reached more students to ensure they and the ones I present on the black- adding the number of downloads spike
atomic research centre, kilometres underground, fellow Phys- have a firm grasp of the material. board. It’s huge.” during this period.
the European Labora- ics Professor David Sinclair strives to For his efforts, the professor More recently, Burk turned to quick Burk has literally spent thousands
tory for Particle Phys- answer similar cosmic questions that recently received two prestigious messaging after realizing it was the of hours developing his compre-
ics (CERN) in Geneva, Einstein first raised in the early 1900s. teaching awards. Last spring, the communication method of choice for hensive site for introductory chem-
Switzerland. As part The renowned physicist works in Ontario Confederation of University his university-age daughter and her istry students. Visit it at carleton.
of a large internation- shaft No. 9 of the INCO Creighton Faculty Associations (OCUFA) awards friends. The real-time responses of ca/~rburk/chem1000.
al team of physicists, Nickel Mine near Sudbury, Ontario. committee placed him among six MSN Messenger rival the telephone and
she works on the A There, he is the director of the Sud- of the most outstanding university prompt students to regard non-instan-
Toroidal LHC Appara- bury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), teachers in the province. That same taneous email as a dinosaur, he says. ! Fast fact...
tus (ATLAS) project, a where scientists are poised to solve week, it was announced that he was “It never occurred to me that I
45-metre long particle the mysteries behind dark cosmic mat- one of 15 winners of the 2005 Capital could use MSN, but my daughter said A recent competition held by the
detector that operates ter. Despite its elusiveness, dark mat- Educators’ Awards. The Ottawa-area ‘Why don’t you log on and see who’s Natural sciences and Engineering
in concert with CERN’s ter is believed to exist because of the accolades are given to outstanding there?’ So I put a note on my Web site Research council of canada resulted
enormous particle ac- gravitational effect it has on visible elementary, secondary and post-sec- saying I’m logged on. The response in two major equipment grants for
celerator. matter such as stars and galaxies. ondary teachers. The winners were was immediate and large. I remember the Department of chemistry. worth
nearly $300,000, the grants helped buy
“The entire physics “We know there’s this mysterious chosen from 64 finalists and hun- the first time I used it, I had 40 simul- a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
that governs ATLAS, matter that pervades the universe. dreds of nominees. taneous conversations with students.” spectrometer and a near-field scanning
from the mecha- Neutrons, protons and electrons only Manuella Vincter, Physics professor and canada “It was a good week, let me tell The big advantage of quick-messag- optical microscope. to read more about
nisms that produce make up a fraction of the universes’ Research chair in Particle Physics, works on the you,” says Burk of hearing so much ing is that Burk logs on in the evening this new equipment, visit
Physics professor construction of the hadronic Endcap calorimeter eureka.carleton.ca.
David sinclair particles, to how mass. So there’s something else out for the AtlAs detector in Geneva, switzerland. good news all at once. and communicates with students

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