Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you all had an enjoyable winter break. Welcome back. The spring semester is always an exciting one, filled with several opportunities for students, faculty, alumni and staff to come together and enjoy colloquia, public lectures and educational outreach activities. On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to some of the Physics Department’s upcoming public events.

Each semester, we hold a weekly colloquia series every Tuesday, at 4:00 PM, in the Physics Lecture Hall. During this time, top scientists, from a variety of areas in Physics, give public presentations. These lectures are an excellent way for researchers and professionals to stay on top of some of the latest trends in the field. This semester, some of our guest speakers include Louis DiMauro, Ohio State University, Yale Goldman, University of Pennsylvania, Vera Rubin, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Matias Zaldarriag, Harvard University and many more. For more information, visit the colloquia website at www.physics.umd.edu/events/colloquia.

In addition to our colloquia series, the department also holds a lecture-demonstration series entitled, Physics is Phun. This year marks the 25th year for this popular public program, hosted by Dr. Richard Berg and the staff of the Physics Lecture-Demonstration Facility. These free events, aim to educate, inform and entertain. Be sure to attend The Sounds of Science from March 15th – March 17th and Seeing the Light from May 3rd-May 5th. The doors open at 7:00PM and volunteers will provide interactive experiments 30 minutes before each program. For more information, visit the Physics is Phun website at www.physics.umd.edu/PhysPhun/. To volunteer, call Bernie Kozlowski at 301-405-5949.

On April 28, 2007, the University of Maryland opens its doors to the community for Maryland Day, a full day of fun and learning. This year, our department’s festivities include a lecture by Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Dr. Howard Milchberg, a variety of hands on activities for kids and much more. For more information, including how you can volunteer to help, contact the chair’s office at phys-chair@physics.umd.edu.

I encourage you all to attend us for these activities, either as an attendee or a volunteer. Many of these events are for the entire family, and I hope that you and your family join us for exciting ways to learn about Physics! As always, if you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at drew@umd.edu or 301-405-5946.

Regards,
Drew