Description:

Peter Jeongseop A Lee--

Abstract: 

Cuprate superconductors essentially belong to a single family of crystals, a simple cubic perovskite structure. The crystal structure itself therefore provides us with several insights into the inherent requirement for the generation of superconductivity sustained at unprecedentedly high temperatures. Recently the formation of charge density wave in the copper oxide charge carrier plane known to sustain the supercurrent has been argued to compete with the superconductivity in this type of materials. In YBCO recent NMR investigations have shown that there exists a small “dome” for a charge ordering phase near the superconducting dome in the Tc-δ phase diagram where the peak of the dome is suspiciously close to the anomalous depression of the superconducting dome, colloquially known as, “1/8-anomaly”.

I present the result from our high field (up to 30T) NMR investigation on oxygen isotope exchanged underdoped single crystals of Hg1201 whose doping is near this anomalous region. However, on the contrary to the YBCO results, we have not found any evidence for such charge ordering in this compound. Quite unexpectedly though we have found a strong evidence for static commensurate charge and spin modulation that is neither temperature nor field dependent. This is manifested in our NMR data as a splitting of the planar oxygen spectra into two peaks of equal weight where the splitting is resolvable. I am also going to show that this unusual density wave modulation extends through quite large range of temperatures from 5K to 400K which is well above the pseudogap (T*~150K).

Shane L. Larson--
"SciComm for Modern Scientists"

Abstract: Science communication as a professional endeavour is often relegated to the very narrowly focused realms of "outreach" and "education."  But the modern scientific enterprise is replete with the need to effectively communicate with wide ranging and diverse audiences not exclusively limited to "students" or "the public."  These can and do include research colleagues, but also peers in other physics disciplines (read: other members of the department), peers in other academic disciplines (read: other members of the College and university), prospective employers, academic administrators, legislative officials (on both state and national levels), officers at foundations and funding agencies, and so on.

As scientists, we are trying to accomplish our work in an environment where resources are increasingly in demand and (often) scarce, and there are political and societal pressures on our disciplines. Effective and clear communication is not just important: it is essential. Communication is a skill, just like theoretical or experimental scientific work. It requires planning, thought, and practice, and there is no "one size fits all" solution for every venue you may have to talk about your scientific work in.

We'll chat about the scope of science communication, the needs and demands of different audiences, and obstacles to becoming an effective advocate for physics and your own work. We'll give a variety of examples of "things that have been done" as well as talk about resources available to you here at NU to improve your skills and experience.
 

Pizza will be available.