University of Utah Department of Physics & Astronomy
Biannual Newsletter | Fall 2019 | Volume 8, Issue 1
Physics and a
Life in Nuclear Medicine
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In This Issue Alumni Profile: Paul Christian Physics and a Life in Nuclear Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Alumni Profile: McKay Hyde From Academia to Goldman Sachs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Building a PER Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Physics Professors Guide Utah Students to Win 2019 CERN Beamline Competition. . . . . . . . . . . 8 U Presidential Scholar Named from Physics Dept.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 NSF awards $1.6M Quantum Idea Incubator Award to U-led team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Pearl Sandick Appointed Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for College of Science . . . . . . . . . . 11 Peter Godbe Gibbs: 1924 - 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Christoph Boehme Appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy. . . . . . 14 We Support Physics & Astronomy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Gracing a wall of the James Fletcher Building, the “Cosmic Triptych� installation is a joint effort between the Society of Physics Students and participants in the Center for Science and Mathematics Education REFUGES program. The work was made possible by the artistic talents of Emmelyn Redd.
Message from the Chair With the final weeks of fall semester upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on the accomplishments of the Department of Physics & Astronomy during the past year. We were delighted to welcome new physics education researcher, Ramón Barthelemy, in July as a tenure-track assistant professor. You can read more about his work, along with other faculty and alumni, in this publication. Our faculty have received and continue to receive accolades for their research and their teaching. We are proud of them and thank them for their dedication to the department. During the past year, we have been fortunate to have our faculty recognized for the following: Vikram Deshpande, assistant professor, and his team of investigators were awarded $1.6 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research quantum logic units, or “qubits.” Associate professor Anil Seth was named a Presidential Scholar—this award recognizes extraordinary research and academic efforts of early to mid-career faculty. Gernot Laicher, professor/ lecturer, received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the U, and Tino Nyawelo, assistant professor/lecturer, was recognized by the College of Science for Fostering Undergraduate Research Excellence. Graduate student Jason May was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for his work in STEM Education and Learning Research. Other professors received fellowships, research grants, and teaching awards in recognition of their outstanding work.
Christoph Boehme
The achievements of the department would not be possible without your support. Your passion for physics and astronomy drives the department forward, creating the conditions for transformative research discoveries and educational experiences. The Crimson Laureate Society, founded in May 2017, gives new meaning to these efforts. This 1,000-member society of science and math supporters, the first of its kind at the University of Utah, is a pivotal force that will drive physics and astronomy forward in 2019 and beyond. For more information on how to support the Physics & Astronomy Department through the Society, please contact the College of Science at 801-581-6958, or visit www.science.utah.edu/giving. As always, we are grateful for your support. Sincerely,
Christoph Boehme Professor and Interim Chair Department of Physics & Astronomy
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Paul Christian
Alumni Profile: Paul Christian Physics and a Life in Nuclear Medicine Growing up in Murray, Utah, Paul Christian was inquisitive and had a desire to understand how things worked. “As a kid, I took apart alarm clocks, a toaster, a radio, and other devices,” he said. He also built his own crystal radio and then a transistor radio to understand the latest technology. Christian’s favorite class at the U was the senior physics lab, where he and others performed amazing experiments and had to type up (no PCs back then) a formal report each week. “I learned a lot about experimental design and writing technical reports,” said Christian. He was also the undergraduate physics lab manager and lab-teaching assistant for the department. “It was a good experience,” he said. “I
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had to explain physics to the students, so I really had to understand concepts clearly.” His favorite physics professor was J. Irwin Swigart, who taught at the U from 1931-1987.
Early Days of Nuclear Medicine Upon graduation from the U in 1971, Christian planned to attend graduate school but soon found himself recruited by the University of Utah’s Medical Center to develop the newly formed Division of Nuclear Medicine in Radiology. Nuclear medicine was experiencing rapid growth, with an explosion of other imaging technologies that would soon come into clinical use: ultrasound, CT and MRI.
“Physics has been a great background for medical imaging,” said Christian. “I’ve always felt fortunate to have entered the medical imaging field when I did.” Early in his career at the University Medical Center, Christian realized there were no adequate textbooks to train imaging technologists, pharmacists, and physicians in nuclear medicine. Colleagues at other institutions invited him to co-author a textbook— Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT: Technology and Techniques. Thirty years and seven editions later, the book has long been considered the bible of nuclear medicine and PET imaging. Christian has also published more than 260 peer-reviewed scientific papers and abstracts and served as editor of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology.
Making a Difference at Huntsman Cancer Institute In 1999, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET/CT technologies received reimbursement approval for imaging in cancer patients. The Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) had just opened, and Christian joined HCI to bring on the first PET scanner and create the cyclotron laboratory to produce positron-emitting radiotracers. He was also charged with seeing that the lab received approval from the Federal Drug Administration. PET imaging uses very short-lived radioactive tracers attached to chemicals that are picked up by cancer cells. These tracers have to be manufactured every day and undergo strict quality control procedures. Christian directed a team of physicists, chemists, and pharmacists to produce the radiotracers and distribute them daily to 18 hospitals
and clinics throughout the Intermountain area. Christian also directed the imaging technologists who performed patient procedures and oversaw the scanner quality control and its use in research. “I’m most proud of the work I did at Huntsman,” said Christian. “In creating the first PET scanner and the cyclotron lab to produce radiotracers in the Intermountain area, my team and I exceeded expectations in supplying radiotracers to hospitals and clinics in the area; bringing advanced cancer imaging to patients in our region.” As part of his participation with professional societies and organizations, Christian developed a new PET scanner testing device to ensure that scanners provide accurate results. This device has been used in more than 100 cancer research centers worldwide to ensure that PET/CT scanners used in multi-center trials of new cancer drugs produce identical results.
Importance of Undergraduate Research Christian believes in encouraging students to get involved in undergraduate research. “As I hired chemists for the cyclotron radiochemistry lab, I was impressed by the skills and critical thinking they had developed from doing undergraduate research,” he said. “These skills were helpful when they were asked to develop and implement new chemistry production and quality control studies.” Christian enjoys traveling with his wife, Denise, as well as skiing, mountain biking, golfing, hiking, and spending time with his grown sons and their families.
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Alumni Profile: McKay Hyde From Academia to Goldman Sachs McKay Hyde (B.A. Physics and Honors B.A. Mathematics ’97) always enjoyed math and science, but it was taking a series of physics classes at the U, between his junior and senior year in high school, that changed his life. “I always enjoyed mathematics,” he said. “But physics showed me how mathematics could be used to solve real-world problems. That was tremendously exciting to me and still is.” Today Hyde is managing director in Equities Engineering for the New York office of Goldman Sachs and is responsible for building systems to manage securities inventory and collateral, working closely with teams across Engineering, as well as the Finance, Operations and Securities divisions. “I like being part of a cross-functional team, building relationships and working together to find solutions that impact the organization and the clients we serve,” he said. “The combination of using mathematics and computer science applied to practical problems is very rewarding.”
McKay Hyde, Courtesy of Goldman Sachs
He joined Goldman Sachs in 2006 and was named managing director in 2010. At Goldman Sachs, Hyde has had a range of responsibilities. He was head of the global Market Risk Technology team within Finance and Risk Engineering. Before that, Hyde led the Trading Strats team for Interest Rate Products in New York as well as the Core Quant Strats team, which developed models, algorithmic trading methods, and pricing infrastructure used by a number of trading desks. (“Strat” is a term that originated with Goldman Sachs to describe individuals that use tools from mathematics and computer science to build financial models and other tools to solve problems across the business.) In his Core Quant Strat role, Hyde led the build out of the Strat teams in Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), India, known as “The Silicon Valley of India.”
Roots in Utah and at the U Hyde grew up in Salt Lake City and North Salt Lake, graduating from Woods Cross High School. Hyde met his wife, Marie, in an “outstanding” honors class taught by Professor Emeritus Jack Newell (“Education and Identity”), who served as dean and principal architect of the U’s Liberal Education Program. In his first two years at the U., Hyde was also active in the U’s music program, playing the trumpet in several university bands—Concert, Marching, Pep, and Jazz. He credits the education he received at the U with helping prepare him for a career in the financial sector. “I received a tremendous education in physics and mathematics, including research experience working in the Cosmic Ray group and in probability theory. The U provides great value as an institution—a quality education at a reasonable cost,” he said. He also has great memories of three professors who made a difference for him as an undergraduate: Davar
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McKay Hyde and his family.
Khoshnevisan (current chair of the Math Department), who was Hyde’s undergraduate research advisor in mathematics; Martha Bradley, former dean of the Honors College and currently associate vice president Academic Affairs, senior associate vice president of Undergraduate Studies, and dean of Undergraduate Studies; and the late Professor Gale Dick, whose “physics lectures were a work of art,” said Hyde.
Using Agile Principles in Undergraduate Research Hyde believes students should be encouraged to participate in research opportunities early in their undergraduate years, and he applauds the decision of the College of Science to focus on a new program called the Undergraduate Research Initiative. “Research is very different from coursework—it’s really a separate skill,” said Hyde. “Encouraging undergrads to work together in research provides a far richer educational experience that really pays off in preparing students for demanding careers.” To that end, Hyde thinks the same concepts and principles that teams use in Agile software development can effectively be applied to something like the Undergraduate Research Initiative program. “Creating an Agile environment—whether in software development or research—is essentially the same,” said Hyde. “It involves developing and supporting a culture that encourages a team of people to work toward a common goal. To that end, a large project or research problem can be broken down into smaller tasks. A “scrum master” or team leader evaluates the special skills and talents of each individual on the team,
assigns them to specific tasks, and the team comes together frequently (typically during a daily “stand up”) over focused “sprints” (typically 2-3 weeks long) to complete those tasks yielding demonstrable progress at the end of each sprint. By repeating this process, the team improves while building confidence and trust through repeated accomplishment of its goals.”
Previous Academic Career Before his career at Goldman Sachs, Hyde was a professor. After earning degrees at the U. in 1997, he completed a Ph.D. in Applied and Computational Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 2003. He worked as a postdoc in the School of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota and later at Rice University as assistant professor of computational and applied mathematics. When Hyde first left academia to work at Goldman Sachs, he wondered if he would need to dress and act like a “stereotypical banker.” He discovered it was a much easier transition. “I found smart people from technical fields applying their skills in finance,” he said. “It made me realize the importance of being open to new opportunities—taking the skills and talents you have and using them in different fields to build relationships with others and do meaningful work. That’s really what it’s all about.” Hyde and Marie enjoy living in New Jersey and have four children: a son studying music at Berklee College of Music; a daughter at Brigham Young University (currently serving a church mission in Peru); and a son and daughter in high school.
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Building a PER Program Assistant professor Ramón Barthelemy is a former Fulbright Scholar and an American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy (AAAS) Fellow dedicated to equity and inclusion in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). He joined the U in July 2019 to begin serving as the first tenure-track faculty member in the U’s Physics Education Research (PER) Program. Barthelemy is eager to build a new research group that focuses on student motivations, experiences, and successes in physics. He also has plans to build new projects specific to the context and student body of the U. He is collaborating with colleagues in the College of Science to determine how students’ experiences of inclusion in large introductory STEM classes can influence their overall course performance and graduation with a STEM major. “In the physics classroom, it’s important to accept students for who they are and to be kind and understanding about many things—such as their preferred names and the obstacles they may face in their day-to-day lives that may not be related to the classroom,” said Barthelemy. “At the same time, we want to make sure the department is continually offering opportunities for professional and educational growth.”
Ramón Barthelemy
Raised in Michigan, Barthelemy has also spent time in Finland and Washington, D.C. After receiving a B.A. in astrophysics, from Michigan State University, he began a graduate program at Western Michigan University (WMU). It was during this time he became increasingly interested in ways to support a diverse student body to pursue degrees in physics and astronomy. “In a class of 50 students, there were only seven women and no students of color,” he said. “The sciences are now beginning to take the time to evaluate and deconstruct issues of gender, race, and sexuality in their fields. Faculty and administrators in physics departments are now starting to consider the conscious and unconscious biases, along with structural barriers, that may deter students from the field.” Barthelemy became interested in PER after working as a teaching assistant with Dr. Charles Henderson, professor of physics and director of science education at WMU, who is also a leader in the field of PER. “It was so interesting to see how he managed to integrate group work and conceptual learning in a large introductory course,” said Barthelemy. “Working with him triggered my interest in completing my dissertation in PER.”
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Gender in Physics Existing studies point to the differences in the number of men and women who study physics. On standardized physics tests, there is also a gap in scores between men and women. This difference, however, has not been thoroughly researched to understand if it is an artifact of the assessments or if the measured difference has any real meaning on success in the field of physics. Remedies to alleviate these “gaps” fail to discuss the culture of physics—how it might contribute to or reinforce the barriers people from underrepresented groups may face. Another concern is that these studies use an incomplete framework in assuming students are either male or female and nothing else—known as “gender binary.” Gender is a spectrum based on masculinity and femininity—traits not relevant for every student. For some students, gender is fluid and may shift over time, so using a gender label fails to include nonbinary or gender nonconforming students. Additionally, the identity of a student can intersect with gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or LGBTQ+ status. Rather than considering this, researchers may simplify analysis of a student by putting people into discrete categories of gender, race, and other identities. “I’ve always been interested in social justice issues and decided to focus on them in my research in grad school,” said Barthelemy. While at WMU, he
completed a quantitative project on LGBQ STEM faculty, a project on student pathways into PER, and a qualitative dissertation on women in graduate physics and astronomy programs. Specifically, he wanted to understand the roles of mentorship, gendered experiences, and personal definitions of success in the educational pathways of the participants. “Part of my focus has been advocacy and working to ensure student success no matter their background or where they come from,” said Barthelemy. “I’ve been very involved with a student organization called oSTEM that supports LGBTQ+ STEM students, helping them network and providing resources to successfully compete in the job market.” Barthelemy has also served on national committees with the American Physical Society.
PER Goals at the U The U’s Department of Physics & Astronomy has taken important steps in building an inclusive environment, which is one of the reasons Barthelemy was interested in coming to the university. “Beginning with the graduate program, the department has thought carefully about how to recruit strong students who will be successful,” said Barthelemy. “I look forward to continuing this progress and in making physics a better place than I found it. I hope to develop policies and best practices over the next five years that can be adopted by a variety of institutions to further support, recruit, and retain many different kinds of students.”
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The 2019 CERN Beamline for Schools winners: (from left) The team from West High School in Salt Lake City (Image: Kara Budge) and the team from the Praedinius Gymnasium in Groningen, Netherlands (Image: Martin Mug).
Physics Professors Guide Utah Students to Win 2019 CERN Beamline Competition Two teams of high-school students, one from West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and one from the Praedinius Gymnasium in Groningen, Netherlands, have won the 2019 Beamline for Schools competition (BL4S). In October, these teams were invited to the DESY research center in Hamburg, Germany, to carry out their proposed experiments together with scientists from CERN and DESY. Professor Charlie Jui and associate professor Pearl Sandick advised the students from West on their proposal for an experiment that uses beamline. Beamlines deliver a stream of subatomic particles to any given set-up, making it possible to study a broad variety of properties and processes in various scientific disciplines. Beamlines are operated at laboratories such as CERN and DESY. “We’re really proud of our West students,” said Jui. “They worked hard and it shows in the recognition they’ve received. I’m really stoked about their win!”
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This year, 178 teams from 49 countries submitted proposals to the competition. The proposal from the “DESY Chain” team from West High focuses on the properties of scintillators. These are materials used for particle detection. The students aim to study the performance of these scintillators and compare their sensitivity to electrons and positrons, which may lead to more efficient particle detectors for a wide range of applications. You can see the work of the West students in a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=sdexfXt2o30. “I’m so excited by the prospect of working at DESY— it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m proud to be a part of the first USA team to win the BL4S competition, especially because it provides access to equipment and systems I would otherwise never have dreamt of even seeing,” said August Muller from the “DESY Chain” team.
The two winning teams will look at fundamental differences between matter and antimatter. When electrons at high energies collide with a target, such as a piece of graphite, some of their energy is transferred into photons. In turn, these photons can transform into other particles. Eventually, a shower of particles at lower energy will develop. The team “Particle Peers” from the Praedinius Gymnasium, Groningen, Netherlands, has proposed to compare the properties of the particle showers originating from electrons with those created from positrons, the antimatter partner of the electron. Due to the second, long shutdown of CERN’s accelerators for maintenance and upgrade, there is currently no beam at CERN, which has opened up opportunities to explore partnerships with other laboratories, including DESY. Beamline for Schools is an Education and Outreach project funded by the CERN & Society Foundation
and supported by individual donors, foundations and companies. In 2019, the project is partially funded by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. Additional contributions have been received from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, Amgen Switzerland AG, and the Ernest Solvay Fund, which is managed by the King Baudouin Foundation. DESY is one of the world’s leading particle accelerator centers. Researchers use the large‐scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety—ranging from the interaction of tiny elementary particles to the behavior of innovative nanomaterials, the vital processes that take place between biomolecules and the great mysteries of the universe. The accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds at its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen are unique research tools. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association, and receives its funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (90%) and the German federal states of Hamburg and Brandenburg (10%).
U Presidential Scholar Named from Physics Dept. Four University of Utah faculty members, including Anil Seth from the Department of Physics & Astronomy, have been named Presidential Scholars. This award honors extraordinary research and academic efforts of early to mid-career faculty. The award provides these talented faculty with financial backing to support their scholarly, teaching and/or research initiatives. The recipients are Anil Seth, associate professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Jorge Contreras, professor, S.J. Quinney College of Law; Kathy Sward, associate professor, College of Nursing; and Micah Drummond, associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training in the College of Health. Anil Seth
“These scholars exemplify the high caliber work taking place at the University of Utah,” said Dan Reed, senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “They are outstanding scholars, educators and members of our faculty. We are delighted to honor them and fortunate to have them working at the U.” Presidential scholars are selected annually, and recipients receive funding for three years. The program is made possible by a generous donor who is interested in fostering the success of mid-career faculty.
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NSF awards $1.6M Quantum Idea Incubator Award to U-led team The grant is part of a program aimed at moving quantum technology forward, one of NSF’s “10 Big Ideas” for the next The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $1,635,591 to scientists from the University of Utah and a collaborator from University of California, Los Angeles to research one of the biggest hurdles to quantum computing—the quantum logic units, or “qubits,” that carry information. The award is one of 15 grants totaling $26 million funded by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Quantum Leap Big Idea Program, one of the “10 Big Ideas” that represent bold, long-term research ideas at the cutting-edge of science and engineering. The U-led project, “Quantum Devices with Majorana Fermions in High-Quality Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator Heterostructures,” was funded through an initiative called the Quantum Idea Incubator for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (QII - TAQS). QII - TAQS supports interdisciplinary teams that will explore innovative, transformative ideas for quantum science and engineering.
Vikram Deshpande, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, will lead the team of co-principle investigators that consists of the U Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s Feng Liu, professor, and Taylor Sparks, associate professor, along with UCLA’s Keng Wang. Current computers process information via transistors carrying one of two units of information, either a 1 or a 0. Quantum computing is based on the quantum mechanical behavior of the logic unit, a qubit that could transmit astoundingly more information than the binary system. It has been an ongoing scientific challenge to create qubits robust enough to hold instructions without being impacted by the surrounding environment (and manipulation of the quantum state itself) and resulting in errors. A new type of material, called a three-dimensional topological insulator, is one of the best candidates from which to create resilient qubits that will be protected from losing their quantum information. Vikram Deshpande, assistant professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy (left) and doctoral candidate Su Kong Chong (right) stand in the “coolest lab on campus.” Deshpande leads a lab that can cool topological materials down to just a few fractions of a degree above absolute zero at -273.15°C (-459.67°F). It is literally the coldest laboratory on campus. Photo credit: Lisa Potter/University of Utah
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“Despite much progress, quantum computing is still in its infancy,” said Dominique Dagenais, NSF program director for electronics, photonics and magnetic devices. “Achieving a robust quantum computer will require transformational breakthroughs. By pursuing a novel material platform, topological insulators, this NSF-funded interdisciplinary research effort led by the University of Utah may help overcome decoherence, one of the field’s major challenges.”
”We are thrilled to receive this award,” said Deshpande. “My group has made recent strides toward improving the quality of topological insulator materials, their heterostructures, and studying the interaction between topological insulator surfaces and with other layered materials. This award brings together a team with the complementary expertise to take this work to the next level and make the advances necessary to test the potential of topological insulators for topological quantum computing.”
Pearl Sandick Appointed Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for College of Science In July, the College of Science announced the appointment of Professor Pearl Sandick, from the Department of Physics & Astronomy, as the new Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs in the College of Science. Sandick is currently an associate professor of physics and astronomy and recently served as associate chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy. She received an Early Career Teaching Award from the U in 2016. In her new role, Sandick will assist with strategic hiring initiatives; devise and refine cross-College guidelines for RPT (Retention, Promotion, and Tenure) reviews for both tenure- and career-line faculty; devise and implement guidelines for faculty mentoring; and develop a strategy for the College’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Sandick is a theoretical particle physicist whose research focuses on exploring theories of “new physics” that extend the Standard
Model of particle physics to explain phenomena like dark matter. She is committed to organizations that support women in physics. She has served on the American Physical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women in Physics and was recently the Chair of the National Organizing Committee for the APS Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics. Locally, she is the founder and faculty sponsor of the U’s chapter of Women in Physics and Astronomy. Sandick earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2008 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Weinberg Theory Group at the University of Texas at Austin before joining the U in 2011.
Pearl Sandick
Sandick was featured in the spring 2019 issue of the Spectrum.
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Peter Godbe Gibbs: 1924 - 2019 Peter Godbe Gibbs passed away July 13, 2019. He was born December 7, 1924, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Lauren Worthen Gibbs and Mary Godbe Gibbs. He had had three brothers, Edwin, David, and William, and one sister, Mary Adele. In 1953, he married Miriam Starling Kvetensky in Urbana, Illinois. They had three children (Doon (Teri), Victoria, and Nicholas (Courtney); five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He and Miriam were married for 58 years until her death. As a child, Gibbs attended Ensign Elementary, Bryant Junior High, and East High School in Salt Lake City. He was good at math, science, and writing and wanted to be a journalist. After the attack on Pearl
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Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941. Because of his talent for science, the Navy enrolled him in a series of universities, including Beria College (Kentucky), the University of Michigan, and Columbia University, studying physics as part of the V-12 program. He subsequently received his commission as a naval officer. He then attended Gunnery Officers Training School and became an anti-aircraft gun commander as an ensign. He was assigned to the USS Columbia as an instructor to newly commissioned officers. He left the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander shortly after the war ended. While in the Navy, Gibbs discovered that he loved physics. He attended the University of Utah and
received his bachelor’s degree in 1947, his master’s degree in 1949, and a Ph.D. in 1951, all in physics. His doctorate was under the guidance of the distinguished physical chemist, Henry Eyring. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral studies from 1951-52 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under John Bardeen, who received two Nobel Prizes in Physics. Between 1952 and 1955, Gibbs was an instructor in the Physics Department at the University of Illinois and a Fulbright lecturer in theoretical physics in Colombo, Ceylon, at the University of Ceylon—a remarkable adventure with a young wife and new baby.
Return to the U After the years in Illinois and Ceylon, Gibbs had several interesting job offers at prestigious universities and companies in the Midwest and on the East Coast, but he decided to return home to the University of Utah and to the mountains. He joined the Department of Ceramic Engineering in 1955 and then moved to the Physics Department in 1956. He rose through the ranks to become a professor in 1962. The American Ceramic Society honored him with the Ross Coffin Purdy Award for his work on theoretical modeling of ceramic materials in 1962. In addition to being a professor of physics, he served as a consultant at different times between 1957 and 1967 to the North American Aviation Company, to Atomics International, to the Stanford Research Institute, and to the Organization of the American States (advising on scientific affairs). In 1963, he again took his family—a wife and three children, ages 5-10 years, on an adventure to Sao Carlos, Brazil, for a year where he was a Fulbright lecturer in physics at the University of Sao Carlos. (“If you’re not doing stuff, you’re not alive.”) From 1967 to 1976, Gibbs served as chair of the Physics Department at the University of Utah. As chair, he grew the department, attracting new and distinguished faculty in a range of new disciplines, spearheading construction of a new building, and starting the new “Science and Society” curricula. The department’s national and international reputation and stature grew accordingly.
Frontiers of Science His best-known accomplishment as chair was creating the Frontiers of Science Lecture Series in 1968, attracting world-renown scientists across all fields of science to give popular lectures that anyone could understand. In the early days, he invited scientists, many whom were friends, by inviting them to ski with his family on the weekends and enjoy elaborate dinners at home. Later, as the Frontiers of Science became well known, the ski weekends were no longer necessary. Well attended and imitated around the country, these lectures are now an established University Utah lecture series. In 2018, Gibbs was honored at the 50th anniversary of the series. He was proud of the series and the fact that he had successfully nominated one of its earliest speakers, Murray GellMann, for the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the quark. During these years, Gibbs also managed to lead a research project focused on bioengineering, characterizing the current of injury that accompanies bone displacements. From 1977 until his retirement in 1992, Gibbs continued research and teaching in the Physics Department at the U, including sabbaticals in the Physics Department at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was an unrelenting supporter of up-and-coming young people, offering encouragement and advice based on his experience. He started a life-long project, called “The Upside-Down Theory” to describe fundamental elements of physics, using a few simple symmetry principles and connecting them in surprising ways to other parts of science. Upon his retirement, he wrote to the chair of the Physics Department that it was a privilege to be a physicist and that he was stepping down to make room for others. His interest in physics, however, never stopped, and he was active until the very last days of his life. Although his family, their adventures, and his science consumed his life, Gibbs was also an avid artist, photographer, skier, mountaineer, and river rat. He Continued on page 14
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Continued from page 13 founded the Great Uintah River Green Life Raft Establishment (GURGLE) in 1970. He finally built his mountain cabin, called Machu Petchy, in the Albion Basin in 1979. He loved the mountains and spent as much time as he could at the cabin with his family— hiking, skiing, cooking amazing dinners, and just watching the out-of-doors through giant glass windows that make up the walls of the cabin. Gibbs’s family remembers him as a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather, who supported then unconditionally in their life’s projects. He had a remarkably positive approach to living, centered on constructive activity that aimed to make the world a
better place. He was a happy man, never defeated, and he never gave up. He demonstrated this characteristic every day of his life, but especially in his later years as his capacity began to diminish. As he would often say, “The glass is always full, half water and half air.” Gibbs and his wife, Miriam, set a clear, stable, and unconditionally loving base from which their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren could grow and explore their lives. To honor Gibbs’s memory, please consider a gift to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation as well as The Ridge Senior Living, Danville Support Services, and Bristol Home Care.
Christoph Boehme Appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy Professor Christoph Boehme was appointed interim chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy last July. He replaces Peter Trapa who served as chair of the department until he was selected to become the new dean of the College of Science. Previously, Boehme served as associate chair of the department from 2010-2015. Boehme joined the U in 2006 as an assistant professor. His research is focused on the exploration of spin-dependent electronic processes in condensed matter. The goal of his work is to develop sensitive coherent spin motion detection schemes for small spin ensembles that are needed for quantum computing and general materials research. He received the U’s Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award in 2018 for his contributions and scientific breakthroughs in electron spin physics and for his leadership in the field of spintronics.
Christoph Boehme
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Boehme received an undergraduate degree at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He moved to the U.S. for the first time when he assumed a Fulbright Scholarship at North Carolina State University, before obtaining a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Marburg, Germany. After a postdoctoral appointment at the Hahn-Meitner Institute Berlin, he returned to the U.S. when he joined the University of Utah as a physics faculty member.
Your generous gift will help advance our scientific mission and grant you membership in the Crimson Laureate Society. As a member, you will have access to a number of exclusive benefits, including: • VIP invitations and seating at featured College of Science events • Recognition on our Hall of Fame donor wall and the College of Science website • Opportunities to engage with our talented and accomplished faculty • Recognition in the Notebook magazine ( Collegiate Club and up) • Venues for networking with College of Science alumni and friends • Special tokens of appreciation based on your membership level For more information, visit https://science.utah.edu/giving/index.php
President’s Circle
President’s Club
$10,000 or more
$2,500 to $9,999
All Tokens of Appreciation
All Tokens of Appreciation
University Recognition
University Recognition
Dean’s Circle
Dean’s Club
$1,500 to $2,499
$500 to $1,499
Slate Coasters
Visor
Collegiate Club
Century Club
$250 to $499
$100 to $249
Mouse Pad
Decal & Foldscope
Note: You will receive all tokens of appreciation at and below your chosen membership level
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We Support Physics & Astronomy Founders Club $50,000 - $99,999 Preston J. and Phyllis R. Taylor
Presidents Circle $10,000 - $24,999 Astrophysical Research Consortium Stephen G. and Susan E. Denkers Family Foundation
Presidents Club $2,500 - $9,999 Douglas J.N. Taylor Jim Hanson
Welcome to the Crimson Laureate Society. Thank you for
Deans Circle $1,000 - $2,499
your dedication to the Physics &
Carleton DeTar and Laurel Casjens
Astronomy Department.
Egbertus D. VanDerHeiden Ph.D.
David B. and Lisa G. Kieda Ph.D.
Northrop Grumman Charity Trust
Members of the Crimson Laureate Society are advocates for the department and science, making their voices heard in ensuring that the work
Paul E. and Denise R. Christian SEI Giving Fund Frances P. Muir
Deans Club $500 - $999 Craig D. George
of our faculty, researchers, graduate
Spectrum Engineers
and undergraduate students continues.
Warner Wada John E. and Sally P. Crelly, Jr. Christoph Boehme
Thank you for your support and participation. We encourage all alumni and friends of the department to join the Crimson Laureate Society today.
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Collegiate Club $250 - $499 Ye Tian Cameron J. and Melanie T. Soelberg UBS Employee Giving Program
Century Club $100 - $249 Liang-Yuan Chen William D. and Ruth B. Ohlsen Ph.D. Marvin L. and Sharon Lee Morris Ph.D. Richard G. Hills Ph.D. Gary S, Kanner Ph.D. Paul L. Kingsbury, Jr. Ph.D. Fidelity Charity Gift Fund Benjamin C. Bromley Ph.D. Zeev Valentine Vardeny Ph.D. Raymond R. and Vernetta B. Jessop Landon R. Clark and Erin Anne Shaw Clark MD The Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving Steve John Condas Tarlton J. and Lorie L. Blair, MD, Ph.D. Roger O. and Sue Ann H. Ladle Larry A. Evans Harold T. and Kay Stokes Ph.D. Anonymous Alan D. and Vickie Muir Eastman Ph.D. Larry K. Millward Burton L. Markham, Ph.D. and Diane L. Bentley William Craig Hewitson, MD William W. Parmley Roy W. Goudy Steven J. Dean Northrop Grumman Foundation Pearl Elizabeth Sandick Ph.D. Jeffery P. Hill Douglas Bergman Dan B. and Nathania S. Elder Kevin D. and Patty Moss
This list represents gifts of at least $100 made to the Physics & Astronomy Department between December 1, 2018 and October 1, 2019.Standard University group designations are used. We are extremely grateful for these and all of our generous supporters.
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY 115 South 1400 East, JFB 201 Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Social @uofu.Physics.Astronomy @uofuPhysAstro Online physics.utah.edu Phone 801-581-6901
Crimson Laureate Society Join the Crimson Laureate Society at the College of Science! Society members advocate for science, gain exclusive benefits, and drive the future of research and education at the University of Utah. Your annual membership will start today with any gift of $100 or more to any department or program in the College. For more information, contact the College of Science at 801-581-6958, or visit www.science.utah.edu/giving.