USU Physics Department, Students Host Regional Gathering

What’s next for space exploration and research? How does space weather impact communications on Earth? What’s happening in recent research in nanotechnology integration, accelerator physics and computational DNA?

These topics and more will be explored at the joint Four Corners Section Meeting of the American Physical Society and the Zone 15 Meeting of the Society for Physics Students October 5-7 at Utah State University.

USU alum Mary Cleave, veteran astronaut and associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and University of California-Berkeley theoretical physicist Hitoshi Murayama are keynote speakers for the gathering. Cleave speaks at the Oct. 6 evening banquet and Murayama speaks during the Oct. 7 morning technical session.

Onsite registration for the conference and Oct. 6 banquet is Thursday, Oct. 5, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Science Engineering Research building, room 250. A concurrent pizza reception and USU Physics Department open house takes place in the SER building.

Onsite registration resumes Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 a.m. in the Eccles Conference Center. The conference opens Friday at 8 a.m. in the ECC auditorium.

Conference cost is $50 for APS members, $10 for students and retired APS members and $60 for non-APS members. Cost for the Friday evening banquet is $35 and $25 for students; advance ticket purchase is required.

The joint meetings are coordinated and hosted by the USU Physics Department. For more information, visit the conference Web site or contact the Physics Department at 435-797-2857.