News & Events

A Colgate chapter of a prestigious physics honor society was launched recently, just five days after several of the inductees elicited oohs and aahs from a crowd at Whitnall Field with the firing of homemade rockets that shot hundreds of feet into the air.

Welcome to the world of physics at Colgate.

A group of about 25 students, with support from Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty members and Adam Weinberg, dean of the college, has mixed academic work and research with some whiz-bang demonstrations in reviving the Colgate Physics Club.

Faculty and students worked hard last fall to establish the club and become affiliated with the Society of Physics Students (SPS), according to Kiko Galvez, professor of physics and astronomy who serves as the club’s adviser.

It has been a boon to faculty members as well as the students, he said.

“Students get a good idea of what is going on at all levels and can relay this back to the department as a form of feedback,” he said. “The club helps brings faculty and students together because faculty also get involved in the activities.”

Inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma honor society were (left to right) Michelle Cooper '06, Krystle Williams '06, Nicole Cassano '05, Stephanie Wortel '06, Christina Viviano '06, Everett Riley '06, Cynthia Castellon '05, Jarrett Moyer '06, Anthony Annunziata '05, and Justin Spencer '05.

SPS is a professional association for students, and is open to all those interested in physics. Sigma Pi Sigma is a nationally recognized scholastic honor society, and its chapters are restricted to colleges and universities of recognized standing that offer a strong physics major. Both groups operate within the American Institute of Physics.

On Nov. 16, the Colgate club inducted 10 students into Sigma Pi Sigma at a special ceremony held at the Colgate Inn.

“It’s a lifetime induction, and it’s really quite prestigious,” said Krystle J. Williams ’06, president of the Colgate chapter and organizer of the ceremony. Students are elected on the basis of outstanding academic achievement.

Lyle Roelofs, provost and dean of the faculty at Colgate, also is a professor of physics. He attended the ceremony and came away impressed with the event and the quality of students who were inducted. One of the inductees, Justin Spencer, is currently working with him on a research project.

“I think this event, which was truly initiated by the students, is a testimony to their high level of commitment to academics and their academic discipline,” said Roelofs.

Charles Holbrow, Charles A. Dana Professor of physics, emeritus, gave the keynote address, and Kenneth Segall, assistant professor of physics, served as presiding officer for the event.

Anthony Annunziata ’05 was among those students inducted into the honor society. He serves as president of the Colgate Physics Club.

“We do a lot more than work on physics problems on paper,” said Annunziata. “We do things that are a bit different than the normal physics lab, as well.”

Some of that involves rocketry, the club’s theme for this year.

Anthony Annunziata gets a rocket ready for takeoff at Whitnall Field.

“Sometimes people say ‘rocket science, that’s hard, that’s mysterious.’ But really, it’s pretty simple stuff. It’s using Newton’s equation with the right constants and the right terms. It’s a good way to get people involved and interested in physics,” said Annunziata, who noted that the club is open to all students.

Some students might have noticed the whoosh and trails of smoke coming from Whitnall Field at about 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12.

Five rockets, weighing up to 2.5 pounds and costing $50 to $70, were sent skyward that day, said Annunziata.  The rockets were retrieved and can be reused if they are fitted with a new engine. He and other club members built them from parts they ordered or found somewhere in Lathrop Hall.

Annunziata said Thomas Balonek, professor of physics and astronomy, helped the students coordinate and fund the rocket launch, which served as a tune-up for a bigger event the club is planning for this spring.

The club is looking to involve area high school teachers and students in the “rocket day” event as part of its plans for reaching out and providing mentorship to high school students interested in physics.

Club members will look to launch up to 15 rockets that day, and are exploring the use of cameras and internal monitors to track a rocket’s flight.

All eyes are trained on one of the rockets launched recently at Whitnall Field.

Both Williams and Annunziata say the support they receive from members of the physics and astronomy department has been invaluable.

“It’s great. It’s a pretty small department so we have all the teachers right there for us. We can talk to them at any time. We get to do research over the summer … there are a lot of practical applications,” said Williams.

Williams and Annunziata are working on different aspects of the same research project led by Beth Parks, associate professor of physics and astronomy. Williams spent this past summer with Parks designing, assembling, and testing a spectrometer, a device that measures the intensity of radiation.

Now, Annunziata is using the machine as he continues to research the high-frequency properties of carbon nanotubes, cylindrical molecules of carbon that are very strong and exceptionally good conductors of heat, making them useful in advanced computer processors, lubricants, fuel cells, and drug delivery systems.

“It’s all interesting stuff,” said Annunziata. “The students spend a lot of time together and the professors are right there with us.”