Join UT’s Department of Physics and Astronomy for the third lecture in a new series, Saturday Morning Physics. Assistant Professor Sowjanya Gollapinni will discuss “The Ghostly Neutrinos” at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 18. A question-and-answer session will follow.
The lecture will be held in Room 307 of the Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF), 1499 Circle Drive. Limited parking will be available in the 11th Street Garage.
Neutrinos are fundamental particles that make up the universe, yet they are still some of the least understood by scientists. Their rare and elusive nature has made them difficult to find and study. However, scientists have created large, sensitive detectors to capture these mysterious neutrinos in remote areas such as the deep Antarctic ice, miles underneath a Canadian mine, and beneath a mountain in Japan.
Saturday Morning Physics was the brainchild of Kranti Gunthoti, a lecturer and outreach coordinator for the department. He developed a schedule of topics and made arrangements with the speakers. Gunthoti visited many middle schools and high schools to encourage students’ participation.
“The main motivation for starting Saturday Morning Physics is to excite the public about physics and to inform them of the research we do at UT,” said Gunthoti. “The other equally important goal of the program is to also nurture the enthusiasm for physics in high school students. The key concept of the program is to deliver the lectures in a way that is understandable to a high school student.”
Gunthoti hopes to continue the Saturday Morning Physics lectures every spring. As the program grows, he is pushing for further engagement and collaboration with the general public and high school students. Through this initiative, he hopes that more students will be interested in pursuing physics as a major and even attending UT.
For more information about these lectures or to sign up, visit the Department of Physics and Astronomy website.
—
CONTACT:
Kranti Gunthoti (974-5697, kgunthot@utk.edu)