UIndy Physics & Earth-Space Science

Beautiful lunar eclipse on campus last night! Here are a few photos we took. The distinctive red color of the eclipsed Moon is a result of the way light is bent and scattered by Earth's atmosphere, but here at UIndy it's also the moon dressing up in our school colors! (You can read more about the color of lunar eclipses at https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/why-does-moon-look-red-lunar-eclipse.html ).

Great feature on our student eclipse research team! Their data collection and experience of the eclipse went well in Ohio, so we're looking forward to seeing the great images and results that come from it!

UIndy Students to Capture Solar Eclipse in NASA’s Citizen CATE 2024 Project A team of UIndy students will capture video and photographic footage of the total solar eclipse as part of the Citizen CATE 2024 project, organized by NASA.

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy a few eclipse-themed Valentines from us here at UIndy as we look forward to totality coming to our campus on April 8.

Despite the heat, it was great to welcome our incoming majors with our traditional visit to the Community Garden to help pick some vegetables and do some weeding, in support of sustainable urban agriculture and community food networks. Looking forward to seeing more of our pack back this next week for the start of classes!

Happy 4th of July! As Indy celebrates around us, we're reminded that fireworks are a great example of physics in action - trajectories, spectra, and forces, oh my! Wishing you safe fun with awesome science today, Greyhounds!

Wanna learn more about the science of fireworks? https://www.snexplores.org/article/how-fireworks-shower-skies-science
https://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/science-at-home/diy-science-fun/the-science-of-fireworks

It's UIndy Day! Join us in celebrating and please consider making a contribution in support of our ongoing work equipping a new generation of scientists and scientific citizens in Indiana and beyond!

UIndy Day: April 18, 2023 Put your Greyhound spirit into action. Let's support UIndy students on UIndy Day: April 18, 2023!

Wishing everyone a great Spring Break!

Our department had a great time participating in the HASTI (Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc) conference this week, with presentations by Dr. Tim Duman, Dr. Stacy Hootman, and Dr. Sarah J. Reynolds. It was great seeing a lot of other University of Indianapolis faculty, students, and alumni there, along with so many passionate and dedicated science educators from across the state!

HASTI is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and we're glad that UIndy has been involved since the beginning, when Dr. William Gommel was part of the first steering committee. We carry on that tradition of leadership and involvement with this great organization still, with Dr. Stacy Hootman serving currently as vice president.

It's a busy weekend online for faculty in our department! Rupam Das, Tim Duman, and Steve Spicklemire are presenting at the joint meeting of the Indiana and Illinois sections of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and Sarah Reynolds is presenting at the Midwest Junto for the History of Science. See the schedules below for details on their talks:

IN-AAPT and IL-AAPT Joint Meeting:
https://sites.google.com/view/illinois-section-aapt/meeting-archive/spring-2021/s21-presentations

Midwest Junto for History of Science:
https://midwestjunto.wordpress.com/junto-2021-schedule/

It's Earth Day AND UIndy Day! As we celebrate both, we're reminded to always look for ways to take care of the places we love. We're glad to be a part of equipping UIndy students to make a difference for our environment, with our Earth-Space Science and Environmental Science courses.

More on UIndy Day:
https://www.uindy.edu/alumni-and-giving/uindyday/
https://www.givecampus.com/qgf81z

NASA has some great Earth Day Resources for multiple ages to check out:
https://www.nasa.gov/earth-day-2021

One of the best parts of life in a science department is figuring out what's been left on the whiteboard (or chalkboard, if you're old school!).