Astronomy Picture of The Day

Test Stand A-2 Peering Out from the Fog

 
At Stennis Space Center, three large engine test stands were built the early 1960s to test the first and second stages of the Apollo Saturn V rocket that carried Americans to the moon. Since 1975, the test stands have supported testing of the Space Shuttle main engines. The last planned test was conducted in July of 2009. In this photo, the A-2 Test Stand peered out from a thick blanket of fog during the early morning hours of Oct. 28, 2009. This photo was taken from the top of the B Test Stand. The A-1 and A-2 test stands are transitioning to support J-2X engine testing for the Constellation Program, while the B-1/B-2 test stand will support stage testing. For the first time since the 1960s, a new test stand, called A-3, is under construction with a scheduled completion date of 2011. The A-3 test stand will be 300 feet tall and will enable engineers to conduct simulated high-altitude testing up to 100,000 feet. Photo Credit: NASA/SSC/Allen Forsman, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne
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First Club Meeting - This Tuesday!

Tuesday, October 12th 11AM-1PM. Everyone is invited! Feel free to bring friends and family!

Physics Reception and 1st general meeting: Bldg. 4 1st floor conference room, Room# 314

We earnestly invite all students of any background who seek interest in physics to attend this general meeting. This is indeed a great opportunity to not only meet the physics club members and officers, and the latest events for the 2009-2010 school year! Being part of this year’s Society of Physics Students will allow you to not only be well informed about opportunities pertinent to physics academia, but it will give you an opportunity to connect with and form a commodore with the physics majors, all of which have diverse and common interests here on campus.  More importantly, our group not only has knowledge about physics, but we also know how to have fun with physics! ;-) This year’s chapter is dedicated to growing with of all our members and we are actively seeking ways to potentiate intellectual growth, curiosity and inspiration for studying the wonders of physics.

October 11th, 2009 | Category: Homepage Blog | Leave a comment

Biomedical Optics Journal Club--option for independent study credit!

From Instructor: Dr. Small

This fall I am organizing a journal club for students (and anybody else) interested in biomedical applications of optics.  This is in place of the Physics 344 elective class, which was canceled due to budget cuts.  Interested students can receive 1 unit of independent study credit for active participation and giving a presentation, and 2 units if they also write a research paper.

You do not need to register for credit if you just want to attend the talks and learn something!  Anybody is welcome to attend!

Time: 4pm-5pm, Wednesdays
Place: Building 4, Room 4-2-314

Topics: Biological and medical applications of optics, including endoscopes, microscopes, retinal imaging, tumor imaging, optical coherence tomography, and fiber-optic sensors.

Schedule TBA.  Course readings and announcements will be posted at http://physicistatlarge.blogspot.com <http://physicistatlarge.blogspot.com/> .

September 15th, 2009 | Category: Homepage Blog | Comments are closed

Cal Poly Pomona Class of 2009

group

Congratulations to our 5 graduating Seniors for the Class of 2009.  Photo Taken: June 12, 2009
Graduating Students:
(Left) Michael Blaschak, Danny Duarte, Gavik Ayuazians
(Middle) Triet Nguyen, Gregory Villar

August 5th, 2009 | Category: Homepage Blog | Comments are closed