Applied Science and Technology

William Gutsch, Ph.D. ’67 Captures Images of the Eclipse

Web Office — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:36:06 +0000

The above collage of images captured by William Gutsch, Ph.D. ’67, distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, shows a composite of the various phases of the eclipse including the moment of totality when the dark disk of the moon transformed the sun into looking like a black hole in the sky surrounded by the pearly glow of the sun’s atmosphere, known as the corona. It is only during a total eclipse that astronomers are able see and study the sun’s atmosphere which spreads out across the solar system and engulfs all the planets including the Earth.

Two Physics Students Present Their Research

Web Office — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 20:56:33 +0000

On March 6, Saint Peter’s physics majors Edwin Rivas ’17 and Adam Zandani ’18 attended the annual Independent College Fund of New Jersey (ICFNJ) Undergraduate Research Symposium at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Rivas presented a poster titled “Investigation of Quantum Entanglement Dynamics of Coupled Quibits in the Global Environment” and Zandani presented a poster titled “Plasma Bandage Using Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge.” Both students previously received a $1000 award from ICFNJ to conduct their research. They were advised by professors Debing Zeng, Ph.D., and WeiDong Zhu, Ph.D., respectively.

Dr. William Gutsch Writes, Co-Produces and Directs Animated IMAX Feature

Web Office — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 20:05:06 +0000

Recently, William Gutsch, Ph.D., distinguished professor of the College of Arts and Sciences, directed a series of recording sessions in Hollywood for a new, IMAX animated feature he wrote and co-produced for children titled Khrumka’s Adventures in the Winter Forest, which is a four minute animated feature for IMAX type domed theaters. In it, a little creature named Khrumka awakens unexpectedly from his long winter’s sleep and explores a new world of snow, the Northern Lights, the winter stars and more.

Professor Showcases work on the Northern Lights

Web Office — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 17:16:05 +0000

William Gutsch, Ph.D., distinguished professor of the College of Arts and Sciences, recently returned from Tokyo, Japan where he gave an invited lecture on his research on the Northern Lights in the Arctic to students and faculty in physics and astronomy at Meiji University. He also gave an opening night talk and a presentation of excerpts from his two latest IMAX programs at the 7th annual International Festival of Scientific Visualization.

The Second Annual STEM Event on Campus is a Success

Web Office — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 21:19:17 +0000

On Saturday, November 12, a group of approximately 109 middle, high school, and community college students, family members, Saint Peter’s undergraduate students and educators came to Saint Peter’s University to attend the second annual STEM event on campus: “The Path to the STEM Dream for Young Scholars.” This event is a collaborative effort between the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, applied science and technology, nursing, LEEP, the SURGE Program, and student clubs. It is focused on promoting diversity in STEM fields.

Physics Seniors Win Travel Award from AIP

Web Office — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 19:20:46 +0000

Physics seniors, Nnamdi Ike ’17 and Edwin Rivas ’17 recently received a MSI/HBCU Travel Award by the National Society of Physics Students (SPS) of the American Institute of Physics (AIP), to attend the 2016 Physics Congress (PhysCon 2016) on November 3-5 in San Francisco. The Quadrennial PhysCon, hosted by Sigma Pi Sigma (∑π∑), the honor society of SPS, brings together physics students, alumni and faculty members for three days of frontier physics, interactive professional development workshops and networking. It is the largest gathering of undergraduate physics students in the world!

Both students will be presenting their findings from microplasma research advised by Wei-Dong Zhu, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Applied Science and Technology and advisor of the ∑π∑ Chapter at Saint Peter’s.

Physics Students Awarded Grants by ICFNJ

Web Office — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 20:42:52 +0000

Pictured from left: Derek Osborn ’18, Dr. Zeng, Edwin Rivas’17, Dr. Zhu and Adam Zandani ’18

Three physics students, Edwin Rivas ’17, Derek Osborn ’18 and Adam Zandani ’18 were recently selected to receive grants of $1000 each from the Independent College Fund of New Jersey (ICFNJ) to conduct research in physics. Their research projects are as follows:

Derek Osborn – “Application of Microplasma-Synthesized Nanofilm for Melamine Detection by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy”

Adam Zandani – “Plasma Bandage Using Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge”

Edwin Rivas – “Investigation of Quantum Entanglement Dynamics of Coupled Qubits in the Global Environment”

Zandani will be advised by WeiDong Zhu, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Applied Science and Technology; both Rivas and Osborn will be advised by Debing Zeng, Ph.D., assistant professor of the Department of Applied Science and Technology. The research period will be from October 2016 to January 2017. Upon concluding their research, the students will present their findings on Monday, March 6, 2017 at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.

Physics Student Receives Travel Grant

Web Office — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 20:41:13 +0000

Nnamdi Ike ’16, a physics student, recently received a travel award to attend the 2016 National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) fall workshop at Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, on October 27-30. The award will cover transportation to and from the workshop, hotel accommodations and meals during the workshop. Ike is currently conducting research on microplasmas under the advisement of WeiDong Zhu, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Applied Science and Technology. Ike will be presenting his work on “Self-organization of microplasmas in noble gases” at Fermilab.

Students Accepted to Top University Ph.D. Programs

Chris Gonzalez — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 14:25:34 +0000

It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that Anu Joshi, one of our Biotechnology students, who graduated a few years ago, has been accepted to Harvard University and also Columbia Ph.D. program for Bioinformatics. Harvard is ranked #1 and Columbia is ranked #5 in the area of study in the nation. Anu will soon decide which one she will go to. Two other Biotechnology students who graduated around the same time with Anu are now studying in Ph.D. programs at Princeton University.

I am very proud of our students!!

Wei-Dong Zhu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Physics and Chair
Department of Applied Science and Technology

Professor of Math and Physics Attends first Sino-German Symposium in Beijing

Chris Gonzalez — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 16:57:03 +0000

Weidong Zhu, Ph.D., associate professor of math and physics, recently attended the first Sino-German Symposium on “Atmospheric Pressure Gas Discharges and Plasma Applications” held in Beijing. During the conference, Dr. Zhu presented “Atmospheric Pressure Plasma in Water Related Applications.”