Physics students celebrate Einstein at Northwestern University

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Physics students celebrate Einstein at Northwestern University

Physics

Four students and Assistant Professor of Physics Tim Dolch celebrated the General Theory of Relativity’s 100th anniversary at Northwestern University Oct. 1.

The Midwest Relativity Meeting commemorated the benchmark of Albert Einstein’s theory through presentations from authors and professors familiar with the subject.

Junior Michael Tripepi said his favorite lecture was the keynote address, which “presented all the physical considerations that Einstein had to incorporate into his theory.”

Trepepi, a physics major, said he enjoyed the background info the talk provided.

Junior Daniel Halmrast said he enjoyed hearing the modern application of the theory.

“I enjoyed listening to the lectures of recent research on the relation of black holes and neutron stars and the steps taken to validate that research,” Halmrast said.

The Hillsdale physics and mathematics majors were the only undergraduate students in attendance among graduate scholars and postdoctoral researchers.

“This trip provided them the opportunity to network with young individuals in their field and learn more about graduate school,” Dolch said.

John D. Norton, from the University of Pittsburgh, lectured about Einstein’s handwritten notes, going through them step by step to understand his thought process, even to the point of decrypting his doodles.

Dolch chose to attend this meeting so that the four students would be exposed to the quickly approaching reality of attending graduate school and researching current topics of science.

“Hillsdale doesn’t offer much exposure to modern research, so I capitalized on the chance to experience up-to-date statistics and to learn what a career in gravity research means,” Halmrast said.

Dolch’s group conversed with many graduate students about the application process for graduate school. They made important face-to-face social connections that could lead to potential internships.

“Hillsdale’s student to faculty ratio allows for much personal interaction with professors both inside and outside of the classroom. The recommendation letters we write, for example, show that we really get to know our students,” Dolch said.

Junior Joshua Ramette studied gravitational waves last summer through a Research Experience for Undergraduates with the National Science Foundation at Louisiana State University, working under Gaby Gonzalez, professor at LSU and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory Scientific Collaboration spokeswoman.

“I did research in optics at LIGO in Livingston, LA, one of the two four-kilometer facilities existing within the United States that uses lasers to detect gravitational waves,” Ramette said. “LIGO hopes to document the first discovery of gravitational waves within a few years.”