David Jacome presented, "Purifying Water one Microdischange at a Time"
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Previous Event: SPS Zone 3 Conference at Penn-State University
Date: 3/11/08-3/13/08
Note: The conference was well-organized, many students enjoyed themselves. Therese Jones (Astrophysics/Physics Major; SPS Penn-State President) planned the event so that students could have fun but learn about the research opportunities available at Penn-State. There was two poster presentations from New Jersey, Samik Adhikari and David Jacome. Ronald Maldonado, commented, "the people in Penn-State are nice and seem to love doing research". Samik Adhikari commented, "Everything was fun, I got to eat some Nepal food man". Tony Maldondo said, "I love the environment, and the air is clean". David Jacome said, "Everyone seems to care about the club like at Saint Peter's College, and the advisor works with the students. It was exciting to be a part of that experience, thanks for the memories and the fun times, Therese.Below is a group picture:
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Previous Event: Academic Symposium
Presenters: David Jacome & Samik Adhikari
Titles: Purifying Water One Micro-discharge at a Time & Micro Hollow Cathrode Discharge (MHCD) and the Mechanisms of an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Torch
Notes: Everyone did a great job at presenting. Students commented on David's poster, "This research allows us to study the effects of ozone on water, which is good." Many students asked, "What is the difference between the two poster presentations?" Well, David's setup uses alternating current (AC), and Samik's setup uses direct current (DC). Both of the presenters received awards. Below is a group picture:
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Event: Summer Research with Saint Peter's Prep High School and Union Hill High School Students
Student Involved: David Jacome, Brian McCullough, Quincy Iheme, Luan To
Notes: Students from Saint Peter's Prep & Union Hill seemed excited about working in a college environment. Lyda Sierra (Union Hill) worked well to understand the Capillary Plasma Electrode. It seemed she loved to work in the laboratory, and can be considered a young physicist who has strong passion in the field. Near the last days of the the project, everyone visited the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Below is a group picture:
Presenters:
Presentation Title: Graduate & Undergraduate Research Opportunities at Rutgers University
Date: 12/4/07
Presenters: Dr. Yves Chabal & Norman Lapin
Notes: Norman Lapin talks about his experience being a graduate student. Dr. Chabal tells the students that nothing is easy, and sometimes error produces results. We all remember his saying, "A small idea written on a napkin over lunch most often produces results".
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Presentation Title: Traffic Control through Math & Science!!!
Date: 4/16/08
Presenter: Dr. Frederick Ducca
Notes: Dr. Ducca works for the Federal Highway Administration and conducts research in the traffic mobility impacts stemming from street closures. He will briefly mention the White House Area Transportation Study (WHATS) model which implemented a 24-hour simulation for a large portion of downtown DC for the base scenario, back-cast validation scenario, future base year, and multiple mitigation scenarios. The presentation will provide an overview of the model methodology, calibration and validation issues, and issues relating to presentation of results. Dr. Ducca obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Saint Peter's College in 1967. He has an MBA in Operations Research and Industrial Management from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
SPS Comments: His talk was great, students became exposed to the uses of math in mapmaking. Also, the presentation itself explained the steps involved to decision-making, which is very important in any career one does. Students commented, "Technology is evolving to the point that it will solve an equation for you, so what do you use Math for? Well one uses Math in the Physics to help them understand the concepts better, like Dr. Ducca explained. It's for this reason that Math is important. So, one can say that you need a fundamental understanding of both to make good decisions on a certain project or research problem.
Below is a picture of Dr. Frederick Ducca (Federal Highway Administration):
Meetings:
Date: February 20, 2008
Title: Election Day
Notes: We had elections, and four new officers were named. A brief presentation took place about the goals of our society. The first issue of our new article entitled, "The Newtonstein Article" was given out. Also, members were reminded about the Steven's Presentation involving Calories.
Download NS Article, Volume 1, issue 1:
Date: March 5, 2008
Title: Future Ideas, & the Survey about producing ideas
Notes: The second issue of "The Newtonstein Article" is given out to each of the members. We go some possible future events, like ""The International Scientific Presentation". Next, we conduct a 5-minute survey to understand the changes needed for our society.
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Date: March 15, 2008
Title: "Celebration Day" & "How to become an engineer and build a strong company?" (The Google Boys)
Notes: Members are given a small gift by the department & society. We all enjoy the chicken, french fries, rice, drinks, and ice-cream cake. The third issue of "The Newtonstein Article" is available for members. Dr. Jose Lopez & Dr. Weidong Zhu are awarded by the society for all the hard work they have done. We honored them. Next, members watch a 15-minute documentary on "How to become an inventor & built a strong company". Finally, members are given a response sheet to comment on the documentary.
Watch the documentary, "The Google Boys":
Download NS Article, Volume 1, issue 3:
Meeting: April 9, 2008
Title: What is IQ, and how does it work?
Note: Subway sandwichs was served to the members. Afterwards, David showed a documentary called , "The Battle of the Brains". Members became aware of the importance behind testing. The fourth issue of "The Newtonstein Article" is available for members. Students took an IQ test, and the results show that an average person would rather enjoy life doing outside activities then keep taking tests in college. So, from the results we should be able to pick roles for the "Monthly Experiment" in late April.
Watch the documentary, "The Battle of the Brains":
Download NS Article, Volume 1, issue 4:
Meeting: April 23, 2008
Title: Finally, the Monthly Experiment
Note: We had some popeye chicken, with french fries, biscuits & soda. The meeting was about the results of the Intelligence Test, and how it lacks to prove anything at all. Everyone in our society is SMART, we just have to open up more and socialize among each other. Members became aware of that, and finally we talked about doing a Monthly Experiment. Before doing something, everyone agreed on one thing, "We need to learn about the experiment first, before we can do it". The fifth issue of "The Newtonstein Article" is available for members. Then we all watched a documentary on Bill Nye the Science Guy. We all looked at a list of possible experiments to do, and picked one. 4 out of 6 members picked an experiment called, "Heat Convection", which won the vote. To end the meeting, David mentioned future events, like "Physics Day" at Six Flags, and the End of the Semester Barbeque. Members agreed that this meeting was more fun and open. Nischal Neupane came by to visit the society, and he also agreed that the meeting was fun. So, now that we have seen how fun an experiment can be, let's go out there and do one.
Watch the documentary, "Bill Nye, the Science Guy": Simple Machines:
Download NS Article, Volume 1, issue 5:
Meeting: April 30, 2008
Title: "Heat Convection"
Notes: Pizza and Beef Patties were served! Afterwards, David mentioned what Heat Convection deals with. Members received the first issue of volume 2 (Newtonstein Article). Then, we watched a small clip about Heat Convection. David mentioned an upcoming event in November called, the Sigma Pi Sigma National Congress Meeting at Femilabs. Last, members voted for a date to conduct the experiment and what roles they would like to do. Everyone voted, and the Monthly Experiment will take place at the End of Semester Barbeque on May 25, 2008 during the Early Morning Hours. For more details, check upcoming events.
Watch a small clip of "Heat Convection":
Download NS Article, Volume 2, issue 1:
End of Semester Special Honorary Award:
Date: May 9, 2009
Notes: The Society gave thanks to Father DeStephano for everything he has done for the students. He was honored, below is a group picture:
Upcoming Events, Meetings and Presenters:
If you have any questions about the meetings, minutes, or upcoming events, please contact our secretary at: tmaldonado@spc.edu
