HOBOKEN, N.J. - The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s annual Science-on-Saturday program – a series of nine talks on topics ranging from computation in astrophysics to collective motion in animal groups – is scheduled for January 12 through March 15, 2008. This year's series includes Dr. Knut Stamnes, professor and head of physics and engineering physics at Stevens Institute of Technology. His talk, “From Satellite Remote Sensing of the Earth to Non-Invasive Diagnostics of Skin Cancer,” will be held on Saturday, February 16, 2008 in the Gottlieb Auditorium on the Forrestal Campus at Princeton.
Stamnes is an internationally renowned researcher, recognized for his work on the measurement and impact of radiation in the atmosphere. He has authored two books on the subject. Over twenty years, his research agenda has taken him from Colorado, where he earned his doctorate in Astro-Physics, to Alaska, where he headed the Environmental Optics Group at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He was also a member of the Science Working Group for Surface Heat and Energy Budget for the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA), Site Scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurements) facility and Science Team member for the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellites (ADEOS) program.
The Saturday program series is marking its 24th consecutive year with a new collaboration with the Liberty Science Center, which will offer four of the talks broadcast live in its Interactive Theater in Jersey City. Center audience members will view the speaker and slides in real time on a 9-by-12-foot screen, and can participate in the question-and-answer session at the end.
PPPL Science Education Head Andrew Zwicker said, “This is an exciting new component to our lecture series, and we are fortunate to be able to collaborate with such an outstanding science center. Each year we have larger and larger audiences, and this partnership with the Liberty Science Center will allow students in northern New Jersey to fully participate in a truly outstanding series of lectures.”
The talks begin at 9:30 a.m. on designated Saturdays and usually run about two hours. The program is geared toward high school students, but all campus and local community members are invited to attend the free lectures. Registration is on-site prior to each session, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Security measures at the lab require adult visitors to show government-issued photo identification upon arrival. For further information, directions, and a full list of dates and speakers, visit the PPPL website at www.pppl.gov/.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.
Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.
