Physics, Music and Film: a Multimedia Performance
On November 4, 2023, a large audience gathered at the Isabel Bader Theatre to experience the Canadian premiere performance of "Patterns from Nature", a multimedia work blending music, film and physics. It is the latest endeavour in a longstanding collaboration between Quinsin Nachoff, a Canadian-American composer and saxophonist based in New York, and Professor Emeritus Stephen Morris of the Department of Physics.
The composition featured four pattern-themed movements, "Branches", "Flow", "Cracks" and "Ripples", with each movement paired with a film created in collaboration with a different filmmaker: Tina de Groot from the Netherlands, Lee Hutzulak from Canada, Gita Blak from NYC/Croatia, and Udo Prinsen from the Netherlands respectively.
The music, a blending of idioms of jazz and classical, was performed by a live chamber orchestra of sixteen musicians from both NYC and Toronto, with featured soloists pianist Santiago Leibson, the Molinari String Quartet, drummer Satoshi Takeishi, bassist Carlo De Rosa, clarinetist François Houle, trombonist Ryan Keberle, saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff and led by conductor JC Sanford.
Each movement contained elements drawn from real physical experiments, including published data on icicle shapes from Prof. Morris's Icicle Atlas. The following day, the contributors discussed their work at a roundtable event sponsored by the ArtSci Salon, available on YouTube.
"Patterns from Nature" will be released on CD, vinyl and on streaming services in 2025.
The event was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences through the ArtSci Salon, and the University of Toronto Department of Physics. The Molinari String Quartet was supported, in part, by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec.
More information here: https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/events/patterns-nature-multimedia-experience-physics-film-and-music
Pursue STEM
Regular readers of Department of Physics Interactions newsletter will be familiar with Pursue STEM, the Physics-Department-led initiative that encourages and supports high-achieving Black students interested in science and mathematics. The program launched its 4th year in February – bigger and better than ever.
At the first session on Saturday, February 7, the Department was crowded with over a hundred excited and enthusiastic students and parents. The Grade 10 students were taken across Huron Street to the Department of Earth Science, while the Grade 11/12 students analyzed sunspots with the Department of Astronomy. A week later, the Grade 10 students learned about Atmospheric Physics and built their own spectrometers.
This year the program has expanded to include sessions at the Department of Cell & Systems Biology and Victoria College sessions, optional March Break Activities, and support for participation in the Canadian Black Scientist Network Science Fair. Even with an expanded intake of 47 Grade 10 students, we could not accommodate all students who applied.
We also are providing very well-received short presentations and discussion with parents so they can learn a bit about what their students have done that day, the science and scientists behind it, and possible career paths.
The profile of the program continues to expand, and last year the Pursue STEM students were invited to attend David Suzuki’s retirement celebration at the CBC Broadcast Centre.
Pursue STEM is part of the Leadership By Design (LBD) program of the Lifelong Leadership Institute (LLI). In addition to Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, School of the Environment, Physics and Statistics, Pursue STEM is also supported by the Dunlap Institute, the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, the Office of Student Recruitment, and the Provost's Access Programs University Fund.
More on Pursue STEM: https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/physics-at-uoft/outreach/pursue-stem/
U of T Physics School Visit Program
On November 9, 2023, students in grade 11 and 12 from Greenwood College visited the Department for an activity on light by graduate student Joscelyn van der Veen, followed by a first-year lab tour by Prof. Ania Harlick.
On February 23, 2024 grade 11 and 12 students from Huron Heights Secondary School attended a workshop on "Laser Diffraction" by Prof. Brian Wilson, followed by cool physics experiments in the lab with Professor Ania Harlick. This was followed by a campus tour.
On February 27, 2024, grade 8 students from the Market Lane Public School attended the Starburst Rock Cycle workshop by Prof. Daniel Gregory from the Department of Earth Sciences. This was followed by a guided tour of the campus.
Are you a high school teacher who wants to bring your class to the Department of Physics or participate in a virtual visit?
For more information visit:
https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/physics-at-uoft/outreach/school-visits-students/
Canadian Association of Physicists High School Exam Workshop
High school students attended a two-day virtual workshop to prepare for the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam. This workshop was held on Saturday, February 10 and March 23, 2024, along with some virtual office hours. About thirty students attended from the Toronto area, and other regions of Canada.
This workshop introduces high school students to the CAP exam, gives them the opportunity to work through previous exam questions, and provides tips on test-taking. The goal of the workshop sessions is to have the students who participate leave feeling more confident with physics and test-taking in general.
The workshops were facilitated by Professors Ziqing Hong, Ania Harlick, and Boris Braverman, with the assistance of U of T Physics undergraduate and graduate students. The high school students commented on how they found interacting with U of T students and faculty very useful.
Professors Hong and Harlick wowed students with physics demos, including the popular liquid nitrogen train to demonstrate superconductivity, while Prof. Braverman shared his experience as a former high school CAP exam participant.
Not Quite a Lecture
Supported by the Outreach Committee, “Not Quite a Lecture” is a student-initiated and directed program that aims to promote physics and STEM education amongst high school students in the GTA. We made our debut Fall 2023 and have since had undergraduate students present approachable talks in over a dozen high schools in Toronto, Mississauga, and the York Region. The topics ranged over many areas of interest, including Fluid Dynamics, Computational Physics, Oceanography, Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics. As we prepare for a new set of visits throughout May and June, we hope that this program becomes a longstanding tradition of student-driven science communication in our department.
By Ivan Ovchinnikov
For more information, please contact us at: notquitealecture.uoft@gmail.com