November 2012
President's Message November 2012
By Ed HaskellThis Letter will be briefer than usual as I am preparing for Hurricane Sandy just as most of you must be. Weather has a profound effect on our pursuit of astronomical interests and, so it seems, occasionally has more down to earth consequences as well.
Before signing off to batten down the hatches here there are a couple of benefits of your Society membership of which you may not be aware:
We own a number of telescopes of different sizes, sophistication, and quality which are available for loan to members. If you do not own a telescope but wish you had access to own sometimes, or if you do own a scope but would like to try out other types and sizes, then you should converse with one of the Trustees about the procedure for borrowing an instrument.
The Society has a fairly large library of astronomy related books and other media which is available to the membership. In addition to the obvious value as a reference resource these volumes can be helpful in letting you study a title carefully before spending limited astronomy funds on your own copy. Alex Bergemann is the librarian and will be happy to assist you.
That's all for now, more next month. Keep safe and dry the next few days.
Thanks for all you do for Skyscrapers.
The Quantum Mechanics of Global Warming
Brad MarstonQuantum mechanics plays a crucial role in determining the Earth’s climate. Richard Feynman’s famous double slit experiment gives us the key to understanding climate. In tonight's talk Professor Marston will use this understanding to present a simple physical picture of what will happen to the Earth as the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide continue to increase.
Professor Marston joined the Brown Physics Department in 1991. A graduate of Caltech, he received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1989. He has done postdoctoral work at Cornell University and was a visiting scientist at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara. Prof. Marston is an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow and a recipient of a National Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. In 2008, he was designated a NSF American Competitiveness and Innovation Fellow, with the citation: “For his transformational interdisciplinary research harnessing the methods of theoretical condensed matter physics to attack climate modeling and the exceptional interdisciplinary educational opportunities that derive for the mentoring of his students.” Professor Marston is extremely well received by Brown students because he “gives excellent lectures while expressing great enthusiasm and interest.”
Professor Marston enjoys hiking, camping, and daily yoga practice. He lives with his wife and daughter in Rhode Island where the bay, islands, and garden rocks that they dig up each year point to the fact that 20,000 years ago New England was buried under a mile of ice.
Seagrave Public Open Night
Portsmouth Middle School star party
