James M. Madsen, Professor of Physics
I am a member of the AMANDA (Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array)
and IceCube Collaborations. The project
involves placing sensitive light detectors in the polar ice cap to indirectly
detect neutrinos. These projects seek to map the universe using neutrinos,
and explore cataclysmic phenomena like gamma ray bursts and Active Galactic
Nuclei that produce neutrinos millions to trillions of times more energetic
then those produced in the sun, nuclear power plants, or radioactive
decay. Read additional information for the IceCube project specific to UWRF.
Astronomy
in the Ice is an eight day summer course at UWRF for
teachers that introduces the exciting science of the AMANDA project
to the secondary school classrooms. More information about
the course is available at the IceCube
Education Resource Center.
The Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic program (TEA) pairs teachers
with Polar researchers to provide field experience in a wide variety of
disciplines. During the 2001-2002 season, Mats
Pettersson from Sweden and Jason
Petula from Tunhannock High School in Pennsylvania attended the
Astronomy in the Ice course at UWRF and then spent approximately three
weeks at the South Pole working on AMANDA and an associated cosmic ray
experiment SPASE. Eric
Muhs from Seattle, Washington followed a similar path for the
2002-2003 season, and was at the South Pole from late November
to mid December, 2002.
The cooperative
education and internship program gives UWRF students valuable
experience outside the classroom. Students learn life-long career
skills including resume development, producing effective cover letters,
job research skills, and how to network.
B.S., UW-Madison, Ph.D., Colorado School of Mines. In addition to
teaching at River Falls, I have taught at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst and at the Colorado School of Mines.
Specialties: |
Courses Taught:
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- Condensed Matter, Astrophysics
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- Condensed Matter
- Thermodynamics
- Advanced Mechanics
- Advanced Electricity & Magnetism
- Mathematics of Physics & Engineering
- Calculus General Physics
- Algebra based General Physics
- General Physics Laboratory
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