Description

Part of the umbrella of SAIL programs in Economics, Psychology, and Physics, the SAIL Physics camp is a week-long set of talks, lab tours, and hands-on activities for middle- and high-school students focused on learning both about Physics and about college in general . The program is free and especially targets students without a family history of higher education, conveying the appeal and accessibility of college both indirectly through its activities and directly through presentations from admissions and financial aid officers.

The inaugural Physics camp was held in August, 2008. Several Physics faculty contributed time and effort to the program, and activities included microscopy of household materials (like toothpaste and mayonnaise), exploring the physics of rock climbing (at the UO gymnasium, with Associate Dean and avid climber Dietrich Belitz), and creating Jackson Pollack-esque "fractal" paintings. Student response was enthusiastically positive, and the second of these annual camps will occur in Summer 2009 (joint with the Human Physiology department).

General description of the SAIL program, which spans Economics, Physchology, and Physics)

2009 Physics SAIL Schedule (pdf).

2008 SAIL Physics Day Camp:

A nice article on the SAIL program, from the College of Arts and Sciences Magazine (Sept. 2008)

    Activities included:

• Creating “Fractal Art” with Prof. Richard Taylor’s "pollockizer."
• Assembling iridescent synthetic opals in Prof. Miriam Deutsch's Lab.
• Microscopy of household “soft” materials (mayonnaise, toothpaste, ...) + optically trapping microparticles in the Parthasarathy Lab.
• The Physics of Rock Climbing (at the UO Gym Rock Wall!)
• and more...
• 2008 Physics SAIL Schedule (pdf).

  Faculty Organizers: R. Parthasarathy, H. Linke, M. Deutsch. Other faculty participants: Stan Micklavzina, Mike Raymer, Dietrich Belitz, Jim Brau, Greg Bothun

A photo, from our session on microscopy of household materials: