Maple Syrup. Champion of breakfast, the perfecter of pancakes. Sweet addition to butter, beans, and even bacon. But how does that treat travel from tree to table? Phenomenal physics is in no short supply, and Abby van den Berg, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center, will share her joy and her expertise. She discusses the wonder of sap flow, long-term tree health, production methods, and the pigments associated with autumn foliage. Full show notes at: www.physicsalive.com/maple ..read more

The universal design for learning (UDL) framework is an approach based on educational research that can guide the development of flexible learning environments that are supportive of and accessible to all learners. I’m speaking with Melissa Eblen-Zayas and Kristen Burson, authors on a recent paper describing their efforts to implement UDL and promote student mental health. They specifically focus on physics course modifications that provide multiple means of engagement. Go to the full episode show notes at: www.physicsalive.com/udl   Today's conversation is with Melissa Eblen-Zayas, Profe ..read more

What if I told you that you could do velocity, acceleration, friction, rotations, impulse and momentum, pressure, sound, color, and magnetic field labs all with a single measurement device? And what if I told you that almost every student is walking into the classroom with their own device already in hand? Welcome to Physics with Phones curriculum. Each lesson details activities using built-in smartphone sensors to illustrate key physics concepts, including elevation, g force, and angular velocity. David Rakestraw, a senior science advisor at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, has put togeth ..read more

The Physics Alive podcast is on the road this week! A busy semester has made it challenging to produce new episodes, so your host has taken his microphone on the road, recording while driving. Hear updates about Brad's classes and experiences this semester at his new teaching institution, Plymouth State University. The ups, the downs, the good, the frustrating -- the teacher's journey ..read more

ISLE, the Investigative Science Learning Environment, is an intentional holistic learning environment for physics. It addresses two main goals: to help students learn physics by engaging them in the processes that mirror scientific practice and to improve their well-being while they are learning physics. Eugenia Etkina started this approach nearly 40 years ago and has been an ardent teacher educator in the years since. This interview with Eugenia provides the educational philosophy behind ISLE, specific examples of how the approach works, and the support network that can get you started. Show ..read more

In this episode, I talk about DNA: a simple DNA diffraction and interference experiment using the spring from a pen, and the DNA, the structure of my introductory physics class during the spring '22 semester.    Full show notes at: www.physicsalive.com/dna   DNA Diffraction and Interference Lab and/or Demonstration Figure 1: X-ray diffraction pattern of B-DNA labeled Photo 51 by Rosalind Franklin. Figure 2: Interference pattern from a pen spring. Pattern produced from a red diode laser passing through the spring from a pen. Projected on a screen 8 meters away. Here are the ..read more

Sara Seager is Professor of Planetary Science and Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on discovering new exoplanets and characterizing their atmospheres. She hopes to find and identify another Earth and searches for signs of life. In this episode, Sara describes how we find planets around other stars and how we can possibly know how their atmospheres are composed.   Check out the full show notes at: www.physicsalive.com/exoplanets   Learn more about Sara and her work: https://www.saraseager.com/ Sara's MIT faculty page   Here are some of ..read more

Jeff Young is an editor and reporter focused on technology issues and the future of education. He is currently the managing editor at EdSurge and the producer and host of the EdSurge Podcast, a weekly look at the future of learning. We talk about developments he’s seen throughout his career reporting on education, MOOCs and their place in education, the themes of the EdSurge podcast, and his take on the future of education. Check out the EdSurge Podcast!   Go to today's Show Notes at: physicsalive.com/edsurge   EdSurge reports on the people, ideas, and tools shaping the future of lea ..read more

In this episode, I summarize four articles from the Winter 2022 issues of The Physics Teacher: reflecting on a difficult year, group work equitability, lab activities on temperature and thermodynamics, and polarimetry measurements for food science. I also reflect on the purpose of this podcast, the many types of episodes you can expect to hear, and how I might better support you - the listener, the educator - to put new ideas into practice. Also, Physics Alive is now on Slack!   www.physicsalive.com/tptwinter22   Physics Alive is on Slack. Join the Slack workspace. You can also leave ..read more

Wouter Hoogkamer, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is the director of the UMass Integrative Locomotion Lab. He studies human locomotion, integrating neurophysiology, biomechanics and energetics. In today’s episode, learn about his research on running economy and breaking the two-hour marathon mark. Plus, we’ll take his expertise and distill it down to some experiments and concepts that we can use in the high school and college intro physics classroom.   Show notes: www.physicsalive.com/running   Learn more about Wouter and his work: Wouter's UMass Amh ..read more