Facilities

 (Our U.S. Mail Address)

Department of Physics and Astronomy
Neils Science Center
Valparaiso University
1610 Campus Drive East
Valparaiso, IN 46383

The Neils Science Center

Laboratory Facilities

The Manning Nuclear Physics Laboratory

Named after longtime Professor and Department Chair Armin Manning, this facility is entirely devoted to undergraduate instruction and research in nuclear physics under the supervision of Prof. Donald Koetke and Prof. Shirvel Stanislaus. Situated in the Neils Science Center and surrounded by five foot thick concrete walls, the Manning Laboratory contains a 300 keV linear particle accelerator and research-grade equipment for experiments for undergraduate students. This distincitive laboratory is not a research facility for faculty or graduate students, but a laboratory environment entirely for and used by undergraduate students.

Comet Hale-Bopp as seen from the VU Observatory

Valparaiso University Astronomical Observatory

Located at the southeast corner of the Valparaiso University campus, the VU Observatory houses a 16 inch, computer-controlled reflecting telescope used for undergraduate instruction and research under the direction of Professor Bruce Hrivnak. Data are acquired from a variety of stellar objects using a spectrophotometer and a CCD camera. Students work on the analysis of this data in a small attached building as well as in the Neils Science Center.

Frequent open house sessions are scheduled. Many students and community members visit the VU Observatory for these events.

Introductory Physics Laboratory

Used by students in the introductory physics courses Physics 111-112 and Physics 141-142, this laboratory is dedicated to the experimental investigation of fundamental physical phenomena in the areas of mechanics, thermodymanics, electricity, magnetism, and waves. Twelve PC stations permanently located in the laboratory are used extensively for computerized data acquisition and on-line analysis. Experimental sensors such as ultrasonic motion detectors, LED photogates, video cameras, and thermocouples are directly interfaced with the PCs and allow students to store data files on the Neils local area network for easy access from other locations on campus.

Computer Resources

The Neils Science Center is equipped with a local area network named Bohr (get it?) which is shared by the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics and Astronomy departments and has network connections in all laboratories, classrooms, and offices. Many software applications are available for student use. There are more than 100 PCs of various types in Neils, each of which allows student access to the campus network and the internet. In addition, faculty in the Physics and Astronomy department have six workstations which are used to carry out research projects funded by external agencies like NASA, the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and the Petroleum Research Fund. Students are regularly involved in this research during the summer months.

Instructional Resources

Three classrooms in the Neils Science Center are fully equipped technologically, including permanent mounted projector, computer connectivity to the internet, laserdisk player, CD player, VHS player, and individual student response devices. The latter are used by students in the class to respond to questions and the answers are displayed annomyously and graphically so that everyone can learn from the class participation. All classrooms have internet connections and moveable carts are used to bring in computer projectors and other players.

A library of demonstration laserdisks. See the list of physics demonstrations. Also available in PDF format: Laserdisk Demos. Photographic index available online at Montana State.