LECTure ENG PHYS ineering

Venue: Burke Science Building
(BSB) 119 Tuesdays from 5.306.30 PM
FALL 2015
ENGineering
PHYSICS
Department of Engineering Physics
in the Faculty of Engineering at
McMaster University, Canada.
adriaan
buijs
is one of only a few countries that
have developed its own type of
civilian nuclear power reactor, the
CANDU, which currently supplies
about 50% of Ontario’s electricity.
This presentation highlights the
fundamentals of nuclear power,
and highlights the special features
of the CANDU reacotr. In the
context of the International Year
of the Light, Adriaan will highlight
the important role high-energy
photons play in the control of the
CANDU reactor.
vincent
hamel
of-the-art, multi-spectral airborne
surveillance systems, L-3 Wescam
is pursuing the most demanding
applications in the defense market.
This presentation will review some
of the challenges faced when designing and manufacturing modern
imaging systems.
jon
bradley
Assistant Professor in the
Dept. of Engineering Physics
Rare Earth Lasers on a Silicon Microchip: Like silicon micro-and nanoelectronics
in the second half of the 20th century, we are
experiencing a revolution in photonics where
microsystems can be built on a compact silicon
chip. One of the challenges has been the integration
of a laser, since silicon has an indirect bandgap and
is generally an inefficient light emitter. Rare-earthdoped glasses offer a cost-effective, monolithic
and flexible solution for silicon-based lasers. In
this talk, I will discuss recent advancements from
materials development and integration methods, to
waveguide, microcavity and pulsed lasers, to their
emerging applications in silicon photonic systems.
ben
rouben
Ultra Short Light Pulses:
Physics and Applications:
Our ability to control light has
increased since the advent of the
laser. Photonic science has on one
hand enabled high precision measurements using narrow lindwidth
lasers, and on the other hand has
opened many scientific avenues
with the development of ultrashort
pulsed lasers. The speaker will give
an overview of the physics behind
the generation and measurement
of femtosecond duration light
pulses.
Adjunct Professor in the Dept.
of Engineering Physics
TUES 3 NOVEMBER
An Overview of Modern
Electro-Optic Imaging
Systems for Airborne Surveillance: With its line of state-
leandro
tessler
The Origins and the Why
of the CANDU Reactor: The
CANDU nuclear-reactor design is
a unique Canadian homegrown
nuclear technology. Its roots go
back to Canada’s research in
nuclear fission in WWII. In 1987, the
CANDU program was named “One
of Canada’s Top Ten Engineering
Achievements of the Past Century”.
This presentation will review the
origins of the CANDU, the rationale
of it, and the effect and import of
the decisions made.
Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics
(IFGW), University of Campinas
TUES 1 DECEMBER
talk will focus on the luminescence
of rare earth (CE, Tb, Eu) doped
silicon oxides, nitrides, and carbides, and some of the challenges
in developing electrically driven
lighting cells suitable for SSL and
in particular, the development of
white light emitters from rare earth
doped Si-based materials.
Professor in the Dept. of
Engineering Physics
Engineering Manager L3
Wescam Electro-Optical Design
TUES 24 NOVEMBER
Visible Light Emission
from Silicon-Based Thin
Film Nano-Structures: This
harold
haugen
TUES 06 OCTOBER
Delayed Photo-Neutrons
in CANDU Reactors: Canada
TUES 27 OCTOBER
Risk and Fear: People often
accept and enjoy dangerous activities
such as skydiving and cycling without
a helmet, and are afraid of things
with little risk, such as rare diseases,
radiation, and nuclear power plant
accidents. This dichotomy has
become more pronounced with time,
and is reflected not just in attitudes
to radiation but also to corporal
punishment, terrorism, helicopter
parenting, etc. This talk explores examples of inconsistent risk and fear,
including the perceived vs. actual
public health effectsof very severe
nuclear power plant accidents.
Overcoming fear is not easy, and
even the industry can be unwittingly
complicit.
series
Professor and Undergraduate
Associate Chair
Professor of Engineering
Physics
TUES 10 NOVEMBER
peter
mascher
While the concepts of nanotechnology date back to the Richard
Feynman, the terminology was not
in regular use until the mid 80’s. By
that time, the first commercially
successful nanotechnology was
already well on its way to transforming society with significant
contributions from Canada (and McMaster). I will present the case that
the first commercially successful
nanotechnology was the semiconductor telecommunication laser.
This remarkable device played a
pivotal role in enabling our modern
information age.
Owner VGS Solutions,
Program Director in UNENE
TUES 20 OCTOBER
victor
snell
The First Nano-Technology:
TUES 29 SEPTEMBER
Associate Dean, Research and
External Relations
TUES 22 SEPTEMBER
john
preston
LECTure
Rare Earth Elements in Amorphous Silicon
Alloys: Rare Earth elements are not included in the
main Periodic Table and have to be accommodated in a
special place below it. However, some of their properties
make them very important for applications in photonics and may be key elements for electronics-photonics
integration. I will explain the reasons for their ostracism.
I will present properties of Rare Earth doped amorphous
silicon alloys, in particular results of photoluminescence
and structural characterization by X-ray absorption
spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS). Indeed, the optical
properties of the Rare Earth elements are determined by
their immediate neighborhood.