On April 8, Straub Hall filled with people of all ages wondering what happens when physics meets entertainment. The University of Oregon hosted its second Physics Slam, in which six faculty members in the UO physics department presented their research. Each physicist had 10 minutes to present a topic in a way they thought the audience would understand and enjoy. These topics touched on concepts ranging from particle packing to the movement of bacteria, with each physicist telling jokes and showing diagrams to help shape their presentation.
“We’re very happy that there was a very appreciative audience here,” Jim Brau, director of the Center for High Energy Physics, said. “They seemed to be very engaged in the presentations by all of the speakers.”
Of the speakers, UO astronomy lecturer Scott Fisher, discussed how the origins of humans date back to the Big Bang. He elaborated on how although not all of the elements present in the human body existed back then; part of what makes up a person still dates back about 6 billion years ago.
“I think events like this are just really important because they give us a chance to speak to folks we normally wouldn’t see,” Fisher said. “And we all love what we do, so I hope that comes through.”
After each physicist presented, judges voted Fisher as the winner. He received the book “What If?” by Randall Munroe and a weather station as a prize.
The Physics Slam helps show the diverse problems that physicists are researching and the large turnout made the event a success, said UO physics major Eryn Cangi.
“I think it just shows that people are really interested in this stuff,” Cangi said. “They want to make the effort to learn it and I think that’s a really good sign.”