What drives cells to live and engines to move? It all comes down to a quantity that scientists call “free energy,” essentially the energy that can be extracted from any system to perform useful work. Without this available energy, a living organism would eventually die and a machine would lie idle.
The Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation awarded two students from the University of Maryland’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences with $15,000 scholarships for the 2018-2019 school year. This year’s scholars are physics graduate student Zachary Eldredge and chemistry graduate student Matthew Thum.
Close-up photo of a trencher, which digs grooves in the ice for power and data cables. (Credit: Liz Friedman/UMD)
What's it like living and working in Antarctica? Upon returning from a five-week trip to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, UMD graduate student Liz Friedman sat down with Chris and Emily to chat about her experience. In this episode, Friedman shares some of her memories of station life and explains how plans at the pole don't always pan out.
This episode of Relatively Certain was produced by Chris Cesare, Emily Edwards and Dina Genkina. It features music by Dave Depper. Relatively Certain is a production of the Joint Quantum Institute, a research partnership between the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and you can find it on iTunes, Google Play or Soundcloud.
Congratulations to Assistant Research Professor Chandra Turpen for receiving the 2018 Women of Influence Award. Established in 1977 by the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues, this award recognizes achievements of outstanding women o
n campus.
Dr. Turpen received her Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Colorado, specializing in Physics Education Research. As an Assistant Research Professor in the physics department at UMD, Turpen works with the Physics Education Research Group. Her work includes the design and research contexts for learning in higher education. She uses perspectives of anthropology, psychology and the learning sciences.
At UMD, she directs the 
Learning Assistant program which is focused on recruiting and preparing exceptional science majors for teaching careers. This program allows students to collaborate, interact and problem solve. She also leads an Introductory Physics course for Life Science (IPLS).