UNews - Arvid Schultz

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ mourns passing of former professor Schultz

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:15:19 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge community offers its most sincere condolences to the family, friends, colleagues and many former students of the late Dr. Arvid Schultz, a physics researcher and founding member of the Physics and Astronomy department at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, who passed away after a brief illness on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Schultz began working for the U of L in 1969 and retired in 1990. He remained closely connected to the department, his colleagues and students and kept current on recent developments in physics research.

He was recognized last year with a scholarship named in his honour that supported a student who got to work in all areas of Physics at the
U of L, and gain broad exposure to the different types of projects and activities taking place in the department.

See the following link for more on Schultz and the scholarship named in his honour.

http://www.uleth.ca/unews/legend/content/schultz-award-honours-inquisitive-spirit

Physics Department history reflects U of L story

trevor.kenney — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:13:50 +0000

The history of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is one of bold beginnings and independent ideals, traits that are reflected in the histories of the individual departments on campus. The evolution of the Department of Physics and Astronomy may embody that more than any other.

"Our story is really the story of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ," says department Chair and associate professor Dr. David Siminovitch. "For us, in particular, there were some moments it could have gone quite badly and we might not even be here, but we are and we've triumphed."

The department's story has caught the eye of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and is featured in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine, Physics in Canada.

"CAP approached me several years ago to do this but I just didn't have the time," says Siminovitch. "Finally, a couple of years ago I sat down and said if I don't do it now, I'm never going to do it. I literally set aside two weeks where I dropped everything else and worked on writing the history of our department. Since then I'd spent a week here or there polishing it."

For Siminovitch, who came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 1990, the exercise proved to be very enlightening.

"There was a lot that happened before me," says Siminovitch.

"I had some help from the department and particularly from Dr. Arvid Schultz, one of the founding members, and from Drs. Keramat Ali and David Naylor. It was very satisfying for us to get it done and the nice thing is, it now goes into something that is read by virtually every member of the Canadian physics community, including faculty members but also graduate and undergraduate students."

The department's history spans four decades, each of which has significant milestones, taking the department from its establishment in 1967 as an independent unit of the Faculty of Arts & Science focused principally on teaching to today's comprehensive research and development group.

Over the past 40-plus years, the department's maturation has been anything but linear, and Siminovitch points to a particularly poignant period in history when the future of physics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ was in question.

He describes a department lacking support as it approached its second decade, with a low sense of morale and experiencing high rates of attrition. In 1979, academic vice-president, Dr. Owen Holmes, requested an external, independent review of the department. Its resulting report was frank and blunt, recommending as a bare minimum step to rebuild and strengthen the department that two new faculty be recruited immediately, both active in experimental physics.

"Firstly, they had the good sense to go outside the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to find out what they should do," says Siminovitch. "Then they had the courage to act on the recommendations, hiring both Dr. Ali and Dr. Naylor. The rest really is history. They did right back in 1979 and the department is alive and well because of that."

With the history now written and published, Siminovitch encourages other ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments to look into their pasts and to put down their own histories.

"I view this as both telling our story but also telling our story at a very important moment in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's history," he says. "The nice thing now is that this history lives on the web (www.uleth.ca/artsci/physics-astronomy/department-history) and it is dynamic, so we plan to continually update it, not only as we move along year to year but also adding to our past as more stories emerge."

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Physics Department history reflects U of L story

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:22:14 +0000

The department's story has caught the eye of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) and is featured in the latest edition of its quarterly magazine, Physics in Canada.

For Siminovitch, who came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 1990, the exercise proved to be very enlightening.

"There was a lot that happened before me," says Siminovitch.

With the history now written and published, Siminovitch encourages other ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments to look into their pasts and to put down their own histories.

This story first appeared in the January edition of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Schultz Award honours inquisitive spirit

trevor.kenney — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:09:12 +0000

Whether the apple struck Sir Isaac Newton on the head or not, history was made. That lone apple tumbling to the ground set off a chain of events that would fundamentally change the way people thought about the physical world.

"Physics is a very recent development in the history of mankind," says Dr. Arvid Schultz, a founding member of the physics department at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. "The ancient Greeks were great scholars but Aristotle was a long way from understanding Newton's laws of motion."

Evidencing the discoveries made in the last 400 years, Schultz notes, "It's developed quite rapidly yet the effect has been transformational because physics explains the fundamental laws of our world."

While enjoying the beauty of natural phenomena, such as rainbows or star-filled skies, physicists maintain a childlike curiosity and continue asking: how does that work? The progress made in the 20th century is proof of their commitment to finding answers.

Dr. Arvid Schiltz, left, and the first winner of the Arvid Schiltz Award, student Brent Peterson.

"Things like relativity, quantum mechanics and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) have revolutionized modern science and are being practically applied in everyday life," explains Schultz.

The proof can be seen in almost every aspect of our existence. Lasers, for example, were invented in the 1960s and are now used for everything from eye surgery to telecommunications.

"Our instruments are improving and we are gaining great understanding but there are still great mysteries," admits Schultz, whose own research shifted from nuclear physics to astrophysics over the course of his career at the U of L.

Schultz's passion is apparent: although he retired in 1990 and is no longer an active researcher, he maintains a keen interest in the subject matter and visits the department regularly to stay current.

"It's the people that keep me coming back – the faculty and the students," explains Schultz.

It seemed only natural then, that the award developed by the physics department would be named the Arvid Schultz Award.

"The award is named after Dr. Schultz because he cares so much about the subject, the department and the students," explains Dr. Ken Vos, Chair of the physics department. "This award is very characteristic of Arvid."

The award provides a student the opportunity to work with eight different faculty members over the course of a 16-week period, and aims to help familiarize students with the distinct research programs within the department.

"Physics is a love that I have," admits Brent Peterson, a neuroscience student who received the award last May. "I like learning how things work, and that's what this placement was all about."

Since that apple caught Newton's attention, the character of physics research has changed enormously. Nevertheless, this unique award allows students to keep asking "how does that work?", a question Dr. Schultz is still asking himself.

---------

Generously supported by faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Arvid Schultz Award allows a student to work in a variety of areas in modern physics. Open to all first- and second-year students with an interest in physics, the award is given out annually and provides $9,000 for a 16-week term starting in May.

The application deadline is Mar. 2, 2012. For more information, please contact Laurie Scott at laurie.scott@uleth.ca.

UNews - Arvid Schultz

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ mourns passing of former professor Schultz

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