The UI Libraries has free trial access to the AAPT Book Archive collection for one year. The AAPT Book Archive collection includes 34 titles originally published in print between 1977 and 2017. In partnership with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), AIP Publishing digitized a backlist of classic texts, making the full text available in HTML online for the first time.
Titles include Exploring Laser Light by T. Kallard, Amusement Park Physics (2nd Ed.) by Clarence Bakkenand, Making Contributions: An Historical Overview of Women’s Role in Physics.
The free trial access will end September 4, 2021. Please send any feedback about the AAPT Book Archive collection to Laurie Neuerburg.
2020 has been an unusual year, to say the least. A pandemic, murder hornets, an Iowa derecho, hurricanes, racial injustice, wildfires, and most recently a discovery on Venus that points to potential alien life. It is a lot to take in and it can be a relief to bury oneself in reading. What else could 2020 bring? Check out these unusual books chosen to match an unusual year.
Head to the Sciences Library for a comfortable, quiet place to study! We offer a variety of study spots. There are many computer stations, study carrels and booths with USB and outlets for phones and computers, tables, and large mobile monitors to use for sharing your computer screen. This year we have new paint, new carpeting, and new rolling white boards!
The Sciences Library is located between Phillips Hall and the Biology Building on Iowa Ave. The building is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 6 PM. During the pandemic we have hygiene stations available with disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. A face covering is required, and yellow stickers mark off seats that are to remain unoccupied. The book stacks are closed so that we can offer more electronic book access. If you would like to pick up a book, go to the service desk on the first floor.
Our live chat service is available during the day and also from 6-9 PM on Monday through Thursday, and 1-5 PM on Sunday.
The UI Libraries Antiracism guide provides information about understanding racism, resources for antiracist allies, support resources for people of color, and resources for parents and educators. This guide and the resources within it are meant to inspire reflection, education, and action for the University of Iowa community and beyond.
All are welcome to join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night at 5 PM central on Fridays through July 10th! We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. We will do two rounds of questions and give away two prizes per evening. All are eligible to win the prize and the winning person in each round will receive a prize in the mail! Winner must provide name and mailing address to receive the prize. Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/uiscilibtrivia to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be the same from week to week, so you only need to register one time. This is a free event and open to the public.
There will be two rounds of trivia each evening. The first round of trivia will be general questions. The second round will have a theme: animals on June 12, myths on June 19, movies on June 26, food on July 3, and fantasy on July 10.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
Hawkeyes, join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night on Fridays, April 24th to July 10th at 5 PM! The trivia will be led by student emcees Madison and Mason. The questions will be from various subjects such as science, arts & literature, history, pop culture, and sports. We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. We will do two rounds of questions and give away two vacuum insulated, stainless steel water bottles per evening! The winning Hawkeye student in each round will receive a water bottle in the mail! Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/trivia to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be the same from week to week, so you only need to register one time. This is a free event.
Only University of Iowa students are eligible to win the prize. Winner must provide mailing address to receive the prize. All University of Iowa students faculty and staff are invited to play!
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
Hawkeyes, join the Sciences Library for Trivia Night on Friday, April 17 at 5 PM! The trivia will be led by student emcees Madison and Mason. The categories will be science, arts & literature, history, pop culture, and sports. We will use Zoom and Kahoot, so join Zoom on your computer to see the trivia questions and use the browser on your smartphone to input your answers. The winning Hawkeye student will receive a vacuum insulated, stainless steel water bottle in the mail! Register at https://uiowa.libwizard.com/f/trivia to receive the Zoom link. This is a free event.
Only University of Iowa students are eligible to win the prize. Winner must provide mailing address to receive the prize. All University of Iowa students faculty and staff are invited to play!
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu.
It’s National Poetry Month, so if you would like to explore poetry about science and take a break from the uncertainty of life living through COVID-19, then you have come to the right place. All of the poetry listed below relates to science, including biology, chemistry, earth & environmental sciences, mathematics, and physics and astronomy. If you know of science poems that we could add to our list, you are welcome to email your suggestions to lib-sciences@uiowa.edu.
If you need help accessing these books or finding other items in the UI Libraries collection, email us (lib-sciences@uiowa.edu) any time, or live chat (www.lib.uiowa.edu/sciences/contact/) with us Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5 PM.
Study at the Sciences Library during finals week to take advantage of free coffee and snacks! Coloring, Legos, and games are available if you need a study break. We have lots of seating options: bean bag chairs, study carrels, large tables, and computer stations. Best of luck on your finals, Hawkeyes!
Image Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman
If so, you’re not alone. Black holes are by definition problematic to observe. In fact, it was only in April of this year that astronomers unveiled for the first time an image of a black hole in Messier 87 , a supergiant galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. So who knew that an entire week might be dedicated to observe their intriguing existence?
NASA used its “Black Hole Week” as an opportunity to release on September 25th a collection of stunning animated visualizations created by Jeremy Schnittman of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The simulations render details of a black hole, such as the accretion disk, that make the blurry image shared with the public in April more comprehensible to the nonexpert. NASA has made numerous versions of black hole simulations available for free download. Camille M. Carlisle offers additional context for appreciating the simulations in her brief Sky & Telescope article, “Black Hole Warps Light.”
UI faculty researchers and their students are no strangers to the attraction of black holes. Physics & Astronomy Professor Philip Kaaret, Associate Professor Cornelia Lang, and graduate research assistant Matthew Brorby spoke with the Daily Iowan in 2017, giving a peek into their research interests while also offering a quick introduction to black holes.
To learn more about black hole research at the University of Iowa “Listen to the Gravitational Waves From Merger of Black Holes” on a 2016 edition of Iowa Public Radio’s River to River interview with Prof. Kaaret, or read a 2017 Iowa Now article on how the universe may have paradoxically become filled with light as a result of black holes. Prof. Lang comments on the enigmatic filaments “clustered around the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy” in a September 2019 article, “The Milky Way Has Giant Bubbles at Its Center” from The Atlantic. Associate professor Hai Fu spoke to Wired in 2017 about his research on quasars and black holes, and discussed the role of black holes in merging galaxies in another 2017 Iowa Now article.
If you are not already an aficionado of black holes, you can make this week your own Black Hole Week by exploring resources available from the Sciences Library noted below. Don’t hesitate to ask a librarian if you need further help navigating through the literature on black holes.
The UI Libraries has free trial access to the AAPT Book Archive collection for one year. The AAPT Book Archive collection includes 34 titles originally published in print between 1977 and 2017. In partnership with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), AIP Publishing digitized a backlist of classic texts, making the full text available in HTML online for the first time.
National Poetry Month: Science Edition
