Physics – Sciences Library News

Chauncey shows an Erlenmeyer flask paper snowflake

Dec 07 2018

Finals Week Snacks & Snowflakes

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

During Finals Week, Chauncey reviews his notes, gets enough sleep, and studies with friends at the Sciences Library. He creates his own study guides and asks himself questions that might be on his exams. When he gets tired, he finds it helpful to take short breaks.

Luckily, Chauncey discovered that the Sciences Library provides cookies, coffee, tea, and fun for short breaks! While he likes the Legos, K’Nex, and games, Chauncey’s favorite activity has been cutting out paper snowflakes. He had a lot of fun creating an Erlenmeyer flask snowflake! Join Chauncey at the Sciences Library to study for finals. He’ll show you where to find the cookies, coffee, and snowflake patterns!

Nov 28 2018

Red Planet Day 2018

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

On this day in 1964, the Mariner 4 spacecraft launched and completed the first Mars flyby, marking today as Red Planet Day. Mariner 4 took snapshots of the surface of Mars and gave us our first up-close view of the planet. While Mariner 4 was meant to capture data only for a few months, it stayed in orbit collecting solar wind data for several years.

Just two days ago, NASA landed the InSight spacecraft on Mars. InSight will go under the surface of Mars to learn more about its interior structure by measuring its temperature and seismic activity. Knowing more about the Mar’s interior structure will help us learn about its geological formation. As the geology and climate of Mars match most closely to Earth’s of all the planets, Mars stands out as the most promising planet for possible human settlements and the most likely place to search for signs of alien life!

Celebrate Red Planet Day with some of our books about Mars!

We have fun films too!

Hope you have a Happy Red Planet Day!

Photo of Mars — Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS

Aug 29 2018

Fall 2018 Workshops at the Sciences Library

Posted on August 29, 2018August 30, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.

Staying Current Workshop – Thursday, September 20, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Keep up with the news and research in your field
Use the library to find new sources of information
Learn how to set up email alerts and notifications

EndNote Workshop – Tuesday, September 25, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, October 10, 1-1:50 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Scholarly Journals Workshop – Tuesday, October 23, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Identify the most critical journals in your field
Learn about impact factors and other measures of quality
Recognize important characteristics of journals, such as whether they are open access, refereed, or predatory

Evaluating Science Workshop – Thursday, November 1, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Assess science articles and news for credibility
Look for original sources of research
Investigate misinformation, bias, and retractions

Search Strategies Workshop – Wednesday, November 14, 12-12:50 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Choose which places to search
Improve the relevancy and precision of your search
Quickly evaluate search results

If you’re interested, but unable to attend these workshops, private appointments and webinars can be arranged. If you have any questions or if you’d like to request a workshop for your class or group, please contact Laurie Neuerburg (319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu) for more information.

Aug 16 2018

Top 10 Things to Know About the Sciences Library

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

10. You can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

9. You can email, call, or schedule an appointment with one of our librarians (Laurie Neuerburg or Leo Clougherty) if you need help finding books, articles, or anything else for your research.

8. You can use our scanner on the 1st floor for free.

7. You can take a rest and study comfortably using our bean bag chairs, tables, armchairs, and carrels.

6. It’s easy to visit us from downtown–you will find us on Iowa Ave across from Joe’s Place.

5. Our mascot is a gorilla named Chauncey.

4. We can help you find datasets online and properly manage your own research data.

3. Our building was designed to be an anatomical theater for medical students and so the back of the building has a semicircular shape!

2. You can use our subject guides to find the best resources for your research in astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, and more.

1. We provide free coffee and tea!

Jul 12 2018

Sunsetting of the Open Access Fund

Posted on July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

For several years, UI Libraries has maintained an Open Access (OA) Fund to help researchers pay for the article processing charges (APCs) on open access publications. This fund supports authors choosing to make their publications open for anyone to read, broadening their audience and providing wide access to important research. We have decided to sunset the OA Fund for APCs within two years due to budget constraints. We found that the fund did nothing to offset our rapidly increasing journal subscription costs. In fact, the fund largely supports the same publishers to which we pay our pricey subscriptions. Given this reality, the final year that funding will be available is 2020, and the amount of funding for 2019 has been reduced from $3,000 per article to $2,000 per article. Additionally, each author will only be eligible to receive funding from the OA fund one time per fiscal year in 2019. Articles must have been accepted into a high quality, peer-reviewed, open access journal with ethical standards.

Though the OA Fund will be sunsetted, there are other options to support open access publishing. Authors can take advantage of green OA through the Iowa Repository Online (IRO) or pre-print and post-print repositories. Additionally, authors might be able to find grants or ask their departments to fund APCs. In the meantime, the UI Libraries will be exploring sustainable models to fund open access publishing in the future. If you have specific questions, feel free to reach out to Mahrya Burnett, Scholarly Communications Librarian, mahrya-burnett@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5937.

Summer 2018 Sciences Library Workshops, Model of atom symbol

Jun 22 2018

Summer Workshops at the Sciences Library

Posted on June 22, 2018June 27, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.

EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, July 18, 2-3 PM, Chemistry Building, W258

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Biology Databases Workshop – Wednesday, July 25, 2-3 PM, Biology Building, B20

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Use BioCyc to research metabolic pathways and genome databases.
Find articles in BIOSIS Citation Index using advanced searching, combinations of searches, and alerts.
Identify the most important biological research articles on your topics of interest using Faculty of 1000 (F1000).

Image of Hedy Lamarr publicity photo for the film The Heavenly Body, 1944

May 25 2018

Women and Science in the Military

Posted on May 25, 2018May 29, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

On Memorial Day, we honor the individuals in the U.S. Armed Forces who have given their all serving our country. Memorial Day began in the 1800s when women began putting flowers on the gravestones of soldiers, leading the day to be known at the time as Decoration Day. In addition to the decoration of graves that led to Memorial Day, women have had an important presence during wartime. Even as far back as the Revolutionary War, women were nurses, cooks, seamstresses, fighting while disguised as men, and acting as spies. As time went on, women became involved with scientific developments that have impacted wartime efforts. Their intellects contributed to nuclear fission, cryptography, compilers for programming, wireless communication security, and Kevlar vests.

Lise Meitner (1878-1968)

First to explain nuclear fission, with her nephew Otto Frisch

Read: Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age and Lise Meitner: a Life in Physics

Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1892-1980)

Cryptanalyst for the U.S. Navy

Read: The Woman Who Smashed Codes : a True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies

Grace Hopper, Navy Reserves Rear Admiral (1906-1992)

Wrote the first compiler for computer programming

Read: Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age and Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea

Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000)

Famous actress who invented frequency hopping, used for secure wireless communication, with George Antheil

Read: Hedy’s Folly: the Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and Beautiful: the Life of Hedy Lamarr

Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014)

Inventor of Kevlar, used for bulletproof vests

Read: Stephanie Kwolek’s New Polymer: From Labs to Riches and Kevlar Legions: the Transformation of the U.S. Army, 1989-2005

May 01 2018

Origami: A Blend of Art and Mathematics That Advances Science

Posted on May 1, 2018May 2, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

What does the ancient paper folding art of origami have to do with science? While origami can be simple and fun for children, the applications of origami in the sciences have been sophisticated and complex. From mathematics and engineering to medical devices, origami has been the inspiration for responsive, elegant, and flexible innovations in science.

If you need a study break to clear your mind, try out origami at the Sciences Library. We have origami paper on hand for you. You can use our instructions for simple models, search online for diagrams, or create your own designs!

Combining origami with computer programming, Robert J. Lang has designed over 700 exquisite origami models displayed on his website, and he has applied his expertise in origami to problem solving in engineering and physics. Notably, he helped to design a prototype for a large folded telescope lens that was meant to fly compactly into space within a rocket and then unfold smoothly upon reaching its destination.

Researchers at Harvard and MIT have developed self-folding robots based on origami. In their research, it took less than five minutes for their robot to assemble itself from a flat template and then walk on its own. The idea is that self-assembling robots could be sent as flattened objects into tight spaces and then assemble themselves upon reaching their destination. The hope is that these robots could potentially be used in rescue work in unsafe areas due to wreckage or fallen debris.

The development of medical devices inspired by the folds in origami is underway. Examples of products being designed are stents, catheters, and drug delivery mechanisms that travel through the body in a collapsed, folded form and then expand to carry out their function. While more research is required before these devices are approved for medical use, it is thought that these origami-inspired designs will be safe devices that are minimally invasive to the body.

Read more about origami at the UI Libraries:

Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art

Un/folded Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry

How to Fold It: the Mathematics of Linkages, Origami, and Polyhedra

Apr 26 2018

Finals Week Treats at the Sciences Library

Posted on April 26, 2018April 27, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

You need comfortable seating. You need short, engaging study breaks. You need homemade brownie bites. All of this is available to you if you study for final exams at the Sciences Library!

A variety of seating—tables, study carrels, bean bag chairs, and quiet study space for individuals as well as group study spaces
Legos, K’Nex, origami, and games to give your brain a treat for working so hard
Free coffee, tea, cookies, and homemade brownie bites to give your brain fuel

Don’t wait! Study at the Sciences Library today! And tomorrow, the day-after-tomorrow, and the day after that … you get the picture, whenever you are ready to study, we are here for you.

Apr 16 2018

Introducing New Sciences Reference & Outreach Librarian

Posted on April 16, 2018May 1, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

Hi, there! I am Laurie Neuerburg, the new Sciences Reference & Outreach Librarian at the UI Sciences Library, and I look forward to meeting you!

I hold an M.S. in Library Science from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Houston-Victoria. Previously, I worked as Instruction & Media Librarian at a small academic library in Victoria, Texas, a joint library for Victoria College and the University of Houston-Victoria.

I am the liaison librarian for physics, astronomy, and biology. I am available for reference assistance, research consultations, and classroom instruction. I can work with you on a specific assignment, or cover topics such as database search techniques, citation management, and information literacy. I can also create research guides and tutorials for you.

Additionally, if you have an interest in collaborating with the Sciences Library on an event, please contact me! Although I am frequently at the Sciences Library, my office is located in 453 Van Allen, or you can call (319-467-0216) or email me (laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu).