Physics@MIT Journal

Issue: Fall 2005

Message from the Department Head 4

New Faculty 6

Faculty Notes 8

News & Events in Physics 12

In Remembrance 18

Student Honors & Awards 21

Alumni/ae Notes 48

Giving to the Department of Physics 93

Donors 93

Cosmic Dawn: Hunting for the First Stars in the Universe
26 Akin to an investigative detective tracing steps backward in time, astrophysicist Rob Simcoe describes the methods used to uncover the cosmic clues to understanding the mysteries of How, When, and Why the first stars were born.
BY ROBERT SIMCOE
 
Generating Single Photons on Demand
34 Atomic physicist Vladan Vuletic explains how to create single photons on demand, and tells how this can lead to secure quantum encryption of information.
BY VLADAN VULETIC
 
Physics Education at MIT: From Bell's Phonautograph to Technology Enhanced Active Learning
40 Leadership and innovation in the teaching of physics has been integral to MIT since its very beginning in the mid-19th century. Emeritus physics faculty member and Oersted Medal winner Tony French tells the tale of the Department's illustrious history in educating generations of physicists—past, present and future.
BY ANTHONY P. FRENCH