Department of Physics

News & Announcements

Colloquium: Development of Harmful Algal Blooms Forecasting System Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Numerical Modeling

18 April 2024 — This Friday, April 19 at 3:15 p.m. will feature Professor Qianqian Liu from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where she will present Development of Harmful Algal Blooms Forecasting System Using Satellite Remote Sensing and Numerical Modeling:

The coastal ecosystem is complex due to its multidisciplinary nature involving intertwined webs of living and nonliving elements, which makes the development and assessment of ecological forecasting systems challenging. However, with valid assumptions we can often use simple models to provide forecast users with helpful information. My research is focused on developing numerical models in combination with remote sensing/in-situ observations and statistical and machine learning models to understand the science of ecosystems and help forecast users for decision-making. For example, collaborating with NOAA, we develop an approach to predict the spatially- and temporally-resolved probability of exceeding a public health advisory level of microcystins in the western basin of Lake Erie, by innovatively combing different harmful algal blooms (HABs)/toxin detection and HAB location and movement forecast techniques. The forecast of HAB location and movement uses satellite remote sensing and a numerical hydrodynamic model to predict the location and movement of the bloom up to five days ahead. By focusing on well quantified physical drivers and a short enough forecast period that biomass sources and losses can reasonably be neglected, much of the ecological complexity can be avoided. Another example is the ongoing development of an HABs forecast system for the Albemarle Sound, combining satellite imagery and a numerical modeling system covering the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound.

The presentation will be held in room N109 of the Howell Science Complex building. Please join us via Webex if you are unable to attend in person.

Colloquium: Calculating Skin Dose Following Fluoroscopically Guided Interventional Procedures (FGIPs) Using Different Computational Phantoms

11 April 2024 — This Friday, April 12 at 3:15 p.m. will feature Professor Rasha Makkia from the Medical College of Georgia, where she will present Calculating Skin Dose Following Fluoroscopically Guided Interventional Procedures (FGIPs) Using Different Computational Phantoms:

Determining the peak skin dose (PSD) accurately during fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures (FGIP) is crucial for assessing potential radiation-induced skin injuries and determining the necessary follow-up care for exposed patients. This study evaluates the accuracy of PSD estimation in FGIPs using geometrical and computational phantoms that mimic the dimensions of the imaged patient. A hybrid computational human phantom (HCHP) was developed using Rhinoceros TM 6.0, and three other computational phantoms with cylindrical, ellipsoidal, and semi-ellipsoidal geometries were created using Matlab software developed to calculate PSD for different computational phantoms. Dose-distribution mapping was performed on all constructed phantoms using Matlab software, adhering to the guidelines outlined in AAPM TG-357. Modeling the FGIP with the use of computational phantoms accurately reflects patient anatomy and can be useful in evaluating radiation PSD from FGIPs. The traditional method yields a greater difference against our fluoroscopy PSD measurements, while the HCHP calculation method resulted in comparable accuracy in calculating PSD to using computational phantoms, with the added computational power and time needed to create a patient-based human model.

The presentation will be held in room N109 of the Howell Science Complex building. Please join us via Webex if you are unable to attend in person.

20 March 2024

Dear Pirate Physics Supporter,

March 20 is Pirate Nation Gives, ECU’s annual spring fundraising campaign. We appreciate your support and participation in our work in the past and, today, on behalf of everyone in the ECU Physics program, I invite you to consider a gift of any amount to the Physics Priority Fund.

The fund was established several years ago to support undergraduate and graduate physics students. This year we plan to use the Physics Priority Fund in these ways:

• Outfit the Physics Undergraduate Research and Collaboration Hub (PURCH). Everyone needs a space to do their work and collaborate with others, and undergraduate Physics students are no exception. But right now, they have nowhere to call their own. Therefore, we have given them a room to work on homework and projects and to collaborate on research. We are equipping the room with furniture, computers, and other items needed for a meeting, study, and computational physics space.
• Support graduate student travel. It is very important for graduate students, particularly Medical Physics students, to attend professional meetings where they can make the contacts that lead to job opportunities. But we need help to pay for travel expenses for all our students. That is where the Physics Priority Fund comes in. We will use this fund to support graduate student travel to professional meetings to explore job opportunities or present their research.

Your support of the Physics Priority Fund will help us to fund these two important initiatives.

Pirate Nation Gives begins at midnight on March 20.

Click here to donate. From $5 to $50 or $500, your gift will make a difference.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Jeff Shinpaugh, Chair
ECU Department of Physics