Graduate Students In Physics Research Articles

TU-E-350-04: The Practice of Clinical Therapy Medical Physics

Clinical Therapy Physics is the real “practice” of Medical Physics. Therapy Medical Physics is reimbursed explicitly and implicitly as having direct contribution to specific patient care — the only Medical Physics sub‐field with this advantage. Whether it is in establishing External Beam, IMRT,SRS or SBRT programs with IGRT or providing Brachytherapy (HDR & LDR) programs for cancer therapy, the Clinical Therapy Medical Physicist works in partnership with the Radiation Oncologist to provide quality services in cancer care. Supervision of dosimetrists and therapists, the other members of the radiation oncology team is an important part played by us. Dr. Hevezi was Director of Medical Physics at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center for 15 years and built an important clinical therapy physics program there. A broad range of clinical services there included not only the above mentioned procedures, but procedures like Total Body Photon Therapy, COMS Eye Plaque therapy, and others. He currently serves as Lead CyberKnife Physicist with the South Texas RadioSurgery Associantion in San Antonio and directs Medical Physics graduate students in the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Hevezi has been recently elected to the Board of Chancellors of the American College of Radiology where he serves as Chair of the Medical Physics Commission. He is former Chair of AAPM's Professional Economics Committee and most recent clinical interest is in developing the CyberKnife SBRT treatment modality for cancer therapy. He holds a basic patent in this technology. On completing the session on Meet the Experts, The Practice of Clinical Therapy Medical Physics, the attendee will: 1. Be able to identify the procedures in Clinical Therapy Medical Physics that are germane to the Practice 2. Be able to describe the interactions between the Medical Physicist and the Radiation Oncology team members 3. Be versed in the method of reimbursement currently available for the Medical Physicist in Clinical Therapy Medical Physics 4. Be able to identify the specific quality assurance procedures that the Medical Physicist must know in the Practice of Clinical Therapy Medical Physics 5. Be able to identify the spectrum of activities the Clinical Therapy Medical Physicist may be called on to perform in the Radiation Oncology Department

Book Review: Leonid P. Lebedev and Michael J. Cloud, Tensor Analysis

ZAMM - Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics / Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und MechanikVolume 88, Issue 6 p. 453-453 Book Review Book Review: Leonid P. Lebedev and Michael J. Cloud, Tensor Analysis V.A. Eremeyev, V.A. Eremeyev Rostov on DonSearch for more papers by this author V.A. Eremeyev, V.A. Eremeyev Rostov on DonSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 May 2008 https://doi.org/10.1002/zamm.200890006AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume88, Issue6June 2008Pages 453-453 RelatedInformation

A formal derivation of the Gibbs entropy for classical systems following the Schrödinger quantum mechanical approach

In the traditional statistical mechanics textbooks, the entropy concept is first introduced for the microcanonical ensemble and then extended to the canonical and grand-canonical cases. However, in the authors' experience, this procedure makes it difficult for the student to see the bigger picture and, although quite ingenuous, the subtleness of the demonstrations to pass from the microcanonical to the canonical and grand-canonical ensembles is hard to grasp. In the present work, we adapt the approach used by Schrödinger to introduce the entropy definition for quantum mechanical systems to derive a classical mechanical entropy definition, which is valid for all ensembles and is in complete agreement with the Gibbs entropy. Afterwards, we show how the specific probability densities for the microcanonical and canonical ensembles can be obtained from the system macrostate, the entropy definition and the second law of thermodynamics. After teaching the approach introduced in this paper for several years, we have found that it allows a better understanding of the statistical mechanics foundations. On the other hand, since it demands previous knowledge of thermodynamics and mathematical analysis, in our experience this approach is more adequate for final-year undergraduate and graduate physics students.

BOOK REVIEW: "INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM CONTROL AND DYNAMICS", BY DOMENICO D'ALESSANDRO, CHAPMAN & HALL/CRC

With the importance of quantum information science being widely recognized, introductory textbooks on quantum control will be required by many students from diversified backgrounds. Intended for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, engineering, and physics, this book by Dr. D'Alessandro is the first mathematician-written textbook on the subject of quantum control. Representative quantum control problems from various contexts are introduced with clarity and strictness. Emphasis is placed on the applications of Lie algebra and Lie group theory in quantum control.

Quantitative Neurophysiology

Quantitative Neurophysiology is supplementary text for a junior or senior level course in neuroengineering. It may also serve as an quick-start for graduate students in engineering, physics or neurosc

Professor William I. Higuchi: Teacher and Scientist

Professor William I. Higuchi: Teacher and Scientist

TU-E-BRB-04: Meet the Expert - Therapy Clinical

Clinical Therapy Physics is the real “practice” of Medical Physics. Therapy Medical Physics is reimbursed explicitly and implicitly as having direct contribution to specific patient care — the only Medical Physics sub‐field with this advantage. Whether it is in establishing External Beam, IMRT,SRS or SBRT programs with IGRT or providing Brachytherapy (HDR & LDR) programs for cancer therapy, the Clinical Therapy Medical Physicist works in partnership with the Radiation Oncologist to provide quality services in cancer care. Supervision of dosimetrists and therapists, the other members of the radiation oncology team is an important part played by us. Dr. Hevezi was Director of Medical Physics at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center for 15 years and built an important clinical therapy physics program there.A broad range of clinical services there included not only the above mentioned procedures, but procedures like Total Body Photon Therapy, COMS Eye Plaque therapy, and others. He is currently the lead Medical Physicist at the Methodist CyberKnife Center in San Antonio and directs Medical Physics graduate students in the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Hevezi has been recently elected to the Board of Chancellors of the American College of Radiology where he serves as Chair of the Medical Physics Commission. He is current Chair of AAPM's Professional Economics Committee and most recent clinical interest is in developing the CyberKnife SBRT treatment modality for cancer therapy. Educational Objectives: 1. To understand the clinical practice of Therapy Medical Physics. 2. To become familiar with some of the new technologies in Radiation Oncology.

Francis Crick: Discoverer of the genetic code

Francis Crick: Discoverer of the genetic code

An invitation to astrophysics

This unique book provides a clear and lucid description of several aspects of astrophysics and cosmology in a language understandable to a physicist or beginner in astrophysics. It presents the key topics in all branches of astrophysics and cosmology in a simple and concise language. The emphasis is on currently active research areas and exciting new frontiers rather than on more pedantic topics. Many complicated results are introduced with simple, novel derivations which strengthen the conceptual understanding of the subject. The book also contains over one hundred exercises which will help students in their self study.Undergraduate and graduate students in physics and astrophysics as well as all physicists who are interested in obtaining a quick grasp of astrophysical concepts will find this book useful.

Computer Architecture and Amdahl's Law

In this thumbnail autobiography, Dr. Amdahl describes his early career, beginning with a serendipitous programming assignment as a graduate student in physics at the University of Wisconsin in 1950 and culminating in the formulation of Amdahl's Law in 1967.

Conceptos espontáneos sobre colisiones

This work shows Physics Graduate students ways of thinking about the phenomenon of collisions and the physical quantities which are conserved in this process. Written questions and interviews about the described problems enabled us to analyse answers with expectations and explanations for the effect of simple and multiple collisions. Spontaneous models which were found, show fundamental aspects also obtained in other researches with high school students, although with different frequencies depending on the level (graduate or secondary) and on the complexity of problems.

Owen Chamberlain

Owen Chamberlain

Po-Thur Eve General-38: The Virtual Radiotherapy Department

With the number of clinical cases increasing each year, there is pressure on all clinical staff to do more clinical service. At the same time there is a demand to train more students in all of the radiotherapy disciplines. Regulatory agencies are also demanding more continuing education and upgrading for existing staff. We have recently introduced a new clinical treatment planning system, which requires a significant amount of training for all staff members. To meet these increased demands for training all levels of learners we have developed a “Virtual Radiotherapy Department”. The Virtual Radiotherapy Department will provide on line teaching of basic physics and treatment planning for radiation therapy students, radiation oncology residents, and physicsgraduate students and residents. By using on‐line interactive tools it is possible to teach all the different students at different levels by making basic information available to all students, but linking to more advanced information for those that require it. On‐line videos have been created describing several clinical techniques using various equipment. These videos will be used to provide students instruction as well as for continuing education for existing staff or new staff. These tools will be used to provide training to all users as we introduce our new treatment planning system, showing them exactly how to complete various tasks. These videos are customized to our treatment processes; therefore, they show users exactly what is required in the most efficient manner. Funding Provided by Alberta Health and Wellness and Varian.

Science as a Medium for Friendship: How the Keller–Segel Models Came About

I first met Lee Segel in the fall of 1968. Just a year earlier, Sol Rubinow had hired me to help set up a program in “Biomathematics” at Cornell University Medical College and the Sloan Kettering Institute, so when Lee joined us, I had a bit of a head start in thinking about what that word might mean. But truth be told, I hadn’t gotten very far. Perhaps it is fair to say that none of us had. I remember putting together a course for medical students on the subject (somewhere I still have the course notes), and it meant scrambling together a rather disparate collection of examples of biological problems for which we could show the usefulness of mathematics. Simple examples of dimensional analysis seemed like a good place to start; the Hodgkin–Huxley model surely needed to be included; Rubinow’s work on blood flow beautifully illustrated the extension of applied mathematics to problems in the life sciences; my own first efforts in modeling biological clocks offered a very different kind of example; and of course, there were always the classic examples of mathematical models in population biology (e.g., population genetics, epidemiology, and ecology). A good start, perhaps, but still a bit of a hodgepodge. What troubled me more, though, was that I couldn’t see how any of the examples I was able to find would hold much interest for working biologists—at least for the kinds of biologists I knew. Did they enrich our understanding of biological phenomena per se, and if they did, how? Admittedly, my experience in biology was pretty spotty—limited mainly to the phage group at Cold Spring Harbor, and a foray into molecular biology while a graduate student in theoretical physics, but I already suspected it might be better if our tools were to follow the problems, and not vice versa. The question of what an applied mathematician can do for biology seemed to me still very much up for grabs, and when Lee arrived for a sabbatical in the fall of 1968, with his family, this was the question that started us talking. How should one go about identifying problems in a discipline about which, we had to admit, we knew embarrassingly little—problems that could benefit from an application of our skills? How does one avoid the proverbial trap of the technician with a hammer in search of anything that looks like a nail?

Physics in molecular biology

Tools developed by statistical physicists are of increasing importance in the analysis of complex biological systems. Physics in Molecular Biology, first published in 2005, discusses how physics can be used in modeling life. It begins by summarizing important biological concepts, emphasizing how they differ from the systems normally studied in physics. A variety of topics, ranging from the properties of single molecules to the dynamics of macro-evolution, are studied in terms of simple mathematical models. The main focus of the book is on genes and proteins and how they build systems that compute and respond. The discussion develops from simple to complex systems, and from small-scale to large-scale phenomena. This book will inspire advanced undergraduates and graduate students in physics to approach biological subjects from a physicist's point of view. It is self-contained, requiring no background knowledge of biology, and only familiarity with basic concepts from physics, such as forces, energy, and entropy.

A scientific point of view

A scientific point of view

Po‐Poster ‐ 36: Using the internet for real‐time medical physics education

This presentation is an update on the Remote Real‐Time Learning Project (http://www.neteinfach.com/rrtl/index.htm). The goal of the project is to promote the use of Internet to provide classroom style real‐time interactive education in Medical Physics. This project was started 3 years ago as a collaboration between the Department of Medical Physics at the Toronto‐Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre in Canada and the Department of Radiology at the University of Malaya in Malaysia. A class of Medical Physics graduate students at the University of Malaya attended lectures provided by lecturers in Toronto, using the Internet as the main tool of communication. As part of the study, the different methods that can be used to provide real‐time interactive remote education were explored, and various topics including traditional classroom lectures as well as hands‐on workshops were also delivered. Based on our experience, a reasonably stable methodology has been established. This methodology allows a fairly smooth set‐up and conduction of the lectures, at an insignificant cost, while offering flexible convenience to the lecturers as well as the students, despite the widely different time zones. The current plan is to expand the process to allow students at multiple sites of the world to attend the online lectures at the same time. Our project welcomes the participation of both lecturers and students who are interested in taking advantage of the advance of the Internet to promote greater accessibility of quality education in the field.

SU-FF-E-04: Using the Internet for Real-Time Education and Knowledge Exchange in Medical Physics

Purpose: This work provides an update to the ongoing project of Remote Real‐Time Learning. (http://www.neteinfach.com/rrtl/index.htm). The goal of the project is to promote the use of Internet to provide classroom style real‐time interactive education in Medical Physics.Method and Materials: This project was started 3 years ago as a collaboration between the Department of Medical Physics at the Toronto‐Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre in Canada and the Department of Radiology at the University of Malaya in Malaysia. A class of Medical Physicsgraduate students at the University of Malaya attended lectures provided by lecturers in Toronto, using the Internet as the main tool of communication. As part of the study, the different methods that can be used to provide real‐time interactive remote education were explored, and various topics including traditional classroom lectures as well as hands‐on workshops were also delivered. Results: Based on our experience, a reasonably stable methodology has been established. This methodology allows a fairly smooth set‐up and conduction of the lectures, at an insignificant cost, while offering flexible convenience to the lecturers as well as the students, despite the widely different time zones. Conclusion: The current plan is to expand the process to allow students at multiple sites of the world to attend the online lectures at the same time. Our project welcomes the participation of both lecturers and students who are interested in taking advantage of the advance of the Internet to promote greater accessibility of quality education in the field.

Diagnostic ultrasound Imaging : Inside out

The book is about diagnostic ultrasound imaging authored by Dr. Thomas L. Zabo. Graduate students in medical physics and biomedical engineering with backgrounds in calculus, complex numbers and some knowledge on electric circuits would benefit from this book.

Bi-frequency pendulum on a rotary platform: modeling various optical phenomena

The teaching of optical phenomena can be enhanced through the use of analogies to the motion of a bi-freguency pendulum. In this text we target demonstrations to four groups of students and scientists: younger schoolchildren to high school seniors; 7th graders to college juniors; college juniors to final-year graduate students in physics, optics and engineering; and college seniors to research scientists. The main defference between the groups is in the level of mathematics required to make the analogy to optical phenomena. Most of the physical ideas may be understood and appreciated even in junior high school and serve as a motivation for deeper study of mathematics and science.