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Museum to participate in Dayton Regional Science Festival

  • Published
  • By Sarah Swan
  • National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
DAYTON, Ohio --  Grab your lab coat and prepare to explore science-related topics throughout the Miami Valley during the 2014 Dayton Regional Science Festival. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will offer four free family-friendly programs on Oct. 24-25 as part of the festival activities.

At 1 p.m. both days, visitors will learn the basic physical concepts associated with flight during "The Physics of Flight." These interactive sessions will provide attendees the opportunity to gain an understanding of physics concepts such as gravity, thrust, acceleration, drag, turbulence and more as they apply to the aircraft and rockets displayed at the museum.

"Quantum Dots - How to Control Light With Particles That You Can't Even See!" will be offered at 3:30 p.m. both days, giving attendees the chance to see how nanoscience can be used to change the world around us. Due to their small size, the way that quantum dots interact with light defies our normal expectations. Guests will also learn a little about lasers, semiconductors and even quantum mechanics.

As a major STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) initiative, these educational programs will be offered as part of the museum's collaboration with Wright State University's College of Mathematics and Science (CoSM). Dr. Jason Deibel, associate professor and CoSM Director of Undergraduate and Experiential Learning with the Physics Department, is currently working with the museum's Education Division while on sabbatical. He will lead all four museum programs during the science festival.

Prior to joining the faculty at Wright State in 2007, Deibel was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University, where he was a Director of Central Intelligence Postdoctoral Fellow. During that time, he also spent two months at the

University of Leeds as a Royal Society Visiting Fellow. He completed his Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and also holds a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Transylvania University. His research interests include ultrafast and terahertz spectroscopy and imaging, computational electromagnetics, and the characterization of novel materials. His work has been published in over 35 refereed journals and conference proceedings.

The Dayton Regional Science Festival is a four-day celebration of all things STEM. From Oct. 23-26, local participating businesses, organizations and educational institutions will host events throughout the greater Dayton region to provide people of all ages an opportunity to see science in a new light. Visit http://daytonsciencefestival.org for more information and a schedule of events.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world's largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.


NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Education Division at (937) 255-3128.

NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283.