Scott Whitfield

Some Background Info

• Born and raised in the Denver, Colorado area.
• B.A. in physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder in May of 1982.
• M.S. in physics from the University of Oregon, Eugene in June of 1985.
• Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oregon, Eugene in December of 1988.

Brief Work History

• Postdoc at the University of Central Florida from Feb. 1989 -- Feb. 1992.
• Humboldt Fellow at the Fritz-Haber-Intstitut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin from March 1992 -- April 1994.
• Postdoc at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas from Jan. 1995 -- Aug. 1996.
• Visiting Professor of Physics at the University of South Alabama, Mobile from Sept. 1996 -- June 1997
• Arrived at UWEC in August of 1997.

Courses Taught/Teaching

• Physics 100:Physical Science. A conceptual, 4-credit course with laboratory designed as a general science education course for non-science and elementary education majors.
• Physics 211: General Physics. An introductory non-calculus based physics course with laboratory. Topics include Newtonian mechanics, basic thermodynamics, waves and sound.
• Physics 231: General Physics. An introductory calculus based physics course with laboratory designed for physics/math majors and pre-engineering students. Topics covered are Newtonian mechanics, waves and sound.
• Physics 333: Quantum Physics. An introduction to quantum mechanics. Topics covered include black-body radiation, particle and wave behavior of light and matter, old quantum theory (the Bohr model), the Schroedinger equation, the hydrogen atom and spin.

Research Interests

• My research interests are focused on the dynamics of the photoelectric effect for atoms (photoionization) in the gas phase. The photoelectric effect is one of the most fundamental examples of the interaction of light and matter, and was first explained by Albert Einstein in 1905. The reaction is very simple: a photon (a particle of light) is absorbed by an atom, and if it carries sufficient energy, an electron from the atom is ejected into space with a definite kinetic energy. I study this process experimentally by analyzing the behavior of the electrons which are ejected after absorption of the photon. Experimentally one can determine not only the basic atomic structure of the atoms involved, but one can also probe basic aspects of the quantum-mechanical nature of the photoionization process. These experiments require photon wavelengths which are beyond visible radiation, namely ultraviolet and soft x rays. Sources for such radiation are not easy to come by, so my experiments are carried out a synchrotron radiation facility, the most convenient being the Synchrotron Radiation Center run by the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Stoughton WI, just south of Madison.

Contacting Professor Whitfield

• If your are interested in working with me on gas-phase photoionization, you should have at least a B average in physics and completed at least physics 350 (electric circuits). Phyiscs 333 (quantum physics) is desirable but not mandatory.
• Send e-mail to Professor Whitfield

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Scott Whitfield
Updated: September 2nd, 1999