Quantum Optics with Atomic Ensembles and Single Atoms in Cavities

Current experiments in our group explore the quantum interface between matter and light, with the goal of achieving coherent control for implementing quantum information protocols and quantum networks. We outline recent progress in this direction, including localization to the ground state of motion for an atom trapped in an optical cavity, observation of strong coupling between single Cesium atoms and a monolithic resonator, and generation and characterization of entanglement stored in remote atomic ensembles

Climate Assessment for the Aiken-Rhett House Museum Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF) is seeking a Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collection Planning Grant in the amount of $40,000 to develop a comprehensive plan for providing a sustainable means of managing the interior environment of the Aiken-Rhett House Museum for the longevity of the collections and the historic interior finishes. This project will enable HCF to better understand and eventually mitigate the direct effects of climate on the condition of the collection and historic finishes at the Aiken-Rhett House Museum. It is necessary to further study current conditions and strategically plan sustainable, low-impact methods of intervention in order to better manage the interior environment and preserve the collection

Examining the Relationship Between Media Use and Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image

Objectives: The primary purpose of this research is to understand the media\u27s impact on individual attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. This research is of particular importance because it uses up-to-date data reflecting effects based on the current media environment. Additionally, it includes a racially diverse sample. Methods: A survey of 407 students at a large, public university was conducted. The survey instrument contained general measures related to media consumption, including overall television, video game, and internet use, as well as more specific questions related to particular types of media, such as pornography. For the dependent variables, questions were included that measured both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Results: Consistent with predictions, media use impacted both attitudes and behaviors related to aggression, sexuality, and body image. Specifically, overall television consumption led to increased levels of aggression (r=.18, pr=.20, pr=.24, pr=.42, pr=.40, p Conclusions: The media continue to play an important role in the development of attitudes and behaviors. It is warranted, therefore, to continue to investigate what media can cause negative outcomes, as well as to determine how those outcomes vary based on race and gender

Keynote Address: Reproductive Rights Under Siege: Responding to the Anti-Choice Agenda Conference. University of Michigan Law School. March 5, 2004

It is great to be here with a new generation that is advocating for reproductive rights and responding to the extraordinary anti-choice agenda we currently face. I am not going to talk about that agenda directly tonight because I know that you know it. You know about the judicial appointments, you know about the parental consent laws, you know about the denial of funding for low-income women, you know about the global gag rule

Biochar as a replacement for perlite in greenhouse soilless substrates

Biochar is a solid, carbonaceous coproduct of the pyrolysis process used for biofuel production. Many field studies have shown improved chemical and physical properties of soil after amendment with biochar. The benefits of biochar may extend to soilless substrates used in the greenhouse industry, and the porous nature of biochar may make it a suitable replacement for perlite in greenhouse substrates. The objectives of this research were to determine the most suitable biochar particle size and percentage for use in a greenhouse substrate, to determine if biochar can eliminate the need for amendment with limestone, and to demonstrate plant growth in substrates with biochar as a component. We obtained four sizes of prescreened hardwood biochar and blended each with sphagnum peat to create 40 substrates for experimental trials. The pH of leachate from each substrate was recorded over a 16-week period. Substrate pH increased as the percentage of biochar increased. At the same percentage of biochar in the substrate, decreasing the particle size of biochar increased substrate pH. Several biochar-sphagnum peat mixtures, without limestone amendment, led to a substrate pH appropriate for container-grown plants. Eight of the nine substrates selected for evaluation met recommended physical parameters for use in containers for greenhouse crop production. One substrate, 30% BC10 blended with 70% sphagnum peat, was similar to the control, Sunshine LC1 (Sun Gro Horticulture, Agawam, MA) in all measures except bulk density. Plants grown in biochar-containing substrates were compared to plants grown in a commercial substrate that contained sphagnum peat, perlite, and limestone (Sunshine LC1). Plants grew in each substrate for 27 or 35 days. Electrical conductivity and pH were measured 14 days after transplanting and at the end of each trial. Results varied among trials and crops grown. Many biochar-based substrates produced plants with shoot dry mass greater than or equal to the control. These results demonstrate the potential for biochar to replace perlite and eliminate the limestone amendment needed for commercial greenhouse soilless substrates based on sphagnum peat. Soilless substrates containing biochar as a replacement for perlite and limestone can successfully be used for greenhouse plant production

Keynote Address: Reproductive Rights Under Siege: Responding to the Anti-Choice Agenda Conference. University of Michigan Law School. March 5, 2004

It is great to be here with a new generation that is advocating for reproductive rights and responding to the extraordinary anti-choice agenda we currently face. I am not going to talk about that agenda directly tonight because I know that you know it. You know about the judicial appointments, you know about the parental consent laws, you know about the denial of funding for low-income women, you know about the global gag rule

The Same Actor Inference in Employment Discrimination: Cheap Justice?

In Proud v. Stone, a 1991 age-related employment discrimination case, the Fourth Circuit established the evidentiary principle that a strong inference of nondiscrimination arises when the same person hires and then fires the plaintiff within a short period of time. This same actor inference has been adopted in varying degrees by six other circuits. Only the Third Circuit has expressly declined to recognize the hirer-firer relationship as more than evidence from which the trier of fact may draw a reasonable inference. Courts invoking the inference have extended its applicability far beyond the original context so as to permit theoretically an inference of nondiscrimination in virtually any set of hire-fire circumstances. In practice, courts have tended to treat hirer-firer identity as evidence subordinate or supplemental to other evidentiary and policy considerations. Nonetheless, mention of the hirer-firer connection almost always accompanies, and in some instances appears to ensure, a pro-employer outcome. This Comment argues that the same actor principle\u27s expansion jeopardizes the efficacy of federal anti-discrimination law. Without clear limitations, the erratic and unthinking application of the same actor inference will discourage plaintiffs with valid complaints from coming forward and may permit employers to discriminate without adverse consequences