�Class of 2000

Aaron Dotter

Email: Aaron.Dotterdartmouth.edu

Address: P.O. Box 836, Hanover, NH 03755

Hello! I am currently in my second year of grad. school in astronomy at Dartmouth. I'm happy to say the situation fits me like a glove. I've recently passed the qualifying exam, which was a harrowing experience. I'm glad it's the last one I'll have to take.

I've also made the switch from observing to theory and computer simulations. I'm working on stellar evolution and stellar pollution(*). So far I have really enjoyed this work and with any luck I will soon be a published author. I'm currently leading the public observing sessions on campus, where all of that practice with Cindy is coming in handy.

Aside from academia, Kira and I are now entertaining three (!) dogs in our free time. We celebrated our first anniversary in August with a weekend in the Green Mts. of Vermont. In my free time I enjoy baking bread, reading, and walking dogs in the woods of New Hampshire.

A big "Whoop Dee Doo!" to everyone in Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Take care.

(*) I'll be glad to discuss the latter via email if anyone is interested.

Class of 2001

Mekayla Beaver

Email: mekayla.beaveralumni.carleton.edu

My first year at the University of Michigan has flown by, and another graduation is already fast approaching. Once again I am struck by the number of different directions I might go in after I walk across that stage next spring. I debated long and hard about going off to do a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, but have decided to hold off for now. I'm still stubbornly convinced that I will find ways to combine my random interests into something that resembles a job. Who knows what news the next alumni newsletter will bring you.

For now, I'm just enjoying learning from all the different types of people that I get to work with as a part of my internship in Rehabilitation Engineering. I've been traveling all over MI to help people with disabilities find ways in which technology can increase their independence. I get to play with voice activated TV remotes, head controlled computer mice, and Morse code controlled communication devices (think Stephen W. Hawking here). And best of all, I get to see the joy on a person's face as doors open in front of them (yes, both literally and figuratively) after we problem solve together.

Ok, this is getting to sound like another one of those nasty cover letters I've been cranking out, so I better stop before you start to doubt the truth behind it.

I look forward to hearing from some of you soon

Katie Connor

EMail: katieconnorhotmail.com or kconnoraeyc-mn.org

Address: 1937 Fremont Ave S, #6, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Home: (612) 377-4036

The year and a half after graduation has been exciting and very social, since a bunch of friends from Carleton are still in the cities. I sure miss a lot of you who have moved farther away. For a little over a year I've been working for a great organization called the MN Association for the Education of Young Children (MnAEYC). Meeting wonderful people and learning how to pay bills, cook, clean, and wake up at a decent hour every morning.

Amanda Kirchner

Email: astroproductionhotmail.com

After my first year of filmmaking at Montana State, I decided that I really didn't want to be a producer or director. Being much more hands-on / production-orientated, I have decided to return to home to pursue visual effects at the Art Institute International of Minnesota in Minneapolis. I do like Montana, but I missed the opportunities for theater and concerts offered by the Twin Cities. Plus living in Minneapolis will mean that I am closer to both high school and college friends.

Pascal Mickelson

Email: mickelspwarpmail.net

Address: 2349 Wroxton Rd. #2, Houston, TX 77005

Greetings! I gave up my job in the "real" world in order to return to academia this year. I am nearing the end of my first semester in the applied physics program at Rice University. Other than gaining an enhanced "appreciation" for Houston, Texas, I like things pretty well. I am looking forward to getting past classes and into research; probably in one of the AMO groups here. Using one of my remaining years of eligibility, I have joined the Rice ultimate Frisbee team. Outside of running, eating, and sleeping, it sometimes seems that ultimate and homework are all that I do. But, all things considered, if that's my life at this point, I'm not too disappointed. It could be a lot worse or a lot more boring.

I hope the department is doing well. If any alums are interested in occasional road or camping trips, particularly during the summers, please e-mail me. Ben Luey, Mekayla Beaver, and I visited Yosemite and Mono Lake in California last summer and had lots of fun. We would welcome more bad physics humor on our travels.

Carl Tape

Email: carl.tapeworcester.oxford.ac.uk

Hey everyone, I have had an enjoyable first year at Oxford as a grad student in seismology. The work has kept me busy, and I'm looking at wave propagation on a sphere, in order to better understand surface waves emitted during earthquakes. I've enjoyed it enough to decide that I'd like to do seismology for a Ph.D., so I'm in the process of applying to grad schools (in the US) for next year.

England has been a new cultural experience. Highlights for me have included touring Cadbury chocolate factory, roaring with 40,000 others at the London soccer matches, chasing the Great Severn tidal bore, and hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland (think Braveheart). Feel free to drop in and stay if you're over here&endash;the price is right (free)!

Class of 2002

Henry Brock

Email: henry.brockalumni.carleton.edu

On July 31, 2002 I arrived in the Munich, Germany airport and my year of travel (supported by the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship) began. Three and a half months later I find myself in the south of France, steeped in Catalan culture, visiting a blacksmith who has resurrected an old, traditional style of pocketknife.

I have visited blacksmiths so far in: Kolbermoor, Germany; Sennwald, Switzerland; Trebon, Lipnik (Helfstyn Castle), and Prague, Czech Republic; Berlin, near Bautzen, and near Tubingen, Germany; St. Clair Sur Epte, Arles Sur Tech, Nimes, and Marseilles, France; and I type this account from an internet café in Barcelona, Spain where I have come for a quick look at the architectural work of Antoni Gaudi. I still dream of physics now and then, and recently read Oliver Sack's book "Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood." It got me excited all over again about science and reinforced my intentions to continue further education in physics and engineering.

Andrew Eppig

Email: aeppigumich.edu

Address: 615 W Jefferson, Apt. 3, Ann Arbor, MI 48103

I'm presently in Ann Arbor doing a physics Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Ann Arbor seems to be teeming, not only with Carls, but Carleton physics alums, which is quite nice. I live with Jeff Paine ('02); have class with Liz McDowell ('02); have attended lectures by David Gerdes ('85), and run into various other alums from various years (Alisa '98, Mekayla '01). When not working on Jackson, I can be found haunting the frisbee fields and social dance halls of Ann Arbor. Speaking of Jackson, we got to meet the man himself in October. As per my research, I don't have a group yet, but will soon, hopefully. Remember, symmetry is one of the most important and deepest concepts in physics, and is responsible for much of the "beauty" often referred to in describing physics theory. To this end, I am still pursuing particle theory.

If anybody is in Southeast Michigan, my home is always open. High Five and LWS

Per Hatlevik

Email: perperhat.com

URL: www.perhat.com

Address: 400 N River Rd, Apt 814, West Lafayette, IN, 47906

Phone: (765) 743-8111

I'm currently at Purdue University in a Physics Ph.D. program. I came here early last summer and provided input on labs for an Electronics course that is woefully out of date. I am also TAing that course this semester. It's kind of fun because there are a lot of senior physics majors as well as some physics and chemistry grad students taking the course. Classes are going fine for me and I'm getting ready to take the month of December to study for a qualifier I hope to pass in January. Next summer I will hopefully be doing research in a detector development group with a professor here at Purdue, we'll see. I'm enjoying teaching but grading lab reports is kind of a pain.

Hope everyone is doing well wherever they may be.

Sara Karbeling

Email: karbelisyahoo.com

Address: 1951 Delta Ave., West Branch, IA 52358

Phone: (319) 643-7614

Hello all! It felt very strange not going back to Northfield this fall, but after an exciting summer as a camp counselor in Southwestern Wisconsin, I moved back home to Iowa, and into my apartment. I am definitely keeping busy, but also really enjoy the environment here, living on campus and working in the girls' dorm every third weekend on the campus of Scattergood Friends School in West Branch, Iowa. This allows me to get to know all of the students in a context outside of the classroom as well. I am really enjoying my time here, and am currently teaching high school physics, trigonometry, and geometry. I'm sending out good wishes to all of you. Take care and smile! :o)

Ben Luey

Email: benlueyyahoo.com

Phone: (720) 596-4286

I've started graduate school in physics and University of Colorado, Boulder. So far I'm surviving E&M with Jackson and other graduate school rigors; Carleton physics has prepared me well. As a TA, I'm coming to appreciate how hard and time-consuming it is to teach and grade well. Boulder is a cool place; snow in October, 60s in early December, and last week I overheard people on the bus talking about Bose-Einstein Condensation. I hope everyone at Carleton is doing well.

Heather Moor

Email: heatherperhat.com

Phone: (410) 646-4562

Hello all, I am in Maryland studying at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in the hopes of eventually earning a Ph.D. in applied physics. The trick, of course, is getting through these pesky classes. Adjusting to this new environment has been a little tricky, but a good learning experience. It's not the same doing homework without my faithful Carleton classmates, but I'm getting by. Other than the mountain of homework I have not much else is happening here in quiet Maryland.

John Parajko

Email: John.Parejkoalumni.carleton.edu

It feels strange to be writing as an alum already, but I suppose these things happen and we all get older eventually.

I'm currently at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, working for the Space Physics Research Laboratory. It's not nearly as impressive as it sounds, but there are a lot of cool people here. I am part of the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer team (INMS). If you are curious about the Cassini mission, the website is http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/ and the imaging team just recently got some nice pictures of Saturn.

Our instrument still has its cover on and will not open until the orbital insertion maneuver. This is to keep contaminants like the exhaust from the engines and thrusters from clogging the opening or creating excessive background later. Our goal is to determine the composition and density of the atmosphere of Titan (Saturn's largest moon) as well as information about the ionospheres of Saturn's other moons and its own magnetosphere.

I got a chance to meet a number of the higher-ups on the project at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena California recently. I also learned how messed up the NASA administrative body can be, with regards to funding and such. But even with bureaucratic bungling, they can still produce some good science.

Watch for the Mars rovers that launch next year and then Cassini's orbital insertion in 2004. It's an exciting time!

If anyone is curious about the project, or is interested in some of the things I'm doing, feel free to send me an e-mail.

May the FilB be with you.