James Madsen

I am a member of the AMANDA (Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array) and IceCube Collaborations. The project involves placing sensitive light detectors in the polar ice cap to indirectly detect neutrinos.  These projects seek to map the universe using neutrinos, and explore cataclysmic phenomena like gamma ray bursts and Active Galactic Nuclei that produce neutrinos millions to trillions of times more energetic then those produced in  the Sun, nuclear power plants, or radioactive decay. Read additional information for the IceCube project specific to UWRF.

Astronomy in the Ice is an eight day summer course at UWRF  for teachers that introduces the exciting science of the AMANDA project to the secondary school classrooms.   More information about the course is available at the IceCube Education Resource Center.

The Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic program (TEA) pairs teachers with Polar researchers to provide field experience in a wide variety of disciplines.  During the 2001-2002 season, Mats Pettersson from Sweden and Jason Petula from Tunhannock High School in Pennsylvania attended the Astronomy in the Ice course at UWRF and then spent approximately three weeks at the South Pole working on AMANDA and an associated cosmic ray experiment SPASE. Eric Muhs from Seattle, Washington followed a similar path for the 2002-2003 season, and was at the South Pole from late November to mid December, 2002.

The internship program  gives UWRF students valuable experience outside the classroom.  Students learn life-long career skills including resume development, producing effective cover letters, job research skills, and how to network. 

B.S., UW-Madison, Ph.D., Colorado School of Mines. In addition to teaching at River Falls, I have taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and at the Colorado School of Mines.

Specialties:

• Condensed Matter, Astrophysics

Courses Taught:

• Condensed Matter
• Thermodynamics
• Advanced Mechanics
• Advanced Electricity & Magnetism
• Mathematics of Physics & Engineering
• Calculus-based Physics
• Algebra-based Physics
• General Physics Laboratory