Physics, Engineering and Geoscience Departmen
Mount Allison University
Sackville, N.B.
Canada E0A 3C0
Phone: (506) 364-2582 (office)
(506) 536-3600 (home)
Fax: (506) 364-2583
Internet: rhawkes@mta.ca
http://aci.mta.ca/TheUmbrella/Physics/rhawkes.html
Thank you for visiting my home page. I teach physics within the Department of Physics, Engineering and Geoscience at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., Canada, and run a research program in meteor physics. I often tell people there is no place I would rather "work", and I feel very fortunate to have the chance to teach the bright, enthusiastic, and kind students who call Mt. A home, and to share our beautiful campus with the dedicated, skilled and caring staff.
WWW Pages I manage:
Mount Allison |
Teaching & Learning Resources |
Task Force Technology &
Teaching
International Astronomical Union (IAU) C22
Meteors &
Interplanetary Dust
Canadian MIAC Fireball
Reporting Centre
Astronomy
1001
Physics 1051
Physics 2251 (Waves & Vibrations)
Physics 3401 (Intermediate
Mechanics)
Physics
4701 (Relativity)
WWW pages that I am associated with include....
Mount Allison University |
PEG |
Physics Alumni |
Fundamental Physics and Fundamental
Astronomy Educational CD-ROM
Meteorites and
Impacts Advisory Committee, Canadian Space Agency
The courses which I have taught recently include introductory physics,
mechanics, classical waves, introductory astronomy, digital and analog
electronics, electricity and magnetism and signal processing.
My courses with WWW pages are:
Astronomy
1001 (Introductory Astronomy)
Physics 1051
(Introductory Physics - Algebra Based)
Physics 3401
(Intermediate Level Classical Mechanics)
The latter is of particular
interest, since it contains a wealth of student investigations done during this
term at Mount Allison.
I have also been involved in distance education
teaching in introductory physics and astronomy as part of the
N. B. TeleEducation Network.
Specific teaching interests include the use of innovative demonstrations
in first year teaching, the importance of "set induction", use of
multimedia and other advanced technologies, PSI and other individualized modes
of instruction, and new modes of faculty-student communication.
For a list
of teaching related lectures I have given.....
For a list of teaching related publications......
For a partial list of other public level talks I have given.....
My research interests have been concentrated on questions related to the physical structure and mode of atmospheric ablation of small (mainly cometary origin) meteoroids. We use microchannel plate image intensifiers coupled to CCD (charge coupled device) video rate sensors to detect faint meteors (down to about +9 apparent magnitude). Videotape is used as a real time storage medium, and then microcomputer based "frame grabbers" are used to digitize the meteor frames (a typical meteor appears on By examining in detail the light curves (plots of luminous intensity with time) of these faint meteors we can deduce the degree of fragmentation and mass range of the constituent grains. We have also studied the degree of "wake" (nonpoint luminosity) of these faint meteors. During the past few years I have been part of the international group which has studied the atmospheric trajectory, pre-atmospheric orbit and fragmentation of the Peekskill meteorite fireball (which fell on Oct. 9, 1992). Additional current research interests include an observational search for meteors in heliocentric hyperbolic orbits (i.e. meteors from interstellar space), studies of the Perseid and Leonid meteor showers at faint television magnitudes, and a study of the interactions between asteroidal debris and comet evolution. We are also currently the transmitting site for two long baseline (Sackville, NB to London, ON) forward scatter meteor radar investigations. We transmit at 49.88 MHz with horizontal and vertical polarizations.
For a list of astrophysics publications......
I currently chair the Meteorite and Impacts and Advisory Committee (MIAC) to the Canadian Space Agency. Visit our MIAC WWW site for more information on meteorites and impact sites.
I am Secretary of Commission 22 (Meteors and Interplanetary Dust) of the International Astronomical Union. As part of this position I administer an email based communication system for publication lists, conference announcements, etc. related to meteors and interplanetary dust. If you wish to be added to the list, please send me an email message. IAU Email Directory. I also maintain the IAU Commission 22 Home Page.
The Canadian Fireball Reporting Centre is administered from Mount Allison. If you have witnessed a bright Canadian fireball, please fill out our fireball report form.
Click here to go to the Home Page of Mount Allison Physics Alumni (email addresses, WWW links, etc.).
I was chair of Mount Allison University's Task Force on Teaching and Technology. Our objective is to optimize the potential of Mount Allison's Multimedia Centre to make teaching (both on campus and through distance education) more effective, efficient and enjoyable (for both faculty and students).
I administer the WWW page on Teaching and Learning for the Mount Allison Senate Committee on Teaching
email comments: rhawkes@mta.ca
Page last modified Jan. 4, 1997.