OXFORD, Miss. — Dozens of researchers and students will
gravitate to the University of Mississippi this weekend for
the Fourth Annual Gulf Coast Gravity Meeting, which begins
Friday (March 7) in the Ole Miss Student Union.
Sponsored by the American Physical Society and the UM
Department of Physics and Astronomy, the regional
gatherings provide physicists a chance to come together and
share their research on gravity and gravitational fields.
About 40 researchers have registered, and about 25 speakers
are to address a variety of topics, including classic
gravity, cosmology and gravitational waves, said event
coordinator Marco Cavaglia.
“Our colleagues from throughout the South get to meet and
present short talks,” said Cavaglia, UM assistant professor
of physics and astronomy. “It’s also a good venue for
students to present their work if they’re going to graduate
or looking for work.”
The meeting opens at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon, and concludes
Saturday afternoon. The event is free to the public.
Besides scientists from Texas, Florida and everywhere in
between, this year’s meeting also features presenters from
Japan, Mexico, Romania and Ukraine, Cavaglia said. UM will
be well represented as well, including “Dynamics of Causal
Sets,” a presentation by Luca Bombelli, associate professor
of physics and astronomy. Bombelli worked on the research
with a small group of students, exploring one approach to
quantum gravity.
“Meetings like these are important because it keeps us up
to date on what others are doing,” Bombelli said. “In these
smaller meetings, it’s easier to follow all the talks, and
we get to interact more with the people who come. It’s not
as overwhelming as a national conference.”
Students also can compete for the Blue Apple Award, which
will be awarded to the student judged to have the best
presentation. The winner receives $200 from APS and a
unique trophy – an apple made from blue glass.
“It’s an apple because of Sir Isaac Newton,” Cavaglia said
with a laugh. “I don’t know why it’s blue.”
This marks the first time the conference is being held in
Mississippi. Previous meetings have been held in
Brownsville, Texas, Boca Raton, Fla., and Huntsville, Ala.,
and have featured scholars from UM, Florida Atlantic
University, Indiana University, University of Florida and
the University of Texas-Brownsville.
“The fact that we have conferences like these and advertise
them in national and international newsletters makes our
program here at UM that much more visible,” Bombelli said.
“It’s good for the department and good for the university.”
For more information, visit
or email gcgm4@olemiss.edu. For assistance related to a
disability, call 662-915-7046.