# Splash Biography

## ROSS DEMPSEY, ESP Teacher

Major: Physics

College/Employer: Johns Hopkins

Year of Graduation: 2019

Not Available.

## Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

M170: Three-Dimensional Chess Computing in Splash Spring 2019 (Apr. 13, 2019)
Have you ever looked at a silicon circuit board and thought, "I wish there was a way to do this using a nicer material, like fine mahogany?" In fact, there is. In this class, we'll discuss a method for building logic circuits as positions in a three-dimensional chess game. You'll learn about logic gates, Boolean circuits, and models of computation. This concept was invented by the instructors, so there is literally no other place to learn this. No prior knowledge of computer science or chess is required.

M171: Python Programming in Splash Spring 2019 (Apr. 13, 2019)
In this class, you'll learn the basics of programming in Python. We'll start with an introduction to the basics of Python syntax and usage, and work through a few examples as a class. You'll have access to a sequence of programming challenges that revolve around writing a program to play chess. The tasks will start simple, like moving a pawn, and progress to greater difficulties, so you'll be able to move at your own pace. When you're finished, or whenever you're done, you can play the game based on the code you wrote. Everything will be web-based, so you can view your work at home, or even continue it.

M172: Web Programming in Splash Spring 2019 (Apr. 13, 2019)
In this class, you'll learn how to program a dynamic website using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. We'll start with an introduction to the syntax of each language, and how they all interact on a single webpage. You'll get a personal page for yourself, which you can design and fill with any content you like. There will also be a sequence of tasks in which you develop your skills by building a user interface for a chess game.

M173: Artificial Intelligence in Splash Spring 2019 (Apr. 13, 2019)
In this class, you'll learn how to use computer programming to solve complex decision problems using artificial intelligence. We'll start with a review of the scope of artificial intelligence and the types of methods used, and then start with self-paced project work. You'll use Python to solve several small problems, which together create a program which plays chess. You'll be able to test your program by playing against it yourself. It would be helpful to attend the Python Programming class before this class, but this is not required.

M160: Three-Dimensional Chess Computing in Splash Fall 2018 (Nov. 10, 2018)
Have you ever looked at a silicon circuit board and thought, "I wish there was a way to do this using a nicer material, like fine mahogany?" In fact, there is. In this class, we'll discuss a method for building logic circuits as positions in a three-dimensional chess game. You'll learn about logic gates, Boolean circuits, and models of computation. This concept was invented by the instructors, so there is literally no other place to learn this. No prior knowledge of computer science or chess is required.

M161: Python Programming in Splash Fall 2018 (Nov. 10, 2018)
In this class, you'll learn the basics of programming in Python. We'll start with an introduction to the basics of Python syntax and usage, and work through a few examples as a class. You'll have access to a sequence of programming challenges that revolve around writing a program to play chess. The tasks will start simple, like moving a pawn, and progress to greater difficulties, so you'll be able to move at your own pace. When you're finished, or whenever you're done, you can play the game based on the code you wrote. Everything will be web-based, so you can view your work at home, or even continue it.

M162: Web Programming in Splash Fall 2018 (Nov. 10, 2018)
In this class, you'll learn how to program a dynamic website using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. We'll start with an introduction to the syntax of each language, and how they all interact on a single webpage. You'll get a personal page for yourself, which you can design and fill with any content you like. There will also be a sequence of tasks in which you develop your skills by building a user interface for a chess game.

M163: Artificial Intelligence in Splash Fall 2018 (Nov. 10, 2018)
In this class, you'll learn how to use computer programming to solve complex decision problems using artificial intelligence. We'll start with a review of the scope of artificial intelligence and the types of methods used, and then start with self-paced project work. You'll use Python to solve several small problems, which together create a program which plays chess. You'll be able to test your program by playing against it yourself. It would be helpful to attend the Python Programming class before this class, but this is not required.

M114: Alan Turing, World War II, and the Theory of Computation in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
The recent movie "The Imitation Game" brought attention to Alan Turing, a British mathematician who played a key role in the Allied codebreaking effort during World War II. In this class, we'll explore the fascinating story of how the Enigma machine used by the Germans was compromised, and look at some of the mathematics involved. We'll also talk about Turing's broader impact on computer science, and how the "Turing machine" is still a crucial aspect of theoretical computer science. We'll finish by discussing the most important outstanding problem in this field, the P=NP question, and how it relates to everyday computational problems.

M115: Georg Cantor, Kurt Godel, and the Incompleteness of Mathematics in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
In a speech to the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1900, the eminent mathematician David Hilbert made a bold claim: "In mathematics there is no ignorabimus," that is, nothing we cannot know. In 1930 he redoubled on this belief, stating that there is no question in mathematics that cannot eventually be answered, and famously claiming "We must know, we will know." In 1931, the young logician Kurt Godel proved him to be incorrect, through two theorems which resoundingly demonstrate the formal incompleteness of mathematics. In this class, we'll start by exploring Georg Cantor's contributions to set theory and the understanding of infinity and the transfinite. We'll then explore the exact meaning of Godel's incompleteness theorems, and see how a seemingly benign problem which interested Cantor is actually unsolvable. We'll also discuss the lives of both men; after enlightening the world on the foundations of mathematics, each of them eventually went insane.

S116: Albert Einstein, Black Holes, and Gravitational Waves in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
In response to an experiment (eventually shown to be faulty) which seemed at the time to contest the evidence for special relativity, Einstein famously quipped: "Subtle is the Lord, but malicious he is not." A century after the discovery of general relativity, physicists have detected the most subtle signal of all, gravitational waves. In this class, we'll explore the basic aspects of general relativity theory, and see how it leads naturally to the possibility of black holes. We'll then review the current state of knowledge on black holes, including their formation and the existence of supermassive black holes. After this we'll look at the gravitational wave solution to Einstein's equations, and see how the LIGO collaboration manages to detect the extremely faint signals they produce on Earth.

M117: From Pierre Fermat to Andrew Wiles: the Last Theorem in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
In his copy of Diophantus' Arithmetica, the amateur French mathematician Pierre de Fermat claimed he had proved a theorem, but did not give the proof. This was typical of Fermat, and other mathematicians found proofs for his other results. The theorem in question was the last one standing, and this became its name: Fermat's Last Theorem. It took over 350 years before Andrew Wiles found a proof of this theorem. In this class, we'll look at some of the fascinating history of the theorem and failed attempts to prove it in the intervening centuries. The general areas of mathematics that eventually proved successful, elliptic curves and modular forms, will be introduced.

M118: Leonhard Euler: Master of us All in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
Pierre-Simon de Laplace, a great mathematician in his own right, is believed to have said "Read Euler, read Euler, he is the master of us all." Such a claim would be no surprise. Euler was one of the most productive mathematicians in history; he left about 30,000 pages of work in mathematics, physics, engineering, astronomy, and even music theory. In this class, we'll look at a few of Euler's interesting and approachable breakthroughs. What is the sum 1+1/4+1/9+...? Can you walk each road in a town just once? How many regular solids are there (having all faces the same, like a cube)? How many pentagons are on a soccer ball? Euler introduced mathematics capable of answering each of these questions, and we will see how.

S119: Richard Feynman, the Path Integral, and Least Action Principles in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
Richard Feynman was a physicist of great importance in the 20th century. He had an amusing character, which famously led him to take up safecracking as a hobby while working at the highly secretive Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb. In this class, we'll look at one of Feynman's most important contributions to physics, the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. This work was crucial because it connects quantum theory to the most important idea in classical physics, the least action principle. This class will enable you to understand these foundational and not-often-discussed ideas in theoretical physics, and will also be punctuated by more light-hearted anecdotes from Feynman's life.

M120: Evariste Galois and the Solvability of Equations in Splash Spring 2018 (Feb. 24, 2018)
Evariste Galois was a precocious young mathematician who was never recognized in his lifetime. As a teenager, he answered a question which had gone unanswered for hundreds of years: when can an algebraic equation be solved? Before dying at the age of 20 in a duel, he laid down foundations for areas now known as group theory and Galois theory, and his papers were posthumously discovered by mathematicians who could recognize the genius. In this class, we'll look at Galois's interesting but brief life, and then explore the basics of the theory he laid out. You'll learn the basics of what mathematicians call algebra - completely different from what high schools call algebra - and how it can be used in some familiar problems. We'll then see how these methods can be applied to the question of the solvability of equations, and give a rough idea of why some equations simply can't be solved. We'll also see how this relates to an ancient question: using compass and straightedge, can you trisect an angle? (The answer is no, and we'll see a simple reason why.)

S90: Newton’s Universe: Classical Mechanics in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
Newton realized that the force that makes an apple fall from a tree is the same force that makes the moon orbit the Earth. But why doesn't the moon come crashing down? In this class, we'll explore how asking questions about space allowed the first physicists to answer questions about the everyday world. We'll also put Newton's laws to the test with an interactive lab.

S91: Fiat Lux: The Beauty of Electromagnetism in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
There's a single law of physics that keeps chalk on a chalkboard, holds magnets to a fridge, and lets a lamp illuminate the room. How do all these effects tie together? In this class we'll explore electricity and magnetism, and discover how they are united in light. We'll then discuss some of the interesting physics of light, including invisibility cloaks.

S92: Einstein's Reality: Space and Time in Modern Physics in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
For most of history, it was believed that a single immovable coordinate grid could cover the universe, and that all physics could be described in terms of it. Likewise, it was believed that a single clock could measure the uniform passage of time. Einstein shocked the world by announcing that space and time are inextricably linked. In this class we'll explore what exactly spacetime'' is, what relativity'' means, and look at some of the most interesting predictions of Einstein's theory.

S93: The Story of the Universe in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson heard a noise in their radio receiver that wouldn't go away, no matter where they pointed their antenna. They soon realized that they were listening to the beginning of the universe. Penzias and Wilson are now credited with discovering one of the best pieces of evidence for the Big Bang. In this class we'll look at the modern understanding of the Big Bang and examine the implications of Einstein's theory of gravity. We'll finish by discussing theories for how the universe may end.

S94: The Quantum World: A New Kind of Physics in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
The ultraviolet spectrum of a lightbulb doesn't quite match up with what classical physics predicts. Starting from this innocent discrepancy, physicists of the early 20th century discovered that our entire conception of reality is mistaken. Particles are waves, waves are particles, and nothing is certain. In this class we'll examine what it means for a system to be quantized, and look at some of the most striking examples of quantum weirdness.''

S95: Emergent Phenomena: The Physics of Many-Body Systems in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
When enough carbon atoms come together, they can form a diamond. Or, if they come together another way, they can form the graphite in your pencil. With a little care, they can be made to form graphene, an exciting new material. In this class, we'll explore how quantum effects on a small scale can influence the properties of materials on a large scale. Specifically, we'll look at semiconductors and solar cells, ferromagnets, and superconductors.

S97: Einstein's Dream: The Theory of Everything in Splash Spring 2017 (Feb. 25, 2017)
Einstein's development of the general theory of relativity was one of the most important events in physics in the 20th century. But he desired more; he wanted to unite gravity and electromagnetism into a single theory of nature. Today, we know of two more forces, the strong and weak nuclear forces. Einstein's theory of relativity describes gravity, and an extension of quantum mechanics called quantum field theory describes the other three. We still don't know how to unite them into a single physical theory, the so-called theory of everything.'' In this class, we'll explore the concepts of general relativity and quantum field theory, understand the challenges of bridging them, and see how modern physicists are progressing towards this ultimate triumph.