| Department of Physics |
| Davidson College |
| Box 6919 |
| Davidson, NC 28035-6919 |
| (704) 894-2347 |
| lacain@davidson.edu |
Employment: 2009-present: Richardson Professor
of Physics, Davidson College
2008-2009: Richardson Professor
of Physics and Chair of Physics, Davidson College
2004-2008 Chair, Department of Physics, and Professor of Physics, Davidson College
2001-2002: Acting Chair, Department of Physics, Davidson College
2000-2004: Professor of Physics, Davidson College
1992-2000: Chair, Department of Physics, and Professor of Physics, Davidson College
1988-1992: Chair, Department of Physics, and Associate Professor of Physics, Davidson College
1985-1988: Associate Professor of Physics, Davidson College
1986-1987: United States Department of Energy Faculty Research Participant, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
1978-1985: Assistant Professor of Physics, Davidson College
1976-1978: Lecturer/Research Associate, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (work done with
Dr. Lawrence M. Slifkin)
1974: Teaching Associate, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1973-1976: Research Associate, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (work done with
Dr. Charles S. Smith)
Education: Ph.D., Physics, 1973, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
M.S., Physics, 1970, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
B.S., Physics, magna cum laude, 1968, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Teaching Interests: I have a strong commitment to teaching undergraduate students. My interests include teaching both standard and innovative courses, laboratories, developing lecture demonstrations and introducing undergraduate students to research in order to increase their learning experience.
Research Interests: Areas of interest include the measurement and calculation of the elastic, mechanical, optical, and defect properties of solids through the use of ultrasonic, spectroscopic, and ionic conductivity techniques. This includes the measurement of elastic constants of solids; the measurement of optical properties of insulating crystals; and the measurement of ionic conductivity to determine the formation and migration energies of defects in solids.
Professional Societies: American Physical Society (APS), American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Southeastern Section - APS, North Carolina Section – AAPT, Council for Undergraduate Research, Sigma Xi, Phi Beta Kappa
Positions Held: AP Physics C Development Committee, chair,
2010-2011
Organizing Committee, North Carolina Section AAPT meeting, Davidson College,
October 22-23, 2010
Advanced Placement Higher Education Advisory
Committee, 2009-2012
AP Physics Review Advisory Panel, 2008-2009
Co-chair AP Physics Redesign Commission, 2006-2008.
Advanced Placement Physics Development Committee, 2000-2008; chair, 2003-2008.
Table Leader for AP Physics Reading, 2002, 2004-2008.
Treasurer, Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, Jan., 1991- Dec, 2007.
Organizing Committee, North Carolina Section AAPT meeting, Davidson College, April 4-5, 2008.
Organizing Committee, North Carolina Section AAPT meeting, Davidson College, October 29-30,
2004.
Organizing Committee, North Carolina Section AAPT meeting, Davidson College, March 17-18, 2000.
Organizing Committee, 13th International Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials,
Wake Forest University, July 15-19, 1996.
Organizing Committee, Conference on Computational Physics in the Undergraduate Curriculum,
Davidson College, October 2-5, 1991.
Grants Obtained: Southern Regional Education Board - 1980 - $250
National Science Foundation - #TFI-8102919 - 1981 - $14,350
Research Corporation - 1981 - $4,000
Research Corporation - 1982 - $4,000
Research Corporation - 1983 - $950
Research Corporation - 1985-1986 - $11,800
USDOE Faculty Research Participant Program -1986-1987- $22,464
Keck Foundation - 1991 - $75,000 (one of several faculty involved)
Davidson College Teaching Improvement Grant – 1998 (Workshop)
Associated Colleges of the South – 2001 - $2,500
Associated Colleges of the South – 2002 - $2,500
Davidson College Faculty Research Committee - (1979-present) - $19,150
Consulting: Consultant for College Board; Consultant for ETS during AP Physics Grading; Beloit College; N. C. State University Department of Mechanical Engineering; UNC General Administration; Oak Ridge National Lab; the N. C. Dept. of Public Instruction; Sweet Briar College; Hampden-Sydney College; Hendrix College; Randolph-Macon College; Gonzaga University; Denison University; National Science Foundation; and National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council.
Honors and Awards: Fellow of the American
Physical Society, 2009
Francis G. Slack Award,
Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, Fall 2008
Richardson Professor of Physics, Davidson College, 2008
Matthews Travel Award, Davidson College, 2002
Thomas Jefferson Award, Davidson College, 1999
Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching Award, Davidson College, 1998
American Men and Women of Science
Who's Who in the South and Southwest
Sigma Pi Sigma
At the University of Virginia: Sigma Xi
Special University Fellow
Governor's Fellow
DuPont Fellow
Fellow of Center for Advanced Studies
At Wake Forest University: Phi Beta Kappa
Kappa Mu Epsilon
Atlantic Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete Award, 1968
Graduate Work: Master's and Ph.D. work done at the University of Virginia. Specialized in experimental solid #9; state physics. Master's thesis topic: "Second-Order Elastic Constants of α - CuAl Alloys." Ph.D. dissertation topic: "Third-Order Elastic Constants of α - CuAl Alloys."
Publications (* = Davidson College student)
"Elastic Constants of α-Phase CuAl Alloys" (with J.F. Thomas, Jr.), Phys. Rev.
B4, 4245-4255 (1971)."Third-Order Elastic Constants of α-Phase CuAl Alloys" (with J.F. Thomas, Jr.), Phys. Rev.
B8, 5372-5380 (1973)."Born Model Repulsive Interactions in the Alkali Halides Determined from Ultrasonic Data" (with Charles S. Smith), J. Phys. Chem. Solids 36, 205-209 (1975).
"Energy Contributions to the Third-Order Elastic Constants of α-Phase CuAl Alloys", Phys. Rev.
B14, 833- 836 (1976)."The Elastic Constants and Their Temperature and Pressure Derivatives of AgBr-AgCl Mixed Crystals", J. Phys. Chem. Solids 38, 73-79 (1977).
"Electric Polarization Behavior of MgO:Li+ Crystals Upon Quenching from above 1400 K" (with D.J. Eisenberg, K.H. Lee, and J.H. Crawford, Jr.), Appl. Phys. Lett. 33, 479-481 (1978).
"Temperature Derivatives at Constant Volume of the Elastic Constants of the Alkali Halides" (with Charles S. Smith), J. Phys. Chem. Solids 41, 199-203 (1980).
"Ionic Conductivity of Mixed Silver Halide Crystals" (with L. Slifkin), J. Phys. Chem. Solids 41, 173-178 (1980).
"Ionic Space Charge and Dissolution of AgCl" (with N. Danieley, J.C.-Y. Lee and L. Slifkin), Journal de Physique-Colloque 41, C6-106-108 (1980).
"Point Defect Enthalpies in AgBr/AgCl Mixed Crystals", J. Phys. Chem. Solids 45, 907-912 (1984).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgBr from 77K to 300K" (with Richard Barber* and James R. Buchanan*), J. Phys. Chem. Solids 46, 249-252 (1985).
"Point Defect Enthalpies in Silver Halide Mixed Crystals", J. Imaging Sci. 29, 81-86 (1985).
"Optical Transitions in Neutron-Irradiated MgAl2O4 Spinel Crystals" (with G. J. Pogatshnik and Y. Chen), Phys. Rev. B 37, 2645-2652 (1988).
"Optical and Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy Characterization of Thermochemically Reduced MgAl2O4 Spinel" (with C. Ballesteros, S. J. Pennycook, R. Gonzalez, and Y. Chen), Phil. Mag. A 59, 907-916 (1989).
"Ionizing Radiation Effects in Lanthanum Magnesium Aluminate Crystals" (with C. Y. Chen, J.L. Park, G. J. Pogatshnik, M. R. Kokta, M. M. Abraham, and Y. Chen), Phys. Rev. B 40, 8522-8529 (1989).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgBr-AgCl Mixed Crystals from 77 to 300 K" (with Richard Barber*, Micah Downing* and James B. Shaw*), J. Phys. Chem. Solids 50, 1077-1081 (1989).
"Gd3+ --> Cr3+ Energy Transfer and Cr3+ Decay Dynamics in Cr3+ Doped GSGG, GSAG and GGG" (with D. S. Hamilton, Li-Ji Lyu, U. Sliwczuk and G. J. Pogatshnik), OSA Proceedings on Tunable Solid State Lasers, ed. M. L. Shand and H. P. Jenssen, Vol. 5, 201-206 (1989).
"Tracking the Wild Eclipse" (with R. J. Manning), Amer. J. Phys. 58, #10, 1014-1016 (1990).
"Optical Properties of Color Centers in Calcium Stabilized Gadolinium Gallium Garnets" (with G. J. Pogatshnik, Y. Chen, and B. D. Evans), Phys. Rev. B 43, 1787-1794 (1991).
"The Second-order Elastic Constants of AgCl from 20oC to 430oC" (with W.C. Hughes*), Proceedings of the XII International Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials, Volume 1, p. 508-510, Ed. O. Kanert and J.-M. Spaeth, World Scientific, 1993.
"A Cation Vacancy Center in Crystalline Al2O3" (with Bruce Evans), Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids, 134, 329-332 (1995).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgBr from 20°C to 400°C" (with Gang Hu*), Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids 137, 309-311 (1995).
“A Brief Primer on Finding Physics Education Literature and Information”, Project Proceedings of the June 1995 Dickinson College Summer Seminar on Teaching Introductory Physics Using Interactive Teaching Methods and Computers, 5-10, 1995.
“Practical Considerations of Converting an Existing MBL Lab Curriculum to take advantage of TST, RTP, and Newer Technologies”, Project Proceedings of the June 1995 Dickinson College Summer Seminar on Teaching Introductory Physics Using Interactive Teaching Methods and Computers, 69-76, 1995.
"Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgCl from 20 to 430oC" (with W.C. Hughes*), Phys. Rev. 53, 5174-5180 (1996).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of an AgBr-(56.6%) AgCl Mixed Crystal from 20oC to 400oC", Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids 155, 425-429 (2001).
"High Temperature Elastic Constants of AgBr" (with Gang Hu*), Physical Review B, 64, 104104, 1-5 (2001).
"Using Physlets and Open Source Physics to Make Quantum Mechanics Visual and Interactive", (with Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian), Transformations: Liberal Arts in the Digital Age, Volume 2, No. 1 (2004).
http://www.colleges.org/transformations/index.php?q=node/view/77.
Transformations is the Associated Colleges of the South’s electronic journal.
WEB PUBLICATIONS
"Interactive Quantum Mechanics Exercises for Just-in-Time Teaching," (with Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian) (2001), http://webphysics.davidson.edu/qmbook
"Using Physlets and Just-in-Time Teaching in Quantum Mechanics," (with Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian) (2001), http://webphysics.davidson.edu/physlet_resources
"Interactive Quantum Mechanics Exercises for Just-in-Time Teaching," (with Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian). We created 46 interactive exercises and a 69-page instructor’s guide. (2002), http://webphysics.davidson.edu/qmbook. Material posted to the MERLOT site.
Web site: "Using Physlets and Open Source Physics to Make Quantum Mechanics Visual and Interactive," Mario Belloni, Wolfgang Christian, and Larry Cain. (2004) A set of web pages and content that support the paper of the same name in Transformations: Liberal Arts in the Digital Age. Available at: http://webphysics.davidson.edu/mjb/acs_transformations_qm
CONTRIBUTED PAPERS
"Elastic Constants of α-CuAl Alloys" (with J.F. Thomas, Jr.), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 15, 1355 (1970).
"Elastic Constants of α-CuAl Alloys" (with J.F. Thomas, Jr.), Va. Jour. Sci.
22, 88 (1971)."Third-Order Elastic Constants of α-CuAl Alloys" (with J.F. Thomas, Jr.) Bull
. Am. Phys. Soc. 18, 673 (1973)."Born Model Repulsive Interactions in the Alkali Halides Determined from Ultrasonic Data" (with Charles S. Smith), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 19, 1096 (1974).
"Elastic Constants and Their Temperature and Pressure Derivatives of a AgBr-40 mole % AgCl Mixed Crystal" (with Charles S. Smith), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 20, 487 (1975).
"Elastic Constants and the Temperature and Pressure Derivatives of AgBr-AgCl Mixed Crystals" (with Charles S. Smith), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 21, 244 (1976).
"Ionic Conductivity of Mixed Silver Bromide-Silver Chloride Single Crystals" (with H. Manning and L.M. Slifkin), International Conference on Defects in Insulating Crystals (Abstracts), p. 58, Gatlinburg, Tenn., October 9-14, 1977.
"Dielectric Relaxation in MgO:Li Crystals Quenched from High Temperature" (with D.J. Eisenberg and J.H. Crawford, Jr.), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 23, 199 (1978).
"Effect of Iodide on Ionic Conductivity of Silver Halides" (with L. Slifkin), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 23, 241 (1978).
"Ionic Conductivity in AgBr/Cl Crystals" (with L. Slifkin), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 24, 99 (1979).
"Ionic Space Charge and Dissolution of AgCl (with N. Danieley, J.C.-Y. Lee, and L. Slifkin), presented at the conference on Lattice Defects in Ionic Crystals, Canterbury, U.K., September, 1979.
"Temperature Derivatives at Constant Volume of the Elastic Constants of the Alkali Halides" (with Charles S. Smith), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 25, 129 (1980).
"Ionic Conductivity of Mn2+ Doped AgBr/AgCl Mixed Crystals", Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 26, 203 (1981).
"Ionic Conductivity Measurements of AgCl Crystals Heavily Doped with Cd2+" (with Eric C. Frey*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 26, 1204 (1981).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgBr from 77K to 300K" (with James R. Buchanan*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 27, 750 (1982).
"Ionic Conductivity in AgCl Heavily Doped with Cd2+" (with Steve King*), student paper presented at North Carolina Academy of Sciences, March 30-31, 1984, Winston-Salem, N.C.; J. Elisha Mitchell Society 100, #4, p. 164 (1984).
"Low Temperature Elastic Constants of AgBr - AgCl Mixed Crystals" (Richard Barber*), student paper presented at North Carolina Academy of Sciences, March 30-31, 1984, Winston-Salem, NC.; J. Elisha Mitchell Society 100, #4, p. 164 (1984).
"The Ionic Conductivity of Silver Chloride Heavily Doped with Cadmium" (with Steven King*), International Conference on Defects in Insulating Crystals (Abstracts), p. 59, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 20-24, 1984.
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of an AgBr - 57% AgCl Single Crystal from 77 to 300 K" (with Richard Barber*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 29, 132 (1984).
"Point Defect Enthalpies in Mixed Silver Halide Crystals", presented at Image Technology 1984/SPSE 37th Annual Conference, Boston, May 20-24, 1984 (invited talk).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgBr - 20% AgCl and AgBr - 79% AgCl Single Crystals from 77 to 300 K" (with James B. Shaw* and Micah Downing*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 30, 1774 (l985).
"Ionic Conductivity in AgCl Heavily Doped with Mn2+" (James W. Weller*), student paper presented at North Carolina Academy of Sciences, March 29-30, 1985, Greensboro, NC; J. Elisha Mitchell Society 101, #4, p. 251 (1985).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of a AgBr - 79% AgCl Single Crystal from 77 to 300K" (James B. Shaw*), student paper presented at the North Carolina Academy of Sciences, March 29-30, 1985, Greensboro, NC; J. Elisha Mitchell Society 101, #4, p. 251 (1985).
"Elastic Constants of a AgBr-39% AgCl Crystal from 77 to 300K" (Micah Downing*), student paper presented at North Carolina Academy of Sciences, April 4-5, 1986, Greenville, NC; J. Elisha Mitchell Society 102, #4, p. 194 (1986).
"Second-Order Elastic Constants of a AgBr - 39% AgCl Crystal from 77 to 300K" (with Micah Downing*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 31, 1761 (1986).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgCl from 20oC to 430oC" (with Chris Hughes*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 32, 821 (1987).
"F Center Production in Neutron-Irradiated MgAl2O4 Spinel" (with G. J. Pogatshnik and Y. Chen), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 32, 2147 (1987).
"Absorption and Luminescence Spectroscopy of Defects in Gadolinium Gallium Garnet Crystals" (with G. J. Pogatshnik and Y. Chen), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 33, 564 (1988).
"Color Centers in Lanthanum Magnesium Aluminate" (with Y. Chen, C. Y. Chen, G. J. Pogatshnik, and M. R. Kotka), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 33, 565 (1988).
"The Second-order Elastic Constants of AgCl from 20 to 430oC" (Chris Hughes*), student paper presented at the Second National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Asheville, NC, April 21-23, (1988).
"Optical Properties of Color Centers in Gadolinium Gallium Garnet Crystals" (with G. J. Pogatshnik and Y. Chen), presented at the International Conference on Defects in Insulating Crystals, Parma, Italy, August 29- September 2, 1988.
"Thermochemical Reduction and Radiation Effects in Lanthanum Magnesium Aluminate Crystals" (with Y. Chen, M. M. Abraham, M. R. Kokta, G. J. Pogatshnik, J. L. Park, and C. Y. Chen), presented at the International Conference on Defects in Insulating Crystals, Parma, Italy, August 29- September 2, 1988.
"Color Center Production by Neutrons in GGG" (with Y. Chen and G. J. Pogatshnik), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 34, 953 (1989).
"Gd3+ --> Cr3+ Energy Transfer and Cr3+ Decay Dynamics in Cr3+ Doped GSGG, GSAG and GGG" (with D. S. Hamilton, Li-Ji Lyu, U. Sliwczuk and G. J. Pogatshnik), Tunable Solid State Lasers Conference, North Falmouth, Massachusetts, 1-3 May, 1989.
"Color Centers Produced by Reduction of Undoped and Doped LMA" (with G. J. Pogatshnik, Y. Chen and M. R. Kokta), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 34, 2356 (1989).
"Thermochemical Reduction of Tb doped Lanthanum Magnesium Aluminate Crystals" (with Y. Chen, M. M. Abraham, G. J. Pogatshnik and M. R. Kokta), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 35, 424 (1990).
"The Ionic Conductivity of Heavily Doped Silver Chloride from 20 to 380oC" (with J. G. Louderback*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 36, 1056 (1991).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of a Cu-5.6% Al Single Crystal" (with Gang Hu*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc 36, 2744 (1991).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of AgCl from 20oC to 430oC" (with Chris Hughes*), presented at the International Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials, Schloss Nordkirchen, Germany, August 16-22, 1992.
"The Second-order Elastic Constants of AgBr from 20oC to 400oC" (with Gang Hu*), Seventh Europhysical Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials, Lyon, France, July 5-8, 1994.
"A Cation Vacancy Center in Crystalline Aluminum Oxide" (with Bruce Evans), Seventh Europhysical Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials, Lyon, France, July 5-8, 1994.
"A Brief Primer on Finding Physics Education Literature and Information", June 1995 Dickinson College Summer Seminar.
"Practical Considerations of Converting an Existing MBL Lab Curriculum to take advantage of TST, RTP, and Newer Technologies", June 1995 Dickinson College Summer Seminar.
"Physlets and Web-based Physics Curricular Material" (with D. M. Boye and W. Christian), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 43, 1616 (1998).
"High Temperature Elastic Constants of a AgBr- (56.6%) AgCl Mixed Crystal from 20 to 400oC" (with Douglas J. Meislahn*), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 44, #1, Part II, 1712 (1999).
"The Second-Order Elastic Constants of an AgBr-AgCl Mixed Crystal from 20o to 400oC", 14th International Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 3-7, 2000.
"Using Physlets and Just-in-Time Teaching in Quantum Mechanics", Invited Talk, (with Mario Belloni and Wolfgang Christian), Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Rochester, NY, July 2001, AAPT Announcer, 31, #2, 106 (2001).
"Using Just-in-Time Teaching and Physlets in Undergraduate Quantum Mechanics", Invited Talk, (with Mario Belloni, and Wolfgang Christian, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 46, #9, 31 (2001).
"Incorporating Just-in-Time-Teaching into the Introductory Physics Laboratory", (with Mario Belloni, Dan Boye, Wolfgang Christian, Tim Gfroerer, and John Yukich), Summer Meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Boise, ID, August, 2002, AAPT Announcer 32, #2, 113 (2002).
"The Advanced Placement Physics Examinations: Test Development and Free-Response Section Readings", (with Terri McMurray), Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 48, #9, 40 (2003).
"Meet the Physics Development Committee", 2004 AP National Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, July 15-19, 2004.
"Meet the Physics Development Committee", 2005 AP National Conference, Houston, TX, July 13-17, 2005.
"Best Practices for the Physics Classroom", 2005 AP National Conference, Houston, TX, July 13-17, 2005.
"Meet the Physics Development Committee", 2006 AP National Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, July 14-15, 2006.
"Physics Best Practices", 2006 AP National Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, July 14-15, 2006.
"AP Science Redesign Project: Overview and Status", 2007 AP Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, July 11-15, 2007.
"Meet the Development Committee: AP Physics", 2007 AP Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, July 11-15, 2007.
"The AP Physics Redesign: Process and Update", American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), 2007 Summer Meeting, Greensboro, NC, July 28-August 1, 2007.
"De-Mystifying the AP Physics Exam Process", AAPT, 2007 Summer Meeting, Greensboro, NC, July 28-August 1, 2007.
"Motivations, Methods and Results for the Design of New Courses and Exams" (Invited paper), American Association of Physics Teachers, 2008 Summer Meeting, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, July 19-24, 2008.
"Ensuring Student Preparedness", 2010 AP Annual Conference, Washington, DC, July 14-18, 2010.