4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
FRIDAY. MARCH 10. 2006
Profile
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in the world of '60s and '70s rock — including being a former member of a band that was mentioned in Rolling Stone, the definitive magazine of rock 'n' roll.
In the classroom, Besson doesn't share his musical endeavors. He introduces himself and the course and hopes students won't ask questions about his personal life. Shawn Henderson, Wichita senior and one of Besson's research assistants, said the only time Besson mentioned his band in the lab was in generic discussions of weekend plans.
"It's not for show," Henderson said. "He just loves to play."
Particle Bashing
Besson's primary physics research involves watching particles explode. To do this, he uses particle accelerators — giant hollow doughnuts built underground for research. In the lab, Besson and his fellow researchers supercharge particles — sling them around—and wait to see what happens. In Antarctica, Besson collides the charged particles with ice molecules, hoping for the same effect.
Besson said it was "the nerd version of bashing in your TV set."
The artificial explosions imitate the same particle physics involved in large explosions, such as those of supernova stars. By understanding manmade explosions, Besson said, larger explosions become easier to comprehend. No matter the size of the explosion, it's all the same basic physics, he said.
At the South Pole, Besson usually skipped lunch to get more time for his research in the freezing outdoors. The walk to the base's cafeteria totaled more than a mile of travel on snow-packed roads and would have detracted from the work Besson was intent on finishing. The two weeks of hands-on research were barely enough to conduct the experiments Besson spent one full year preparing for.
Antarctica presents researchers with a unique laboratory environment because of its unspoiled surface. Over time, deposits of snow, volcanic ash and dust from events in Earth's history settled on the surface of the continent. They created a pristine climatological record that was made before industrial pollutants tainted the surface of other areas.
Antarctica shares with the surfaces of some moons of Jupiter the unique characteristic of being a floating ice cap, Besson said. Scientists suspect life under ice caps on the moons and Antarctica, making research on the continent particularly important.
Armed with research results from the South Pole and the particle accelerator at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Besson hopes to create a neutrino telescope. That telescope
would enhance scientists' vision into space by allowing researchers to view neutrinos — subatomic particles that are emitted from space phenomena such as supernova explosions. Because of the telescope, scientists could explore parts of space that were formerly invisible.
A passion for physics
Regardless of Besson's impressive physics-filled resumé, becoming a physicist was not his lifelong dream.
"It wasn't like when I was a kid, I looked up in the sky and wanted to be a physicist," he said.
His mother, Gwen Besson, said physics was a logical outgrowth of Besson's studious high school years in New Jersey. Besson said he studied physics because he had to do something.
Now he sits in front of his computer, dressed in worm-down sweatshirts and an old Cornell University T-shirt, and "ponders the universe."
Besson is one of the first in and last people out of Malott Hall every day, "just because he loves his work," Henderson said. "He has a real passion for his work. It's kind of infective."
Henderson said one thing Besson did to stand out from other teachers and connect with his students was his invention of the "paper clicker."
Instead of requiring students to buy expensive computerized remotes for in-class quizzes and polls, Besson created a low-budget version from pieces of cardboard labeled with multiple-choice answers. Students cover either A, B, C or D, on the cardboard depending on what they think is the correct answer and hold their individual card up. Besson can evaluate his class's comprehension from its answers.
"It's simplistic," Besson said,
"but it works."
Hannah Swift, Olathe senior, said Besson's ability to break down complex concepts convinced her to work with him in the high-particle physics lab.
"He explains physical things in a very intuitive way," Swift said. "You get a sense of what's going on behind the math."
15 minutes of fame
Before joining the KU faculty in 1993, Besson worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Cornell. While there, Besson formed a band with two other physicists, including Chris O'Grady.
O'Grady, now a researcher at Stanford University, said he met Besson after hearing the music of '80s punk/pop band Husker Do coming from an office in the physics building where the two worked. The blaring music, he said, convinced him to stop and see who was behind the closed door.
"Most of the time you just walk down the hallway and it's just boring physicists working in their offices." O'Grady said.
gether and eventually added a third member, Brian Moeckly, another budding physicist.
The trio named their band after Moeckly's girlfriend and her particularly memorable dress. The band, Shannon's Dress, began performing around the state of New York and in historic location's like CDGB's in New York City, what Besson's mother called the "Mecca of rock music."
After they recorded their first album, "Lurch." Rolling Stone magazine requested a CD. The magazine mentioned Shannon's Dress as a top unsigned band. After that brief moment of fame, the band quickly fell back into obscurity, Besson said.
"Fortunately," Besson said, "it was immortalized in newsprint."
The two started playing to-
"You have to constantly reinvent yourself creatively," Besson said. "When you're not doing that, things get sterile pretty quickly."
The Noble Quitters
Dressed in the same red Cornell T-shirt layered over a sweatshirt, a stocking cap, jeans and Adidas sneakers. Besson almost blended in with the red walls of The Cup and Saucer, the small Kansas City,
Mo., coffee shop where his band performed recently.
Half-jokingly, he warned the crowd to finish its conversations because noise was forthcoming. The twenty-some people inside the room laughed, but quickly chatted with the other people around them as the developing guitar licks grew louder. Before long, the conversations faded away under the thunderous guitars and drums — "loud, distorted guitars," Besson calls it. The Noble Quitters sound a bit like the classic rock bands of the late '60s, including The Velvet Underground, who Besson said inspired him to play guitar.
"Not many people listened to them, but everyone that did started a band." he said.
Back in Lawrence, Besson sits in his Malott Hall office surrounded by CDs and pairs of running shoes. During his eighth research trip to Antarctica, the National Science Foundation informed Besson that a mountain spur in Antarctica had been named in his honor — the Besson Spur. He received the news during his most recent trip to the South Pole, but was not sure why that particular feature was named after him.
Even with the honor, some geographical features are better than others, he said, despite never seeing so much as a picture of the rock.
"Given a choice," he said, "I would have preferred a volcano."
Edited by John Jordan
Bill
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and that's not the case," Hoy said.
"What concerns me most about this bill is that it's being represented to legislative bodies as a collective effort
Hoy added that his group would be "ready and willing to help craft legislation" locally to help eradicate problems such as abusive landlords.
Alicia Smiley, a First Management property manager for 13 years, said she plays the role of the middle man, dealing with both landlords and tenants.
Smiley advocated that students should take time to read their leases, and if they don't agree, they should choose another lease.
"There's a 6 to 7 percent vacancy rate in Lawrence, so there's options," Smiley said.
Despite the nearly 60-minute barrage of testimony against their bill, Bender and Staples remained optimistic after the hearing was over.
"We've been underestimated since this bill was in the Senate Judiciary Committee," Staples, Lawrence junior, said.
The future of the bill remains murkv.
as it is unclear what the Commerce and Labor Committee will do with it.
Bender said he thought the bill might not be acted upon this session and was somewhat surprised it had a hearing in the first place.
Either way, Bender likes the bill's overall chances.
"We've got four pages of rebuttal to look at, so we'll see what all was said and take a look at the issues, because the opponents didn't address the issues in the bill," Bender said. "The bill's good."
Edited by Jodi Ann Holopirek
Lent
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Holcombe said some Protestant denominations celebrated Lent more than others, but in the past 40 years, the trend of bringing Lent back into the Protestant church has been rising. Still, some Christians might not even know what Lent is, Holcombe said.
Holcombe said he didn't think it was necessary to give something up for Lent; he said the focus should be not on giving something up but on adding more
thought and prayer to your life to be closer to God.
He said many Protestant denominations didn't give up something for Lent like the Roman Catholic tradition, but they do use it as a time to focus on sin and forgiveness.
He said it's a time of repentance, where estranged members of the church come back to worship, and new members take classes to become members, sometimes with a focus on an Easter Baptism.
Edited by James Foley
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