Nathan Mueggenburg
Associate Professor of Physics
Specialization
Granular materials
Nonequilibrium dynamics
Athermal systems
Pattern formation
Education
PhD Physics, The University of Chicago
Thesis: The Behavior of Granular Materials under Cyclic Shear
MS Physics, The University of Chicago
BA in Physics and Mathematics, magna cum laude, Illinois Wesleyan University
Courses Taught
Introductory (non-calculus) physics (I and II)
Introductory / general physics laboratory
First-Year Studies laboratory
Modern physics
Modern physics laboratory
Electricity and magnetism laboratory
Quantum mechanics (I and II)
Recent Research Projects on Granular Compaction and Size Segregation
Summer 2005 Students
Benjamin Simpson
Casey Tompkins
Summer 2006 Students
Casey Tompkins
Matt Nelson
Summer 2007 Students
Benjamin Simpson
Mikhail Mekaelian
Academic Year 2007-2008 Senior Thesis Student
Benjamin Simpson
Other Experience and Activities
Faculty Advisor to Society of Physics Students, October 2004 - Present, Lake Forest College
Academic Advisor to first year students, July 2005 - Present, Lake Forest College
Faculty Member of College Conduct Board, August 2005 - Present, Lake Forest College
Member of Faculty Committee on Radiation Safety, August 2005 - Present, Lake Forest College
Member of Condensed Matter Journal Club, September 1999 - August 2004, James Franck Institute, University of Chicago
Member of Graduate Admissions Committee, December 2000 - April 2001, Physics Department, University of Chicago
Graduate Student Representative to Teaching Activities Committee, September 1999 - June 2000, Physics Department, University of Chicago
Professional Publications
The behavior of granular materials under cyclic shear
Mueggenburg
Phys. Rev. E, 71, 031301 (2005)
Stress transmission through three-dimensional granular crystals with stacking faults
Spannuth, Mueggenburg, Jaeger, and Nagel
Granular Matter, 6, 215 (2004)
Force distributions in three dimensional compressible granular packs
Erikson, Mueggenburg, Jaeger, and Nagel
Phys. Rev. E, 66, 040301 (2002)
Stress transmission through three-dimensional ordered granular arrays
Mueggenburg, Jaeger, and Nagel
Phys. Rev. E, 66, 031304 (2002)
Force distributions in three-dimensional granular assemblies: Effects of packing order and inter-particle friction
Blair, Mueggenburg, Marshall, Jaeger, and Nagel
Phys. Rev. E , 63, 041304 (2001)
Professional Presentations
A parallel plate shear cell for the observation of shear banding in granular materials, March 2004, March meeting of the American Physical Society
Force distributions in 3D compressible granular packs, March 2002, March meeting of the American Physical Society
Life’s a beach - Play in the sand, August 2001, University of Chicago, Wopat-Franck student talk series
A physicist’s walk on the beach - Stressing the sand, November 2001, Illinois Wesleyan University natural science colloquium
Probability and spatial distributions of forces in 3D amorphous and crystalline granular assemblies, March 2001, March meeting of the American Physical Society
Permanent colloidal crystals and optically ordered colloidal patterns, August 1997, University of Chicago MRSEC REU program
Modifying Daubechies’ wavelet iteration scheme for biorthogonal scaling and wavelet functions, March 1997, Rose Hulman conference on undergraduate mathematics
Six separate undergraduate research presentations in physics and mathematics, 1995-1998, John Wesley Powell student research conference, Illinois Wesleyan University