Research InterestsDr. Pywell is an experimental physicist in the area of Subatomic Physics: the study of the particles that make up the atomic nucleus and the forces of interaction between them. Most of his research in this area has been through the use of photo-nuclear reactions: nuclear reactions initiated by a high energy photon (gamma-ray). These gamma-rays may be created via the bremsstrahlung process using high energy electrons from an accelerator or by the back scattering of laser light from high energy electrons.Dr. Pywell performed his Ph.D. thesis work using the University of Melbourne (Australia) betatron and the Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan) Linear accelerator (LINAC). Dr. Pywell was a staff member of the Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory (SAL) from 1980 until its closing in 1998. (SAL has now become the Canadian Light Source (CLS)). In that time he has also performed experimental work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California) and Jefferson Lab. (Virginia). The experimental program of the Subatomic Physics group at the University of Saskatchewan, Department of Physics and Engineering Physics now focuses on the new High Intensity Gamma Source (HIGS) at Duke University, North Carolina.This is being developed by the TUNL group at the Duke Free Electron Laser Laboratory. Dr. Pywell's main experimental interests at SAL were in the following areas. Most of which have used the SAL photon tagging facility to determine the energies of the photons.
Dr. Pywell's research is now concentrated on experiments at the HIGS facility at Duke University in North Carolina. These include experiments using the BLOWFISH neutron detector, to which the U of S was a major contributor. Experiments include, photodisintegration in light nuclei to probe the fundament nucleon-nucleon interaction, nuclear compton scattering to study fundamental nucleon properties of nuclei and haw they are modified in a nucleus, and direct measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule for the deuteron to test fundamental physical law. Dr. Pywell is also a member of a collaboration developing and experiment to study time-reversal invariance using the J-PARC facility in Japan. Academic ActivitiesDr. Pywell's most recent teaching activities have been with Physics 121.5 and Physics 111.6 General Physics courses (Calculus and algebra based general introductory physics courses), Physics 304.3, Techniques of Experimental Physics I, Physics 251.3 Special Relativity and Modern Physics and EP 325.3 Modern Physics II.In
1997-98 he was Acting-Head of the Department of Physics and
Engineering
Physics and de was elected Head of the Department for two term between
2001 and 2007. He was on sabbatical leave for 1998-99 and on
administrative leave for 2008-2009. He was a member of University Council for 2004-2007 and was
chair of the Council committe on Reseach, Scholarly and Artistic Work
for 2005-2007. |
