Dr. Eva Kostadinova

Our next Baylor University WISE Graduate Student Seminar Speaker is Dr. Eva Kostadinova. Dr. Kostadinova is an assistant research professor working with with Dr. Truell Hyde in the Department of Physics here at Baylor University. Her talk is entitled “How order emerges from chaos in the mesoscopic world”.

Summary: “In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” ~ Carl Jung.
The motion and stability of large objects, such as stars and galaxies, is determined by classical forces, like gravity. In contracts, when structures are tiny, such as systems of atoms or electrons, the same processes are dominated by quantum forces. Yet, order in the classical world somehow emerges from the chaos in the quantum world. As one follows the growth of an astronomical object from the subatomic level up, a natural question emerges: What fundamental mechanisms dictate self-organization and stability in the transitional (mesoscopic) range, where the spatial scale is neither small nor large? To tackle this question, scientists design experiments where micron-sized particles (called dust) interact with plasma gas in microgravity conditions. In this talk, we will examine the latest dusty plasma experiments performed in the Plasma Kristal-4 facility on the International Space Station.

Connect with Dr. Kostadinova to learn more about her work!
E-mail: eva_kostadinova AT baylor.edu