Dr Margaret Wegener
Senior Lecturer
Physics
+61 7 336 51244
Physics Annexe (06), Room 428
Teaching and learning
Dr Wegener is an award winning teacher who teaches 1st and 3rd year physics.Â
Researcher biography
As a lecturer and First-Year Teaching Director in Physics at the University of Queensland, Dr Margaret Wegener teaches both aspiring physicists and physics service courses; she is interested in the educational problems of contextualising physics, and the transition between school and university.
Her PhD was awarded for laser diagnostics of a Superorbital Expansion Tube, by multiple holographic recordings. As well as holography showing the rupture process of a light diaphragm in an expansion tube, this included holographic interferometry of high-speed gas flows around models, and analysis of the resulting images to yield quantitative information about the gas flow structures.
She pursued an interest in physics education by completing further study in Tertiary Teaching. A major concern of her work is to effectively engage students in order to make physics fundamentals meaningful. This includes developing experiments for undergraduate learning.
She is also interested in the interrelationships between science and the arts.
| Featured projects | Duration |
|---|---|
| 5-Minute Physics | |
| Developing an undergraduate holography lab | |
| Tracking development of disciplinary thinking |
Publications
Book Chapters
Wegener, Margaret J. (2021). Enmeshed: Multiple Dimensions of Art and Science. Lincoln Austin: The Space Between Us. (pp. 43-58) Ipswich, QLD Australia: Ipswich Art Gallery.
Heckenberg, N. R., McDuff, R., Smith, C. P., Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H. and Wegener, M. J. (2014). Laser beams with phase singularities. Optical angular momentum. (pp. 155-166) edited by L. Allen, Stephen M. Barnett and Miles J. Padgett. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press.
Journal Articles
Hughes, Stephen, Wegener, Margaret and Gurung, Som (2022). Shrinking violet. Physics Education, 57 (5) 055016, 1-9. doi: 10.1088/1361-6552/ac7934
Wegener, Margaret and Littley, Samantha (2019). Seeing the light: science communication and art. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 27 (7), 34-45.
Quinnell, Rosanne, Wegener, Margaret, LeBard, Rebecca and Beames, Stephanie (2019). When science meets the arts: bridging the subjective-objective divide. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 27 (7), 1-3.
Ponce Campuzano, J. C., Roberts, A. P., Matthews, K. E., Wegener, M. J., Kenny, E. P. and McIntyre, T. J. (2019). Dynamic visualization of line integrals of vector fields: a didactic proposal. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 50 (6), 934-949. doi: 10.1080/0020739x.2018.1510554
McIntyre, Timothy, Wegener, Margaret and McGrath, Dominic (2018). Dynamic e-learning modules for student lecture preparation. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 6 (1), 126-145. doi: 10.20343/teachlearninqu.6.1.11
Wegener, Margaret J., Doyle-Pegg, Marianne and McIntyre, Timothy J. (2015). Heat: an inquiry-based physics laboratory for life sciences students. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 23 (5), 18-31.
Wegener, M.J. and Milroy, A.K. (2014). The art in physics - Creating "LABPUNK". Australian Physics, 51 (2), 53-56.
Maynard-Casely, Helen, Wegener, Margaret and Foley, Cathy (2014). Searching to increase the diversity in Australian physics. Australian Physics, 51 (5), 162-164.
Drinkwater, Michael J., Gannaway, Deanne, Sheppard, Karen, Davis, Matthew J., Wegener, Margaret J., Bowen, Warwick J. and Corney, Joel F. (2014). Managing active learning processes in large first year physics classes: the advantages of an integrated approach. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 2 (2), 75-90. doi: 10.2979/teachlearninqu.2.2.75
Wegener, Margaret (2013). Development of threshold learning outcomes for Australian graduates in physics. Australian Physics, 50 (3), 89-93.
Wegener, Margaret, McIntyre, Timothy J., McGrath, Dominic, Savage, Craig M. and Williamson, Michael (2012). Developing a virtual physics world. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 28 (3), 504-521. doi: 10.14742/ajet.847
McGrath, D, Wegener, M, McIntyre, TJ, Savage, C and Williamson, M (2010). Student experiences of virtual reality: A case study in learning special relativity. American Journal of Physics, 78 (8) 015007AJP, 862-868. doi: 10.1119/1.3431565
Wegener, M. (2003). Physicist in the art gallery: Summary of a workshop presented at CONASTA 2003. The Queensland Science Teacher, 29, 9-10.
Wegener, Margaret, Sutcliffe, Mark and Morgan, Richard (2000). Optical study of a light diaphragm rupture process in an expansion tube. Shock waves, 10 (3), 167-178. doi: 10.1007/s001930050003
McIntyre, TJ, Bishop, AI, Thomas, AM, Wegener, MJ and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H (1998). Emission and holographic interferometry measurements in a superorbital expansion tube. Aiaa Journal, 36 (6), 1049-1054. doi: 10.2514/2.478
McIntyre, Timothy J., Wegener, Margaret J., Bishop, Alexis I. and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina (1997). Simultaneous two-wavelength holographic interferometry in a superorbital expansion tube facility. Applied Optics, 36 (31), 8128-8134. doi: 10.1364/AO.36.008128
Wegener, M, McIntyre, T, Stalker, R and Morgan, R (1996). Visualization and analysis of bow shocks in a superorbital expansion tube. Aiaa Journal, 34 (10), 2200-2202. doi: 10.2514/3.13376
Heckenberg, NR, McDuff, R, Smith, CP, Rubinszteindunlop, H and Wegener, MJ (1992). Laser-Beams with Phase Singularities. Optical and Quantum Electronics, 24 (9), S951-S962. doi: 10.1007/BF01588597
Conference Papers
Wegener, Margaret J., Hughes, Stephen and Gurung, Som (2022). Making more diffraction orders by shrinking wavelengths. Australian Institute of Physics Congress, Adelaide, SA Australia, 11-16 December 2022.
Wegener, Margaret J. (2022). Active learning using online interactivity. IUPAP International Conference on Physics Education, Online, 5-9 December 2022.
Hughes, Stephen, Wegener, Margaret and Gurung, Som (2022). Using a laser pointer to demonstrate the decrease in the wavelength of light in water. IUPAP International Conference on Physics Education, Online, 5-9 December 2022. Sydney, NSW Australia: IUPAP.
Wegener, Margaret J., Kenny, Elise , Ponce Campuzano, Juan , Roberts, Anthony P., Matthews, Kelly and McIntyre, Timothy J. (2017). Using interactive simulations to enhance student engagement in mathematics and physics. Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Melbourne, Australia, 27-28 September 2017.
Ponce Campuzano, Juan Carlos, Kenny, Elise P., Edirisinghe, Jeremy, Bu, Yitong T., Roberts, Anthony, Wegener, Margaret, Matthews, Kelly and McIntyre, Tim (2016). Dynamic, Interactive Simulations for Enhancing Student Learning. Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 28-29 September 2016.
McIntyre, Timothy J., Roberts, Anthony P., Wegener, Margaret J., Juan Ponce Campuzano, Elise Kenny and Matthews, Kelly (2016). Dynamic, interactive simulations for enhancing student learning. Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 28-29 September 2016.
McIntyre, T. J., Wegener, M. J., Roberts, A. P., Kenny, E. P., Ponce Campuzano, J. C. and Matthews, K. (2016). Active learning using interactive simulations. Joint Asia Pacific Physics Conference and Australian Institute of Physics Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 4-8 December 2016.
Wegener, Margaret J., McIntyre, Timothy, McGrath, Dominic, Peet, Sam and Holmes, Catherine (2015). Students’ pre-class preparation: concise and interactive online modules that students use. International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 27-30 October 2015.
Foley, C. P., Maynard-Casely, Helen and Wegener, Margaret (2015). Australian Update on Women in Physics in 2014. 5th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics, Waterloo Canada, 5-8 August 2014. Melville, NY United States: American Institute of Physics. doi: 10.1063/1.4937651
Wegener, M., Drinkwater, M., McIntyre, T., Gannaway, D., Sheppard, K., McGrath, D. and Cody, A. (2013). Manipulating Space and Time for Active-Learning Lectures. International Conference on Physics Education, Prague, Czech Republic, 5-9 August 2013.
Drinkwater, M., Gannaway, D., Sheppard, K. and Wegener, M. (2013). More than the sum of its parts: Evaluating a model of teaching and learning. HERDSA Annual International Conference, Auckland New Zealand, 1 - 4 July 2013.
Savage, C., McGrath, D., McIntyre, T., Wegener, M. and Williamson, M. (2010). Teaching physics using virtual reality. International Conference on Physics Education, ICPE-2009, Bangkok, Thailand, 18 -24 October 2009. College Park, MD United States: American Institute of Physics. doi: 10.1063/1.3479848
McGrath, Dominic, Savage, Craig, Williamson, Michael, Wegener, Margaret and McIntyre, Tim (2008). Teaching special relativity using virtual reality. National UniServe Science Symposium, Sydney, Austalia, 2-3 Oct 2008. University of Sydney, Australia: UniServe Science.
Myatt, Paula, Farrand, Kirsten, Wegener, Margaret and Blanchfield, Joanne (2008). Undergraduate research experiences: Bridging the gap between teaching and research in a research intensive university. 31st Annual HERDSA Conference 2008, Rotorua, New Zealand, 1-4 July, 2008. Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.
Savage, C., Wegener, M., McIntyre, T., McGrath, D. and Williamson, M. (2008). Teaching physics using virtual reality: Special relativity. AIP 18th National Congress, Adelaide, South Australia, 30 November- 5 December 2008.
Wegener, M. (2008). A Century After A Nobel Prize: The Legacy of Lippmann's Colour Photography. 18th Biennial Australian Institute of Physics Congress, Adelaide, South Australia, 30 November-5 December 2008. Australian Institute of Physics.
Wegener, Margaret, Savage, Craig and McIntyre, Tim (2008). Learning special relativity through virtual reality. GIREP (International Research Group on Physics Teaching) International Conference/13th Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning Workshop, Nicosia, Cyprus, 18-22 August 2008.
Wegener, M. (2005). Gravity measurement via a rolling pendulum for embedded learning of fundamental lab skills. 2nd International Pendulum Conference, Sydney, Australia, 13-15 October 2005.
Wegener, M. J. (2005). Contemporary service course students: Who are they?. Blended Learning in Science Teaching & Learning, The University of Sydney, 30th September 2005. The University of Sydney: UniServe Science.
Wegener, Margaret, Sutcliffe, Mark, Morgan, Richard, McIntyre, Tim and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina (2001). Diagnostics of A Range of Highly Superorbital Carbon Dioxide Flows. 39th AIAA Aeropspace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, USA, 8-11 January, 2001. Reston, Virigina: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.. doi: 10.2514/6.2001-304
Wegener, Margaret (2000). Fundamental Skills in Physics: Embedded Learning. Effective Teaching and Learning Conference 2000, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 9 - 10 November 2000. Brisbane, Australia: TEDI (Teaching & Educational Development Institute), University of Queensland.
Wegener, Margaret, Bishop, Alexis and Thomas, Amberyn (1997). Optical measurements for a superorbital expansion tube. 35th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 1997, Reno, NV, United States, 6-9 January 1997. Reston, Virigina: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. doi: 10.2514/6.1997-775
Wegener, Margaret, Bishop, Alexis, McIntyre, Tim and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Halina (1996). Holographic interferometry of superorbital test flows. Proceedings of the 1996 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe, CLEO/Europe, Hamburg, Germany, 8 - 13 September 1996. Piscataway, NJ United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Barker, P., Wegener, M., McIntyre, T. J. and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H. (1996). Optical diagnostic methods for superorbital test facilities. Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics CLEO'96, Anaheim, CA United States, 2-7 June 1996. IEEE.
Rubinsztein-Dunlop Halina, Barker Peter, Thomas Amberyn, Wegener Margaret and Stalker R.J. (1994). Laser-based methods for hypervelocity flow diagnostics. Proceedings of the 1994 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe, Amsterdam, Neth, August 28, 1994-September 2, 1994. IEEE.
Generic Document
Wegener, Margaret J. and McIntyre, Timothy J. (2019). Introduction to Biological Physics for the Health and Life Sciences: Instructor Support Material (2nd edition). The University of Queensland.
Theses
Wegener, Margaret (1999). Diagnostics of a superorbital expansion tube by multiple holographic recordings. PhD Thesis, School of Physical Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/b7adf6c
Wegener, Margaret (1999). Animation file of diaphragm rupture process. PhD Thesis, School of Physical Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/c70c4b0