Northern Illinois University alum Andrew Morrison has spent his career using physics to study these questions. At the next STEM Café, he will present “Good Vibrations: The Physics of Musical Instruments,” a crash course – complete with musical demonstrations – in how basic scientific laws help us understand the sounds that make up our favorite tunes.

The free talk will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on July 23, at the House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb.

Morrison, who received his Ph.D. in physics from NIU in 2005, is a professor of physics and astronomy at Joliet Junior College. He also leads the Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America.

At NIU, he focused on the physics of musical instruments, especially the vibration and sound radiation of the Caribbean steelpan.

Morrison said his talk will show people how to understand finely crafted musical instruments scientifically by applying the basic laws of physics to an instrument’s individual components.

Eric Schroeder will perform the musical demonstrations during the talk. Schroeder received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in guitar performance from NIU’s School of Music.

He now works with NIU’s Community School of the Arts and is on the music faculty at Rockford College. Shroeder also specializes in Suzuki guitar and is the founder of the NIUkulele Ensemble.

For information on STEM Cafés and other STEM events, contact Judith Dymond at 815-753-4751 or jdymond@niu.edu or go to niu.edu/stem.