REU Project Descriptions
Project #1: Optics, Prof. Mario Affatigato
The students in Prof. Affatigato's group will carry out projects involving laser desorption and ionization (LITOF-MS), Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements on oxide glasses. They will be thoroughly involved in the process, from glassmaking and crystal growing to operating the spectrometer, to data analysis. These projects will expose students to a variety of physical instrumentation, from Nd:YAG and nitrogen lasers, to vacuum pumps, to microchannel plates, data acquisition electronics, etc. One project, on structural characterization using the LITOF-MS, will involve modeling of fragmentation patterns, isotopic signatures, structural models to explain the observed spectra, etc. Complementary Raman/FTIR measurements will also be made. In a second project, the REU student will perform AFM and SEM measurements on glasses that have been modified by laser irradiation and/or for light scattering applications. In a third, they can carry our structural characterization of crystal forms. Finally, REU students will also have the choice to work with Professor Affatigato on the study of heavy metal oxide glasses for high density applications. In this last project, the students will make the samples and characterize them using ultraviolet and infrared wavelength cutoffs, Raman spectra and density. All projects combine condensed matter theory, glassmaking and optical spectroscopy.
Project #2: Materials Science, Prof. Steve Feller
In this research, REU students will participate in a condensed-matter physics effort that specializes in developing new glasses. We then characterize several of physical properties and use spectroscopy to find atomic-level structures. Prof. Feller s group has the ability to cool glasses at exceedingly fast rates (over 100,000 K/sec.) using two state of the art roller quenchers. We also have started to use laser levitation to form glasses at exceedingly high temperatures approaching 2700°C. With the roller-quenchers and laser levitation system, along with several kinds of furnaces to choose from, and dry nitrogen glove boxes you will make many glasses of unusual compositions. Examples of the types of projects available to students include: development of new alkali and alkaline-earth vanadate, borovanadate and silicovanadate glasses; determination of thermal properties in a host of oxide glass systems such as borates, silicates, phosphates and germinates; high precision measurements of density using a variety of techniques; modeling packing efficiencies of atoms in glasses; and experimental and theoretical spectroscopic (neutron scattering, FTIR, Raman, EPR, and NMR) investigations of the atomic structure of glasses. This research will make use of the state-of-the-art Raman, X-Ray diffraction and FTIR spectrometers at Coe. We also do numerical modeling of atomic structure-physical property relationships in these glasses.
Project #3: Acoustics, Prof. Jim Cottingham
REU students working in Prof. Cottingham's group carry out studies on the acoustics of musical instruments, in particular those wind instruments using so-called "free reeds". These include the harmonium, reed organ, harmonica and the accordion-concertina family. Research in musical acoustics makes extensive use of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrum analysis and the modal analysis of vibrating systems. There are several specific areas of investigation in which students may become involved. Studies of reed motion and modes of vibration employ a variety of instruments including variable-impedance-transducer (VIT) proximity sensors, and a laser vibrometer system. Students are also involved in measurement of acoustic input impedance curves of the pipes or other resonators and theoretical modeling of the motion of the air-driven reed and reed-resonator coupling. Newer areas of study include the investigation of the spectra of attack transients and measurement and visualization of sound fields within resonators. It is anticipated that research in the summer of 2011 will focus on the mouth-blown instruments including the harmonica and the Asian free reed mouth organs.Project #4: Glassy Materials, Prof. Steve Singleton
Students working on this project will be studying the structure of amorphous (glassy) materials using luminescence spectroscopy and computational modeling. Because glasses do not have long-range or periodic order, understanding their structure is a great challenge. In this work, we utilize a sophisticated laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) apparatus to determine the microscopic environment around probe ions implanted in the glass. We measure the LIF spectrum and emission lifetime to understand the energy transfer processes and, thus, learn about the glass's structure. A new area of research for us involves using ab-intio and semi-empirical computational methods to model structure. We are interested in seeing how well these methods reflect experimental data. Currently, we are comparing the calculated electric field gradients to experimental NMR data obtained by Dr. Feller's research group.
Project #5: Biochemistry, Prof. Maria Dean
Pectinaria gouldii and Phragmatopoma lapidosa are two different marine annelids that make and secrete a bio-cement used to construct a protective enclosure for them to live. Research in Dr. Dean's group employs techniques in protein biochemistry and molecular genetics/biology. The surface properties of the biocements have been explored using Atomic Force Microscopy, Scanning Electron and Raman spectroscopies. This summer, exploration & bioinformatics of the cDNA libraries for both marine worms, as well as training on the Scanning Electron Microscope with the seaworm "housing" will be a priority. Designing probes, using PCR, and sequencing samples from the libraries will be the major activities. We will use bioinformatics to help us understand the proteins and relatedness of these organisms and the protein biocement they secrete.