Journal of Undergraduate Research

David Squires and Faculty Mentor: Justin Peatross, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction In this mentored research project, we investigated how intense laser light is scattered by samples of gas. In particular, we measured light scattered in non-phase-matched directions perpendicular to the laser beam. According to classical phase matching, the intensity of light scattered from […]

Steven Noyce and Faculty Mentor: Robert Davis, Physics Introduction Many chemical sensing methods rely on the binding mechanism of the analyte to create a measurable response, making it difficult to create new sensors quickly, but resonant sensors require only that an analyte be bound and rely on the resulting change in mass to obtain a […]

McKinley Pugh and Faculty Mentor: Dallin Durfee, Physics Introduction Diode lasers are useful in physics because they are relatively cheap and robust, they are available in a number of wavelengths, and they are tunable. However, because diode lasers have large bandwidths compared to atomic resonances, a reflection grating is added outside the laser. This creates […]

Alexander Shumway and Faculty Mentor: Mark Transtrum, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction Mathematical models are ubiquitous in science. Many models are nonlinear in the parameters and may have dozens to thousands of parameters and make hundreds to thousands of predictions. Analysis and application of these models is thus theoretically complicated and computationally expensive. The […]

Alexander Erickson and Faculty Mentor: Scott Bergeson, Physics Department Introduction One area of particular interest in modern physics research is creating a viable fusion system for sustainable energy. Fusion occurs when a high energy plasma is manipulated in such a way that small atoms collide together, combining to create larger atoms and releasing tremendous amounts […]

Benjamin Smith and Faculty Mentor: R. Steven Turley, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) is a range of light on the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to wavelengths from 40 – 280 nm. VUV photons have too much energy to see visibly and are blocked completely by atmosphere. This wavelength range, however, shows promise […]

Daniel Woodbury and Scott Bergeson, Physics Introduction In the last several decades, laser cooling has become the primary tool for atomic research and, in our lab, has facilitated the study of ultracold plasma. Using a novel laser cooling setup, we created a vacuum chamber and related hardware for a dual species magneto-optical trap (MOT). The […]

Brian Shaw and Denise Stephens, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction Over the past year I have been looking at pictures filled with dots and running them through computers. On the surface that doesn’t seem quite exciting but once one understands what is happening between the pixels, the humdrum atmosphere disappears. Each of those dots […]

Clarke Safsten and Karine Chenel, Physics and Astronomy Department My project for which I received an ORCA grant has advanced considerably. I work with Dr. Chesnel studying magnetic thin films. These films consist of layered ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials. In previous experiments, Dr. Chesnel has determined that these types of films exhibit a property called […]

Stephen Rupper, and Dr. Scott Bergeson, Physics Department Many scientists throughout the world are currently doing research on ultra cold neutral plasmas (UCNP). These plasmas are difficult to make and require quite a sophisticated setup. A method that we employ in our lab requires multiple laser pulses to be timed perfectly and aligned precisely in […]