Journal of Undergraduate Research

Daniel Thrasher and Dr. Scott Bergeson, Physics Department Introduction Laser frequency control is imperative for cold atom experimentation. In our lab we use finely tuned lasers to optically cool and trap calcium atoms. Our ability to successfully trap atoms is highly dependent on the stability of the lasers we use to cool them. After trapping […]

Susan Stoffer Sorensen and Dr. Karine Chesnel, Physics Department The Kerr effect is a phenomenon in which as polarized visible light reflects off of a magnetized surface it experiences a small rotation in polarization. This is known as the Kerr rotation, denoted Δθ. This rotation is proportional to the magnetization of the sample, to a […]

Jazz Myres and Dr. Kent Gee, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction According to the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the United States Department of Veteran Affairs spent over $1 billion dollars on military hearing loss compensation in 2010 alone1. A major cause of hearing loss is exposure to high Sound Pressure Levels, which are […]

Thayne McCombs and Dr. Joseph Ward Moody, Physics and Astronomy Introduction The ROVOR observatory is a robotic, remotely controlled telescope in Delta, Utah. Since it is remotely controlled and semi-automated, it produces a very large amount of raw data. Unfortunately it took much longer to process and analyze the data than to acquire it, and, […]

Soyoung Jung and Dr. Manuel Berrondo, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction Modeling has been an important part of many fields of research. Even though it sometimes could be considered to be non-practical, it has sharpened the questions and has been a useful tool for experimental research to understand what is being observed in the […]

Jarom Jackson and Dr. Dallin Durfee, Physics Introduction The purpose of this project was to produce a slow controlled beam of Strontium (Sr) ions. This is a key step in a proposed experiment to build an ion interferometer capable of measuring electric fields to a degree of sensitivity that has never been done before. This […]

Eric Gibbs and Dr. Branton Campbell, Physics Introduction: This project focuses on solving magnetic crystal structures using symmetry-mode analysis (SMA). A crystal is an arrangement of atoms in a repeating spatial pattern with the smallest repeating unit being known as the unit cell. A magnetic crystal contains atoms with a non-zero magnetic moment. A magnetic […]

Nathan Eyring and Dr. Timothy Leishman, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction Over the past years research has been conducted to understand how sound radiates from musical instruments. This has been done by recording a sphere of 2664 data points around a player through the process of many repetitions. This sphere is called the instrument’s […]

Jason Kyle Anderson and Dr. David Allred, Department of Physics and Astronomy Introduction: Traditional micro fabrication processes are confined to a small subset of possible materials due to limitations on etching and are confined to low aspect ratio fabrication due to limits in both etching and stability of thicker film deposition processes. Carbon Nanotube Templated […]

Holly Mumford During the Summer of 2012 we were able to conduct preliminary tests of HMD’s with deaf children ages 7-­‐17. Many of these were volunteers from EFY. Each subject watched a prepared video segment on the Earth, Sun and Moon, from Evans & Sutherland. They were accompanied by a translator, and ASL fluent facilitators […]