Undergraduate Research
in the
Department of Physics
The UTRA program provides opportunities for collaborative work between students and faculty members and allows students to gain insight into the structure of academic work in a particular field.
Current Openings Current Research Past Research
Astrophysics & Cosmology:
Prof. Ian Dell’Antonio: Distribution of dark matter in the Universe and the evolution of the dark energy density using gravitational lensing and other astrophysical techniques. Opening available for summer 2010.
Prof. Rick Gaitskell: Our group, http://particleastro.brown.edu, is part of the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) collaboration, http://luxdarkmatter.org which is currently building a next-generation dark matter detector, using liquid xenon technology previously demonstrated in our XENON10 experiment. The LUX experiment will be deployed aboveground in fall 2009, in preparation for underground deployment in summer 2010, at the newly-established Sanford Laboratory at Homestake Mine in South Dakota. Openings are available for students to travel to Sanford Lab in order to participate in the underground detector deployment.
Projects will focus on preparing detector components for underground assembly; full installation of the detector below ground; detector energy and photomultiplier tube (PMT) calibrations; and deployment of the LUX data acquisition system. Openings available for summer 2010.
Students involved with the experiment will gain substantial experience in underground science, rare event searches and cutting-edge technologies in particle astrophysics.
Prof. Greg Tucker: Research is focused on making measurements of the early universe. Measurements of the cosmic microwave background to understand the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Measurements of the very earliest galaxies to have formed in the universe to understand how structure formed in the universe. Most of these galaxies are not visible using conventional optical telescopes. Measurements of star formation in our galaxy to answer the question of whether magnetic fields or turbulence is more important in star formation. Analysis of data from these measurements. Openings available for the academic year and/or summer.
Biological Physics:
Prof. Jay Tang: Seeking talented and enthusiastic undergraduates to participate research on bacterial swimming and cell crawling. Work involves experiments using various microscopy techniques, as well as computer modeling and simulations.
Prof. Derek Stein: Available projects are: DNA dynamics in solid-state nanopores, DNA dynamics in nanofluidic structures, Single-molecule DNA manipulation using optical tweezers, and Electrokinetic energy harvesting in nanofluidic channels.
Condensed Matter Experiment:
Prof. Humphrey Maris: Opening for a student to work on the behavior of electrons in superfluid helium. We have succeeded in making a movie showing the motion of a single electron. This research could include both experiment and theory.
Prof. Gang Xiao: Research: fabrication, characterization, and study of magnetic tunneling junctions and spintronic systems. Current openings available for 2-3 undergraduates interested in working on various research projects, starting immediately, for at least one year (maybe more). Students have to be US citizen or permanent resident. If not, he or she will need to apply for UTRA for the summer.
Prof. Jim Valles: The Physics of Swimming Paramecia – we are investigating how paramecia sense forces as they swim. Their force sensing mechanism is ultra sensitive and not well understood. And, Nanostructured superconductors and metals – we investigate how patterning metals and superconductors with nanometer scale structure (like perforating them with small holes) influences their properties.
Condensed Matter Theory:
Prof. Brad Marston: Current opening for an undergraduate to work on a climate modeling project. Familiarity with basic physics and the ability to program computers is required. Please visit http://www.brown.edu/Research/ECI/activities/opportunities.html for more information.
Prof. Bob Pelcovits: Current opening for an undergraduate to work on numerical simulations of liquid crystal physics. Familiarity with basic physics and the ability to program computers is required. Visit http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/userpages/faculty/Robert_Pelcovits/pelcovits.htm for more info. Two of the papers listed on that page were co-authored by undergraduates, Adam Backer ’07 and Michael Schwarz ‘08.
Elementary Particle Experiment:
Explore nature's high energy frontier by becoming involved in experimental particle physics, with funded research opportunities on the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider and the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, including visits to Fermilab and CERN and hands-on detector work and data analysis, available both in the summer and during the academic year; to discuss these possibilities contact Profs. Dave Cutts, Meenakshi Narain, or Greg Landsberg.
Elementary Particle Theory:
Prof. David Lowe: Research in gravitational aspects of string theory, including black holes and applications to cosmology.
Prof. Marcus Spradlin: Research in particle physics and string theory, including theoretical and computational projects exploring the mathematical structure of scattering amplitudes.
Prof. Chung-I Tan: Various projects toward understanding high energy hadron collisions based on gauge/string duality. These efforts not only pose a sharp theoretical challenge, they also have significant phenomenological consequences, e.g., physics at the LHC.
Prof. Anastasia Volovich: Current openings for undergraduates to work on various aspects of field theory and string theory.
Kate Alexander, |
|
Prof. Dell'Antonio |
Adam Coogan, 2012 |
PMT Testing and Detector construction for the LUX Experiment |
Prof. Gaitskell |
Katherine Dagon, 2010 |
Formation of Jets in Planetary Atmospheres |
Prof. Marston |
Anand Desai, |
DMTools Dark Matter Experiment Limit Plotter |
Prof. Gaitskell |
Alexander DiRe 2011 |
The Structure of Scattering Amplitudes at High Loop Order |
Prof. Spradlin |
William Hicks 2012 |
Finding Optimal Subsets for Decomposition of Polynomials in Feynman Integrals |
Prof. Spradlin |
James Hinton, 2010 |
Prof. Stein |
|
Ryan Kaplan, 2012 |
The Integration and Analysis of Micro-Coils in NMR Probes |
Prof. Mitrovic |
Matthew Kretschmer, 2010 |
Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting in Silicon Nanochannels |
Prof. Stein |
Jared Lafer, 2011 |
Prof. Landsberg |
|
Laura Mocanu, 2010 |
Dark Matter Annihilation in the Milky Way and Its Effects on the Dark Matter Annihilation Signal |
Prof. Koushiappas |
Laurentiu Rodina, 2011 |
Research in String Theory |
Prof. Volovich |
Amin Shaikh 2011 |
Classification of Dual Conformal Graphs |
Prof. Spradlin |
Barbara Stekas, 2010 |
Prof. Ling |
|
Michael Wagman, 2012 |
The Effects of Viscosity on Paramecium Motion |
Prof. Valles |
Katrina Wilson, 2011 |
Racing Swimming Bacteria on the Track |
Prof. Tang |
Daniel Butler 2009 | Neural Networks for Particle Discrimination in the XENON10 Detector |
Prof. Gaitskell |
John Hermansen 2011 |
Measuring Magnetic Fields in Star Formation Regions |
Prof. Tucker |
Samuel Ocko 2009 |
Variational Approach to Spin Liquids in Two Dimensions |
Prof. Marston |
| Edward Baker 2008 | On the Dynamics of Particles Near Space-Like Singularities |
Prof. Lowe |
Simon Buttrick 2009 |
Nanopore Barcoding of DNA/Protein Complexes |
Prof. Stein |
Jason Chan 2010 |
Assembling DNA dendrimer constructs for nanopore and nanofluidic experiments |
Prof. Stein |
John Cucco 2009 |
Testing Cluster Effects on Mass Reconstructions |
Prof. Dell'Antonio |
Alan Gabel 2008 |
Nanofluidics |
Prof. Stein |
Deepa Galaiya 2008 |
Physical Characterization and Modeling of Superhelical Actin Bundles |
Prof. Tang |
Amandeep Gill 2008 |
Black Holes Near and Far |
Prof. Dell'Antonio |
Daniel (Colin) Horowitz 2011 |
DNA dynamics in nanofluidic pit structures |
Prof. Stein |
John Keller 2008 |
Research in Particle Physics |
Prof. Cutts |
Miriam Klein 2009 |
Spectroscopy of Lensing Cluster Galaxies |
Prof. Dell’Antonio |
Noah Levin 2010 |
Development of Photomultiplier Tube Detector Array for LUXcore Experiment |
Prof. Gaitskell |
Michael Mak 2008 |
Microrheology of F-Actin Networks Using Optical Tweezers |
Prof. Tang |
Taylor Newton 2008 |
Lie Algebras and N=4 Yang-Mills Theory |
Prof. Spradlin |
Travis Del Bonis O'Donnell 2009 |
DNA dynamics in nanofluidic pit structures |
Prof. Stein |
Andrew Potter 2008 |
Interferometry with anyons |
Prof. Feldman |
Reshma Ramachandran |
The Behavior of Ultra-Confined DNA Molecules |
Prof. Stein |
Stefan Schaffer 2009 |
Electronic DNA Analysis Using Solid-State Nanopores |
Prof. Stein |
Michael Schwarz 2008 |
Liquid Crystal Modeling |
Prof. Pelcovits |
Aaron Weinstein 2009 |
Development in LUXcore and the Search for Dark Matter |
Prof. Gaitskell |
Charles Wood 2010 |
An optical tracking system for beads in an optical trap |
Prof. Stein |
Adam Backer 2008 |
Liquid Crystal Modeling |
Prof. Pelcovits |
Edward Baker 2008 |
Analysis for the XENON10 Detector in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory |
Prof. Gaitskell |
Gregory Hebert 2008 |
Superconducting Ring on a Cantilever at f=1/2 |
Prof. Ling |
Angus McMullen 2008 |
Superconducting Ring on a Cantilever at f=1/2 |
Prof. Ling |
Hannah Singer 2009 |
Searching for the Earliest Galaxies in the Deep Lens Survey |
Prof. Dell’Antonio |
Lick-Kong Tam 2007 |
Discrete Rotation Steps in Bacterial Flagellar Motor of Aaulobacter Crescentus |
Prof. Tang |
Hiroaki Tanaka 2008 |
Guided Study in Quantum Gravity |
Prof. Guralnik |
Amalia Telbis 2007 |
Quantitative Comparison of Magnetic Field Imaging Methods: Magnetic Force Microscopy and Scanning Magnetoresistive Imaging |
Prof. Xiao |
Scott Wolin 2007 |
Silicon Detector Construction and Optimizing Triggers for the CMS Experiment at the CERN LHC |
Prof. Landsberg |
Chin Lin Wong 2007 |
EBEX Star Camera |
Prof. Tucker |
