1. ATLAS Scintillating Tile Hadron Calorimeter Professor Steve
Errede
ATLAS link
Project Description: Dr Errede's High Energy group is working on detectors for the ATLAS experiment, designed for CERN's Large Hadron Collider. They are building Scintillating Tile Hadron Calorimeter Submodules and testing photomultipliers which will read signals from the TileCal. Over the next three years, the group will build ~200 submodules and test ~3000 phototubes. They are, and will continue to be, very busy!
Qualifications: Computer languages, lab experience (UIUC's 301 for example), upper level physics courses.
2. Manipulating Biopolymers 'in silico' Professor Klaus
Schulten
Theoretical Biophysics Group
Paper published by previous REU student
Project Description: The Theoretical Biophysics Group at the Beckman Institute operates a very advanced computational laboratory in the area of molecular biophysics and biomolecular modeling. The group is developing software that permits the graphical representation and manipulation of biomolecules, e.g., the stretching of muscle proteins or the extraction of ligands from enzymes. The software combines the group's graphics program VMD and molecular dynamics modelling program NAMD. The hardware is a PC with advanced 3D graphics together with a so-called haptic device that contains a mechanical pointer which communicates into the program 6D information (position and orientation) and receives feedback from the computer in the form of a 3D force felt by the user. The project would involve learning to operate the device which will still be in the stage of development and to apply it to investigate a particular protein system.
Qualifications: Only a student with extraordinary computer skills (knowledge of C and C++, Windows NT, basic Unix), interested in graphics and high performance computing (skills can be learned, but high motivation necessary) as well as in application of physics to biomedicine could be considered since the hardware/software is still in development. Students need to have a good basis in classical mechanics. A detailed description of your computer experience is required when applying for this project.
3. Physics Education Research Professor Gary Gladding
Project Description: Participants will have the opportunity to study the effectiveness of revisions made to the UIUC introductory physics sequence. The participant will be responsible for studying the relevant literature, analyzing data and creating questions to test conceptual understanding. Participants will also take part in an ongoing study to test retention of physics concepts.
Qualifications: Participants must have a good understanding of the concepts and problems in the introductory physics sequence. An interest in physics education is essential. General computing experience (programming, spreadsheets, HTML, ....) will be helpful.
4. Electronic and Magnetic Devices Made with Highly Correlated Materials Professor Jim
Eckstein
Current Research: We have been studying the physics of colossal
magnetoresistance using manganite films grown by atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam
epitaxy. The films are atomically flat and have low temperature transport rivaling that of
single crystal samples. In our best samples, we have observed low temperature residual
resistivity of less than 50 m W -cm. We have studied simple patterned transport samples
extensively. We have observed a large anisotropy in magnetic behavior and
magneto-transport that we attribute to spin orbit scattering. We have also seen that the
metal insulator transition in our samples is independent of the magnetic state of the
sample. That is, when the sample magnetization is fixed, the metal insulator transition
occurs at a fixed temperature, independent of magnetization.
More recently, we have begun to study tunneling into these
materials by assembling single crystal tunneling structures. These consist of a base
manganite film, covered epitaxially with a titanate barrier layer. Since the two species
are well lattice matched it is possible to grow such an interface continuously. The
barrier is followed by an in-situ deposited gold film. The trilayers are patterned into
mesa structure. Interpretation of the tunneling is complicated by the spreading resistance
of the manganite, which can be large. When the manganite is the most conducting, however,
its is possible to obtain tunneling spectra that are predominantly due to the tunnel
junction. These spectra show metallic behavior in the manganite and no significant sign of
the gap structure recently reported in samples investigated by ex-situ scanning tunneling
spectroscopy. A small reduction in conductivity is observed near V=0, but this appears to
be unrelated to the data shown in the STS report. We propose that the metallic tunneling
obtained in these structures grown with epitaxial and in-situ interfaces is due to a
metallic and ungapped density of states at the Fermi energy in the manganites.
Qualifications: None specified
5. Electronic Musical Instruments Professor Steve
Errede
Project Description: This summer, Dr Errede will be working on experiments for a course entitled "The Physics of Electronic Musical Instruments." Some of the areas he is studying are:
Work on the project would include electronics, programming, computer-based data acquisition, and web development, depending on the selected student's abilities and interests.
Qualifications: Experience with electronics, C programming, web page construction, and/or computer based data acquisition.
6. Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos in Nanoscale Materials Professor David
Campbell
Papers involving previous REU students
Project Description:
This project combines fields of "deterministic
chaos/nonlinear dynamics" and the condensed matter physics of "nanoscale
materials." The result is a study of the fundamental physical properties of novel
materials with potential applications to future electronic devices. Let's start with a
brief background on the two separate subjects involved in this research.
In recent years, the subject of "chaos" has
captured the public's imagination to an extent almost unprecedented for a technical,
mathematical concept. As the celebrated scene from "Jurassic Park" suggested, to
the popular mind chaos is a sort of cosmic Murphy's Law: if something can go wrong, it
will. In fact, an encyclopedia definition of chaos might read (in fact does read, since I
wrote it !):
CHAOS: the complicated nonperiodic evolution in time of deterministic nonlinear dynamical systems that on the long-term is unpredictable and equivalent to a random process because of exponential sensitivity to the initial conditions.
In common parlance, this means that some sufficiently
nonlinear systems, although completely deterministic (that is, with no "hidden"
random forces), can {\it behave} (on sufficiently long times) as if they were as random as
a fair coin toss.
Despite its arcane origin and technical description, chaos
is a very common real world phenomenon, observed in many experimental systems. One goal in
this project is to discover if, when, and how chaos can manifest itself in the motion of
electrons---ie, the current---through particular kinds of novel solid state
systems---``nanoscale materials''---that may eventually lead to a range of new electronic
devices.
To understand how this might be, we need to provide some
background on the second ingredient in the project: "nanoscale materials."
Modern molecular epitaxy techniques---ie, "physically engineering" materials by
growing them one layer of atoms at a time---have made possible the fabrication of
``superlattices'' consisting of layers of different semiconducting materials, such as GaAs
and GaxAl1-xAs. These "vertical
semiconductor superlattices" (VSSLs) can readily be fabricated with 100 alternating
layers, with the layers being between 2 and 20 nanometers thick: hence the name,
"nanoscale matertials." From our understanding of the theory of solids -- which
is based on the idea of electrons moving in the periodic potential of the ions making up
the lattice of the solid -- we can show that these alternating layers appear to be
"artificial" one-dimensional solids in the direction perpendicular to the
layers, since their equal spacing creates a periodic sequence of potential wells. Instead
of being determined by the natural bond lengths of the atoms in an ordinary solid, the
spacing of the potential wells in the superlattices is an easily varied parameter and can
be chosen to amplify a number of nonlinear physical effects that are masked or
unobservable in normal solids. Importantly, since many of these effects are associated
with the response to applied electric fields, they can have potential applications in
technological devices.
In addition to these VSSLs, one can create "gated
lateral semiconductor heterojunctions," (GLSH) in which an effectively
two-dimensional "gas" of electrons is subjected to external potential----eg,
periodic in space, or a double barrier---caused by metallic "gates" on the
surface of the semiconductor. Further, for both VSSLs and GLSHs, the effects of external
fields cause still more interesting nonlinear phenomena.
Previous REU participants Matt Cargo
and Jon McKinney contributed substantially to our understanding of this problem and
were involved in publications related to their work. If you are interested in seeing
further details or our approach and results, you should look at these references.
K. N. Alekseev, G. P. Berman, D. K. Campbell, E.H. Cannon, and M. C. Cargo, "Dissipative Chaos in Semiconductor Superlattices," Phys. Rev. B (1996).
K. N. Alekseev, E. H. Cannon, J. C. McKinney, F. V. Kusmartsev, and D. K. Campbell, "Spontaneous dc Current Generation in a Resistively Shunted Semiconductor Superlattice Driven by a TeraHertz field," Phys. Rev. Lett. 80 2669-2672 (1998).
K. N. Alekseev, E. H. Cannon, J. C. McKinney, F. V. Kusmartsev, and D. K. Campbell, "Symmetry-Breaking and Chaos in Electron Transport in Semiconductor Superlattices," Physica D 113, 129-133 (1998).
Qualifications: Experience with Mathematica, Fortran or C++ prefered but not essential. Courses in Quantum Mechanics and Advanced Classical Mechanics preferred but not essential.
7. Quark Sub-structure of the Proton Professor Douglas Beck
Project Description: Professor Beck's group is leading an experiment to study the quark sub-structure of the proton. In this project they are responsible for the construction of a large superconducting magnet which we expect to be delivered this summer. The group's responsibilities include precise characterization of the magnetic field using a computer controlled measurement device. They would like the assistance of an undergraduate in the development of the testing program for the magnet.
Qualifications: Familiarity with programming (c/c++), general lab hardware experience.
8. Real Compton Scattering Professor Alan Nathan
Project Description: Professor Nathan is currently studying real Compton scattering (RCS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. His group is studying the underlying structure of the proton by observing how the fundamental constituents (quarks and gluons) interact with each other. To measure the probability of Compton scattering, a beam of high-energy protons, a proton-containing target, and a pair of detectors to detect the recoil proton and the scattered photon are needed. This summer Professor Nathan's group will need help assembling and tesing a 216 element detector for Jefferson Lab.
Qualifications: Some lab experience would be helpful.