Graduate and Undergraduate Student Participants

Quick Link: A-I | J-R | S-Z

Most student email addresses are listed in the directory.
Daniel Bolton
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2011
Theorist
Resume
One interesting aspect of the strong nuclear force is that it "sees" protons and neutrons as being approximately identical. This symmetry is weakly broken by the difference between the particle's masses. A nuclear reaction that is sensitive to this symmetry breaking has recently been measured. I am working on the theoretical framework through which we can understand the results of this experiment.
Ian Derrington
Ph.D. Candidate,Physics
Expected Graduation:2011
Experimentalist
Resume
Low cost, high speed DNA sequencing has the potential to vastly accelerate research and to enable medicine based on ones DNA genome. Sequencing with nanopores, or nanometer sized holes, is a candiate to achieve significant milestones such as $1000/genome sequenced in one day and revolutionize DNA sequencing. I study and help design mutations of a protein nanopore MspA, which is one of the most promising nanopores for use in sequencing.
Matthew Dietrich
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Quantum computation is a new paradigm which would allow for new, more efficient algorithms than are possible on a classical computer. There are many candidates for a possible physical realization of a qubit, the fundamental unit of information in such a computer. I work to implement a qubit using the hyperfine levels of a barium 137 ion isolated in a Paul trap.
Stephanie Morris Gogarten
Ph.D. Astronomy
Graduated: 2009
Observer
Resume
I am studying nearby galaxies using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Our observations resolve individual stars within other galaxies, and by comparing the populations of stars we observe with models of stellar evolution, we can determine the history of star formation in these galaxies.
Charles Hagedorn
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
I test Newton's gravitational inverse square law at sub-millimeter scales. Over distances shorter than ~50 microns, the diameter of a human hair, no one has yet demonstrated that gravity even acts, let alone agrees with Newton's prediction. Extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics and to the emerging standard model of cosmology suggest that gravity may have unexpected properties on this still-macroscopic scale. Our null experimental test is based around a high-precision torsion balance. In my talk, I'll highlight some of our instrument's interesting features and capabilities. In addition, I'll describe a few of the interesting challenges involved in making precision measurements of weak forces.
Andrew Jones
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2011
Experimentalist
Resume
I utilize a method known as scattering-Scanning Near-field Optical microscopy to break the optical resolution limit. My primary focus has been the investigation of Vanadium Dioxide, a material which undergoes a metal-insulator transition and has been proposed for a variety of applications ranging from ultrafast shutter to "smart windows"
David Kettler
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
As a member of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Lab, my research involves probing nuclear matter under extreme conditions. This is done primarily by studying correlations between particles produced in nuclear collisions. These correlations can then be related to physical phenomena such as jets and anisotropic flow. My research reveals several unexpected aspects of nuclear collisions.
Nathan Kurz
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
Quantum computation and networking represent a rich field for the study of both foundational physics and practical computing algorithm applications. Trapped ions are an ideal system to employ for this application because of their long coherence times and relative ease of coupling to photons for computing operations and transmission of quantum information. We propose an experiment to entangle the quantum state of a single trapped barium ion to a visible wavelength photon which can then be transmitted over long distances via optical fiber. This entanglement operation can then be used to create an entangled state of two ions trapped at two separate locations, a necessary first step in many quantum computing and networking protocols.
Tracy Lovejoy
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
I am studying advanced materials for semiconductor applications. The system I'm working on right now is gallium oxide, a transparent conductor. This could be used as a transparent electrode in a solar cell, or as a high temperature gas sensor. My work revolves around trying to understand the mechanism for the conductivity in this material, which is a subject of much debate.
Keiko Munechika
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
My focus is to study the optical properties of metal nanoparticles and plasmon enhanced fluorescence of nearby fluorophores. Plasmon enhanced fluorescence has the potential to improve the performance of existing fluorophores and has become a driving force behind incorporating metal nanoparticles into applications such as biosensing and optoelectronics. My work involves both synthesizing metal nanoparticles and studying optical properties of metal nanoparticle-fluorophore hybrids using various microscopy techniques.
Natalie Ramiene
B.S. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
The radioactive decay of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) inside the Earth is believed to be the main source of energy for mantle convection, which causes earthquakes and volcanoes, among other things. As well as heat, the decay of U and Th produces geoneutrinos, which can be used to measure the U and Th throughout the Earth in an effort to check the accuracy of models of the Earth's composition. Because the crust is not uniform in size, the contribution to the geoneutrino flux from U and Th in the mantle and the crust depends on detector location. Therefore, if only a single measurement is made, we are not able to determine what fraction of the observed geoneutrinos come from the crust verses the mantle. However, by measuring the geoneutrino flux at multiple locations, we may be able to determine the distribution of U and Th content in the Earth's crust and mantle. We currently have a measurement from one detector, and by comparing it to the predicted values from various other detectors, we will be able to predict the best sites to locate future geoneutrino detectors and determine the optimal number of detectors to build.
Marshall Roth
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2011
Experimentalist
The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the most energetic phenomena in our universe. The driving technology behind these discoveries has been the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which utilizes technology from particle accelerators to view the high energy sky in a whole new way. Many of these breakthroughs were made possible by the extensive analysis of the wide range of interactions that the LAT experiences while in orbit. My research focuses on a subset of these analyses, as well as some applications developed by myself and others at UW for discovering new physics.
William Terrano
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2011
Experimentalist
Resume
I am building and running torsion balances to study several possibilities for new, macroscopic forces. One project is a new design for a pendulum that will use a combination of different magnetic materials to be sensitive to forces between the spins of electrons at much greater sensitivities than was previously possible. I am also working on a prototype for a pendulum with a large hydrogen density. This is interesting because most observations constraining Dark Matter interactions rely on Hydrogen dynamics, so a pendulum with a large Hydrogen excess would allow us to study Dark Matter - neutron/proton interactions in greater detail. The difficulty lies in designing a pendulum with polyethylene that has the mechanical stability to make a precision measurement possible.
Ethan Thompson
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Theorist
Resume
My research involves the broad application of a technique known as gauge/gravity duality. This duality allows for the otherwise intractable calculation of the dynamics of strongly-coupled field theories using simpler gravity and string theories. In particular, my research focuses on the application of these techniques to condensed matter systems. Practically speaking, my research involves carrying out high-precision numerical solutions to differential equations using software like Mathematica and similar programs.
Jonathan Walsh
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Theorist
Resume
I work on improving data analysis techniques for the Large Hadron Collider. A class of algorithms is used to simplify and interpret data from collisions, and I study methods to use these algorithms in novel ways to separate signals of interesting physics from the very large set of background events at the LHC. The interpretation of the data is influenced by many factors, including the resolution of the particle detectors, the systematic biases of the algorithm in interpreting the data, and the dynamic nature of the underlying physics of the collisions. Addressing this multi-faceted problem leads to significant improvements over current techniques.
Zenghui Wang
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Experimentalist
Resume
A single suspended nanotube, as one of the smallest nanoelectromechanical systems, is driven to oscillate with resonance detected and tuned. At low temperatures, as individual atoms are adsorbed onto the nanotube surface, the resonance frequency is lowered with increased mass of the resonator. The density of the adsorbed monolayer is determined from the frequency shift and striking phase transitions are detected within such low-dimensional monolayers.
Joseph Wasem
Ph.D. Candidate, Physics
Expected Graduation: 2010
Theorist
Resume
I work in the area of lattice QCD which aims to put the fundamental field theory of QCD (which governs nuclear reactions) on a computer. With this technique we can calculate quantities that are difficult or impossible to access with experiments. Currently I am working on the first lattice calculation of nuclear parity violation, which is very poorly understood experimentally but may be more easily accessible with lattice QCD.