SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES (REU) FOR PHYSICS MAJORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

Update (14 April 2005):
All positions for the summer have now been filled.
We shall not consider any further applications.

 

The Summer Program: the Physics Department (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Physics) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has been a Research Experience for Undergraduates site (REU) funded by the NSF and UWM since 2001. With continued NSF funding, the program will continue during the summer of 2005. At least 10 students will be recruited each year, two from within UWM and eight or more from other institutions. The Department is especially interested in receiving applications from women and minorities. Externally recruited REU students will receive a stipend of $3,250 (no benefits) plus free accommodation in our dormitories and a travel allowance.  (Internally recruited students will receive a stipend of $3,650 but no additional accommodation allowance.) 

 

UWM gratefully acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation.

 

As well as the formal research activities, the program will include regular enrichment classes, in which the REU students will be taken through core physics at an appropriate level. These classes will also serve as a forum in which students difficulties in understanding fundamental physical principles encountered in their research can be addressed.  There will also be a weekly colloquium, at which the speaker will be a faculty member from the physics, chemistry, or engineering departments on campus, a visiting professor, a senior administrator from the College of Letters and Science, or a scientist or engineer from local industry. The Physics Department will provide an intellectually enriching atmosphere for REU students, and the Department is especially interested in attracting more women and minority students to the UWM graduate program.  The 2005 program will begin on Monday, June 6, 2005, and continue for ten weeks through August 12, 2005.

 

Research Activities

 

Applicants may choose from a broad selection of experimental and theoretical projects.  Please go to the individual web pages of the faculty members listed below for information about their research.  Links are provided at the Department's homepage at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Physics. These include:

 

• Theoretical condensed matter:  superconductivity and electronic structure calculations. (Dan Agterberg and Michael Weinert)

 

• Gravitational wave astronomy and the analysis of data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). (Patrick Brady, Jolien Creighton, John Friedman, Alan Wiseman) 

 

• General Relativity, astrophysics, cosmology, numerical relativity.  (John Friedman, Leonard Parker, Alan Wiseman)

 

• Atomic resolution electron microscopy of polar oxide nanostructures. (Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska)

 

 

• Magnetism and superconductivity, floating zone growth of single crystals, low temperature techniques and ultrasonic propagation in solids. (Prasenjit Guptasarma and Debashis Dasgupta)

 

 

• Low energy electron diffraction (LEED), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), and scanning tunneling microscopy.

 

• Molecular beam epitaxy and nanomaterials. (Lian Li)

 

• Photonic technology development and applications in studies of the physical properties of proteins. Imaging of protein distribution and interactions inside living cells. (Valerica Raicu)

 

• Fractals concepts and applications in theoretical modeling of dielectric and mechanical relaxation in biological molecules and cells.(Valerica Raicu)

 

• Theory of medical imaging and electron microscopy, x-ray and electron diffraction and crystallography. (Dilano Saldin)

 

• Nanophotonic and Biophotonics. Optical spectroscopy and laser physics. Ultrafast lasers and nonlinear optics. (Vlad Yakovlev)

 

 

General eligibility

 

Eligible students must be:

 

• US citizens or legal permanent residents.

 

• Full-time students at a college in the United States.

 

• Physics Majors.  Applications from majors in related disciplines may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

 

Prerequisites

 

In addition to the above general requirements, the faculty mentors have specified that applicants should have successfully completed college-level courses in mechanics, Electromagnetism, Modern Physics and Calculus. Students who have just completed their freshman year will not be considered.

 

• Experimental groups: Some knowledge of quantum physics and a strong demonstrable interest in hands-on laboratory-type activities will help make a competitive application. Students who apply to work with experimental groups should be willing to get their hands dirty! Optical spectroscopy group€œ no prior knowledge of quantum physics is required.

 

• Theoretical condensed matter, and surface and protein crystallography (theory): an introductory course in quantum mechanics is essential. This course should have exposed the student to the Schradinger equation and its solutions. Some background in solid state/condensed matter physics is desirable.

 

• For Professor Raicu theoretical project: Fractals concepts and applications: familiarity with mathematical equations for physics, simulation and computing skills including basic knowledge of mathematical software such as Mathematica or Mathlab.

 

• Relativistic Astrophysics and LIGO data analysis: students who have completed their Junior Year and have taken at least two of the following courses at a level above introductory physics: Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Thermodynamics.  Scientific programming (c, c++, fortran, etc.) experience is highly desirable for a competitive application.

 

The application procedure.

 

The application package (pdf download) is available via this link [pdf ]. Please make sure that you have provided all the information that is requested. Completed applications must be returned directly to the Program Administrator (see below).  Offers will be made on a rolling basis, beginning Feb 1, 2005, until all positions are filled.  You are urged to submit your application (including letters of support) as soon as possible. Incomplete applications, and applications from ineligible candidates, will NOT be considered. After Feb 1, 2005, this website will include an update about the number of offers made, the number of acceptances we have received, and the number of positions still available. Please make sure that referees send signed, printed letters, not e-mail recommendations, which we will not consider. For further information on REU at UWM and application procedures, please contact: 

 

REU Administration,

Department of Physics

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

PO BOX 413

Milwaukee

WI 53201

 

TEL:  414-229-5303/4474    FAX:   414-229-5589 e-mail:  chunnaic@uwm.edu

 

Selection of candidates.

 

Applications will be screened by the REU committee for basic eligibility. They are then passed on to the faculty mentors in whose work the applicant has expressed an interest.  The faculty mentors will contact candidates directly for informal telephone interviews.  Offers will be made on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.