Research at UWSP

Solid State Ionics

Professor Beeken has an established research program investigating an unusual class of materials known as solid electrolytes. Students involved in this program may participate in sample preparation as well as characterization measurements that determine crystal structure, electrical conductivity, and thermal phase transitions.

MOTRIMS Laboratory

Professor Hai Nguyen is interested in using MOTRIMS (Magneto Optical Trap Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy) as a tool to study Coherent Control and Dynamics.  Extremely cold Rubidium atoms are cooled and trapped in a Magneto Optical Trap (MOT) (~200 microK) to be used as a target sample to probe at Coherent processes such as STIRAP (stimulated Raman adiabatic passage). STIRAP. STIRAP is an important protocol for efficiently placing an atomic or molecular system into a single desired state.  As such it holds great promise in quantum information, atom optics, and in the control of chemical reactions.

Femtosecond Lasers

Professor Taft uses ultra-short pulses of laser light to study ultra-fast changes in materials. The Ti:sapphire laser in Professor Taft's femtosecond laser lab produces pulses of light as short as 10 femtoseconds (10^-14 s).

Supercondutivity

Dr. Hinaus studies how the entrance of magnetic vortices affects the superconducting properties of high temperature superconducting grain boundaries. Superconductors exhibit zero resistance with a transition to a non-resistive state. The resistive transition is measured using an Ohm's law type setup as studied in most introductory labs. The resistive transition of the superconducting grain boundary is measured at the temperature and the magnetic field is varied.

Liquid Crystals

Professor Veum and his research students study the surface tension of  liquid-crystal films in order to better understand the way molecules arrange themselves at the surface of materials.  Liquid crystals are compounds that simultaneously exhibit properties of both liquids and solids (crystals).  Since they are a little like ordinary liquids and a little like ordinary crystals, they have come to be known as liquid crystals.  In recent years, liquid-crystal films have proven to be outstanding systems in which to study the physics of surfaces, but there is still much to be learned.

Fast Rotating Spiral Galaxies

Professor Jore is using the newly re-commissioned 0.9 meter telescope at Kitt Peak Observatory to model the mass distribution in fast rotating spiral galaxies. These data will be combined with rotation measurements to determine the distribution of matter in the bulge, disk and halo of these galaxies. 

Photometry of Open Clusters

Professors Olson and Tamres are using the 0.9 meter Kitt Peak observatory to measure the magnitude of open cluster stars in different regions of the visible spectrum. These data will be used to determine the age and distance of these clusters as well as to search for stellar members not predicted by current theory.