Student Research
The Loyola physics department strongly encourages students to explore research, larger-scale projects, and science employment opportunities in the summer. This can be done through the Loyola Hauber fellowship program, Loyola research and project courses for credit, NSF-sponsored programs at other universities, DOE and NASA labs, internships, and other programs. Upper division physics majors can continue their research during the school year for academic credit. These experiences add a different dimension to the physics training at the undergraduate level, helping students build a stronger résumé, and giving them a better sense of careers in the sciences. Loyola physics faculty have a long history of involving students in their research. The following is a partial list of recent research projects conducted by students.
| Student | Mentor | Year | Project (Quotes surround titles of presentations and student papers) | Journal publications and awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHess, BToulan, BGlezer | Lowe | S2020 | "Modeling protein-DNA complexes" | |
| SHiggs and MSpear | Ganem | S2020 |
"A Generalized Model of Temperature-Dependent Light Absorption for the Visible and Near-infrared in Thulium-doped YAG" |
|
| EMullen | Lowe | SP2020 | "An Introduction to Quantum Computing" | |
| KMarcelino | Lowe | SP2020 | "Laser and Single Photon Interference" | |
| CHabig | Erdas | 2019 | "The Casimir Effect for a Lorentz-Violating Scalar Field" | |
| KMarcelino and EGarzon | Ganem | 2019 | "Measuring and Modeling the Optical Absorptions in Thulium-Doped Materials" | |
| KSullivan | Lowe | S2017 and S2018 | "High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy of Carbon Nanotube Porins in Supported Lipid Bilayers" | Conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at Loyola."Carbon nanotube porin diffusion in mixed composition supported lipid bilayers," Scientific Reports - Nature, vol. 10, no. 1. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68059-2. |
| JLopez | Lowe | S2017 | "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Carbon Nanotubes in Lipid-Cholesterol Bilayers" | Poster award at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Article cited under KSullivan. |
| ZMetzler | Erdas | 2017 | Magnetic effects on neutrino masses | “Magnetic field effects on neutrino oscillations,” Int. J. Mod. Phys. A34, 1950121 (2019) |
| DSpatz | Erdas | 2016 | "The Spherical Casimir Effect for a Massive Scalar Field" | |
| AH | Jones | S2016 | Quantum chemistry | |
| JL and MD | Lowe | S2016 | Molecular dynamics simulations on proteins | |
| BR | Lowe | S2015 | Atomic force microscopy | |
| MK | Derry | S2013 and S2014 | "Techniques to measure the work function of clean metals" | AAPT Chesapeake Section Fall 2014 "Best Student Talk" with Eli Worth |
| EW | Derry | S2014 | "Contact potential difference to measure the work function" | AAPT Chesapeake Section Fall 2014 "Best Student Talk" with Megan Kern |
| GW | Ganem | S2014 | "Modeling the energy levels of a laser with temperature dependence" | |
| AK | Erdas | S2014 | "Spherical Casimir effect" | |
| SM | Army Research Lab | S2013 and S2014 | ||
| SM | Lowe | Fall 2013 | "Brownian motion of a hard disk gas" | 2014 Loyola Undergrad Student Research and Scholarship, poster award |
| SM and CK | Lowe | Fall 2013 | "Measurement of the NA in an optical fiber" | |
| CK | Lowe | Fall 2013 | "Phase transitions in small clusters" | |
| OO | Erdas | Summer 2013 | "Elliptic integrals in classical mechanics" | |
| KS | REU: Lehigh Univ | Summer 2013 | ||
| KS | Erdas | S2011 and S2012 |
"The Finite Temperature Casimir Effect for Scalar Fields in an External Magnetic Field" Presentations: AAPT Chesapeake Section Fall 2011 Meeting National Conference on Undergraduate Research March 2012, "Chosen from more than 3,500 submissions, your abstract demonstrates a unique contribution to your field of study and we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to present your work to your peers, faculty, and staff from around the world"
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Publications: "Finite temperature Casimir effect for charged massive scalars in a magnetic field," Int'l J. Modern Phys A (2014) 29:17. Awards: American Physical Society's 2014 Apker Award 2013 Goldwater Fellowship Winner and 2012 Goldwater Fellowship Honorable Mention |
| AK | Ganem | Summer 2012 | ||
| DK and MD | Bozzolo | Nanowires | "Atomistic modeling of the formation and stability of Ni and V nanowires on a stepped Rh(553) substrate," Int'l J. Nanoscience (2010) 9, 413-422. | |
| DK | Jones | Spring 2012 | Electronic Structure Calculations of Small Collections of Metal Atoms | |
| YK | Lowe | S2011 & AY11-12 | "Mixing of Two Fluids in a Channel" | |
| SW | Lowe | Summer 2011 | "Structural Analysis of the Effect of Sugar on the Protein AraC" | |
| RK | Jones | Fall 2011 | Computations on Nano Particle Alloys | |
| RK | REU: George Mason U. | Summer 2010 | Varying the initial conditions of polycrystalline grain growth simulations | Talk at conference |
| PLP | REU: Harvard-Smithsonian | Summer 2010 | “Using GPUs for Next-Generation Radio Telescopes" | Article in Parallel Computing (in review) |
| AZ | Derry | Summer 2010 | Designing a retarding potential electron lens for use in an energy dispersive spectrometer | |
| AO | Ganem | Summer 2010 | Synthesis and characterization of infrared optical materials | |
| RJ | Derry | Summer 2010 | Improving the reliability and accuracy of work function difference measurements using a vibrating capacitor device | |
| MD | Lowe | Summer 2010 | “Experiments and Computations of Horizontal Soap Films” | |
| AZ | Derry and Bozzolo | Spring 2010 | Use of a quantum approximate calculational tool to study alloy nanowires | |
| LOB | Derry | Spring 2010 | Relationships between the technological advances and business economics of photovoltaics (solar cells) | |
| MP | Derry | Spring 2010 | Nonlinear dynamics and chaos in the human menstrual cycle | |
| DG | Lowe and Schleif (JHU) |
Summer 2009, Spring 2010 | “A Computational Study to Determine the Structural Differences Between the Wild Type and a Mutant of the Protein AraC” | First place, 12th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Group I Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMBC Oct. 2009 |
| PLP | Christian (Albrechts U.) | Summer 2009 | Simulations of dusty plasmas | Poster, APS Plasma Physics, Nov. 2009 |
| JD | Jones | Summer 2009 | Search for kinetic energy density functionals | |
| LB | Lowe and Bailey | Summer 2009 | “A Soap Film Apparatus to Study Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Phenomena” | "A soap film apparatus to study two-dim hydrodynamic phenomena," Proceedings of the ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section conference, 2009. |
| MM | Bailey (ES) and Lowe |
Summer 2008 | Soap film tunnel | |
| KR | Bailey (ES) and Lowe |
Summer 2008 | Biodiesel production | |
| PL | Lowe and Schleif (JHU) |
Summer 2008 | The use of CHARMM in analyzing tetracycline repressor (TetR) | First place, UMBC 11th Undergrad. Res. Symp., Poster Sess. II, Grp O, Oct. 2008 |
| JD | internship | Summer 2007, 2008 | NSTec, Associate Scientist | |
| CE | Derry | Summer 2007, 2008 | Studying the surface of a AgAu Alloy and a NiPd Overlayer system, experimental and computational | |
| DH | Ganem | Summer 2006, 2007 | Crystal growth and IR optical spectroscopy | |
| RH | Space Telescope Science Institute | Summer 2006 | ||
| CG | Space Telescope Science Institute | Summer 2006 | ||
| ET | internship | 2005-2006 | Verizon Federal Network Systems | National Security Agency Scholarship |
| RH | Lowe and Livas (LEOS) |
Summer 2005 | “Gaussian beam optics” | |
| CG | Erdas and Lowe | Summer and Fall 2005 | “Calculating the solar neutrino flux using the Tsallis distribution for a non-ideal plasma” | First place talks, CSAAPT mtg, paper in J. Wash. Acad Sciences |
|
RW |
Derry | 2003 and earlier | Structure/composition of silver/gold alloy surfaces studied with LEED | |
| ML | Ganem | Summer 2003, 2004 | Low-phonon energy laser material research | |
| QP | Jones | Summer 2003 | "Computational Simulation of Metal Surfaces" | |
| EF | Lowe and Rivers (biology) |
Summer and Fall 2004 for credit | "Application of a Multiplexed, Bead-Based Method to the Identification of Parasitic Wasps" | Second place UMBC Undergrad Res Symp; First place Loyola Research |
| MM | Lowe and Peyrot (sociology) |
Summer and Fall 2003 for credit | "Fluorescence Detection of Solid Phase PCR on Microspheres;" "Risk and Acceptability of Bioremediation Options" | First place in UMBC 6th Ann. Undergrad. Res. Symp., Poster Sess. 2, Grp G |
| EK | Derry | 2001 | Structure/composition of silver/gold alloy surfaces studied with LEED | |
| LG | Lowe | 2001 | Molecular biology work for bead-based, flow cytometric detection method | |
| JC | Ganem | Summer 2000 | Low-phonon energy laser material research | Phys. Rev. B |
| JW | Derry and Jones | Summer 2000 | "Computational Physics: From Surface Structure to Surface Waves; from Atoms to Ocean" | |
| EvdS | Lowe and Din (biology) |
1999-2000 | Molecular biology work for bead-based, flow cytometric detection method | |
| SE | Lowe and Delcher (computer science) |
1999-2003 for credit | Various experimental and computational projects involving determination of oligonucleotide probes | FEMS, Nucleic Acids Research |
| CS | Lowe | AY 1999-2000 for credit |
Molecular biology work for bead-based, flow cytometric detection method | FEMS |
| BM | Ganem | Summer 1999 | Low-phonon energy laser material research | |
| JR | Ganem | Summer 1999 | Low-phonon energy laser material research | |
| SW | Derry | 1999 | Structure/composition of silver/gold alloy surfaces studied with LEED | |
| KS | Lowe and Robb (UMBI) |
AY 1998-1999 for credit | Molecular biology work for bead-based, flow cytometric detection method FEMS | |
| PS | Ganem | Summer 1997, 1998 | Low-phonon energy laser material research | Phys. Rev. B |
| DH and ML | Ganem | "Optically-pumped mid-IR phosphor using Tm3+-sensitized Pr3+-doped KPb2Cl5," J. Opti. Soc Am. B, 27 (2010) 2384-2392. | ||
| FS and SE | Derry | "Segregation and interlayer relaxation at the NiPd(111) surface," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A (2011) 29, 011015-1 through 4. |
