The department has several openings for summer research students this year, see descriptions below (openings are for 1 students unless noted otherwise). Research is normally carried out over ten weeks between mid May and mid August. Each research student receives a summer stipend of about $3600, and reduced-cost summer housing will be available on campus. If you are interested in participating in any of the projects listed below, you should complete the application form for "Student Summer Research Fellowships", available in the Science Division Office. You should also talk with the supervising professor to learn more about the position and indicate your interest.

Applications are due February 25, 2004 in the Science Division Office (NH156). Students will be notified around or after March 11, 2004.

Quantum and Classical Modeling of Double Ionization Processes in Atoms Exposed to Intense Lasers (2 students)
Professor Stan Haan, haan@calvin.edu, 526-6339, SB145
Student assistants will participate in an ongoing theoretical project investigating double ionization processes in strong laser fields. Computer programs have been written for both quantum mechanical and classical modeling. Assistants can work on either or both depending on interest and physics background. Some experience in computer programming is desirable. It is anticipated that the results of the work will be published in the physics literature.

Cellular Automata Simulations of Lipid Phase Transitions
Professor Paul Harper, pharper@calvin.edu, 526-6408, SB141
Lipids are the fundamental building blocks of cell membranes and display a number of interesting and biologically relevant phase transitions. We’ll be using Mathematica to create cellular automata simulations of these transitions. In addition to using stand-alone PC’s, we’ll also work to adapt the simulations to utilize the power parallel processing capacity of Calvin’s Beowulf cluster.

Differential Calorimetry Studies of Lipids and Alkanes
Professor Paul Harper, pharper@calvin.edu, 526-6408, SB141
We’ll utilize a newly refurbished differential scanning calorimeter to make non-equilibrium phase transition measurements of lipid-water systems and alkane systems. In particular, we’d like to measure the differences between a lipid with a ‘cis’ double bond and the same lipid with a ‘trans’ double bond. There is growing evidence that ‘cis’ fatty acids are healthier than ‘trans’ fatty acids and our measurements may help understand this phenomenon.

Light Scattering Measurements of Lipid-Water Systems
Professor Paul Harper, pharper@calvin.edu, 526-6408, SB141
Over the past several years, we’ve constructed and calibrated an apparatus for measuring phase transitions in lipid-water systems using laser light scattering. With a few more improvements to the system, we’ll be set to measure the differences between a lipid with a ‘cis’ double bond and the same lipid with a ‘trans’ double bond. There is growing evidence that ‘cis’ fatty acids are healthier than ‘trans’ fatty acids and our measurements may help understand this phenomenon.

Microwave Imaging of the Saturn System
Professor Larry Molnar, lmolnar@calvin.edu, 526-6341, SB173
The trillions of particles that make up the rings of Saturn are bits of dirty ice ranging from centimeters to meters across, but the details of their spatial distribution are impossible to measure directly. Images of Saturn made at radio wavelengths show light from the planet scattered off the rings in various ways, providing an indirect probe. In earlier research we were able to model the scattered light of radio images with some success. However, we found key tests of the models required higher quality data. We began processing such high-quality data last year, with good success, and will continue this summer, extending our work to other wavelengths, and to include linear polarization

Magnetic Behavior and Domain Structure of Flash Deposited Magnetic Films
Professor Steve Steenwyk, ssteen@calvin.edu, 526-8542, SB160
Magnetic thin films have interesting and technologically useful magnetic properties that depend on film thickness, composition and manner of deposition. Last summer, with Ed DeVries, a system was developed to “blast” wires into vapor in a vacuum using brief current pulses of several thousand amperes. The vapor condenses into a thin film. Using this and standard evaporation technique, we will make thin films of magnetic metals and study their magnetic properties using magneto-optical techniques and magnetic force microscopy along with electrical properties.

Measurements on optically trapped krypton atoms (1 or 2 students)
Professor Matt Walhout, mwalhout@calvin.edu, 526-6566, SB150
At Calvin we have already measured a 28-s lifetime for a particular, metastable energy state of the 84Kr atom. We next aim to measure the analogous lifetime of the 83Kr isotope, which is predicted to be dramatically shorter because of the interaction of electrons with nuclear spin. Students contribute to the experiment by building, testing, and running vacuum and laser equipment as well as writing/running computer calculations and data-acquisition programs.

Pattern formation in one dimension: experiments and computer models (1 or 2 students)
Professor Matt Walhout, mwalhout@calvin.edu, 526-6566, SB150
In past summers, Calvin students have observed patterns of sparks that arise spontaneously in an oscillating, high-pressure plasma discharge. Changing the electrical parameters or the gas mixture in the discharge tube reveals a rich array of spatial and temporal structures. In order to understand the nonlinear dynamics of the system, we are trying to develop a computer model based on the interactions of changing electric fields and charge distributions. Students will review the experimental data, attempt to improve our preliminary computer model, and possibly suggest and/or perform additional experiments