Research in the Physics Department

The faculty in the Physics Department at Weber State University are not only strongly committed to a teaching program of the highest quality, but they also actively engage in ongoing research projects. This commitment to professional scholarship means that our faculty are able to remain current across a wide range of topics in physics as well as make significant contributions to the continual development of new knowledge. Furthermore, research within the Physics Department at WSU allows its faculty the opportunity to develop and maintain contacts with other researchers around the world. Members of our department have visited and worked with colleagues at such places as Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), and NASA.  Locally, students and faculty in the physics department have recently collaborated with the University of Utah Physics Department, and  THIOKOL corporation.  

Areas of current interest within the Department include experimental studies related to nuclear physics, laser optics and spectroscopy, semiconductor physics, materials science, and electronics. The Department also participates in an active theoretical program, including elementary particle physics, astrophysics, and space physics. Furthermore, members of the Department are actively involved in pedagogical research and the development of improved teaching methods in physics.

Our students are encouraged to participate with the Physics Department faculty in their research activities.  Course credit is available for these activities by enrolling in PHSX 2800 "Introductory Individual Research Problems" and  PHSX 4800, "Individual Research Problems."  Students also have the opportunity of presenting their results to their peers and the faculty through PHSX 4970, "Senior Thesis," and PHSX 4990, "Seminars in Physics."

Our students have also been involved in recent publications in referred national journals, and they have presented papers at regional and national conferences. Recent papers include:

• Smetana, Carole, David Alexander, Scott Robertson, Kim Vilkaitis, and Bob Walch, "A Spherical Electrostatic Orrery", American Journal of Physics, 64, November 1996, pp. 1356-1361.
• Sohl, John E. and Stephen G. Payton, "A Modular, Reconfigurable-Cavity, Pulsed Dye Laser for the Advanced Undergraduate Laboratory", American Journal of Physics, 65, July 1997, pp. 640-652.
• Steffen, Jason, "The Oscillating Neutrino:  Some Possible Answers," The Four-Corners Sectional Meeting of the American Physical Society, Tucson, October 1-2, 1999.  (Received an award for the best undergraduate talk at the session on Astrophysics and Nuclear Physics.)
• Gutierrez, James, Doug Adams, Colin Inglefield, Matthew DeLong, P. Craig Taylor, Scott Morrison, and  Arun Madan "An Atomic Force Microscopy Study of the Topology of Microcrystalline Silicon Surfaces," The Four-Corners Sectional Meeting of the American Physical Society, Fort Collins, September 29-30, 2000.  (Received an award for the best undergraduate talk at the session on Semiconductors.)
• Ben Anger, "A Highly Stabilized Diode Laser for Atomic Trapping," Society of Physics Students Zone 15 Meeting, BYU, March 2-3, 2001
• David Housely, "Waveguides Based on Photodarkening in As2Se3," Society of Physics Students Zone 15 Meeting, BYU, March 2-3, 2001
• Gutierrez, James,  Colin Inglefield, C.P. An, Matthew DeLong, P. Craig Taylor, Scott Morrison, and  Arun Madan "Structural Characterization of  SiF₄, SiH₄, and H₂ Hot-Wire-Grown Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films with Large Grains," The Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society, San Francisco, April 16-20, 2001. (A paper with the same title has been refereed and accepted for publication in the proceedings of the symposium on Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon-Based Films. (MRS Proceedings Volume 664)) 
• Pedersen, Cameron, James Gutierrez, and  Colin Inglefield, "Measurement of Carrier Recombination Velocity at Microcrystalline Silicon/Amorphous Silicon Interfaces," The Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society, San Francisco, April 16-20, 2001.

• Atomic Trapping. In 1997 the Nobel prize in physics was awarded to researchers who were able to successfully trap atoms in a highly confined region at extremely low temperatures. Several of our undergraduates are constructing three state-of-the-art high-power diode lasers, a vacuum chamber, and other components that will allow them to replicate the important features of that pivotal study.  
• Biological Effects of Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields. The possible effects of electromagnetic fields on plants and animals has been in the news frequently in recent years (such as the potential dangers of living near power lines). In a joint collaboration with the Microbiology Department, students have built 50 EMF chambers in which seeds can be germinated. In this carefully-controlled study, students and faculty will be able to investigate the effects that exposure to electromagnetic fields may have on the development of these plants, while being able to remove a host of confusing secondary influences.  
• Highly-Excited Atomic States. In this study, students are constructing equipment that will allow them to investigate the structure of atoms in the middle of the periodic table of the elements. Through the use of an ultra-high vacuum chamber, a thermal atomic beam source, and a time-of-flight spectrometer, the students and their faculty advisor will be able to measure the energy transitions in systems for which the atoms are highly excited.  
• Computer Modeling of Stellar Pulsations. Stellar pulsations allow astronomers to probe the structures of stars in great detail. This is accomplished by comparing observational data with the results of elaborate computer simulations. Certain classes of pulsating stars also provide a means of measuring the size and age of the universe (as recently reported by the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute). Work is continuing at Weber State University with the theoretical investigation of stellar pulsation characteristics.  
• Optical Properties of Semiconductors. Students have designed and built an apparatus to measure the modulation of reflectance of light from semiconductor surfaces and buried interfaces. The experiment is set up so that it is possible to switch between two sources of modulation giving complementary information. In one case, the change in reflectance as a function of position on the sample will be measured. In another, a laser will be used to modulate internal electric fields in the sample.  Future applications include measurement of  inhomogeneity of interfaces and measurement of the density of charged defects at interfaces.  
• Materials Characterization with Atomic Force Microscopy.  The Atomic Force Microscope was recently donated to the department by IOMEGA.  Ongoing studies include the structural characterization of heterogeneous silicon thin films, surface chemistry of solid rocket fuels (in collaboration with THIOKOL), and applications of AFM to geochemistry. There are also a number of possible novel modifications that may be made to the microscope in the future to measure properties other than topography on atomic scales.  

In recent years students in our major programs have also been highly successful in receiving National Science Foundation "Research Experience for Undergraduates" (REU) grants. These grants have provided them with the opportunity of carrying out summer research programs at institutions across the country. Over the past few summers (1998-2000) our majors have been involved in the following programs:

• Brigham Young University -- analysis of observational stellar pulsation data
• Los Alamos National Laboratory -- CO₂ dissociation and alternate energy sources
• Oregon State University -- computational physics
• University of California, Irvine -- galaxy formation
• University of Connecticut -- laser atom trapping
• University of Washington -- solar neutrino oscillations

Go to the list of WSU Physics Department Faculty.