Return to Dr. Sohl's home page.Professional Interests:
I am interested in both formal and informal science education. I have been actively involving technology in the classroom in many forms such as computer animations of three dimensional concepts (for example, the shape of our galaxy, how eclipses occur, etc.), computer simulations of how astrophysicists collect and use data, and using computers for student testing.
I am also interested in pure research in science. In particular I am involved in both atomic and laser physics and in biophysics.
My current research in atomic and laser physics involves several projects:
- Highly excited energy levels in transition group elements. This involves using several high power pulsed lasers to probe an atomic beam. The atoms in this beam are then ionized and detected via a mass spectrometer. This allows us to do finely detailed studies of the internal structure of complex atoms.
- Laser cooling and trapping. We are building a set of three high precision moderate power diode lasers to be used for trapping and cooling rubidium atoms. This is very similar to the work that was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics. Click here for a picture of the laser diode assembly. Click here for a picture of the laser diode head.
My current research in biophysics involves two projects:
Return to Dr. Sohl's home page.
- Ultraviolet vision in anoles (lizards). It turns out that some lizards can see in the ultraviolet. We are using a specialized UV sensitive CCD Camera to image the anoles to see what they can see. The appearance of the animal is completely different then in visible light.
- Biological effects of low level electromagnetic fields. We have built 50 special chambers to generate emf's. We plan on loading as many as 5,000 samples in these chambers. Half of the chambers will be "on" and half will be "off." Once the data is collected and analyzed, then we will compare the emf exposed samples with the control samples. In this double blind experiment we will initially be doing microbiological colonies and seed germination. (Neither of these require light, hence they are easier to control for uniformity of environment.)
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Dr. John Sohl
This page was last updated on April 16, 2002. You are visitor #.
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