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Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) / Archives for physics

SMCM Physics Professor and Student Conducting Physics Research with NAS Pax River

Dr. Adler (left) and Mr. Marx

Charles (Chuck) Adler, Professor of Physics, and Evan Marx, SMCM undergraduate student, collaborated over the 2021 summer break with researchers from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWDAD) at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

Dr. Adler and Mr. Marx worked on a project simulating how orbital angular momentum beams propagate through turbulent and scattering water.  These beams, also called “optical vortex beams”, carry a twist (orbital angular momentum), unlike standard laser beams.  The Navy is interested in understanding whether these beams are more effective than standard laser beams for various imaging and laser ranging technologies. This work is being done in partnership with the Advanced Lidar Systems Team (A-LiST) at NAWCAD, led by Dr. Linda Mullen, Alan Laux, and Dr. Brandon Cochenour.

Dr. Adler’s summer 2021 work was supported under the Office of Naval Research’s Summer Faculty Research Program (SFRP), and Mr. Marx who worked with the group as a summer student was funded by the Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP). Adler and Marx recently received additional funding from NAWCAD to continue their collaborative research in the 2021-22 academic year.

The Patuxent Partnership Physics Scholarship Awarded

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, in continued partnership with The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) – a local nonprofit organization that works with government, industry, and academia on initiatives in science and technology – has awarded the inaugural The Patuxent Partnership Physics Scholarship.

First-year student Caitlin Kubina, of Columbia, Maryland, has been selected to receive a $10,000 scholarship award for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Because of TPP’s investment, Kubina is better positioned to be among the more than 50 St. Mary’s College physics students to work with Navy scientists as part of her college experience. Kubina could even convert her physics experiences into a related field within the Navy upon graduation as more than 40 St. Mary’s College physics students have accomplished in recent years.

The Patuxent Partnership Physics Scholarship is the latest of many ways TPP has worked in strong collaboration with St. Mary’s College, its students and faculty over the years.

In 2012, TPP invested $1 million to grow and expand the College’s physics offerings, including applied physics, of particular value to the Navy and STEM careers.

“We are extremely grateful to The Patuxent Partnership for its generous and continued investments in our students,” said St. Mary’s College of Maryland President Tuajuanda C. Jordan. “Each year more and more St. Mary’s College students are making invaluable STEM connections with our community and TPP plays a tremendous role in those connections which support our Honors College Promise and our mission. I truly value the relationship the College has with TPP and look forward to it building even more momentum in the future,” Jordan said.

St. Mary’s College students benefit greatly from the College’s close proximity to NAS Patuxent River — headquarters for Naval Aviation — and other facilities in the region.

The College maintains educational partnership agreements with Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head (NSWCIHEODTD) and TPP. Through these relationships, St. Mary’s College students enjoy many opportunities, including internships, scholarships and careers. Opportunities are particularly abundant for students majoring in physics, chemistry, computer science and psychology. Examples include:

Physics

  • St. Mary’s College faculty work with Navy scientists and St. Mary’s College students on developing new types of sensors for navigation, imaging, and submarine detection including cutting edge research in quantum sensing.
  • In recent years, 30 physics students have done their St. Mary’s Project (SMP) — an eight-credit senior research project — with NAWCAD labs.
  • Over 50 physics students have done internships (summertime and academic year) at Navy facilities, with more than 40 converting their St. Mary’s College physics experience into jobs as engineers, physicists, and program managers with the Navy and its contractors.

Chemistry

  • St. Mary’s College faculty work with Navy scientists and St. Mary’s College students on developing new types of functional coatings and electronics like sensors and printable solid-state devices.
  • Over the past five years, 17 St. Mary’s College students have completed their St. Mary’s Research Projects on Navy related technologies. At least four chemistry students have accepted internships at Navy federal laboratories, seven students have co-authored Navy supported publications or patents, and six have been hired after graduation.
  • For students interested in applied materials careers, the chemistry and physics departments also support the materials science program on campus.

Computer Science 

  • St. Mary’s College faculty Navy projects include augmented reality and data science.
  • In the past five years, eight students have been hired directly by the Navy after graduation; one or two students a year in the Navy’s Pathways internship program; and one ongoing SMP with a Navy lab.
  • The Navy is heavily recruiting students with degrees in computer science.

Psychology

  • St. Mary’s College faculty and students work with Navy scientists on human factors in aviation research including attention, performance, and decision making.
  • A number of psychology graduates have transitioned their psychology degrees to employment at NAWCAD in positions such as engineering psychologists, contract specialists, analysts, recruiting managers, and financial managers.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education through 2024-2025. St. Mary’s College, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,600 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland Receives Scientific Equipment Grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation

St. Mary’s College of Maryland announces a SEP Phase XV Scientific Equipment grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation to support, improve and broaden the access and impact of undergraduate science education at the College.

This grant will supply the equipment to establish two new laboratory spaces on campus, a fabrication laboratory and an imaging center, as well as the acquisition of observational astronomy and chemical imaging equipment that will support and expand current curricular and research offerings to both science and non-science majors.

Engaging students through experiential learning is a major component of the College’s new Learning through Experiential and Applied Discovery (LEAD) initiative. Through LEAD, faculty work across disciplines to blend together a thoughtful and purposeful academic experience for students with hands-on learning opportunities intertwined with credit-bearing professional skill development courses.

“We are grateful to the Sherman Fairchild Foundation for investing in St. Mary’s College of Maryland as we continue to work toward integrating practical and professional skills for students through our LEAD initiative promoting success beyond college,” said President Tuajuanda C. Jordan.

Scientific equipment like that provided through the grant from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation also enables the College to recruit and retain more talented high school students to the College by increasing and diversifying undergraduate research and hands-on learning opportunities for both science and non-science majors.

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization that supports the College through sound fiscal management of a growing endowment portfolio. It is governed by a board of directors that gives its expertise and time in service to the College without compensation.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the National Public Honors College, is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education through 2024-2025. St. Mary’s College is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Approximately 1,600 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.

Professors Grossman and Johnson Awarded Grant to Recruit Future Physics Teachers

Professor of Physics Josh Grossman

Professor of Physics Josh Grossman and Professor of Educational Studies Angela Johnson were recently awarded a $24,749 grant from the American Physical Society to participate in the APS project titled: PhysTEC: Building a Solution to the National Physics Teacher Shortage. The grant is pass-through funding originating from a large grant with the National Science Foundation (Award Number: 1707990). The two-year award began July 1 and will help expand preparation of physics teachers at SMCM by pairing formalization of the Physics Teacher Education Program with recruitment activities and more high-quality early teaching experiences.

Angela Johnson headshot

Professor of Educational Studies Angela Johnson

The physics program at SMCM has achieved high-profile successes in several areas of student education. The College’s Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and its alumni have likewise received accolades. Still, the two programs have not yet realized their potential for preparing more physics teachers.

United States school districts consistently list physics as a discipline with a considerable shortage of high school teachers. With this funding, Grossman and Johnson will work with the SMCM physics and educational studies departments to formalize a Physics Teacher Education Program, informed by standards  presented in the American Physical Society’s Physics Teacher Education Program Analysis. Grossman, Johnson and collaborators will recruit high school students matriculating to SMCM, along with current SMCM undergraduate students to the new program. In addition to visiting high schools, STEM festivals, and similar events to reach high school students and more explicitly including the Physics Teacher Education Program and teaching careers in the physics career curriculum, Grossman and Johnson will formalize classroom assistantships into a Learning Assistant program and increase pay for these early teaching experiences to make them more attractive.

Grossman commented, “With this project, we’re expanding opportunities for students, helping them see the advantages of a career teaching physics, and making the path to that career more attractive.”

SMCM Faculty Members Selected for Office of Naval Research 2020 Summer Faculty Research Program

Three SMCM faculty members were recently selected to participate in the U.S. Navy’s Summer Faculty Research Program at the nearby Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River). The awarded fellowships will fund Dr. Joshua M Grossman, Professor of Physics and Physics Department Chair, Dr. Charles Adler, Professor of Physics, and Dr. Daniel Chase, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, during research at NAS Pax River in the summer of 2020. The Summer Faculty Research Program is run through the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research and provides science and engineering faculty members from institutions of higher education the opportunity to participate in research of mutual interest to the faculty member and peers at U.S. Navy laboratories for a 10-week period.

Professor Grossman and his students research atoms captured and cooled to a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, using lasers and magnetic fields. Dr. Grossman’s fellowship project is titled: “Second-order quantum correlations for enhanced contrast in an atom interferometer”. This work seeks to increase the precision and utility of extremely sensitive instruments in the presence of phase noise or other interference. The technique will aid in the transition of atom interferometers from the laboratory to the field where they can be applied as necessary. Undergraduate Harry Bauman ’22 will work on the same project as Dr. Grossman during his fellowship, via the Navy’s STEM Student Employment Program.

Professor Adler’s research focuses on atomic physics and atmospheric optics. His summer 2020 research project is titled: “Modeling the scattering of orbital angular momentum beams by particulates and diffuse reflectors”. He plans to develop mathematical and computer models to simulate light scattering of orbital angular momentum beams propagating through water. Understanding this physics will help inform how optical vortices can be used for Naval applications in ocean remote sensing, enhanced communications for command and control, and improved undersea domain awareness.

Dr. Chase’s lab uses synthetic organic chemistry to explore research avenues such as designing fluorescent dyes with useful properties and examining the activation of industrially important small molecules. Dr. Chase’s summer 2020 research project is titled: “Fluorescence detection of mechanical stress”. Among other applications, these stress-responsive fluorescent dyes may help evaluate sustained damage on fixed-wing aircraft, which is a recurring maintenance issue for the Navy. At present, maintenance personnel have difficulty determining whether or not a fixed-wing system has undergone sufficient fatigue to warrant repair or replacement. Adding stress–responsive fluorescent dyes to existing epoxy coatings may allow for on–site maintenance personnel to quickly locate and accurately determine if structural fatigue has reached unacceptable stress thresholds.

The Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Research Program webpage states that “program participants have an opportunity to establish continuing research relationships with the R&D personnel of the host laboratories which may result in sponsorship of the participant’s research at their home institutions.”

SMCM Student Connects Physics and Drones with Anthropology During Internship at UMD UAS Test Site

Using drone technology, Luke Quinn ‘20 spent his summer researching a way to more efficiently survey archaeology sites for magnetic anomalies.

Through an internship with the University of Maryland Unmanned Aerial Systems Test Site (UMD UAS), Quinn, a St. Mary’s College of Maryland physics major with a concentration in applied physics, researched the feasibility of attaching a magnetometer to an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), commonly referred to as a drone, to survey archaeology sites.

The UMD UAS Test Site takes on five interns each summer. Applicants submit a project proposal with their application. According to information from its website, “summer internships give students an opportunity to work hands-on with researchers and staff on the modeling, design, analysis, simulation, assembly, and experimentation of UAS.”

“[Quinn’s] work is intriguing because it would allow archaeologists to conduct remote sensing surveys without having to literally be on the ground,” said Julia King, St. Mary’s College professor of anthropology. Magnetometers are typically hand-held and walked in straight lines over areas being surveyed.

“In the case of southern Maryland, so many important sites are located in actively farmed fields,” she said, adding that most farmers support the work of anthropologists but “not when it comes to traipsing through their crops.”

Throughout the 11-week program, Quinn has had the opportunity to research, design and build — using a 3D printer — a harness that would attach a magnetometer onto a drone and with assistance from UMD UAS Test Site test engineer Josh Gaus, he was able to test his project at an important archaeological site in Chaptico, recommended by King.

According to King, the site was once occupied by a governor of Maryland in the 1660s until his death in 1679. A previous survey revealed brick foundations, a cellar, and a brick drain. Quinn and faculty adviser Joshua Grossman, professor and chair of the physics department at St. Mary’s College, said knowing anomalies have been previously recorded would allow Quinn to have data for comparison. “I had no idea I’d be out here doing research like this. I can’t really put it into words,” Quinn said during one of his opportunities in the field. Quinn said he was able to take lessons learned about magnetism in Grossman’s class and apply them to his research in the field.

Grossman explained that during this internship, Quinn was getting first-hand experience with project management. “That’s a highly transferable skill,” Grossman said. Grossman explained that aside from the physics and drone skills, Quinn was learning the importance of time management, communication, and figuring out what can be done within the parameters of a fixed budget.

Grossman also commented on the internship’s fit with a liberal arts education, “bringing together the engineering and technology and application in the humanities, in this case, archaeology.” After his field work, Quinn spent the remaining weeks of his internship analyzing data and matching timestamps from the drone and the magnetometer to determine locations of the readings. He said while the data didn’t match with King’s initial survey, he still found it helpful to his research and was pleased with his experience. He said he gained a lot of experience working with drones and learning how they operate. He also was able to work with 3D printers and various software packages. Quinn plans to continue this project throughout the Fall 2019 academic semester.

Villadsen Receives National Radio Astronomy Observatory Grant to Support Student Research

Jackie Villadsen, assistant professor of physics, has been awarded a $13,000 grant from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The funds will provide stipends, conference travel support, and access to astronomical datasets for students participating in research with Villadsen.

Their research will be tied to two sets of radio telescope observations, competitively awarded to Villadsen, on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). These observations include a search for the radio signature of star-planet interaction, and a radio follow-up of close-in exoplanetary systems discovered during the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission.

Two SMCM Students Accepted into National Institute of Standards and Technology Summer Research Program

Nicholas (Nick) D’Antona ’19 and Peter Orban ’20 were recently awarded fellowships from the National Institutes of Standards & Technology (NIST) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). NIST is one of the nation’s premiere research institutions for the physical and engineering sciences. The two SMCM students will work at labs in Gaithersburg, MD during the summer of 2019.

Peter Orban ’20

This will be the second consecutive NIST SURF fellowship for Peter, who will work in the Physical Measurement Laboratory in the Fluid Metrology Group. Peter is majoring in both mathematics and physics, with a materials science minor. After graduating from SMCM he plans to go into a PhD program in applied physics. Peter’s project title is: “Improving Stack Flow Measurements by making them faster and more accurate”.

Nicholas D’Antona ’19 (right) examines spin-coated thin film solar cells with Dr. Troy Townsend

Nick will work with Dr. Lee Richter in the Materials Measurement Lab on a project titled: “Wide bandgap metal oxide films as electron transport layers in scalably-printed quantum dot solar cells”. Nick is pursuing a double major in physics and chemistry and plans to attend graduate school to study chemistry or materials science in pursuit of a PhD after graduating from SMCM.

SMCM Student Research Projects Generating Steady Interest

The team of student and professors working on vCalc projects

The team of students and professors working on vCalc projects

A grant jointly funded by the Maryland Industrial Partnerships program and vCalc LLC in 2016 continues to generate steady interest at vCalc.com. St. Mary’s College of Maryland was awarded $97,361 to support student projects for vCalc.

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program promotes the development and commercialization of products and processes through industry/university research partnerships. MIPS provides matching funds to help Maryland companies pay for the university research. Projects are initiated by the companies to meet research and development goals.

vCalc (see 90 second YouTube video here) is a fast-growing calculator, equation and dataset library that helps users create, collaborate and quickly calculate. Topics range from complex scientific equations to practical everyday equations. vCalc has hundreds of calculators and thousands of equations created by engineers, professors and students from around the world.

The St. Mary’s research team developed equations for vCalc.com in math, chemistry, psychology, physics, and economics during the summer of 2016. The team was composed of students Caleb Svobodny, Austin Schlegel, Daria Vaseneva, Emma Skekel, Tyler Jones, Caroline Robertson, Savannah Bergen and Chris Lynch. Professors Emek Kose, Josh Grossman, Richard Platt, Randolph Larsen and Shizuka Nishikawa supported the project.

Kurt Heckman, president of vCalc, recently reported that several of the calculators created by SMCM students posted at vCalc.com are generating significant regular traffic to the site, including Savannah Bergen’s Characteristic Polynomial of a 3×3 matrix, which regularly gets used over 1,000 times per month, and Emma Skekel’s chemistry calculator to compute Kp from Kc, which sees 1,700 page hits per month, with an average time on page of 12 minutes and 38 seconds! According to Heckman, “that’s terrific engagement, and clearly an indication of how useful this calculator has become to chemistry students”.