Interactions the Newsletter of the UB Department of Physics Volume 2, Issue 2 Fall 2009

Interactions The Newsletter of the UB Department of Physics Volume 2, Issue 2 Fall 2009

Dear alumni/ae and friends,

In my last letter I indicated that the Department was Our outreach programs continue with the expansion about to undergo one of the periodic evaluations of of our Physics and Arts Exhibition to which new sculp- both its graduate and undergraduate programs. I am tures, paintings, and interactive displays have been pleased to say that this went very well with a strong added. Thanks to Norman Jarosik (Interactions, Fall positive recognition on the part of the evaluating team ’08) for providing us with a microwave gradiometer of the quality of our programs, the quality of new fac- which we have installed on the third floor. It was grati- ulty hires and the general enthusiasm of both faculty fying to have former student Andy Hope stop by and and staff towards common goals. On the other hand remark how he liked what we have done to the building. there was recognition of some serious deficiencies in We are doing something right, and we are grateful to the area of staffing and overall faculty count. It seems all our contributors for their support of the Exhibition. clear that with the present size of UB enrollments the Also, by way of outreach, check out the article in this faculty should be about 35 and the staffing should be issue by Will Kinney on the Science and Art Cabaret. doubled when compared to peer institutions. Unfor- tunately, both of these goals are outside our control Best regards, and becoming more difficult as we deal with continuing budget cuts.

Keeping the faculty count at high levels is also challenging because of retirements. Most recently Mike Fuda, Shigeji Fujita as mentioned previously, and, af- Francis M. Gasparini, Chair ter this fall, YC Lee will retire. It seems that a genera- UB Distinguished Professor of Physics tional change is under way. We will miss our former colleagues. YC in particular has been for many years the conscience of our colloquium, with challenging and insightful questions no matter what the subject matter. Currently YC is finishing up his long tenure by spearheading the development of the Ta-You Wu Lec- tureship endowment. He views this as his parting gift to the Department.

The success of our young faculty continues with an additional five-year NSF CAREER grant received by Sambandamurthy Ganapathy. His research was featured in the Spring ’09 Interactions. This makes the sixth such grant in the Department, an outstanding overall achievement. Also recently of note among the untenured faculty, Dejan Stojkovic has received NSF support, Ia Iashvili and Avto Kharchilava (Interactions Fall ’08) have received a substantial increase in their NSF funding and Peihong Zhang has added to his NSF support with a grant from the American Chemical Soci- ety. Overall, during the last fiscal year faculty submitted grants totaling over $27M, an all-time high by far. PHOTO: D. Revere, UB Reporter 11/4/2009

Banner: A microwave gradiometer that is closely related to the ones flying on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite and mapping the cosmic microwave background radiation. This working detector is installed on the third floor of Fronczak and can easily pick up the heat from visitors’ hands placed above the horns at the top of the detector. PHOTO: F. Gasparini Interactions Volume 2, Issue 2

Undergraduate majors with physics classes right from the first semester, rather than the sec- Education ond semester as in the past. This gives us immediate contact with them as they What’s new in undergraduate enter UB. This required a change of the studies recommended sequence of classes. By Dr. Hong Luo The committee used this opportunity to restructure the curriculum so that As most of you know, Dr. Michael Fuda the required mathematics courses can retired about a year ago. He was the be taken at the earliest possible time. Director of Undergraduate Studies for Students typically struggle when mov- twenty-three years. In fact, he was the ing from introductory classes to upper Drs. Strasser and Luo enjoying the picnic with under- only UG Director I knew since joining level classes, mostly because of inad- graduate students at the Society of Physics Students UB. I assumed the Director’s responsi- equate math preparation. It is our hope Cookout on 9/18/09. PHOTO: F. Gasparini bilities in January, 2008, so that I would that taking more math classes before of this growth and attract the brightest have some overlap with him before he the start of upper level physics classes students to our programs. Some of this retired. Boy, wasn’t that a bright idea! will make this transition easier. is already reflected in our current enroll- I don’t think I ever asked anyone as ment. As of this semester, there are 70 many questions on anything as I asked In an effort to attract more students approved majors across all years and Mike in my first 6 months as Director. to our programs, the Committee red- 55 intended majors. We need every- signed PHY117 and PHY118 (honors one’s support to retain our majors and I was on the Undergraduate Studies mechanics and E&M), the first class- help them succeed. Equally important, Committee for many years. However, es that many of our intended majors we need everyone’s ideas and support I didn’t quite know everything involved, take. These first classes are pivotal in to continue to improve our programs. other than the limited number of things communicating the excitement of our that I was involved in. It was only after field. The classes are now more suit- New technology improves I started the job that I really appreci- able for advanced students, by leaving teaching (and learning) ated the work Mike had done, big and out some introductory materials that By Dr. Sambandamurthy Ganapathy small. There was a good reason why these students already know from high and Dr. Arnd Pralle our undergraduate program functioned school physics classes, and so smoothly for so many years. For adding advanced topics. The goal is In today’s world of instant messaging, example, our Department has several to teach them the material and to con- handling a large introductory class of degree programs, some in collabora- vey the excitement that the subject close to a thousand students can be a tion with other departments, like B.S. in richly deserves. This semester is the communication and email nightmare. mathematical physics. Mike managed first time we are using this approach. Instructors are swamped by questions to design the curriculum so that stu- Dr. Dejan Stojkovic is giving it a great via email and students get annoyed dents could succeed in those challeng- start by adding topics from his own re- when responses to their messages are ing programs. There are also many search, relativity and cosmology, and not immediate. Therefore in fall 2007, things, day to day things that have to having more interactive instruction. we set up a central discussion board be taken care of, such as approving for the introductory algebra-based transfer of courses for students out- The Committee is also trying to have physics course on which students post side our Department. Mike established more contact with majors, from recruit- general class questions and home- procedures so that everything can be ing new students to join the programs work questions and other students handled efficiently and smootly. to having exit interviews for graduating may provide assistance. The board seniors. All majors are encouraged to is moderated by one of the instructors Looking forward, the Undergradu- join the Society of Physics Students and the students receive a qualified ate Committee is trying to continue under the guidance of Dr. John Cerne. answer within 24 hours. The students the work that Mike started, namely, to The percentage of high school stu- have quickly accepted the discussion strengthen our program and to make dents taking physics classes has been board as a place to ask for help with adjustments to keep up with changing increasing steadily in the last 30 years, physics problems and concepts. They times. One of the changes recently from below 20% in the 1980s to above appreciate the quick feedback from an implemented was to start our intended 30% now. We need to take advantage instructor but also are actively answer-

Banner: Undergraduate students and Dr. Cerne at the Society of Physics Students (SPS) cookout discussing plans for the new SPS robot that will literally destroy the competition at the 2010 UB Bot Wars. PHOTO: F. Gasparini. Undergraduate Education, CONTINUED ing each other’s questions, reaping the problems from the book for a lim- on the use of clickers in the introduc- the benefits of learning by explaining. ited period and homework problems tory algebra-based courses, but click- The number of users and messages are assigned online every week by the ers are also being increasingly used in has risen continuously in the last four instructors. Problems are a mixture of other introductory courses (PHY 107- semesters since offering the discus- multiple choice and numerical prob- 207) in the Department and we believe sion board. Half way through this cur- lems and students get instant feedback they bring a positive experience to the rentsemester 80 students have posted for the answers. student learning as we see from the more than 350 messages. end-of-semester student evaluations. Use of personal response systems Undergraduate students, especially (commonly known as clickers) in large These trends towards electronic tools first year students who take the Col- class rooms had been one of the ex- have been recognized by the textbook lege Physics course, are juggling a lot publishers as well, and several groups of activities and classes causing many are developing new completely inte- of them to come underprepared to lec- grated systems. Some of these will ture. As a result basic definitions have include drawing and writing tools for to be repeated, taking away from the more complex and conceptual exer- time to explain complex concepts. Last cises and assignments. We both have year we experimented with assign- been asked to consult in the developing simple conceptual questions to be ment of an integrated electronic book, completed online before the lecture, homework, discussion board and con- which required reading the introduc- ceptual questions system. It hands the tion of the chapter to be taught in class flexibility back to the instructor to adapt that week. As a result the students the course content to his students’ re- were better prepared for class. The an- quirements and the students will obtain swers from those pre-lecture concept a large palette of study tools from con- Correlation between clicker and final scores in an questions provide valuable feedback to undergraduate physics course at UB. necting notes to book chapters and the instructors about which ideas the homework questions to receiving bet- students struggle on, allowing for ad- citing new tools in higher education ter feedback on their learning progress. aptation of the lecture content. In the circles. We would like to share some late 1990s, this Just-in-Time-Teaching of our experience of using the click- Exciting changes are happening in the concept had been scientifically proven ers in introductory physics courses for way we teach the introductory physics to help students learn and is slowly be- the last four years. Clickers serve two courses, and more lie ahead! ing adopted country wide. Certainly we major purposes: one to increase the feel our students are more prepared class attendance which makes it easier now and we can tailor the lectures bet- for students to grasp the concepts in- Editor: Dr. John Cerne ter to their needs. volved and two, to increase class room interaction and peer instruction. In the Design and Production: Renee Ruffino Solving end-of-chapter problems helps graph above, we plot the final course and Mike Massett the students understand the applica- total for the top 50% of the students of tion of the physics concepts learned an introductory algebra-based physics Website: in various situations and is one of the class (total enrollment of 800) against www.physics.buffalo.edu/newsletter essential parts of introductory phys- their clicker scores. Clicker scores ics learning. With student enrollments contain both credit for attending the Contact: Comments about the newsletter, or in introductory courses increasing ev- class and answering correctly several information about yourself for our Alumni News ery year, it puts a heavier load on the multiple-choice conceptual questions section, may be sent to Christine Gleason via TAs and instructors to grade home- in class. The majority of the students e-mail [email protected] or mailed to: work problems in a timely manner and who have scored 70% or above in Christine Gleason provide feedback. Online homework the course have scored high on click- Department of Physics systems, available as part of the pub- ers too. It is clear that there are a very University at Buffalo lishers’ resources, help ease this load few students who ended up in the top 239 Fronczak Hall enormously. Students register online 50% of the class after skipping sev- Buffalo, NY 14260 and purchase an access code to use eral classes. Our experience is based

Banner: Dr. Will Kinney was interviewed for a May 18, 2009 article in the New York Times, “Psst! Need the Answer to No. 7? Click Here.” PHOTO: D. Benz for The NY Times. Interactions Volume 2, Issue 2

research results, we also work on the Faculty in Focus popularization of science, especially Cosmology – looking beyond in the Buffalo area. I gave two public the boundaries talks “The Standard Model of Cosmol- By Dr. Dejan Stojkovic ogy” and “Black Holes” at the Buffalo Museum of Science in April 2009, as a The study of the origin, structure and part of the celebration of the year 2009 evolution of the Universe is one of the as the International Year of Astronomy. most exciting research fields in modern physics. In the last twenty years, tech- Computational nological advances have made pos- Materials Research sible an array of observations which By Dr. Peihong Zhang strongly constrain the properties of the Dr. Stojkovic at a conference. Universe we live in. A huge amount of major discoveries that will strongly im- In the past few decades observational data allowed us for the pact all of physics. The nature of the we have witnessed great first time to formulate “The Standard problems treated is such that its reso- advances in our abil- Model of Cosmology” in analogy with lution will inevitably involve different ity to calculate various the Standard Model of particle phys- concepts from cosmology, gravity and properties of materials ics. While the evidence supporting it particle physics. knowing only the identi- ties of their constituent My research includes various topics atoms. This progress on the interface of cosmology, gravity has been driven mainly by two impor- and particle physics. In particular, with tant factors, namely, the availability of my postdoc and graduate students, we the ever-increasing computer speed explore possible solutions to dark en- and advances in theoretical/computa- ergy, dark matter and other cosmologi- tional methods. Using massively paral- cal problems like horizon and flatness, lel computers as a primary tool, a wide we study theory and phenomenology spectrum of materials and material of classical and quantum black holes, properties can be studied by applying and try to understand the properties and evolution of various interesting Calculation by the Stojkovic group (including post-doc cosmological objects like magnetic De Chang Dai) representing the motion of mini black holes that could perhaps be produced at the LHC. Black monopoles, cosmic strings and domain holes emit particles due to Hawking radiation and recoil walls. Among other things, in collabo- in the opposite direction. This recoil motion is random, ration with our colleagues from Oxford as the plot shows. University, CERN, and Case Western is enormous, the model is not without Reserve University we recently built problems. The most important puzzle a black hole event generator called is that 96% of the content of our Uni- BlackMax which will be the main tool verse seems to be missing. This miss- for excluding (or confirming!) the cre- ing content is often labeled as Dark ation of mini black holes at the Large Matter (the missing mass) and Dark Hadron Collider at CERN. Energy (a mysterious ingredient which drives the accelerated expansion of My research is embedded in a wider the Universe). The solution to these high quality research environment of puzzles will take the concerted effort the high energy physics/cosmology of many researchers over a span of a group, whose members have similar Dr. Zhang’s group employs first-principles electronic struc- decade or more. Still, for the first time, interests. Together, we discuss and ac- ture theory to understand the mechanism of electrochro- mism in WO . Top panel: Comparison of electron energy these answers seem to be within our tively work on several joint projects. 3 loss spectra between theory and experiment. Bottom pan- reach. The general feeling is that model: Comparison between theoretically calculated colors of ern cosmology stands on the brink of As a part of the dissemination of our NaxWO3 and experiment. This work has been published in Phys. Rev. B.

Banner: As part of our new Beauty of Equations exhibit, Einstein’s famous equation in neon lights in Fronczak Hall. By artist G. Nickard. PHOTO: J. Cerne. Faculty in Focus als where the intrinsic spin of the elec- that will enable research in electron trons shapes the materials’ properties. spin physics and ultrafast phenom- CONTINUED The team is currently conducting opti- ena never accessible until now. She cal spectroscopy experiments to probe has also been featured as one of the state-of-the-art electronic structure properties of electrons in nitride semi- promising young high magnetic field techniques. conductor nanostructures and crystal- scientists in the recent “Science Starts line organic semiconductor films. With Here” profile series of the NHMFL. The long term research objectives of support from the National Science my group are unified around the theme Foundation, Dr. Furis has been building During her graduate studies at UB of understanding and predicting materi- UVM’s first magneto-microscopy facil- Madalina worked in collaboration with als properties from first principles, with ity that integrates the latest generation many professors and students from emphasis on nanostructures and other of ultrafast lasers with superconduct- physics, electrical engineering and novel materials, computational materi- ing magnet technology and top of the chemistry on spin and time-resolved line polarization optics into spectros- spectroscopy studies of semiconduc- copy experiments that map electron tor nanostructures. The knowledge of ultrafast and high magnetic field techniques earned her a postdoctoral position at the Los Alamos National Laboratory pulsed field facility after her graduation in February of 2004.

Dr. Zhang’s group uses massively parallel computers Chingping Chen, PhD 1995 to model properties of materials. By Dr. Francis Gasparini als design, and development of new Chingping Chen obtained his PhD in theoretical and computational tech- 1995 working on the sorption proper- niques. ties of fullerite crystals of C60 and C70. Subsequently, he spent time as a post- Current research projects in my group doc in Taiwan and in France. He is cur- include designing novel boron based rently Associate Professor at Peking hydrogen storage materials for fuel cell University in Beijing. He is working on applications, investigating unconven- the physics of nanomagnetism and on tional magnetism in semiconductors superconducting properties of MgB . and nanostructures, and developing 2 Dr. Furis, working on a Kerr effect magnetization mea- He informs us that he would be happy new theoretical methods for better un- surement in her spectroscopy lab at the University of to show people around if they are visit- derstanding localized electronic states Vermont. ing Beijing. His exact coordinates can and excitations in solids. My research spin dynamics at micron resolution in be found on our alumni list at the De- is supported by National Science Foun- high magnetic fields. The facility will partment’s web site. dation, Department of Energy, and Pe- be used by faculty in physics, chem- troleum Research Fund. istry and engineering to conduct high magnetic field studies of electrons in a variety of materials systems, includ- Alumni News ing semiconductor nanostructures, Madalina Furis, PhD 2004 proteins and polymers. As a member By Dr. Madalina Furis of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) Users’ Execu- Dr. Madalina Furis is an assistant pro- tive Committee, Madalina is currently fessor at the University of Vermont involved in the planning of experimen- (UVM) since the Fall of 2006. Her re- tal infrastructure around the upcoming search group explores the quantum Florida split coil helix 25 Tesla magnet, realm of novel nanostructured materi- ground-breaking magnet technology

Banner: Is it art or is it the second zone of the Fermi surface for a divalent hexagonal close-packed metal? Perhaps it’s both! By artist R. Reitzenstein. PHOTO: J. Cerne. Interactions Volume 2, Issue 2 Alumni News CONTINUED Raman spectros- Physics Department Funds: copy to study the Brian Powell, PhD 2008 effects of strain on Physics Excellence Endow- By Dr. William Kinney graphene. He is en- ment: Supports recruitment and rec- joying life in Boston, ognition of outstanding students, out- Brian Powell obtained his PhD in cos- but has remained reach to the community, upper level mology under the supervision of Dr. Wil- true to his Buffalo experimental laboratories, undergradu- liam Kinney. His area of focus was on sports heritage. ate research projects, and activities of the observational signatures of inflation, The Society of Physics Students. a period of ultra-rapid expansion in the early universe. Using the latest cosmo- We Congratulate our Recent Frank B. Silvestro Endowment logical data-sets, Brian employed sta- Graduates Fund: Established in 2000 by Mr. tistical techniques to constrain theories Frank Silvestro, BA 1962, MA 1968, the Bachelors: Michael BIERNAT, Wil- of the early universe. Upon graduation fund supports outstanding students with liam FALLS, Robert FLANAGAN, Mary from UB, Brian accepted a position with financial need. Currently used to sup- GLASS, Andrew GODSHALK, George the newly formed Institute for the Phys- port graduate students. LINDBERG, Stephen MUELLER, Dan- ics and Mathematics of the Universe, at iel MUFFOLETTO, Justin MULLEN, the University of Tokyo, Japan. Brian Dr. Stanley T. Sekula Memorial and Chris PENEPENT was one of around five early universe Scholarship Fund: Established in cosmologists within a larger, diversified 1990 by Mrs. Anne H. Sekula, honoring Masters: Peng-Jen CHEN, Lili CHU, group of mathematicians, string theo- the memory of Dr. Stanley T. Sekula, BA Pei-I KU, Mark LAURRI, Yichen LI, rists, and particle physicists. In Tokyo, 1951, and used to recognize outstand- Shuo -Fang TSAO,Tianyi YU, Dan- Brian collaborated on several projects ing undergraduates with financial need. iel BAILEY, Rohit SINGH, Jonathan related to the observational predictions SCHMITT, and Jen-Chieh WANG of string theory–inspired models of in- Moti Lal Rustgi Professorship in flation. In October 2009, Brian joined Physics: Endowed by the Rustgi fam- PhD: Elena BREWER, Kwangwoo the Institute for ily in 2006 to honor the late Professor PARK, Brian POWELL, Gheorghe AC- Defense Analyses Moti Lal Rustgi. Provides support for the BAS, Fatih BULUT, Imran KHAN, Prat- in Alexandria, VA., Rustgi Professor, currently held by Pro- ibha DEV, Andreea DOHATCU, Yunfen where he works on fessor Athos Petrou. HE, Konstantinos TZIRAKIS, Vikas PA- computer network TEL, Robert TALLMAN defense and other Moti Lal Rustgi Memorial Lec- problems related to tureship Fund: Established in 1993 Support the Department of national security. by the Rustgi family, the fund supports Physics Programs an annual lecture by distinguished re- Alexander Kitt, BS 2008 searchers. The Department continues to rely on its By Dr. Francis Gasparini alumni and friends to support a broad Ta-You Wu Lectureship Fund: spectrum of activities. Contributions Alex is starting his second year as a Established in 2008 by Professor Yung- truly make the difference in the quality PhD student in physics at Boston Uni- Chang Lee in remembrance of the late of our academic endeavors. Your con- versity and will be supported as a Pho- Professor Ta-You Wu, who was a key tributions to any of these funds are ap- tonics Fellow for the upcoming year. He member of the Department from 1966 preciated. To contribute electronically, is currently involved in several projects to 1978. please visit www.physics.buffalo.edu as a member of the Optical Character- and click the Support Physics button on ization and Nanophotonics Laboratory, Physics & Arts Exhibition Fund: the top right or contact Chris Gleason This interactive permanent exhibition working with Professors Goldberg and in the Physics Department at 716-645- Swan. In the biophysics world, he has in Fronczak Hall opened in 2006, and 2017x112 or via e-mail cg57@buffalo. was funded by alumni. It is one of the designed and is now building the pro- edu. You may also contact Deborah totype of a low cost CD4 detection as- Department’s most effective outreach McKinzie in the Development Office initiatives. Support will allow continued say for use in sub-Saharan Africa. In at 716-645-0839, or via email at mck- evolution and development. the condensed matter world, he is using [email protected] with any questions.

Banner: A bronze Mexican hat representing spontaneous symmetry breaking, which is fundamental to many fields of physics. By artist R. Reitzenstein. PHOTO: J. Cerne. Research News and Awards

“Finite-size scaling of 4He at have tried to verify this prediction. We systems. Some of the most interest- the superfluid transition,” F.M. have been working on this problem for ing results are the striking difference in Gasparini, M.O. Kimball, K.P. many years. The system on which we thermodynamic response for crossover Mooney, and M. Diaz-Avila, Re- have focused is 4He at the superfluid to different dimensionalities, the iden- views of Modern Physics 80, transition. Helium has many advan- tification of surface and edge effects, 1009-1059 (2008). tages for such a study, but perhaps the universal behavior as function of 3He most important is the fact that we be- impurity concentration and with pres- The description of a system not in the lieve we understand the boundary con- sure, and, in some cases, remarkable thermodynamic limit is complicated ditions between the order parameter, a agreement with theory. On the other because of the role that boundary wavefunction, and the confining walls. hand, there are significant results which conditions play and the importance of To confine helium we use a combina- do not agree with theory and remain a surface topology and overall sample tion of silicon lithography and direct puzzle to this day. The work presented shape. All of these variables become wafer bonding to achieve confining ge- in the RMP also shows most obviously irrelevant in the thermodynamic limit as ometries corresponding to films, lines where future experiments would be of the volume becomes large at constant and boxes. These represent crossover interest in order to address questions density. The situation near a continu- to two, one, and zero dimensions, re- of lack of scaling, universality, and cou- ous phase transition is still more com- spectively, as the growth of fluctuations pling and proximity effects. plicated by a temperature-dependent is progressively limited in more direc- tions. It is a feature of finite systems that their shape defines a unique ther- “Importance of the Terrestrial modynamic response. The characteris- Cosmic Ray Flux for Climate,” tic small dimension of our samples is in M. Ram, M. Stolz, and B. Tins- the range of 0.01-3 μm. An example of ley, EOS, Transactions, Ameri- a recent design for an experimental cell can Geophysical Union, 90, to study collective and proximity effects 397-398 (2009). is shown in the figure below. The result- ing geometry for this cell is an array of The above titled paper was published 34x106 boxes of (2 μm)3 volume in equi- as an invited feature article in the No- librium with a 37.1 nm film of helium. vember 3rd issue of EOS, Transac- tions, American Geophysical Union. Comparison of the crossover from three dimensions to two, one, and zero dimensions where the This is a weekly journal that can best smallest spatial length in each confinement is 1 μm. be characterized as the Geophysi- The data show the expected behavior: As more cal equivalent of Physics Today and spatial dimensions are made finite, the greater the heat capacity is suppressed and the specific-heat hence, has an enormous circulation. maximum shifts to lower temperatures. It has long been assumed that the length, the correlation length ξ. This di- changes in the radiative solar flux verges at a continuous transition in the reaching earth over a solar cycle (the thermodynamic limit. The fact that real well known eleven year period of solar samples, with dimensions of say milli- Cut-away view (not to scale) of an experimental cell to activity) are too small to result in signifi- meters, are not infinite is not really an study coupling and proximity effects in superfluid 4He. 3 cant changes in earth climate. That is issue since ξ never becomes compa- The cell consists of an array of (2 μm) connected by a 31.7 nm planar region. The confinement is formed be- the argument that anthropogenic glob- rable to this size with typical tempera- tween the two wafers using direct wafer bonding. al warming alarmists have advanced in ture resolution. Taking a different point of view, one may ask how does a finite The RMP paper is a review of the their claim that the sun cannot be the system approach the thermodynam- work of several generations of gradu- instigator of significant climate change, ic limit near a continuous transition. ate students in the Gasparini lab, and and have used incomplete (as an ex- Theoretically this question has been relevant work at other institutions. This ample, but this is not the only one, they answered a long time ago via the con- work, which tests theories of finite-size completely ignore the effects of cosmic jecture of finite-size scaling; however, scaling, is almost unique in helium with rays on climate) computer models to there are very few experiments which very few counterparts in other critical show that anthropogenic greenhouse

Banner: Graduate student Justin Perron describes research in the Gasparini lab to visitors at the Fall Open House. PHOTO: F. Gasparini. Interactions Volume 2, Issue 2

Research News and Awards CONTINUED emissions can have a more significant impact on climate change than solar changes. As everyone is aware, this is a topic of great contention and has led to numerous initiatives to cap Green- house gas emissions. Clearly, it’s a “hot” topic and one on which enormous resources have been, and will continue to be, expended.

Our article shows that the influence of the sun on earth climate is not limited to its radiative output, and a strong amplifying mechanism (over an order of magnitude) is provided by the solar-modulated terrestrial cosmic ray flux which, through ionization of the atmosphere, can strongly affect pre- cipitation. This conclusion is a result of extensive research by Ram and co- workers on the impact of the solar cycle on climate, and by Tinsley and his col- laborators on the mechanisms of pre- cipitation by clouds.

(a) Dust profile of glacial ice from GISP2 ice core (Ram and Koenig, 1997), (b) Dust profile of short section of GISP2 glacial ice. Rapidly oscillating fine line is raw data showing sharp annual maxima. Heavy line is 5 year running average of raw data showing very large 11 year dust modulations, (c) Generation of 22 year cycle from two 11 year cycles (Ram and Stolz, 1999), (d) Neutron counting rate (top) and Sunspot number (bottom) courtesy R.I. Jokopii).

Banner: Large Hadron Collider Theory Initiative Fellow and UB graduate student Cathy Bernaciak (left) attends a coffee break and poster session at the LHC TI Fellows meeting at Fermilab October 29, 2009. Bernaciak presented a summary of her research and networked with other fellows performing LHC theory work. From a featured article in Fermilab Today, 11/11/09. Research News and Awards, CONTINUED

Research Awards broad range of new applications like ers and their students by engaging By Dr. Sambandamurthy Ganapathy novel electronic, photonic and fluidic them in the nationwide outreach pro- devices. gram called QuarkNet. Research activities at the Department are growing significantly with several of Dr. Gottfried Strasser also recently re- Dr. X. Hu recently received a grant from the faculty obtaining new grants for their ceived NSF’s Course Curriculum and the US Army Research Office (2009- research from federal funding agencies Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) award 2012) for the project titled, “Theoretical in recent months. We report here the (2009-2011) for the project titled “First Study of Solid State Quantum Informa- latest awards and a short description of Course in Nanoelectronics for Engi- tion Processing”. The goal of this proj- the research activities planned. neers.” This project will allow him to ect is to study quantum coherence and train engineers and provide them with manipulation of spin qubits and spin Dr. Arnd Pralle, together with Dr. Berry a deeper understanding of nanostruc- environments in solid state nanostruc- from the Department of Biological Sci- tures and their implementation into real tures. ences, has recently received a Major world applications. Research Instrumentation (MRI) award Congratulations to our recent from the a National Science Founda- Dr. Sambandamurthy Ganapathy re- award recipients: tion (NSF) for the “Acquisition of a cently received NSF’s Faculty Early Confocal Microscopy System for Re- Career Development (CAREER) award James Pientka and Robert Paul Simion search and Education” (2009-2011). (2009-2014) for the project titled, “Col- won the 2009 Outstanding Teaching The NSF award, together with match- lective transport near quantum critical Assistant in Physics award. ing funds from the UB, allows the pur- points in superconducting nanostruc- chase and operation of a state-of-the- tures.” The goal of this project is to The Dr. Stanley T. Sekula Memorial art high resolution optical microscope effectively integrate multidisciplinary Scholarship 2009/10 has been award- system which will be unique to Buffalo research work on nanometer scale su- ed to: Nicholas De Meglio, Brian Frey, by providing fast time-resolved mea- perconducting devices with education Pierre Gautreau, Seth Levy, Mary Mohr, surements using freely tunable visible and outreach programs to train a new Katherine Niessen, Stephen Raiman, laser light. The facility will be available generation of students. Katherine Spoth, and Yoichi Takato to any researcher at UB and greatly en- hances the infrastructure of biophysical Dr. Dejan Stojkovic recently received The Frank B. Silvestro Scholarship research at UB. a NSF (Astrophysics and Cosmology 2009 has been awarded to: Tariq Ali, Theory Program) grant for the project Yiu Him Cheung, Jae Kyu Choi, Chase Dr. Jong Han recently received a NSF titled, “Gravity, cosmology and collider Ellis, William Falls, Everett Fraser, award (2009-2012) in the Division of physics.” The duration of the award is Andrew Godshalk, Chia-Wei Huang, Materials Research for the project three years (2009-2012). This project Chaehyun Kim, Minsoo Kim, Jaesuk titled, “Strongly Correlated Nonequilib- will explore phenomena on the inter- Kwon, Jeongsu Lee, Gen Long, Justin rium Transport Simulation in Complex face of cosmology, gravity and particle Perron, Muhammed Simsek, Hemach- Quantum Dot and Bulk Systems.” The physics. ander Subramanian, Yu Tsung Tsai, goal of this project is to theoretically Tailung Wu, and Jia Zhou. study the dynamics of strongly interact- Drs. Ia Iashvili (PI) and Avto Kharchi- ing electrons under strong voltage bias lava (Co-PI) received a grant from NSF Muhammed Simsek received a CAMBI in nanoscale devices. to fund their proposal on “High Energy fellowship (2009). Physics Research at CMS and D-Zero Dr. Gottfried Strasser recently received Collider Experiments.” This three-years NSF’s at ub (MRI) award (2009-2010) long project is a continuation of their for the project titled “Acquisition of a earlier NSF grant funded since 2006. Dual Beam Electron Beam/Focused The goal of the proposal is to conduct Ion Beam System for Research and research at energy frontiers and scru- Education.” This instrument will al- tinize the Standard Model of Particle low interdisciplinary groups at UB to Physics. Another aspect of the project expand their research activities into a is to work with local high school teach-

Banner: Dr. S. Ganapathy, has recently received the prestigious National Science Foundation’s CAREER award (2009-2014) to study the novel transport properties of superconducting nanomaterials and devices, such as the one shown in this picture, when they undergo quantum phase transitions. PHOTO: S. Ganapathy Interactions Volume 2, Issue 2

Outreach/Events vational astronomer well known for his work with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Summer and fall 2009 were active His colloquium dealt with recent prog- times for educational outreach at the ress in measuring the actual distribu- Department. Dr. Doreen Wackeroth tion of dark matter in our galaxy. On organized the Physics and Arts Sum- Friday evening, Prof. Hogg also gave a mer Institute (PASI), which is now in public talk exploring “What Happened its fourth year. Inspired by New Phys- Before the Big Bang? And How Could ics ideas and Gary Nickard’s artwork, We Know that, Anyway?” Over 250 eight local high-school students creat- students, faculty, and community mem- ed a Wonder Room at this year’s PASI. bers heard Prof. Hogg discuss the lat- The Wonder Room is designed as a PASI 2009 participants and team. est ideas on this fascinating topic in an walk-in display case with several inter- ence’s school and the public to share understandable and exciting fashion. active exhibit pieces that are related to current research and interdisciplinary Those present showed their approval extra dimensions and supersymmetry, approaches to science. with lively questions after the talk that two new physics concepts, which will continued until Prof. Hogg had to hurry be tested at the CERN Large Hadron Four centuries ago the first detailed ob- off to the airport. Collider. The exhibit includes “illusions” servations of the heavens were made such as magic eye pictures and a holo- by Galileo Galilei. During 2009 the UB Drs. Ia Iashvilli and Avto Kharchilava gram, and a black box, inspired by Carl Physics Department is participating in from our high energy experimental Sagan’s Cosmos presentation on extra the International Year of Astronomy physics group have sponsored the 4th dimensions, as well as a video produced (IYA), a global commemoration of Gali- annual QuarkNet Summer Workshop by the high-school students on the UB leo’s breakthrough sponsored by the at UB during July 27-29. Participants campus. The display has been built International Astronomical Union and this year included two mentors from the and installed by the CAS Instrument UNESCO. Drs. Bernard Weinstein and Department, Ia Iashvili and Avto Khar- Machine Shop on the second floor of John Cerne organized a week of lec- chilava, working with 7 teachers from Fronczak Hall as part of the permanent tures and activities to celebrate the IYA the local high schools and one from Physics and Arts exhibition. During during October 13-16. The first speaker, New Jersey. A representative from the three-week long program the high Jason Kendall (NASA Jet Propulsion the Fermilab Education Office, Robert school students visited Fermilab where Laboratory Solar System Ambassador) Peterson, has also participated in the they learned first hand from UB gradu- gave a seminar on the “Wild Universe! workshop. One of the main goals of the ate students, Joseph Zennamo and Black Holes and Gamma-Ray Bursts, workshop was to discuss the origins of Andrew Godshalk, about research at Quasars and Neutron Stars” that was cosmic rays and their detection tech- the Tevatron proton anti-proton collider. aimed at the general public. After the niques, and to have the participants PASI is funded by the National Science talk, Mr. Kendall led a star party on the take data with cosmic ray detectors. Foundation. The PASI 2009 team con- roof of Fronczak Hall using the Depart- Participants formed three independent sisted of Prof. Gary Nickard, (Media ment’s 10” reflecting telescope (much experimental groups and by the end of Studies), Depew High School teacher superior to Galileo’s instrument). Over the workshop they had prepared post- Craig Uhrich, Derek Robins, Prof. De- fifty people attended, and we are grate- ers analyzing the data obtained at UB jan Stojkovic (Physics), Patty Wallace, ful to four of our teaching assistants: and other QuarkNet centers. a Williamsville artist, Kevin Cullinan Robert Poltis, Ian Swanson, William (CAS Machine Shop), and Prof. Doreen Falls, and Alexander Moreno for volun- In reaching out to our younger genera- Wackeroth (Physics). teering to run the telescope. The skies tions, Drs. Andrea Markelz and John were clear and visitors could clearly see Cerne gave a presentation on lasers for Dr. Dejan Stojkovic, who worked on the Ring Nebula and the moons of Ju- about 120 students from the 4th grade PASI and I featured on page 4 of this piter. Two days later, Prof. David Hogg class at Dodge elementary school on Newsletter, actively participated in the from the New York University Center June 18. New laser and optical/au- “Scientists in Residence” program at for Cosmology and Particle Physics dio interference demonstrations were the Buffalo Museum of Science. This gave a colloquium to the Department presented, but it seemed that burning program connects scientists and edu- entitled “What if the Milky Way Isn’t holes in paper with lasers captivated cators to the Buffalo Museum of Sci- Integrable?” Prof. Hogg is an obser- the students best!

Banner: Visitors at the Fall Open House look at a light bulb and arc lamps through a 100-year-old spectroscope. PHOTO: F. Gasparini Outreach/Events, CONTINUED

Open House look at it from all angles. Physicists, Ride for Roswell By Dr. Andrea. Markelz biologists, musicians, and poets at the By Chase Ellis October event riffed on reductionism, The third annual Physics Department that peculiar scientific notion of learn- Unlike last year, the Department cy- Open House was held on Saturday Oc- ing about the world by breaking it into cling team was blessed with a beautiful tober 17. The Open House included a component parts. What do we learn sunny day for this year’s Ride for Ro- welcome and graduate program over- by taking an organism apart? What do swell. This was the third year that the view by Dr. Stojkovic and undergradu- we learn by taking matter itself apart? Department has participated in the an- ate program overview by Dr. Gasparini. What don’t we learn? Should we feel nual bike ride which helps raise money Eight labs opened their doors to tours alienated or illuminated by the creative for cancer research at the Roswell Park by the general public and prospective destruction of scientific inquiry? Cancer Institute. The 6 team members students. Dr. Sen provided multime- were able to raise over $1300, which dia presentations and Drs. Cerne and In addition to Kinney, who organized places them as one of the top 100 Kharchilava, as well as grad student E. the cabaret, the panel featured these fundraising teams out of the 535 reg- Greenwood, were available for tours of faculty from UB’s College of Arts and istered. In total Roswell Park’s 6,400+ the Physics and Arts interactive exhib- Sciences: Ulrich Baur, physics profes- riders were able to scrounge together its. The day culminated in the graduate sor and particle physicist, Katharina $2.3 million dollars. The UB Physics student research poster presentations Dittmar de la Cruz, assistant profes- cycling team would like to thank all of and a traditional Buffalo pizza and sor of biological sciences and Gary those who helped support our ride, and wings reception. Please come join us Nickard, clinical assistant professor of we look forward to having another suc- for future Open House festivities! visual studies. Local artist Patty Wal- cessful ride this coming summer. If you lace performed a reading and live mu- are interested in riding on the team or UB Physicists and Artists Aim sic was provided by The Vores, (un- supporting a member please contact to Entertain with the First Sci- plugged), Buffalo’s late 70’s alternative Chase Ellis ([email protected]) to get ence and Art Cabaret band whose music is described as punk put on the UB Physics cycling team By Dr. William Kinney rock and surfer and which features UB email list. artists Gary Nickard and Biff Henrich Whether you’re a total non-science per- and UB grant writer Catherine Carfag- Events Calendar son or the next Einstein, the Science na. To provide the critical connection and Art Cabaret is made for you. The to the world of quarks and questions Holiday Party – Saturday, Decem- first of an ongoing series of science-as- about our place in the universe, par- ber 5th 5-9:00 p.m. in Pistachios. never-seen-before cabarets took place ticle physicist and UB assistant profes- in the Ninth Ward at Babeville’s Asbury sor of physics Avto Kharchilava hosted Rustgi Lecture – April 23, 2010. Hall in Buffalo on October 20. The Sci- a video link to the control room at Fermi Nobel Prize winner W. D. Phillips will ence & Art Cabaret is an entertaining National Accelerator Laboratory. present a public lecture on “Time, Ein- mash-up of cutting-edge science and stein and the coolest stuff in the uni- technology with art, music, poetry and Welcome Barbecue verse.” performance. The October 20 topic By Christine Gleason was “Taking Nature Apart,” and UB’s scientists and artists weighed in. Now At our annual welcome barbeque the Buffalo has its own place for artists and Physics Department greeted seven- scientists to connect, created by UB’s teen new graduate students. In fall physicists and visual artists who have 2009, the new students are from Can- collaborated on such local successes ada, China, India, Iran, Taiwan, Turkey as the UB Physics and Arts Summer and the USA. The students started Institute and the permanent “Physics their graduate studies at the Depart- and Arts Exhibition” at UB. Order a ment with a morning orientation fol- drink at the bar and hear top university lowed by a barbeque. researchers discuss their work in con- text with creative minds from the arts and humanities. We pick a topic and

Banner: The 2009 Physics Department Ride for Roswell Team, left to right, Chase Ellis, Marty Zanolli, Vincent Whiteside, Sarah- Rose Whiteside, James Parry, and Jeffrey Hafner. PHOTO: M. Kim The University at Buffalo Department of Physics Newsletter

In this issue:

Undergraduate Education Faculty in Focus Alumni News Research News and Awards Outreach/Events

Students and faculty at the fall Open House. PHOTO: F. Gasparini.

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