Undergraduate Research
Many of our undergraduates take part in research programs both at Fordham and other institutions. Below you can read about the research projects that our students have worked on.
Mikael Oja, FCRH 2013
University of delaware
This summer, I worked with Professor James MacDonald on his work on the modeling of the evolution of extrasolar gas giants. We assumed the planets can be treated in the same way as low mass stars and used previously developed methods for analyzing the evolution of these gas giants. Specifically, we looked at the change in radii of the planets throughout their evolution based on different energy inputs and internal magnetic field strengths. We analyzed models assuming an isolated, non-irradiated system, an irradiated system, and then an irradiated system which takes the structural effects of internal magnetic fields into account. Our main goal was to compare our results with those of Barrafe et. al. in their paper on the same topic. We found that these added considerations are not enough to make up for the discrepancy between observed and calculated radii of the planets.
Marian Rogers, FCRH 2013
College of William & Mary – NSF REU Program
I studied calculations in the two-Higgs-doublet-model (2HDM) extensions of the Standard Model of the Higgs signal strength μ = σ2HDM/σSM in the h → ττ, h → γγ, and h → ZZ channels. I considered the scenario in which both of the neutral scalars in the 2HDM are in a mass range near 125 GeV, and are less than 1 GeV apart. Calculations of the coupling corrections and their effect on the cross sections in this limit were presented and compared with the Standard Model. This case is shown to give good agreement with the CMS collaboration’s current experimental results of the signal strengths of these three decay modes.
"Two Higgs are Better than One"
We've discovered a Higgs-like Resonance!
But make your conclusions with hesitance--
The sigmas are good,
That's well understood,
But no model can yet enjoy permanence.
One Standard Model Higgs seems compatible,
Though Two Higgs are also quite suitable:
It fits the signals on the high-side,
But with the errors on the wide-side
These models just ain't yet refutable.
But while we wait for more data to come,
We can let our imaginations run.
At the 125 resonance,
For which there's no precedence,
(Just maybe) two Higgs are better than one.
Seth Bourg, FCRH 2014
Fordham University – Summer Science Intern
My work researched the effects that various impurities, or dopants, had when mixed with liquid crystals in regards to how sharply light passing through the liquid crystals was bent. We also investigated how ultraviolet and infrared radiation changed these outcomes. We tested impurities that were dye-based as well as several compounds synthesized in the lab.
I ran several different tests on the compounds. First, I ground and pressed the impurities into small discs and passed an infrared laser through it. By measuring the wavelength patterns of the light that were transmitted, we were able to determine a chemical "fingerprint" of each compound. Afterwards, I mixed these compounds with liquid crystal and glycerol and then studied the mixture under a microscope. The glycerol caused the liquid crystal and impurities to collect into tight, spiraling droplets. The helical pitch of these spirals could then be measured to determine twisting power.
The third major test that we ran was to take the mixtures of liquid crystal and impurities and run a spectrotest on them in the visible light spectrum. Over the course of each 15-minute test, we would shine ultraviolet light on each sample and record how the intensity of the transmitted light changed over the course of the irradiation.
The two major compound discoveries that we found concerned one dye-based impurity, chrysophenine (yellow), which responded quite strongly to ultraviolet radiation; and a compound called PS/LS-1, synthesized by Dr. Shibayev, which exhibited the strongest twisting power.
Katrina Colletti, FCRH 2014
Fordham University – Summer Science Intern
Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholar
The primary objective of this project was to examine different possible phases for quarks in numerical simulations. These simulations probe areas of new physics that go beyond the current Standard Model of particle physics. In particular, Quantum Chromodynamics, which has been consistently verified experimentally, is theoretically studied by numerical Lattice simulations. To study physics beyond the Standard Model theoretically, which is what we have undertaken in this project, one can modify aspects of the Standard Model, such as the number of quarks, to learn what would be seen experimentally. This was the basis of this research project this summer.
I analytically reproduced the results of previous work on the subject, finding an error in a published article on the subject. I evaluated the Lagrangian equation to find the squared masses of various mesons. For the second part of the summer, I used the program Mathematica to solve these same mathematical equations and extend my mentor's work into new phases not yet researched.
Through my research this summer, I found that there are indeed two more phases in addition to the broken phases studied previously by my mentor. We found that the phase diagram describing these meson fields is far more rich and intricate than previously thought. We are working on finding where these new phases that we investigated will eventually meet, if at all.
Ariel Fragale, FCRH 2014
Lehigh University – NSF REU Program
This project explored rotationally inelastic collisions (at T = 600K) of He atoms with NaK molecules in the (A1Σ+) electronic state. The GAMESS code was used to determine the He-NaK potential surface at values of the NaK internuclear distance ranging from 6.0 to 11.0 a0. Then theoretical calculations using the Arthurs and Dalgarno coupled channel formalism were performed to investigate the strong Δj=even propensity found in rate constants determined experimentally at Lehigh for the v=16 vibrational level of the first excited (A1Σ+) state. Previous calculations in our group had assumed a fixed internuclear separation of NaK at the equilibrium distance (7.935 a0); this assumption corresponds approximately to treating the v=0 state. This work did not reproduce the propensity measured experimentally. To better approximate the v=16 state, the oscillation of the molecule was taken into account in the calculations by averaging the potential over the NaK internuclear distance using the probability density of the vibrational wave function. Coupled channel scattering calculations then used the averaged potential to solve the Schrödinger equation for the nuclear motion of the atoms, giving cross sections used to estimate the theoretical rate constants. When compared to experiment, the new theoretical calculations show an excellent agreement. The difference in the results for v=0 and v=16 suggests that the propensity has a strong dependence on the vibrational state of the NaK molecule.
Kathryn Reddy, FCRH 2014
Lehigh University – NSF REU Program
It is well known that electrophoretic motion, the movement of a particle due to an external electric field, can be used to quantify particle charge. However, previous techniques assume the viscosity of a sample to be known. Using this setup we can both measure the viscosity of a sample directly and obtain reliable charge measurements. Here we studied the electrophoretic motion of a 1.5 μm polystyrene particle using an optical tweezers setup. A lock-in amplifier provided amplitude and phase measurements, and a function generator provided an AC electric field to our sample chamber. Optophoresis, in the form of optical tweezers, was used as a tool to quantify the electrophoretic effects. The setup used standard illumination and quadrant photodiode detection. This allows for extremely accurate calibration of the optical tweezers and precise measurements of particle motion. Manipulation of the relevant equation of motion allowed us to calculate particle charge and electrophoretic mobility. We found the charge of our particles to be 1.26 x 10-16 N·m/V and the eletrophoretic mobility to be 8.563 x 10-9 m2/V·s. We are able to validate the consistency and accuracy of such a setup through error analysis and comparison with previously published data.
Shannon Rosario, FCRH 2013
Fordham University
Andrew Rotunno, FCRH 2014
Fordham University – Summer Science Intern
Quick and informative characterization of small non-spherical aerosol particles has many important uses in precise manufacturing, creating climate models, and defense against bioterrorism. The goal of this summer project was to create a lab apparatus which will simultaneously record light scattering and in-line holography for an object on the order of microns, along with finding techniques to digitally reconstruct holograms and analyze the scattering data. The project has thus far concentrated only on stationary objects, as a preliminary step towards characterization of similarly sized aerosols in flight.
Rachel Sattler, FPCS 2014
Fordham University
Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholar
Have you ever heard of a cancer-smelling dog? They do exist, and while four-armed lab coats won’t soon appear in the local cancer ward, there is growing interest and research in ways that smell can be used to detect cancer more effectively.
Malignant melanoma has a distinct smell when cut. Though humans cannot smell them, it is understood that the tumors are still out gassing when intact. With the help of spectral analysis, it may be possible to find a distinct pattern to the “smell” of the cancer. Evidence of a unique pattern could provide huge advancements in early-detection technology.
Over the summer of 2012, the Engineering and Applied Physics Laboratory designed four spectral analysis set-ups capable of providing data on collected gas over a broad range (approximately 200 nm – 9300 nm). Each set-up uses a different light source: UV, halogen, heat, and a quantum cascade laser respectively.
Dr. Richard White, from Sloan-Kettering, will be providing malignant melanoma tumors for analysis in the fall of 2012. With these tumors, we will be able to test each apparatus and take preliminary data.
Michael Yu, FCRH 2014
Fordham University – Summer Science Intern
The efficacy of surgical treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) depends critically on obtaining negative margins. Optical imaging has the potential to improve their accuracy and reduce frozen section utilization. Determine accuracy and reliability of the interpretation of absorption of mid-IR laser radiation.
