Physics Faculty

Saginaw Valley State University
Physics Department Research Interests

Overview

As a smaller department at a primarily educational institution, we cannot expect to compete with the research efforts at a school like Michigan State University or the University of Michigan in terms of the number of published papers or presentations at conferences. On the other hand, at SVSU you will have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on fundamental research projects. In some cases, you may be able to begin work at the end of your first year here. Indeed, such work is a requirement for the Bachelor’s degree (3 credits of Phys 497). These research experiences are incredibly valuable as you prepare for a career or to pursue graduate studies. The available research areas at SVSU are diverse and cover both experimental and theoretical work. Below is a brief summary of faculty interests and ideas.

Interests by Faculty

Prof. Ming-Tie Huang – Experimental Atomic Physics

Capturing atoms with laser light:
Capture gas rubidium atoms with a Magneto-Optical-Trap (MOT). A MOT uses near resonance laser pumping with six circularly polarized laser beams tuned to slightly below the resonant frequency, under a quadrupole magnetic field, to slow down (and thus cool down) the atoms, capture and confine them in a small volume near the zero field region. The atoms can be cooled down to below one mK for detailed studies.

Even parity resonances of laser excited lithium with synchrotron radiation:
Ground state lithium atoms are first excited by linearly polarized laser light. They are then collided with synchrotron radiation to reach even parity resonances. Those even parity resonances are then studied as a function of synchrotron radiation energy and the angle between the polarization axis of laser light and that of synchrotron radiation. The study will reveal the detailed electron correlations.

Profs. Marian Shih & Frank Chen – Experimental Optical Physics

Our research is the experimental field of coherent optics applications. We do experiments with lasers and other temporally coherent light sources, preferably with the intention of developing a measurement technique that might someday be useful in a practical real-life setting. For example, we spend a lot of time doing interferometry, which is the measurement technique for measuring small phase differences in light. Some very useful applications of interferometry are the measurement of extremely tiny deformations or variations in thickness, variations that other techniques are not sensitive enough to detect.

Our research interests also include holography, in which we capture variations in phase by recording an interference fringe pattern. The holograms that we make in the laboratory are not the beautiful, spectacular holograms that you see in museums for art’s sake. The holograms that we make in the laboratory lack visual appeal because they are scientific holograms for the purpose of capturing the subtle numerical variations in the phase of light waves in order to extract useful information about what the light has traveled through.

Possible Research Topics:

1. The Fraunhofer diffraction of coherent light as a quality control measurement method to measure the thickness of different gauges of thin wire.
2. Studying the wavelength dependence of the far-field diffraction pattern to characterize the consumer DVD.
3. Application of Armitage and Lohmann’s optical information processing technique of production of a color image from a black and white photographic film, via spatial filtering decoding process.
4. Computer programming, plotting, and photographic reduction steps in the fabrication process of an off-axis Fresnel zoneplate.
5. The zeroth white light interference fringe as a measurement technique of very thin transparent objects.
6. Characterization of the spectral and coherence properties of tunable laser diodes as an assessment for suitability for temporally incoherent holography.

Prof. Rajan Murgan – Theoretical High Energy Physics

I work on problems in the field of high energy physics. Specifically, my present research activities focus on a special type of mathematical models that have found various applications in physics from condensed matter to string theory. These models are known in literature as integrable models. Examples include the Heisenberg spin chain and certain types of quantum field theory.

Prof. Matthew Vannette – Experimental Condensed Matter Physics

My research is focused on the growth and characterization of single-crystal transition metal compounds. The primary interest lies in gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of magnetic phase transitions.

Prof. Christopher Nakamura – Physics Education

My research interests are in Physics Education Research (PER), which centers on questions at an interface between physics, psychology and education.