Student Research in Physics
One of the distinctives of the IWU physics department is the opportunity for students to work with faculty on several research opportunities. Below are projects in which our students have participated in since 2017, and links to the research posters they created for presentation at national conferences.
IWU student opportunities in research:
- NSF-funded experimental nuclear physics with Dr. Warren Rogers: This research program provides students with a stipend to conduct summer research with the IWU nuclear physics group and with the MoNA Collaboration, of which IWU is a member. Students work primarily during the summer at IWU, at Michigan State University at the Facility for Rare Isotope Research (FRIB), and at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) at Los Alamos national Lab. Interested students please contact Dr. Rogers.
- Cosmic muon research with Dr. Rogers: Students work with the Cosmic Muon Detector Array (CMDA) to measure fluctuations in the cosmic muon flux at the surface of the earth, and two-dimensional muon intensity spectrum over large angular portion of the sky. Interested students please contact Dr. Rogers.
- Computational Biophysics with Dr. McCullough: Provides students the opportunity to participate in methods to study biomolecular assemblies using high-power computing and numerical simulation. Interested students should contact Dr. McCullough.
Recent IWU Students and their research projects
Wesley Sussenbach (’26) worked in summer 2023 and fall 2023 with Dr. Warren Rogers
Olivia Lucas (’26) worked in summer 2023 with Dr. Warren Rogers, Research Poster – Study of n-C Scattering at LANSCE Using a Diamond Detector
Derick Flores Madrid (’24) worked in summer 2022 with Dr. Warren Rogers, Research Poster – Analysis of Neutron Scattering Interactions in Plastic Scintillators. Derick is currently applying to several PhD programs in physics around the country.
Jenna Smith (’23 Taylor University) worked in summer 2022 with Dr. Warren Rogers, Research Poster – Neutron Dark Scattering Analysis. Jenna is currently pursuing her PhD in physics at Baylor University.
Jeremy Hallett (’22) worked in summers 2019, 20, and 21 with Dr. Warren Rogers, Research Posters, Summer 2019 – Preparation for the Dark Scattering Experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Summer 2020 – Development of a Multi-Neutron Filter, Summer 2021 – Cluster Production in MoNA Through Charge-Exchange, Jeremy is currently pursuing his PhD in Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin Madison,
Andrea Munroe (’23) worked in summers 2020 and 21 with Dr. Warren Rogers. Research Posters, Summer 2020 – Non-Linear Behavior in Plastic Scintillator Neutron Detectors, Summer 2021 – A Multi-Layered Approach to Multi-Neutron Filtering, Andrea is currently pursuing her PhD in physics at Louisiana State University,
Andrew Wantz (’20) worked in Summers 2017 and 2019 with Dr. Warren Rogers, Research posters, Summer 2017 – Neutron Scattering in MoNA Detector Bars for Comparison with Simulation, Summer 2018 – Developing a Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry Station for TUNL, Summer 2019 – 2-Neutron Simulation for the Development of Causal Gates. Andrew is currently pursuing his PhD in physics at Michigan State University.
Justin Hazel (’20) worked in summer 2018 with Dr. Scott McCullough in computational biophysical simulations. Research poster with Zachary Faitz – Parameterization, Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Generated Binding Affinity for SHP2 in silico
Zachary Faitz (’20) worked in summer 2018 with Dr. Scott McCullough in computational biophysical simulations. Research poster with Justin Hazel – Parameterization, Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Generated Binding Affinity for SHP2 in silico
Nathan Kitzmiller (’19) worked in summer 2017 with Dr. Scott McCullough in computational biophysical simulations. Research poster – Parameterizing Docking Candidates to Evaluate Binding Affinity for SHP2 in silico. Nate completed his PhD in Chemistry at ___ .
James Boone (’19) worked in summer 2017 with Dr. Warren Rogers, and in summer 2018 with Dr. Steven Smith. Research Poster (2017) – Test of Monte Carlo Simulation for MoNA Neutron Detectors, Research poster (2018) – X-Ray Fluorescence of Cometary Gases to Model Solar Wind-Comet Interactions
Recent National Conference Presentations
James Boone: Fall 2017 Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) meeting of the American Physical Society (APS), Pittsburgh, PA
Andrew Wantz: Fall 2017 Division of Nuclear Physics (DNP) meeting of the American Physical Society (APS), Pittsburgh, PA
Andrew Wantz: Fall 2018 DNP meeting of the APS in Hawaii
Jeremy Hallett: Fall 2020 DNP meeting of the APS in New Orleans, LA (remote meeting)
Andrea Munroe: Fall 2020 DNP meeting of the APS in New Orleans, LA (remote meeting)
Jeremy Hallett: Fall 2021 DNP meeting of the APS in Boston, MA (remote meeting)
Andrea Munroe: Fall 2020 DNP meeting of the APS in Boston, MA (remote meeting)
Derick Flores Madrid: Fall 2022 DNP meeting of the APS in New Orleans, LA
Jenna Smith: Fall 2022 DNP meeting of the APS in New Orleans, LA
Olivia Lucas: Spring 2024 Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics, University of Michigan, January 2024
