Professor David Tytler:

Our group works in observational cosmology. Our main program is the measurement of the amount of vacuum (dark) energy in the universe, using a geometrical method. We use the world’s largest telescope, the Keck 10-m telescopes in Hawaii, and the Lick 3-m in Santa Cruz, CA, to obtain spectra of quasars, which are giant black holes in distant galaxies. The spectra contain absorption lines, which describe the amount of matter in the universe and its distribution. Most matter in the space between galaxies is called the intergalactic medium. The Hydrogen in this gas causes strong absorption in quasar spectra. The amount of absorption tells us the amount of gas, its ionization, and temperature, while the distribution along the lines of sight to the quasars tells us the amplitude of the primordial perturbations in the distribution of matter. These perturbations arose at the end of inflation, and gravity causes them to grow in amplitude over time. We use highly sophisticated analyses to measure the amount of structure in the universe both along individual lines of sight, and in between adjacent lines of sight, in the plane of the sky. We are simultaneously working to obtain the best physical description of the intergalactic medium, by comparing numerical simulations from the San Diego supercomputer with the best observational measurements. We have sponsored REU students for each of the last 4 years. Those from earlier years are now all in strong graduate Physics/Astronomy programs. We have developed various tools, which allow our summer students to work on projects that should lead to significant publications. In the summer of 2003 our group contained three summer students (one from REU), 4 graduate students, one staff researcher and two full professors. Two of the summer students are continuing to work with us through the year.

Professor Nguyen-Huu Xuong:

A summer REU student would be involved in a project dealing with the building of a new automatic detector for Cryo-Electron Microscopy. This is a new and exciting project that would allow the determination of 3D structure protein complex without the need to grow large crystals. A good background in electronic or computer programming is preferred.

Professor David Kleinfeld:

We are interested in sensorimotor aspects of brain function--in particular the algorithm used by animals to extract a stable picture of the world based on input through their actively moving sensors and sense organs. A variety of experimental approaches, which involve trained rats, direct electrical measurements, optical based measurements, and advanced signal analysis, are brought to bear on this issue. Other research interests include nonlinear optics and the application of nonlinear optics to cortical blood flow and neural function.

Professor Jose Onuchic:

Website address:  <http://ctbp.ucsd.edu> Prof. Onuchic’s personal research interests are:  Theoretical and computational methods for molecular biophysics and chemical reactions in condensed matter. In protein folding, we introduced the concept of protein folding funnels as a mechanism for the folding of small fast folding proteins. Convergent kinetic pathways, or folding funnels, guide folding to a unique, stable, native conformation. Energy landscape theory and the funnel concept provide the theoretical framework needed both to pose and to address the questions of protein folding mechanisms. Connections between our theoretical advances and experiments are central for the development of this new view for protein folding.  A second effort of our group focuses on the theory of chemical reactions in condensed matter with emphasis on biological electron transfer reactions. These reactions are central to the bioenergetic pathways of both animals and plants on earth, such as the early steps of photosynthesis.

Elementary Particles and Quantum Field Theory

Professor George Fuller: 

An REU student working with my group would likely be involved with our effort to understand the neutrino physics/astrophysics of the early universe and stellar collapse. For example, we are trying to understand how lepton number could be generated from neutrino oscillations in the early universe. This work is likely to be numerically intensive. C and Fortran programming skills are desirable, but not required, as these can be learned "on the job."

Professors Vivek Sharma and James Branson:

The UCSD Elementary Particle Physics group is developing a Data Acquisition system for the very high energy, high luminosity Large Hadron Collider.  We are testing systems that will enable us to build events at a data rate of up to 100 GBytes per second.  After the events are built we must reduce the rate of data to be stored to just 100 MByte per second.  To make this reduction, trigger algorithms must be developed.  This final step of the trigger will take place in a large "farm" of standard computers (about 4 TIPS).  We are looking for students interested in either the hardware development or the Higher Level Trigger event selection development.  The LHC should finally tell us about the origin of mass and the spontaneous breaking of symmetries in the vacuum.  It may also find other interesting phenomena such as supersymmetry or quantum gravity effects..

Professor Dimitri Bassov:

Our research involves infrared spectroscopy of novel materials which exhibit exotic electronic properties. One of the possible projects is devoted to the study of high-Tc superconductors using infrared methods. This includes taking measurements of the low-temperature reflectance of (Y-Pr)BaCuO microcrystals using state-of-the-art Fourier-transform interfermoeter, and analysis of the results. Another project involves construction of a set-up for grazing incidence infrared reflectometry. This apparatus will be used for the survey of the anisotropy of the electronic transport in novel superconducting and magnetic materials.

Professor Michael Fogler:

Our research is focused on a theoretical understanding of low-dimensional Electron systems and nanostructures. In particular, we study how strong Coulomb interactions, disorder, and quantum effects conspire to create highly correlated phases of matter with unusual properties. REU students are desired for assistance with two projects. One is devoted to novel electron liquid crystals that exist at low
temperatures in ultra-pure semiconductor heterostructures. Depending on student's interests, the activities may range from directed reading and website design to numerical simulations to analytical theoretical work. The other project is centered on electronic properties of carbon nanotubes. We are interested in exploring, analytically and numerically, how charge and spin degrees of freedom behave on microscopic level and how this may affect performance of miniature nanotube-based devices. Further information will soon be posted at <http://physics.ucsd.edu/~fogler/>.

Professor Frances Hellman:

The exact project will be arrived at depending on interest and expertise of the student, but will be in the general area of research on novel magnetic materials, and in particular on the effects of magnetic moments on electrical transport. A potential project is to investigate the effects of introducing magnetic moments, such as associated with the rare earth elements, into a semiconducting matrix, using different
geometries (an alloy versus a multilayer for example).  We know from previous work that the effects on both the electrical transport and the magnetic properties are very large.  The student will be involved in the preparation, characterization or measurements of these materials, using, for example, an ultra-high vacuum multi-source deposition system, various magnetometers for magnetic measurements, and/or a conductivity and magnetoresistance measurement apparatus.

Professor Brian Maple:

Our group performs experimental investigations of superconductivity, magnetism, and the interplay of these two phenomena.  We are especially interested in novel types of superconductivity that occur within, or in the vicinity of, magnetic phases and appear to be produced by magnetic interactions, in contrast to conventional superconductivity that arises from the electron phonon interaction.  In this project, single crystal specimens of copper oxide and rare earth intermetallic compounds that display novel types of superconductivity will be prepared and characterized.  Superconductivity, magnetism, and other phenomena exhibited by these materials will be studied by means of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements at low temperatures, at high pressures and in high magnetic fields.

Professor Ivan Schuller:

Our group is involved in a variety of problems in complex materials in reduced dimensionality. We are trying to bridge the gap between the three dimensional infinite solid and the atoms. This is a largely unexplored area in solid state physics, in which much of the current solid state activity concentrates. The type of phenomena explored include high and low temperature superconductivity and magnetism in a variety of configurations. This is done by using a large number of sophisticated materials preparation, state of the art vacuum and lithographic techniques, combined with sophisticated structural determination probes and a variety of physical property measurements such as magnetotransport, photoconductivity, magnetic and thermodynamic measurements in a wide range of temperature and magnetic field. Many of the above mentioned techniques are directly applicable in industrial processes. For further information please access http://ischuller.ucsd.edu.

Professor Lu Sham:

Possibly one summer student, working with a group on numerical simulation of quantum operations for quantum computation or information processing in a system of semiconductor quantum dots or on spintronics
 Web page physics.ucsd.edu/~ljssst/ljs.html

Professor John Goodkind:

We are currently engaged in the fabrication and testing of "quantum bits" that we hope, eventually, to use in a "quantum computer". Classical bits can be placed either in a 1 or 0 state and logical operations on them lead to computational results expressed as a collection of 1's and 0's for bits in the computer memory. A quantum bit can be placed in a superposition of 1 and 0 states and the output of computations would similarly be a collection of bits in superposition states. In this manner, a quantum computer is
capable of effectively performing multiple computations in parallel. Attempts to realize physical systems, in which individual quantum bits can be addressed and manipulated, are relatively new and there is considerable interest in several such systems. Ours is one of the newest and most promising systems. We are using electrons on the surface of a liquid helium film. Individual electrons will be trapped over an electrode located 0.5 micrometers below the surface of the film. The first two energy levels of the electron for motions perpendicular to the surface are the quantum states that we use. We are using the full array of nanofabrication techniques available for state of the art work. We have fabricated and have begun testing the systems required to trap the electrons, to recharge the traps at low temperatures, to detect
single electrons when they are released from the trap and to use all of this to measure the quantum states of individual electrons.


Non-Linear Dynamics

Professor Henry Abarbanel:

We conduct research into the nonlinear dynamics of  physical and biological systems including communication using chaotic transmitters and receivers. We are also investigating fundamental issues associated with classification and prediction in high dimensional systems, such as the lasers we use in communications. We also have an active effort in computational and laboratory neuroscience. We model individual and small networks of neurons, numerically and in analog circuits. We are exploring information flow in neural networks with application to the design of biological systems. Our experimental and modeling efforts work with crustaceans, cortex from  mamallian brains, and the visual system of flies. In collaboration with  other laboratories we study learning and memory in birdsong and the  dynamics of invertabrate olfaction.

Professors C. Fred Driscoll and Dan Dubin:

We are investigating the basic phenomena of vortices, turbulence, and weak viscosity in near-ideal 2-dimensional fluids, using magnetized electron plasmas as the "working fluid". An ion plasma apparatus with laser-cooling extends this work into the cryogenic high viscosity regime. See more information at http://sdphA2.ucsd.edu.  Recent experiments discovered unusual "vortex crystal" states which form when intense vortices anneal into a lattice due to interactions with a weak background of vorticity. Analytical theory and vortex-in-cell computer simulations have clarified the dynamical processes involved. Other experiments have measured the weak viscosity that arises from long-range collisions between individual electrons, for comparison to analytic theory which includes the finite size of the system.  Experimentally-oriented students will take data on an electron plasma apparatus with extensive electronics and computer-based diagnostics. Theoretically-oriented students will run (or develop new) simulations investigating the subtleties of collisional processes in sheared fluids.