The United States Department of Education has given a three-year training grant award to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Physics under the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, or GAANN, program.
The GAANN program will support five Ph.D. students with an annual competitive stipend up to $37,000, along with an additional yearly educational allowance to cover graduate tuition and other costs. Yogesh Vohra, Ph.D., associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the project director for the program and hopes graduates will fulfill the national need for the United States workforce in quantum information sciences.
Read the full story as originally posted on UAB News website.
Congratulations to Amaya Caudel and Maren Kagin, two of our Research Experences for Undergraduates (REU) place 1st and 2nd in their respective categories.
Amaya Caudel, 1st Place Winner in the Online Expo Category: Physical and Applied Sciences REU Mentor: Dr. Fei Xue Amaya current attends Austin Peay State University Major: Physics
Maren Kagin, 2nd Place Winner In-person Expo Category: Physical and Applied Sciences REU Mentor: Dr. Aaron Catledge Maren Current attends Coe College Major: Physics
On Saturday, June 22, 2024, we had the pleasure of hosting the International Space Weather Camp (ISWC) group consisting of students from the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) as well as international students from South Africa and Germany along with six advisors. Dr. Keyvan Ghanbari, ISWC Camp Director and Laura Provenzani, NSF EPSCoR – FTPP Education, Outreach and Diversity Coordinator served as the organizers of the tour as part of the NSF EPSCoR Future Technologies Enabling Plasma Process (FTPP).
Their first stop was a visit to the MakerSpace/3D printer lab. Dr. Vohra gave a presentation on CVD Diamond Research. Afterwards the group of 30 were divided into 2 groups and were given tours of the CVD Diamond Growth Facility led by Dr. Paul Baker and the Materials Characterization lab (XRD on Diamond Coating on Silicone) led by Dr. Kallol Chakrabarty. The entire visit took place in the new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), South Science Hall (Hall).
Since Graduate Assistant Greeshma Jose was working in Dr. Wenli Bi’s lab that day, she graciously accepted a Dr. Vohra’s request to give a guided tour of Dr. Bi’s lab. The group was engaging throughout their visit and generated great questions for the tour guides.
According to Laura Provenzani, who organized the tour, the group was staying in Birmingham an extra day to take a break from their travel schedule and take the opportunity to explore the Magic City. We’re so glad that they chose to include us.
We have some milestones to announce for our 2023 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Alumni. The following 2023 REUs received their undergraduate degrees this year. We know that they will be moving on to bigger and better things and we hope that we had some influence over their future in research as well as career choices.
Oscar Allen graduated May 2024 from Middle Tennesee State University with a B.S. in Physics. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Pengfei Wang
Taylor Brown graduated May 2024 from Savannah State University with a B.S. in Forensic Science. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Eugenia Kharlampieva
Sophia Cornelius graduated from University of North Alabama with a degree in Engineering. She is currently a Masters candidate in Applied Manufacturing at University of North Alabama. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Anna Sorace.
Isaac Mendez graduated April 2024 from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Physics. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Wenli Bi
Jadyn Parker graduated April 2024 with a B.S. Engineering Design. She is currently M.S. student in Mechanical & Materials Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is supported by the DOE Center for Additively Manufactured Complex Systems Under Extremes (CAMCSE). In addition, Jadyn is currently employed as Material Design R&D Engineer at TruSpin Nanomaterial Innovation which is housed at the Innovation Depot. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Haibin Ning
Wesley Sutton graduated May 2024 with a B.S. in Physics from Georgia College and State University. He began Graduate School at Notre Dame, June 2024. UAB REU Mentor, Dr. Yogesh K. Vohra, REU Program Director
Congratulations again to our REU Class of 2023 and graduating class of 2024. We wish you much success.
Lea Hebert participated in our 2023 Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates at UAB. She placed second in the Undergraduate Oral Presentation: Nanoscience or Material Science Pollution/Toxic Substances/Waste category at the Emerging Researchers Nation Conference (ERN). This was Lea’s first time giving an oral presentation since coming to the U.S. She says it was a very exciting experience for her. We look forward to Lea making more presentations and doing great things.
Lea’s participation in the 2023 REU program was provided by the National Science Foundation (Grant#-2148653 – Future Technologies and Enabling Plasma Process (FTPP). Her REU mentors were Dr. Thomas Vinoy, Associate Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering and Renjith Pillai, Graduate Assistant, Mechanical & Materials Engineering.
University of Alabama at Birmingham’s 2023 NSF Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program allowed me the opportunity to grow my research skills and interpersonal connections. Over the ten weeks, I worked closely with Dr. Yogesh Vohra and Matthew Clay under the Department of Physics. During this time, I learned a great deal about condensed matter research and the common techniques used in modern research. I then applied what I learned in several ways throughout the summer, including analyzing X-Ray Diffraction data taken at the Argonne National Laboratory and taking Neutron Diffraction data at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
After the summer concluded, I expressed interest to Dr. Vohra and Matthew in presenting our results at a national conference, which led me to the APS March 2024 conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I participated in a poster expo. During the expo, I had the opportunity to talk about our work with other undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, and career professionals. Attendees possessed a range of understanding in condensed matter research, giving me the opportunity to practice presenting the research to a diverse audience.
In addition to presenting my own work, I also had the opportunity to hear about other ongoing projects and to discuss modern problems in physics. One of the most memorable discussions I participated in was “Addressing Misinformation about Science: Moving from Correction to Connection,” where I discussed strategies in communicating about misinformation with both people working inside and outside of science fields. One unique project I had the opportunity to hear about and which I would be interested in pursuing in the future was research being conducted on clouds and hazes and molecules in exoplanet atmospheres with a focus of applications to understanding the development of our own atmosphere.
In the past few months, I’ve learned about my own interests and strengths and have grown my research and interpersonal skills thanks to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Summer REU. I can’t wait to see how these experiences will change and impact my future in physics.
UAB is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution dedicated to providing equal opportunities and equal access to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, sex (including pregnancy), genetic information, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and veteran’s status. As required by Title IX, UAB prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to UAB’s Assistant Vice President and Senior Title IX Coordinator. The Title IX notice of nondiscrimination is located at uab.edu/titleix.
