Research Activities in the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy

Faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy are engaged in a wide variety of research projects. Programs within the department that involve undergraduate student researchers include:

• Applied Physics

• Astrophysics and Astronomy

• Biophysics

• Physics Education Research

All students who major in Physics are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this unique research opportunity which may take the form of a specific project with credit given in a course such as PHYS 399-Research Problems in Physics or may involve the student as a paid undergraduate research assistant. Quite often this work will lead to an opportunity for the student to make a formal presentation at a local, state or national scientific conference. This practical research experience often proves extremely beneficial to the student when seeking employment or admission to graduate programs.

 
Sarah McMurray at the Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates. Tim Morgan at the Posters-at-the-Capitol in Frankfort.

Applied Physics

The Applied Physics Institute is a multidisciplinary center performing research and development projects in the areas of nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, material science, electronics, wireless data communication, and homeland security.

The Applied Physics Institute employs all areas of physics in its projects. The Institute has developed devices utilizing atomic and nuclear techniques for bulk and trace detection, quantification and tracking of chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. The Institute performs research in non-desctructive measurements of the elemental content in bulk compounds using neutrons, ion beam analysis and modification of materials using particle accelerators, and X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Fluorescence studies of materials. Various projects include the wireless sensor networks, on-line analysis of coal, the detection of hidden drugs, chemical agents and explosives, nuclear waste assay, etc.

The Institute has about 15,000 sq. ft of laboratory and office space at the WKU Center for Research and Development. In addition, a 10,000 sq ft outdoor facility is available which is licensed for most of radioactive materials and radiation-producing machines.

The Applied Physics Institute is supported by the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the National Drug Control Policy, and the National Science Foundation. The Institute is a member of the University's Program of Distinction. A number of industrial partners are licensing and producing technology developed by the Institute.

Students are actively involved in these projects and are financially supported by the grants while gaining useful experience in both a research and industrial environment. We are extremely proud of the involvement of our undergraduate students in research, and their commitment to their discipline.

For additional information contact Dr. Phil Womble , Dr. Alex Barzilov , Dr. Doug Harper, Dr. Ivan Novikov or visit the Applied Physics Institute web site at http://www.wku.edu/API/.

Students and professors at the Applied Physics Institute.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

The department operates the Bell Astrophysical Observatory, located in a dark sky site 11 miles southwest of campus. The observatory contains a fully automated 24" research-grade telescope and state of the art CCD camera. This facility is used by faculty and students studying the brightness variations in quasars, searching for transits of extra-solar planets, and morphological studies of extended regions in the Milky Way and other galaxies. In addition, faculty and students make use of ground-based telescopes in Arizona and Hawaii, as well as observatories in Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. The Institute for Astrophysics and Space Science is also a member of the University's Program of Distinction.

Under the sponsorship of a grant from the NASA National Space Grant and College Fellowship Program, faculty in the department direct the statewide operations of the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium, supporting space-related research, scholarships and fellowships, education, and public awareness in Kentucky through the 12 member institutions. These departmental faculty members are also the project directors for the statewide Kentucky NASA EPSCoR Program, supported by a NASA grant to develop a strong space-related research effort in Kentucky. For information about these opportunities contact Dr. Karen Hackney.

For additional information contact any of the astrophysics faculty members (Dr. Mike Carini, Dr. Richard Gelderman, Dr. Karen Hackney, Dr. Charles McGruder, Dr. Roger Scott, Dr. Louis-Gregory Strolger) or visit the STARBASE web site at http://starbase.wku.edu. 

Biophysics

The main emphasis of Dr. van der Meer's research is Resonance Energy Transfer, also called Fluorescence (with) Resonance Energy Transfer. This is a spectroscopic technique to measure distances in the 10 to 100 Angstrom range (1 - 10 nanometer). It is widely used in Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry.

George Coker III who graduated in 1994 participated in the publication of the book, "Resonance Energy Transfer. Theory and Data", Wiley-VCH. This book came out in 1994, and the authors were B.W. van der Meer, G. Coker III, and S.-Y. Chen. George did an extensive literature search for the book. He basically wrote Chapter 7, which is full of tables containing relevant data from the literature.

Students who are interested in theoretical work will have opportunities to do simulations and calculations about the so-called kappa-squared, which is an orientation factor (see the recent publication: "Kappa-squared. From nuisance to new sense." by dr. van der Meer, Reviews in Molecular Biotechnology 82(2002)181-196.

Physics Education Research

Physics teaches problem-solving and fundamental understanding of the world around us. This skill and knowledge is increasingly important in our technological society, but many students find physics quite difficult. Physics Education Research seeks to uncover the root of these difficulties and to develop effective teaching methods that enable all students to develop a better understanding of the most basic of sciences. At Western Kentucky University the active areas of work are: using technology to support effective teaching practices, using the world-wide web and Java for homework and other applications, and teaching good problem-solving methods. Facilities include a state-of-the-art active learning classroom equipped with networked laptop computers and projection system, and a web server with several different web-homework systems. Projects that students can be involved in range from interviews and classroom observations to advanced web programming. For more information, please see Dr. Scott Bonham.