REU Site: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

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NON-TECHNICAL PART: This REU Site (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) will bring ten undergraduates to the University of Florida for each summer 2015-2017 to conduct research under the guidance of a faculty mentor and other research group members. At least half of the students will come from institutions with limited research opportunities, and students from underrepresented groups will be actively recruited to the program. Students will also participate in professional development activities such as seminars on current areas of research and applying to graduate school, workshops on public speaking and scientific writing, and laboratory tours. Participants will be housed in shared apartments adjacent to campus to create a cohort experience. For many students in the program this will be their first exposure to research. The program is designed to encourage them to continue on to careers in science, technology, and engineering. TECHNICAL PART: The research projects cover a broad cross-section of condensed matter and materials physics such as growth of new materials in the search for new superconductors, fabrication of transistors which utilize carbon nanotube films for one electrode, use of optical pumping to enhance nuclear magnetic resonance in semiconductors, simulation of realistic materials using molecular dynamics or density functional theory, and simulation of model systems such as those that undergo quantum phase transitions. The REU students will have access to many shared facilities such as the University of Florida Nanoscale Research Facility and High Performance Computing Center, and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in both Gainesville and Tallahassee. Many of the REU participants are expected to present their results at scientific meetings and to be coauthors on papers.