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Experimental science research has always interested Victor Fiore ’08 (Clarks Summit, Pa.). Since this summer, he has been putting his skills to the test in an advanced physics project that few undergraduates would ever have the opportunity to work on.
Fiore is collaborating with Andrew Kortyna, assistant professor of physics, to study molecular dynamics. The researchers will examine how atoms interact with each other and how they form into molecules by observing collisions between atoms that have been carefully prepared into specific and well-defined initial states. The results of such collisions yield information about inter-atomic forces that underlie all of chemistry.
Fiore is working with Kortyna through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
Because suitable apparatus are not available commercially, the researchers must design and build a custom instrument and develop individualized procedures for its use. During his time at Lafayette, Kortyna has designed and built an atomic beam apparatus, which provides the atomic collision, and a laser system, which controls the atoms’ initial states. The equipment is now functional, so the team is developing procedures for its operation.
“To prepare atoms in well defined states, we need to understand their internal structures,” explains Kortyna. “To this end, we have used our lasers to study atomic spectroscopy, or the study of the energy structure of matter. We began this spectroscopic investigation by studying atoms in a gas cell rather than in an atomic beam. We chose the gas cell because it is more straightforward to use than atomic beams and because the atomic beam apparatus was not yet finished when the lasers became available for use. This study was recently published in a peer-reviewed research journal [Physical Review A] with two of my former students as co-authors – [physics graduates] Timothy Bragdon ’04 and Nicholas Masluk ’06.”
Now that the atomic beam source is functional, the researchers must transfer the spectroscopic work from the gas cell to the atomic beam. Already, Fiore has built important electronic circuits necessary for the project, including a servo-feedback circuit that locks laser frequency to that of an atomic transition. He also has integrated the locking circuit into the laser system.
It is the practical application of physics principles that Fiore, who is pursuing B.S. degrees in physics and chemistry, found most appealing about the research.
“Andy Kortyna is an experimental physicist, so his work involves a lot more actual experimentation, while other physicists lean more toward theoretical work,” he explains. “I enjoy experimental work, so Andy is a good guy to research with.
“He’s easygoing in a way that allows me to work without being pressured, but he’s also very hard working and makes sure the job is getting done. Since I started working with him, I have learned a lot about the physics of laser spectroscopy and circuitry, as well as basic principles of experimental physics. He is able to explain complex ideas in ways that are simple and easy to understand.”
Kortyna has been working in the field of cold molecular collisions for nearly a decade and has mentored several Lafayette students in related projects. In 2003, he received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on cold collisions of highly excited atoms. He advised Bragdon’s honors thesis after conducting EXCEL research with the student to investigate detailed atom structure through spectroscopic methods. With Masluk, he studied wavelengths of atoms and took high-resolution measurements of them with a saturation absorption spectroscopy laser.
Kortyna’s previous grants include awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service, and the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. He regularly shares his research through articles published in scientific journals and conference presentations. A member of the Lafayette faculty since 2001, Kortyna holds a Ph.D. in physics from Wesleyan University and a B.S. physics from Juniata College.
In residence at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. for the fall semester, Kortyna plans to use funds from the NSF grant to purchase a laser this winter. Fiore will test the new equipment and integrate it into the rest of the apparatus. He also will collect and analyze data during the team’s spectroscopic studies.
Kortyna’s goal is to have preliminary results ready for the annual meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics being held June 2007, in Calgary. He also plans to have results ready for publication by the end of next summer.
Kortyna was impressed by Fiore’s motivation and strong background in science and mathematics. He also notes that the student’s problem solving skills improved immeasurably.
“I found that I could give him fairly vague specification, which he would develop into a solution,” explains Kortyna. “And better yet, he even started identifying problems on his own and suggesting his own solutions. In addition to developing advanced problem solving skills, Victor had a chance to work with a range of research-grade equipment that most undergraduates would never even lay eyes on. He also learned the fundamentals of electronics and has gotten a taste for instrumental design, both of which are essential laboratory skills not usually taught in the undergraduate curriculum.”
Fiore previously conducted EXCEL research with Kenneth Haug, associate professor of chemistry, on a coolant compound found in air conditioners and refrigerators. A past recipient of the Benjamin F. Barge Mathematical Prize awarded for excellence in mathematics, he is a member of College Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble, and Anime Club. He is a graduate of Abington Heights High School.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.