Stony Brook University

Department of Physics & Astronomy

The Laser Teaching Center

Mentors

Harold Metcalf

Distinquished Teaching Professor

Prof. Harold Metcalf founded the Laser Teaching Center in 1998. He has done pioneering research in laser cooling and trapping, and has led the department's AMO (atomic, molecular and optical) physics group for many years.


John Noé

Executive Director, LTC

Dr. John Noé has directed the Laser Teaching Center since its inception. He joined the Department of Physics & Astronomy in 1974 as a postdoctoral associate in the Nuclear Structure Laboratory, and was associated with the NSL for over 20 years.

Marty Cohen

Visiting Scientist, Physics & Astronomy

Dr. Marty Cohen is a retired optical physicist with many years of experience at Bell Laboratories, Quantronix (a laser company) and elsewhere. He has been an active member of both the LTC and various optics research groups in the department since 2005.

NSF-REU Fellows for Summer 2007

Daniel D'Orazio

Juniata College

Dan hails from a small college in central Pennsylvania with a highly regarded physics department, whose best known alum is Bill Phillips, the 1997 Nobel laureate. Dan is a rising junior. Like Ian and Mallory this is his first REU experience.

Mallory Fischer

Eastern Michigan University

Mallory has a strong interest in math as well as physics, and will complete her dual major next year as a super-senior. She has made several contributions to the lab already, including testing and ?? our growing collection of HeNe lasers.

Ian Goyette

University of Vermont

Ian is also a super senior, with plans to graduate December 2007. At UVM he explored other fields before encountering physics and optics.

Simons Fellows for Summer 2007

Simone Agha

Herricks High School

All of our high school students this year are entering their senior year, and have been selected for the prestigious Simons Fellowship program. Like several of our previous students Simone attends Herricks High School in New Hyde Park.

Danny Minkin

The Portledge School

Danny Minkin comes to us from a very small private school in Nassau County, Long Island. He has taken a number of on-line math and physics courses, but this will be his first hands-on experience in a physics laboratory.

Hamsa Sridhar

Kings Park High School

Hamsa Sridhar attends Kings Park High School, which not only is conveniently located on the train line that serves Stony Brook, but even provides bus service here. She has been involved with the Center since spring 2006, when she investigated multiple reflections in a decorative lamp. This summer she will be extending her award-winning work on optical tweezers.

Other Students and Participants

Thien An Nguyen

Laboratory Assistant

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Azure Hansen

Physics major, '07

Azure Hansen has been involved with the LTC as student, mentor and assistant since taking the WISE Introduction to Research class in her freshman year. The continuing focus of her research has been optical vortices, and she is spending this summer at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD, creating a vortex-based optical lattice in a BEC.

Rebekah Schiller

Optics Fellow

Rebekah Schiller is a 2005 graduate of Oglethorpe College in Atlanta, and one of several graduate Optics Fellows in our department. She has done research in the Center related to acousto-optic modulaters and polarization changes on reflection. She is currently working with Prof. Dominik Schneble on the development of his BEC laboratory.

Matthew Wahl

Northport High School, '07, Simons Fellow

Matt Wahl has been interested in astronomy for most of his life. Last school year he commuted weekly to NYC for an astronomy course at AMNH, and frequently attended Stony Brook colloquia and lectures. His summer project involves modeling the curvature of space-time with a mix of liquids of varying index of refraction.

Maaneli Derakhshani

Physics and Philosophy major, '07

Maaneli Derakhshani has been involved with the Center since spring 2005. He has very diverse interests ranging from the foundations of quantum mechanics to single bubble sonoluminescence, which he investigated here last summer as an NSF-REU fellow.


This page describes our group as of June 2007. For past participants and projects please visit our Student Projects page.