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New
Release -- Superconductor Week does not edit or endorse the following
news release:
Three Students Take Top Honors in Student
Superconductivity Symposium
Houston, TX, January 23: Fostering
multidisciplinary research with projects ranging from those that impact the
communications field to improving the fabrication of integrated circuitry used
in data storage and biosensors, the 30th Semiannual Texas Center for
Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH) Student Symposium
recently showcased original research from UH science and engineering students.
Three students won top honors, including two from the College of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics and one from the Cullen College of Engineering. First
place went to Jason Shulman, a doctoral student in physics; second place went to
Barry Craver, a doctoral student in electrical engineering; and third place went
to Girish Nathan, a doctoral student in physics. Competitors gave 15-minute
research presentations, followed by a brief question-and-answer period. A
faculty panel judged each presenter on originality and quality of research,
quality of presentation and skillful use of visual aids.
“I have always been interested in science and, in particular, the fundamental
laws of nature,” first-place winner Shulman said, whose project leader is UH
Professor of Physics and T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science Paul C.W. Chu. “Physics
was a natural choice for my field of study. My research focuses on the
dielectric properties of nanosystems. We have observed several important
features that only exist in the nanoscale. These novel properties have the
potential to impact fields ranging from communications to charged carrier
gases.”
In second place, Craver, whose project leaders are Professor of Electrical
Engineering John Wolfe and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Dmitri
Litvinov, said, “I am fascinated by the complexity of fabricating integrated
circuitry at nanometer dimensions. Recently, we’ve developed atom beam
lithography, which uses a beam of energetic atoms to print nanometer-sized
features. With this new technique we will fabricate extremely small magnetic
devices for applications in data storage and ultra-high sensitivity magnetic and
biological sensors.”
Third-place winner Nathan, whose project leader is Professor and Associate
Chairman of Physics Gemunu Gunaratne, is also a physics student.
“From the time I was a child, the patterns I observed held a certain fascination
for me,” he said. “I remember wondering about how and why they were formed. A
childhood dream has been realized in a sense, since I work on pattern formation
and on trying to understand why patterns really form, which is where a lot of my
scientific curiosity began.”
TcSUH is internationally recognized for its multidisciplinary research and
development of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) and related materials.
(See related release
here.)
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