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Research

The Physics Faculty at Harvey Mudd College are engaged in a variety of original research activities in condensed matter physics, optics, geophysics, astronomy, general relativity, and string theory, all of which involve physics majors. Some of the research groups are individual faculty members leading a small team of undergraduates, and others are interdisciplinary efforts involving several faculty members and as many as 10 undergraduate researchers. All physics majors conduct a senior research project, or participate in a clinic research or development project, working with one or more faculty members. Many of these result in publications in peer-reviewed journals. A list of recent publications by members of the HMC physics department is available here.

                              

The change of the conductivity vs. time for the δ-doped GaAs:Si. The sample is initially in the dark then illuminated with a laser of 623 nm. After a few seconds the light is turned off. As shown a great portion of the photo-induced conductivity sustained. One of the possible mechanisms for this to happen is the presence of an energy barrier. It prevents the photo-excited electrons from returning to the original state, a charged defect.

courtesy of Chih-Yung Chen

Research Interests of the Physics Faculty

 

  • Chih-Yung Chen — Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Solid-state physics, including electromagnetic and optical properties of high-temperature superconductors and semiconductors
  • Thomas D. Donnelly — Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
    Experimental ultrafast physics and fluid dynamics
  • James C. Eckert — Ph.D., University of Southern California
    Magnetic materials and magnetic heterostructures
  • Adam Edwards — Ph.D., Stanford University
    Experimental particle physics
  • Ann Esin — Ph.D., Harvard University
    Theoretical astrophysics and observational astronomy
  • Richard C. Haskell — Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
    Biophysics and biomedical optics, including imaging of biological tissue, optical coherence microscopy/tomography, developmental biology of plants and animals
  • Theresa W. Lynn — Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
    Quantum optics and atomic physics
  • Gregory A. Lyzenga — Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
    Geophysics, including observational study of crustal deformation and earthquakes using geodetic, seismological and gravimetric methods; computer simulation of tectonic processes. Solar system astronomy.
  • Peter N. Saeta — Ph.D., Harvard University
    Nonlinear optics, condensed matter, ultrafast phenomena, solar energy conversion
  • Vatche Sahakian — Ph.D., University of Chicago
    String theory
  • Patricia D. Sparks — Ph.D., Cornell University
    Solid state physics, including study of the optical properties of metals and interfaces
  • John S. Townsend — Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
    Theoretical particle physics; quantum field theory