Student/Faculty Research

Students who major or plan on majoring within the Department of Physics and Engineering are encouraged to explore research opportunities.  Listed below are the various research labs led by our department faculty as well as recent projects involving students.  Research opportunities exist both during the academic year and over the summer.  Students who have an interest to work in one of these research labs are encouraged to contact the professor directly.

Fluid Diagnostics Lab - Professor Joel Kuehner

Research examines the turbulent mixing mechanics of supersonic flow and free convective heat transfer by applying laser diagnostic techniques. Student projects center on acquiring flow properties such as temperature or velocity using laser-based methods that do not disturb the flow. Students gain experience in developing the laser-based diagnostic methods and in analyzing and interpreting the property measurements to determine how the flow behaves. Practical flow fields under investigation are a supersonic free jet, a model for high-speed propulsion systems, and a heated horizontal cylinder in a water tank, representing the most common heating or cooling element in practical designs from appliances to nuclear fuel storage.

Joel P. Kuehner
Professor of Physics and Engineering, Department Chair
540.458.8153
kuehnerj@wlu.edu

Laser Dynamics Lab - Professor David Sukow

Students conduct experiments involving laser dynamics and applications. Areas of interest include nonlinear dynamics and chaos in semiconductor lasers, high-speed random bit generation, and optical square waves. Students work with optical hardware and laser devices, high-speed photodetectors, digitizing oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and GPIB interfaces for data capture and analysis.

David W. Sukow
Robert Lee Telford Professor of Physics and Engineering
540.458.8881
sukowd@wlu.edu

Complex Systems Lab - Professor Irina Mazilu

Students work on mathematical and computational modeling of real-life systems using the methods of statistical physics. Areas of interest include: self-assembly of nanoparticles, drug encapsulation models in nanomedicine, network analysis and game theory problems applied to social systems.

Irina Mazilu
Professor of Physics
540.458.8171
mazilui@wlu.edu

Neural Engineering Lab - Professor Jon Erickson

Bioelectronics Lab: Students develop electronics hardware and software algorithms to measure and analyze dynamic patterns of electrical activity in the gastrointestinal tract that coordinate muscular contractions. Students also develop techniques for guiding hybrid insect robots.

Jonathan Erickson
Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering
540.458.8293
ericksonj@wlu.edu

Nanoscience Lab - Professor Dan Mazilu

Students conduct experiments involving nanoparticle self-assembly and their application in antireflection coatings and other multi-layer thin films. Students gain hands-on experience with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. 

Dan Mazilu
Professor of Physics
540.458.8172
mazilud@wlu.edu