Pacific Index

Issue date: 1/21/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephanie Haugen Associate Professor of Physics James Butler

Media Credit: Stephanie Haugen Assistant Professor of Physics Andrew Dawes

Unbeknownst to many Pacific students, the physics department is currently conducting several research projects. Assistant Professor of Physics Andrew Dawes and Associate Professor of Physics James Butler are two such researchers conducting independent tests and trials.

Dawes explains the ultimate goal of his research is to understand how light can travel over a long distance of dense Rubidium atoms and how light behaves under certain conditions.

While professor Dawes admits that practical inventions based on his project are still years in the future, "Some of the experiments we will do will use this strange behavior to manipulate beams of light in ways that may eventually lead to faster computers, and faster internet or telephone networks."

Dawes, who is in his second year at Pacific, began conducting research concerning the interactions between light and matter using lasers and Rubidium gas. Using a special trap, the Rubidium atoms are cooled to a very low temperature that slows their movement and enables you to hit them with laser beams. By shining the laser beams into the trap, the atoms are grouped densely together. Through this process, Dawes can explore how light interacts with Rubidium atoms when they are both dense and dilute.

Dawes first became interested in researching laser optics as an undergraduate student when he explored this area as a summer research project. He continued to look into this similar subject matter as a graduate student at Duke University. Dawes enjoys conducting research because "you come up with a lot of problems you need to solve."

In addition to past experience, another benefit of Dawes's research is that the project doesn't "need a whole lot of babysitting. Photons aren't alive and they don't have feelings. They don't wait for me to come back." This is beneficial for somebody with a busy schedule and dedicates several hours per week to the project.

The research process began in the summer of 2009 building the lasers and setting up the laboratory. Dawes expresses gratitude to the Pacific undergraduate students who helped the project take off; Bryson Vivas, Simone Carpenter and Jenny Novak. The three students successfully built the lasers and the many other needed items necessary to conduct the current experiments.

"I like the construction part. Building it was pretty interesting," says senior physics major Bryson Vivas.

Dawes says of his student assistants, "I was definitely impressed with everybody getting stuff done. They're really leading the charge."

Dawes believes research conducted on campus provides students a chance to "solidify what they have already learned in the classroom," as well as invaluable experience for careers after graduation. He also hopes people will notice, "we're doing good science here at Pacific."

Professor Butler shares a similar enthusiasm for discovery. Butler is currently researching the ability of certain solutions of dye to absorb different wavelengths of light. The point of his research is to find which solutions protect optical equipment from high intensity pulse laser damage.

Butler has been interested in this research for quite some time and has carried it to Pacific from his previous position at the US Naval Academy. His research is an ongoing process with new questions always forming.

"That's part of what research is," Butler explained, "following these twists and turns as you're discovering things."

Although Butler enjoys research, what he enjoys even more is passing along his knowledge and using his experience to help students learn to navigate their way around the laboratory. The students working with Butler in the lab are preparing to present their research at national conferences.

"That is my personal goal, giving the students that experience. That's what I'm most proud of, is to have my students go on and achieve their goals. Students are what make this lab run.

"Pacific has been a big help," he added. "There has been an increase in the awareness and the dedication of the faculty to this undergraduate research. The administration has been very supportive of helping the faculty get their students involved in research, and that is key."

In addition to the support the department receives from the university, they were recently awarded the Murdock Charitable Trust Grant. This large sum provides funding for equipment and for faculty and student stipends.

For those who are interested in becoming a part of such research, Butler encourages students to talk with the professors in the department of their interest as early as possible. Of the physics department, he states that most of the faculty members have research projects going on all the time.

Butler hopes this research will attract both more grants and more students and "show people that Pacific is a great institution to be at and to come from."

Although they are separate projects, both professors agree on the aspects that make their research possible. Paramount to their projects are the participating students, the laboratory spaces and the university. Hopefully, with continuing support from these major factors, the university can continue to conduct great research and share the knowledge discovered on our very own campus.

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