Student Work

Students in the Physics Department at Whittier are encouraged to participate in exciting undergraduate research projects alongside the faculty. These research projects often lead to publications in journals, or presentations at professional conferences.

For example, over the past three years four students have worked on quasar astrophysics research with Dr. Glenn Piner, and this research group has published several papers with student coauthors during this time. Two of their recent publications are " The Parsec-Scale Jets of the TeV Blazars" from the May, 2008 Astrophysical Journal, and " Relativistic Jets in the Radio Reference Frame Image Database" from the April, 2007 Astronomical Journal.

Students also work on nanoscale materials research with Dr. Serkan Zorba. Currently, they are working on how nanoparticle size and composition affect the polarization state of a laser beam. They are doing this using a Faraday rotation setup and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).

Many students also get involved in rewarding off-campus internships. Four students over the past three years have had internships at Aerospace Corporation in nearby Los Angeles, several working on atomic clock research with Dr. James Camparo. Some of their recent publications are " Spectral mode changes in an alkali rf discharge" from the Journal of Applied Physics and " Ion-wave stabilization of an inductively coupled plasma" from Applied Physics Letters.

Whittier College physics majors have also completed internships at other prestigious sites including Fermilab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.