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News Release - February 4, 2010Physicists awarded grants to study magnetosphere, collider
Yue Deng and Amir Farbin, assistant professors of physics in the College of Science, have received early career grants from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, respectively.
Dr. Deng's five-year, $462,000 grant is for her study of energy output from the magnetosphere—space around the earth controlled by the earth's magnetic field—and its impact on the earth's upper atmosphere.
"It is vital to understand the variability within this critical region of our atmosphere so that scientists can predict its effects on satellite tracking and power grids," she says.
Dr. Farbin's award is one of only three granted to university researchers working with the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. "One of the biggest mysteries about the universe is that, for decades, conclusive evidence has shown that the familiar matter constitutes just a tiny fraction of all energy/mass in existence," he says.
A total of 69 scientists in the United States received the five-year grants, which provide at least $150,000 each year in research support.
Read more about Deng's and Farbin's awards and research.
Physicist collaborates
on radiation detection project
Wei Chen, assistant professor of physics, is a collaborator with Agilitron Inc. researchers on a $750,000 grant from the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Agency for research on bulk composite materials for detection of gamma radiation.
A subcontract of $200,264 was awarded to the University's nano-bio physics group for the design and synthesis of scintillation nanoparticles for radiation detection.
The detection principle is based on the luminescence of the nanoparticles and quantum dots when they interact with radiation rays such as gamma-rays. These nanocomposite materials are more sensitive, more stable and even cheaper than traditional scintillation crystals for radiation detection.
The research relates to homeland security and the need to detect nuclear weapons and radiological dispersal devices, known as dirty bombs.