Melis A. '08 | October 13, 2005
"Vivek Venkatachalam- Constructing a Very Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope"
Researchers in the Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Lab at MIT's Center for Materials Science have completed constructing a scanning tunneling microscope that operates at very low temperatures and in an ultrahigh vacuum. The microscope will now be used to image the surface of high-temperature superconductors in an attempt to understand how they work. Vivek Venkatachalam, a Senior in Physics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has worked on this project for two and a half years under the guidance of Dr. Eric Hudson.
Scanning tunneling microscopes image objects that are at the nanoscale and consequently they are very sensitive and must be mounted on vibration-free platforms. Vivek says that his most memorable experience was putting together a very high-powered sound system to test the acoustic properties of their vibration isolation system. During down time, he was able to use this super stereo to listen to music.
Vivek found this UROP by emailing Professor Hudson and expressing his interest in his research. They met and before he knew it, Vivek had a job. Vivek had had a UROP before, when he worked with Prof. Kate Scholberg, now at Duke, doing particle-physics simulations. As part of the project, he had the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks in a Japanese mining village working on the detector that they were using.
Vivek's advice to people looking for UROPs is to make sure to look for UROPs that you will enjoy. He says, "Remember that you're under no obligation to work in any particular group, so if you're not having a good time, it's time to look elsewhere." Outside of the lab, Vivek enjoys playing on the Ultimate Frisbee team and participating in activities through the Society of Physics Students.
(The picture is of a snow crystal, taken in a low-temperature scanning electron microscope. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a8/LT-SEM_snow_crystal_magnification_series-3.jpg
/150px-LT-SEM_snow_crystal_magnification_series-3.jpg)
|
The author has filed this entry in the "Undergraduate Research Opportunities" section; check it out for further reading on this topic. |
Responses To This Entry:
(Please note that comments are closed after 30 days to reduce spam.)
cool pic.
Posted by: Ajymurat on October 13, 2005 01:16 AM
surely urop is one of the best things at MIT.
Posted by: vivek on October 14, 2005 08:59 AM
congratulations that the only coment i can pass to you. my name is also vivek ,what a co incidence.
Posted by: vivek kumar mishra on October 20, 2005 10:44 AM
good
Posted by: ram on October 22, 2005 04:32 AM
the pic looks more like a heritage structure.. the tunnelling microscope is reeaally super cool
Posted by: priyanka on October 22, 2005 10:03 AM
i like the snowflakes a lot! the pictures are awesome!
Posted by: melodi on October 30, 2005 07:54 PM
