SPS Zone 2 Meeting
Meeting date: Saturday, April 20, 2024
Location: Rochester, NY
Host: Society of Physics Students
Reported by: Lysa Wade, University of Rochester Chapter
SPS Zone 2 Meeting
Rochester Symposium for Physics (Astronomy and Optics) Students (RSPS) 2024 Report
On the morning of Saturday, April 20th, 2024 the Forty-Second Rochester Symposium for Physics (Astronomy and Optics) Students (RSPS), which also served as a Northeast Regional Zone 2 Meeting for the National Society of Physics Students, was held at the University of Rochester. Eighty-nine registrants consisting of presenters, advisors, non-presenters, and guests, from Colgate University, Columbia University, Concordia University, CUNY Queens College, Houghton College, Manhattan College, New York Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Roberts Wesleyan College, Siena College, St. John Fisher University, St. John’s University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Brockport, and University of Rochester. All eighty-nine attendees enjoyed the conference luncheon served in the Hawkins-Carlson Room of Rush Rhees library, followed by a presentation about Physics Graduate School provided by Professor Segev BenZvi. The group then enjoyed playing physics jeopardy with prize incentives. Professor Kelly Douglass, gave the welcome talk to begin the conference. Conference guests received a breakfast, mid-morning refreshment break during the poster session and refreshments again at the time of departure.
Founded in 1981 the RSPS symposia has endured and strengthened to become a conference that undergraduate students, faculty, visitors, and guests look forward to each Spring that joins northeastern regional institutes in the field of physics and related fields of science. As of 2006, the RSPS research conference began a new tradition with Houghton College, of hosting the symposium at other northeastern regional colleges every third year. The RSPS was another great success held at West Point, 2009 and Siena College, 2012 and at SUNY Oswego in 2015 and at SUNY Brockport in 2018. As of 2007, the RSPS conference registration is available online.
The Symposium is a one-day meeting at which undergraduate students give fifteen-minute papers and/or poster session on research projects, library study projects, independent laboratory work, senior thesis, or summer projects, in fields of physics, astronomy, optics, and other related fields. The abstracts that have been submitted by students have covered the subject matter quite diversely, such as condensed matter, astronomy, nuclear physics, environmental, medical and biological physics, particle physics, quantum optics, instrumentation and techniques, and educational physics. The RSPS research conferences are less formal than American Physical Society Meetings, however, the format is the same.
The 2024 conference options for supporters and colleagues to attend offered a diversification in levels of knowledge and wide range with 18 presentations and 13 posters for the poster session in the fields of all related fields of physics. The symposium consisted of three separate parallel sessions (Session I, III and IV) and a poster session (Session II). One can see from the list below the various fields of physics, astronomy and optics applied from the presentations given by the undergraduates who participated in the symposium.
The conference continues to make modifications to improve efforts and support giving undergraduates opportunities to work with their advisors and present their work in the fields of physics, astronomy and optics, while maintaining the origination of being one of the best Regional Zone 2 conferences offered annually.
SPS ZONE 2 REGIONAL MEETING PROGRAM
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM: REGISTRATION AND POSTER SETUP (B&L LOBBY)
8:30 AM: WELCOME: KELLY DOUGLASS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER (B&L 109)
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: SESSION IA. NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS (B&L 109) SESSION CHAIR: PROF. MARK YULY, HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY
9:00 AM |
Design and Simulation of Strong-focusing Pole Tips for the Houghton University Cyclotron Andrew Hotchkiss, Houghton University |
9:15 AM |
A Parity Violation Transmission Experiment for Undergraduate Laboratories Levi Kennel, Houghton University |
9:30 AM |
The Effects of Radiation Escape on Accuracy and Precision in Isotopic Composition Determination of Uranium and Plutonium Samples with Decay Energy Spectroscopy Timothy Ockrin, Houghton University |
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: SESSION IB. ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS (B&L 106) SESSION CHAIR: PROF. SHETH NYIBULE, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
9:00 AM |
Simulation-Based Optimization of IceCube-Gen2 Modules for Enhanced Sensitivity to Neutrinos from Galactic Core- Collapse Supernovae Waly M Z Karim, University of Rochester |
9:15 AM |
SGA Galaxy Morphology Classifier Julia Largett, University of Rochester |
9:30 AM |
Searching for Strong Gravitational Lenses in DESI Spectra Delaney Cummins, University of Rochester |
10:00AM – 11:00 AM: SESSION II. POSTER SESSION (B&L LOBBY)
Development of Using Solar Renewable Energy in our Daily Lives Adam Choudhry, St. John’s University |
Machine learning enhanced Quantum light detection Nalin Cooper-Sherrow, SUNY Buffalo |
Analyzing Cryogenic Implosion Data Rafael de Farias, University of Rochester |
A Temperature Control Stage for the Deposition of Thin Metal Films Owen Fall, Houghton University Social Outreach through Adelphi University’s Physics Department Kylie Goldade, Adelphi University Identifying Massive Quiescent Galaxies with COSMOS-Web: The JWST Cosmic Origins Survey Mimi Harrison, Rochester Institute of Technology Validating Mass-Loss Measurements in Newly Forming Young Stars Prince Aziz Hunt, SUNY Fredonia Persistence of Correlations in Neurotransmitter Transport Through the Synaptic Cleft Masroor Khonkhodzhaev, CUNY Queens College Investigating Radiative Levitation in White Dwarf Stars by Large-Scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations Annie Maloney, University of Rochester Using Social Network Analysis to Understand Community Within an Introductory Physics Course Jessica Nagasako, University of Rochester Decomposing MaNGA Galactic Rotation Curves to Model Dark Matter Halos Lara Stroud, University of Rochester Measurement of Water Diffusion Coefficient in Cross-Linked Gelatins Using the Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy Technique Declan Walden, University of Rochester Sequence heuristics to program nucleic acid phase separation Corey Young, SUNY Buffalo |
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: SESSION IIIA. NUCLEAR & PARTICLE PHYSICS (B&L 109) SESSION CHAIR: PROF. KATRINA KOEHLER, HOUGHTON UNIVERSITY
11:00 AM |
Target Normal Sheath Acceleration as a Technique for Measuring Nuclear Cross-Sections Andrew Martin, Houghton University |
11:15 AM |
Error-resilient quantum simulations with pulse-based techniques in the Schwinger model Tom McEntire, University at Buffalo |
11:30 AM |
Refining Straw Detector Capabilities for DUNE Experiment Shab Sharhan, Manhattan College |
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: SESSION IIIB. ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS (B&L 106) SESSION CHAIR: PROF. KA-WAH WONG, SUNY BROCKPORT
11:00 AM |
X-ray Observation of the Gamma-Ray Emitting Radio Galaxy: NGC 315 Allison Blum, SUNY Brockport |
11:15 AM |
Scalar Field Limits for a Dark Big Bang Richard Casey, Colgate University |
11:30 AM |
Pion Lagrangian for large-scale-structure in cosmology Bhavya Mishra, Manhattan College |
12:00 PM – 1:45 PM: LUNCH & PHYSICS GRADUATE SCHOOL TALK/PHYSICS JEOPARDY PROF. SEGEV BENZVI (RUSH RHEES LIBRARY – HAWKINS-CARLSON ROOM)
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM: SESSION IVA. INSTRUMENTAL / EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES (B&L 109) SESSION CHAIR: PROF. KRISTEN REPA, SUNY BROCKPORT
2:00 PM |
Studying the Properties of Niobium Oxide Sean Lannon, SUNY Brockport |
2:15 PM |
Deposition System for Thin Lithium Nuclear Targets Chunsun Lei, Houghton University |
2:30 PM |
Crystallization and Resistivity of Niobium Oxide Samples Emma Sargent, SUNY Brockport |
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM: SESSION IVB. CONDENSED MATTER / NUCLEAR PHYSICS / INSTRUMENTATION / EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES (B&L 106)
SESSION CHAIR: PROF. BEN OVRYN, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
2:00 PM |
Phase Measuring Laser Feedback Interferometry with PID Control Avery Gilson, New York Institute of Technology |
2:15 PM |
Parameterizations of electron scattering form factors for elastic scattering and electron-excitation of nuclear states for 27 Al Amii Matamoros Delgado, University of Rochester |
2:30 PM |
Targeted Enhancement of Second Harmonic Generation in Layered Transition Metal Dichalcogenides using Structured Light Alex Mavian, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |