UC Means Research for Physics Transfer Student

Two years ago, senior physics transfer Jessica Morrison was looking for ways to participate in particle physics research. She found those opportunities in the

Department of Physics

in the

McMicken College of Arts and Sciences

. “Coming from a smaller university to a larger one, there are a lot more opportunities for research because there are a lot more professors doing research,” Morrison says.

Besides her regular course load and lab work

, Morrison has taken advantage of several research programs. She traveled to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), taking part in a 10-week program where she researched optimal methods for fabricating nanowires. During her time at the University of Cincinnati, she also took part in

Women in Science and Engineering

(WISE) program, where she studied particle physics with Physics Professor Alan Schwartz last summer. Her WISE experience led her to continue doing research with Schwartz even after the 12-week program ended.

At MIT Morrison had the opportunity to work in a cleanroom, which is a room entirely free from dust. To keep her from bringing in any dust she had to don a special suit—nicknamed a bunny suit—that covered her clothes and head and included boots and goggles. She also had to walk over a sticky mat to remove any dust from her boots.

After entering the cleanroom, Morrison researched methods for fabricating nanowires that would become part of a specialized photon detector.  Fabricating these wires means coating layers of material and etching a pattern through chemicals that removed the coating in the required pattern. According to Morrison, “The detectors were based on wires that were on the order of 10 nanometers wide. In order to make these wires 10 nanometers we had to optimize the fabrication, otherwise you could damage the wire.”

Along with the nanowire fabrication research, Morrison also did some side research. “I did some stuff on my own trying to figure out the mechanism by which the patterns were etched—the chemical reactions that pulled the material off.”

Her research for the WISE program was in the mind-bending field of particle physics, something she has been interested in since high school. She was hooked on science after reading books by Brian Greene on quantum physics and watching NOVA specials on the subject. She jumped at the chance to work with Schwartz testing a prototype particle detector which will be used in part to answer a question that has stumped particle physicists.

Morrison explains, “We’re testing a prototype that will be used by a lab in Japan in part to test CP violation—the discrepancy between matter and anti-matter. In our current universe we see more matter than anti-matter, so after the big bang, or the beginning of the universe, why didn’t matter and anti-matter annihilate each other?  Because that’s what happens when they come in contact with each other.”

In order to research CP violation one must first know what particle is being studied. Morrison’s role in the research was determining the identity of the particle. To do so she measured the speed of the particle by comparing it to the speed of light. Once the speed is determined, researchers can figure out the particle’s momentum and mass. The mass of each particle is different, so that’s how the particle is pinpointed.

While research is Morrison’s primary interest, she also works as a tutor at the Physics Learning Center. She still teaches a lab while finishing her coursework to graduate in June, and she continues to work with Schwartz testing the particle detector. Even with this heavy workload, Morrison keeps an eye to the future as she decides where to go for her graduate studies to continue her research.

Her frenetic schedule might seem overwhelming, but she says she balances the stress by taking a yoga class. “And,” she says, “I really couldn’t have done any of this without the physics department. They have been willing to help no matter what happens—so many professors willing to go out of their way. It’s completely shaped what I’m doing.”