Research
Honors
The Honors Program at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ offers Seniors of proven ability the opportunity to pursue a year-long study of special interest under the personal guidance of a faculty member who serves as the Honors Project Advisor. While Honors students usually choose a topic in their major, they may select another academic area or even a combination of areas. Honors study is invaluable preparation for graduate school; the experience has also proven to useful to students entering the professional world. Honors students should devote at least one-fourth of their academic activity to their projects.
Past Honors Projects in Physics / Earth Science
| Year | Student | Project Title | Advisor(s) |
| 2020 | Gavin Kemery | Photometric Analysis of Variable Star Systems | Ruth Malenda |
| 2019 | Matthew Conners | Investigating the Mechanical Quantities of an Inelastic Collision | Ruth Malenda / Kelly Krieble |
| 2019 | Bryan Harvey | Fragment Alignment Analysis in Simulated Nuclear Collisions | Kelly Krieble |
| 2019 | Vaughn Tempesta | Physics: Fear of a Queer Universe | Ruth Malenda / Robert LaRue |
| 2018 | Rachel Myers | Exploration of Potential Energy Functions of the 4³П₀ Electronic State of NaCs | Ruth Malenda / Shannon Talbott |
| 2010 | Matt Bross | Flow Profile of the Radial Hydraulic Jump | Kelly Krieble |
| 2010 | Ben Sofka | Segregation of Granular Materials in a Viscous Medium | Kelly Krieble |
| 2009 | Andrew Abraham | The Crystallite Size Distribution in 2-D Beds of Randomly Close-Packed, Binary Beads | Kelly Krieble, Yong W. Kim |
| 2009 | Deanne Dvorak | Mössbauer Spectroscopy Investigation of Ge Substituted Cobalt Ferrite | Kelly Krieble |
| 2008 | Ryan Cress | The Effect of Particle Mass on the Dynamics of Avalanches on Three-Dimensional Granular Piles | Kelly Krieble |
| 2007 | Matthew Devlin | A Study of Ga Substituted Cobalt Ferrite Using Mössbauer Spectroscopy | Kelly Krieble |
| 2006 | Casey J. Hoffman | An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Physical Parameters on the Circular Hydraulic Jump | Kelly Krieble |
| 2005 | Aditya Khanna | Exploring the Nature of Environmental Feedback in Daisyworld | Kelly Krieble (physics) and Gordon Williams (math) |
| 2004 | Anthony G. Costantino | Foy, Peter, Dana: An Acoustical Study | Joseph Powlette |
| 2003 | Aaron W. Buckner | An Experimental Investigation into the Effect of a Rotational Non-Inertial Reference Frame on the Position of the Hydraulic Jump in a Radial Flow | Kelly Krieble |
| 2003 | John F. Lesoine | A Rotational Study of Exchange Bias and Coercivity in FeMn/Co Thin Films | Joseph Powlette |
| 2003 | Steven J. Sweeney | An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of the Magneto Optical Kerr Effect in Thin Film Investigations | Joseph Powlette, Kelly Krieble |
| 2001 | Lauren Chaykin | Investigation of the Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect in Thin Multi-Layered Magnetic Films | Joseph Powlette |
| 2001 | Laurie Sibbach | Experimental Studies in the NaK Triplet States | John Huennekens |
| 2000 | David R. Hart | An Experimental Study of Quench Rates of Amorphous Materials Using Mössbauer Spectroscopy | Kelly Krieble |
| 2000 | Chad N. Weiler | Investigation of Multi-Layered Ferromagnetic Thin Films Using Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect | Joseph Powlette, A. Reilly |
| 1999 | Megan R. Leahy | An Experimental Study of the Spontaneous Amplification of Light in the Photorefractive Polymer PVK:TNF:ECZ:DMNPAPBE | David McGee |
| 1995 | Thea Elizabeth Dravecz | CCD Imaging of Selected Reference and Double Stars | Joe Gerencher |
| 1989 | Matthew John Burnard | Monte Carlo Simulation of Electron Transport in a Helium Gas | Y. Kim |
| 1988 | Ignacio Mosqueira | Computer Simulation for Shock Formation in a Free Expansion Flow | Y. Kim |
| 1988 | Michael Thomas Witkowski | A Study of Resonant Responses in a Nonlinear Oscillator | Jack Ridge |
| 1986 | Kelly Kreible | Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Amorphous Materials as a Function of Temperature near Their Curie Temperature | Joseph Powlette |
| 1985 | Harris Hoke | An Investigation of the Ferromagnetic and Paramagnetic Mossbauer Spectra of Fe32Ni36Cr14P12B6 | Joseph Powlette |
| 1982 | Joseph P. Lynn | A Study of Crystallization of Amorphous Iron Bearing Alloys by X-ray Diffraction | Joseph Powlette |
| 1982 | Christopher A. Shuman | A Multivariate Statistical Analysis of the Interrelationships Between Selected Physical and Chemical Variables of Coals Sampled from a Five County Region of Western Pennsylvania | Joe Gerencher |
| 1980 | John E. Snyder | The Mössbauer Effect of an Amorphous Iron-Containing Material near the Curie Temperature | Joseph Powlette |
| 1977 | E. Thomas Moyer | Use of an Electron Conversion Detector for Mössbauer Corrosion Studies | Joseph Powlette |
| 1977 | Frederick S. Patt | The Motion of Charged Particles in Selected Electromagnetic Fields | Jack Ridge |
| 1971 | Robert Paul Flicker | Determination of the Neel Temperature of Antiferromagnetic FeF3 Using Mössbauer Spectroscopy | Joseph Powlette |
| 1969 | Larry Frederick Sine | Experimental Study of Mössbauer Source Preparation | Joseph Powlette |
| 1968 | Robert J. Semper | The Mössbauer Effect: An Experimental Study of the Hyperfine Structure in Fe57 | Joseph Powlette |
| 1963 | H. Joseph Trodahl | A Study of the Variation of the Hall Effect with Magnetic Field in a Single Crystal Germanium Sample | Jack Ridge |
| 1960 | Joseph L. Powlette | A Study of Thermocouples | Jack Ridge |
SOAR
SOAR (Student Opportunities for Academic Research) is a Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ program which provides stipends, travel allowances, and research expenses to support students, in any discipline, who are engaged in scholarly or creative activity with faculty members. Since scholarship takes different forms in different disciplines, SOAR is designed to be as general and inclusive as possible. SOAR also serves the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ community by keeping it in touch with organizations that develop and support undergraduate research.
Past SOAR Projects
| Semester | Student | Project Title | Advisor(s) |
| Summer 2015 | Matthew Dill | Effects of Vibration of the NaK Molecule on Changes in the Rotational State Due to Collisions with Helium | Ruth Malenda |
| Summer 2015 | Rebecca Hamel and Ljuboslav Boskic | Computer Interfacing of a Granular Material Experiment | Kelly Krieble |
| Summer 2010 | Andrew Watson | Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Cobalt Ferrites | Kelly Krieble |
| Summer 2005 | Neil Dobracki | Computer Interfacing of a Granular Flow Experiment | Kelly Krieble |
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Summer 2002 |
Aditya Khanna | The Dynamics of a Sputtering (Under Powered) Laser | Kelly Krieble |
| Summer 2000 | Cory Lowe | Investigation of Pattern Formation Phenomena in Fluid Dynamics - The Hydraulic Jump | Kelly Krieble |
| Summer 1999 | Charles Gero | Network Distribution of Seismic Data and Event Registration | Joseph Gerencher |