Last updated on March 27, 2025.
Jesse Berezovsky (last updated before 5/6/2019 ): A Condensed Matter Experimentalist, much of my work is motivated by possible quantum computing and primarily concerns the behavior of optically excited spins near defects and in quantum nano-structures. I am also interested in acoustics.
Potential Projects
By confining an electron within a nanoscale semiconductor structure, we can study its quantum behavior in a controlled environment, which may lead to new types of computing based on quantum phenomena. We are currently planning several experiments to understand and control the coherent dynamics of electron spins in these types of systems, and to explore the interaction of these spins with photons. Possible projects would include: 1. Controlling the spin/photon interaction with optical resonators; 2. Developing new techniques for measuring the coherent dynamics of electron spins; 3. Studying the coupling of confined spins with a magnetic environment.
Robert Brown (last updated 3/22/2024 ): An imaging / industrial / medical / particle physicist, I am also interested in science education.
Potential Projects
1) In our development of a novel device (CAPGLO) for the detection and capture of cancer, we are considering the detection and capture of t-cells, the body’s natural defense against disease. This is a new concept and is our main focus in the coming time. Opportunities for a capstone are good as we are just beginning this work.
2) General opportunities in chaos theory, MRI research, and particle physics can be considered, as we continue to work in these areas.
Ed Caner (last updated 5/1/2023 ): An Entrepreneurial Physicist, I direct the Physics Entrepreneurship Program Master’s program in our department. I advise (or more usually co-advise) students on projects that have innovation and/or entrepreneurship components, including opportunity analysis, market analysis, technology development forecasting, patenting, and early stage business strategy and funding.
Corbin Covault (last updated before 5/6/2019 ): An Astrophysics Experimentalist, my primary interests are in high energy cosmic rays including the Pierre-Auger Observatory that detects them.
Potential Projects
Our group is active in experimental research in High Energy Astrophysics. Our major experimental effort is on the Pierre Auger Observatory which includes data collection from the completed Auger South (in Argentina) and R&D in anticipation of Auger North (to be deployed in southeastern Colorado) We are also active in two minor projects (XOSS and OSETI). Information can be found on the HEA group web page: http://hea.case.edu/ . What all these efforts have in common is (a) they involve looking for rapid flashes of light with photomultiplier tubes, and (b) each involves extensive collaboration with scientists and students within our group and among other groups. Senior projects in our group will be developed around one of these five efforts, typically with both instrumentation and software (analysis or simulation) components.
Possible senior projects include optical calibration studies, timing measurements with GPS equipment, cosmic ray shower simulations, and detector prototyping. Our group attracts a number of undergraduates with at least eight senior projects in the past four years. There are also some opportunities for projects in distributed computing and physics education research.
Pavel Fileviez (last updated 3/22/2024): Particle Physics and Cosmology, Physics beyond the Standard Model, Dark Matter and Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry in the Universe, New Physics at Colliders, Unification of Fundamental Forces, Supersymmetric Theories and others.
Potential Projects
– Dark Matter: the study of different dark matter candidates, axions, weakly interacting massive particles and others.
– Neutrino Physics: Investigate the origin of neutrino masses, the study of new neutrino interactions and others
– Baryon Asymmetry in the Universe: Investigate different mechanisms to explain the baryon asymmetry in the Universe
– Formal aspects of field theory.
– Higgs Physics at the Large Hadron Collider
Xuan Gao (last updated 3/4/2020): A Condensed Matter Experimentalist, I am interested in the synthesis and characterization of a variety of nanoscopic materials, including transparent conductors, semiconductors, topological insulators and 2D materials for nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, energy conversion, and sensing.
Potential Projects
New 2D Semiconductor Transistors with High-Performance
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors similar to graphene, a single atomic sheet of carbon atoms, have received much interest for the development of next-generation nanoelectronics (e.g. nanoscale transistors). We will explore new 2D semiconductors (e.g. using van der Waals materials beyond transition metal dichalcogenides) or device modality (e.g. tunneling transistor instead of conventional field-effect transistor) to establish novel transistors with atomic thickness and high-performance.
Optoelectronics with Atomic Thickness
The extraction of atomically thin graphene from bulk graphite has inspired the broad pursuit of 2D materials with atomic thickness. In addition to their electronic properties, 2D materials’ optoelectronic behavior is of high interest for the development of nanoscale optoelectronics. We will explore the separation of ultra-thin nanoflakes of novel optoelectronic materials (e.g. hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites that have shown great promise in solar cells) and study their optoelectronic characteristics for photodetectors or photo-transistors.
Hetero-interfaces of 2D Materials
There are a variety of graphene-like 2D materials with unique physical properties or phases. For example, a 2D material can be metal, semi-metal, semiconductor, insulator, ferromagnet, superconductor, or even host more exotic quantum phases with topological protection. Interfacing a material with another one with different quantum phases offers the opportunity to introduce new phases or functionality in a material. In this project, we aim to build hetero-structures of 2D materials and introduce controllable ferromagnetism or superconductivity in a 2D semiconductor via the proximity effect.
Michael Hinczewski (last updated before 5/6/2019): A Biophysics and Soft Condensed Matter Theorist, I am interested in the interactions of biopolymers such as proteins and force microscopy as a probe thereof.
Kathleen Kash (last updated 3/27/2025 ): In my lab, we try to grow new semiconductor materials with the potential for new applications. We are particularly interested in materials that include only abundant, nontoxic elements, and materials that have applications in environmental sustainability. We do a lot of characterization to evaluate their properties, from x-ray diffraction to scanning electron microscopy to optical measurements and more.
Potential Projects
Potential projects might include synthesizing materials that have been predicted but not realized yet, or developing new methods for synthesis of materials with improved properties. Potential projects might also include computational work or building instruments.
If you are interested, please contact Prof. Kash by email, kathleen.kash@case.edu.
Lydia Kisley (last updated 3/22/2024): Professor Kisley’s group uses single molecule and high resolution optical microscopy to study (bio/polymer/nano) materials at high resolutions. We are looking for scientists and engineers excited about interdisciplinary research to join our team. We welcome motivated undergraduate students to actively participate in the research, scientific communication, and social environment of the research group. Therefore, undergraduate group members are expected to attend and participate in weekly group and subgroup meetings if they are available.
Walter Lambrecht (last updated 3/22/2024 ): A Theoretical and Computational Condensed Matter Physicist, I am interested in modeling a variety of materials and materials properties using quantum mechanical approaches, ranging from semiconductors and defects to magnetic materials. Some projects focus on specific materials, others on methods development.
Potential Projects
Wide band gap semiconductor modeling
Wide band gap semiconductors extend the functionality of current semiconductors. In collaboration with K. Kash, the Lambrecht group has been studying the family of II-IV-N2 semiconductors. Some outstanding problems remain unanswered: for example why are the Si based ZnSiN2 and MgSiN2 semiconductors indirect gap while the Ge and Sn based ones are direct gap? Our current hypothesis is that this is related to the distortion from the idealized wurtzite like structure, which is in turn related to the relative size of Si vs. Ge, Zn. Mg cations. In this project you would learn how to use realistic density functional theory and many-body-perturbation theory based band structure methods to explore how the structural distortions affect the band structure aspects such as direct vs. indirect band gap. We can also study how these changes affect defect levels and doping opportunities in these materials.
Michael A. Martens (last updated 8/18/2023): Primarily a Medical Imaging Physicist, I am interested in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a variety of other magnetic imaging modalities. I have also worked in Experimental Particle Physics and will consider supervising a range of projects in experimental physics. I also co-advise projects with other faculty members interested in Magnetic Resonance
Potential Projects
Please come talk to me. I have wide interests in Experimental Physics and particularly Magnetic Resonance techniques.
Harsh Mathur (last updated 3/31/2022): A theoretical physicist, I work on condensed matter physics, gravitation and cosmology and interdisciplinary problems.
A selection of past projects with undergraduates are listed below. Future projects would be on similar subjects.
Potential Projects
[1] “Symmetry breaking, strain solitons and mechanical edge modes in monolayer antimony”, Joshua Chiel, Harsh Mathur and Onuttom Narayan (submitted to Physical Review B, Dec 2019; arXiv:1912.05791). [2] “The Effect of Forcing on Vacuum Radiation”, Katherine Brown, Harsh Mathur and Ashton Lowenstein, Physical Review A99, 022504 (2019) (link). [3] “Contact interactions and Kronig-Penney Models in Hermitian and PT-Symmetric Quantum Mechanics”, Foster Thompson, Katherine Brown, Harsh Mathur and Kristin McKee, Journal of Physics A51, 495204 (2018) (link). [4] “The Radial Acceleration Relation and a Magnetostatic Analogy in Quasilinear MOND”, Katherine Brown, Roshan Abrahahm, Leo Kell and Harsh Mathur, New Journal of Physics 20, 063042 (2018) (link). [5] “An Electrostatic Analogy for Symmetron Gravity”, Lillie Ogden, Katherine Brown, Harsh Mathur and Kevin Rovelli, Physical Review D96, 124029 (2017) (link). [6] “Exploring extra dimensions with scalar waves”, Katherine Brown, Harsh Mathur and Michael Verostek, American Journal of Physics 86, 327 (2018) (link). [7] “An analysis of the LIGO discovery based on Introductory Physics”, Harsh Mathur, Katherine Brown and Ashton Lowenstein, American Journal of Physics 85, 676 (2017) (link). [8] “Particle in a box in PT-Symmetric quantum mechanics and an electromagnetic analog”, Anirudh Dasarathy, Joshua Isaacson, Katherine Jones-Smith, Jason Tabachnik and Harsh Mathur, Physical Review A87, 062111 (2013) (link). [9] “Correlations and Critical Behavior of the q-model”, Alexander St. John and Harsh Mathur, Physical Review E84, 051303 (2011) (link).Benjamin Monreal (last updated 5/3/2019): a nuclear, particle, and astro experimentalist. My lab is working on new detector technologies for future neutrino and dark-matter detectors; on solving engineering problems of giant optical telescopes; and on miscellaneous astroparticle phenomenology simulations and data analysis.
Potential Projects
A hands-on lab senior project might involve designing, fabricating (possibly 3D-printing), and testing some new structures which could be used to amplify tiny electron signals in a gas proportional counter; there is a chance that an astronomical optics project is available. An engineering-design-oriented project might involve (if you have MechE interests) design of large telescope hardware components to try to meet thermal, vibration, or strain specifications; electrical, civil, or aerospace-centric design projects can also be imagined. A software/simulation/data-analysis-oriented project might be writing a GEANT simulation of a large particle detector; or running an optical simulation package to analyze a telescope’s adaptive optics limitations; or possibly astronomical data analysis.
Johanna Nagy (last updated 5/1/2023): An astrophysics experimentalist, Her group studies the Cosmic Microwave Background by building balloon-borne and ground-based instruments and analyzing the resulting data.
John Ruhl (last updated 3/30/2022 ): An Astrophysics Experimentalist, I study the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), primarily small angle and polarization (B-mode) correlations in the CMB. I use radiotelescopes, either near the south pole, or carried on balloons.
Potential Projects
Projects are available related to the development of millimeter-wave cameras and telescopes, and observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Please come talk with me.
Glenn Starkman (last updated before 5/6/2019 ): An Astrophysics / Particle Physics Theorist, I have a variety of interests, including theoretical analysis of the Cosmic Microwave Background to understand if the universe is truly infinite or if it has a non-trivial topology.
Potential Projects
I am willing to discuss a variety of projects in theoretical cosmology and particle physics.
Cyrus Taylor (last updated 3/30/2022): I have worked on (and supervised undergraduate senior projects in) a wide variety of physics areas, including aspects of both theoretical and experimental high energy physics, physics entrepreneurship, mathematics of finance, and studies of access and equity issues in physics. Much of my current work is related to aspects of physics and climate change.
Idit Zehavi (last updated 8/17/2020 ): Astrophysics, Cosmology, Large Scale Structure, Observationally-motivated theorist.
Potential Projects
Large galaxy surveys such as the SDSS have greatly improved our understanding of large-scale structure and enable detailed studies of the clustering of galaxies and their implications for cosmology, galaxy formation and evolution, and the relation between galaxies and dark matter halos. We aim to explore the galaxy-halo connection using simulations of physical models in order to extend the current empirical approach and build better models to describe the data. Related projects at the interface of theory and observations will explore the role of the large-scale environment in shaping the galaxy content of dark matter halos, their physical properties and galaxy clustering.
Shulei Zhang (last updated 3/30/2022): A condensed matter theorist. I am interested in spin and charge dynamics/transport in magnetic and topological materials including ordinary transition metal ferromagnets, magnetic insulators, topological insulators and semimetals
Potential Projects
Spin wave modes in chiral magnets
Chiral magnets are a class of noncentrosymmetric magnetic materials that are known to host topological spin textures such as skyrmions, meron-antimeron pairs etc. Different types of topological spin textures carry different topological charges (which are characterized by integer numbers -1, +1 etc). It would be interesting to explore how spin wave modes – collective excitations of magnets – depend on the topological property of a nontrivial spin texture. This project requires both analytical and numerical methods to solve a set of coupled partial-differential equations (i.e., the Landau-Lifshitz equation).
Motion of magnetic textures driven by spin waves
While the motion of a magnetic texture in a nanowire is usually driven by either an electric current or a magnetic field, in principle it can also be driven by propagating spin waves since each spin wave carries an angular momentum which can be transferred to the magnetic texture. The propagating spin waves can be excited by a local alternating magnetic field or a temperature gradient. This project will involve seeking numerical solutions of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation via micromagnetic simulations which are well-established numerical tools for studying multidomain magnetization dynamics.