I have several different research projects going at any given time, too much to do myself, which means that I am always looking for students to help me. I have separated my projects below into experimental and theoretical studies.
The desire to be the theorist who unlocks the deep mysteries of the universe is effectively a law of nature for undergraduates. I was there. However, I’ve come to believe that it is often better for students to first develop experience with experiments that help build physical intuition and then progress to theoretical projects later. This is the model followed by Princeton PhD candidates working at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where I conducted my postdoctoral research.
Experimental Projects:
- The Phase Contrast Imaging (PCI) diagnostic on the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator
- Dynamics of sand on an oscillating surface
- The Coupled Pendula eXperiment (CPX)
- WEN-D, the SUNY Cortland wind tunnel
- Turbulence in rotating flows (a small Taylor-Couette device)
Theoretical Projects:
- Direct imaging of scattered light from plasma turbulence
- Mathematics of dimensionless scaling in the Lagrange point problem
- Flow of water in a leaky bucket as a model for other physical systems
- Wave propagation and dispersion in inhomogeneous media
- Optimization of Taylor-Couette flows
Please contact me if you are interested in any of these projects. While I may not have time to take on a new project, I am always interested in new ideas and would be happy to talk with you and explore whether your interest is something we can collaborate on.