IREU Program 2011 University of Florida

• • Although we built up gradually, we now have a strong program with annual student numbers in the mid-teens. This year we sent fifteen students to ten international laboratories doing gravitational wave research in eight different countries.  They each worked on a specified research project while fostering international contact; part of their mandate included getting a broader view of the world and becoming acquainted with a foreign culture.  Inevitably, opportunities for personal growth and development arise.  Our students achieved high scores in every aspect of their mission. 
  • We already have hosts and projects, and are looking for students for next year.  All destination sites carry out research in gravitational wave physics.  Projects focus on some aspect of gravitational wave detection through instrumentation, data analysis and futuristic vision.  Our preferred pool of students includes under-represented minorities from small schools where research and contact is limited.  It does help, too, if students have already worked in some lab somewhere, and have a mentor who could comment on their research and academic abilities.
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  Group photo at the debriefing in the Paris Research Center

Australia

• • Student: Danila Korytov
  • College: University of Florida
  • Destination: University of Adelaide
  • Mentors: Dr. David Ottaway, Prof. Jesper Munch
  • Project: "Setting up for a Backscatter Rate Experiment in an Optical Cavity"
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  A well trodden path on Adelaide campus

England

• • Student: Shannon MacKenzie
  • College: University of Louisville, KY
  • Destination: University of Birmingham, UK
  • Mentors: Ludovico Carbone, Andreas Freise
  • Project: "Experimental Inquiry into the Feasibility of Generating Laguerre-Gauss Modes at Laser Powers of Order 100W"

  • Student: Jonathan Cripe
  • College: DePauw University, IN
  • Destination: Inverse Square Law Group, University of Birmingham, UK
  • Mentors: Clive C. Speake, Michaela N. Nelson
  • Project: "Design Considerations of a Fiber Feed for a Cryogenic Polarizing Interferometer"
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  British food has its own particular ambience

France

• • Student: Zach Nemtzow
  • College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • Destination: Astroparticule et Cosmologie (APC), Université Paris 7, Paris
  • Mentor: Dr. Éric Chassande-Mottin
  • Project: "Significant trigger clustering algorithm for the chirplet omega pipeline"

  • Student: Samuel Tay
  • College: Keynan College
  • Destination: Astroparticule et Cosmologie (APC), Université Paris 7, Paris
  • Mentor: Hubert Halloin
  • Project: "Noise Reduction for LISA On Table (LOT)"
• 

  Paris has a very efficient public transport system

Germany

• • Student: Christopher Kelly
  • College: MIT, Cambridge, MA
  • Destination: AEI, Hannover
  • Mentors: Dr Jonathan Leong
  • Project: "Improvements to Data Characterization with Hierarchical Algorithm for Curves and Ridges (HACR)"
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  At least I knew I was near what I was looking for

Italy

• • Student: David R. Miller
  • College: Carleton College, MN
  • Destination: EGO/Virgo site Casina (near Pisa)
  • Mentor: Dr. Irene Fiori
  • Project: "Environmental Noise of VSR4 and Preparing for Advanced Virgo"
• 

  Just enough space to turn around in, but comfortable enough

Italy

• • Student: Carl Sabottke
  • College: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
  • Destination: Università La Sapienza, Roma
  • Mentors: Pia Astone and Cristiano Palomba
  • Project: "Optimization of the Frequency-Spin Down Hough Transform"

  • Student: Aaron D. Spooner
  • College: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
  • Destination: Università La Sapienza, Roma
  • Mentors: Paola Puppo
  • Project: "Understanding the properties of fused silica fibers for Virgo's current Gravitational Wave interferometer mirror suspensions"
• 

  One could easily get cavalier about what was just outside our back door

Italy

• • Student: Alexander Adams Corpuz
  • College: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ
  • Destination: INFN Trento and Università di Padova
  • Mentors: Gabriele Vedovato, Marco Drago
  • Project: "A Search for Gravitational Wave Transients from Core Collapse Supernovae Using the Coherent WaveBurst Search Algorithm"
• 

  One of the spectacular sights not to be missed inside the Palazzo della Ragione

South Korea

• • Student: Cinthia Padilla
  • College: California State University Fullerton, CA
  • Destination: National University, Seoul (SNU) and Institute for Mathematical Sciences (NIMS), South Korea
  • Mentors: Prof. Hyung Mok Lee, Dr. Sang Hoon Oh
  • Project: "Identifying Electromagnetic Transients Using Image Subtraction"

  • Student: Erik Michael Garcell
  • College: University of Florida
  • Destination: National University, Seoul (SNU) and Institute for Mathematical Sciences (NIMS), South Korea
  • Mentors: Dr. Hyung Mok Lee, Jinho Kim
  • Project: "Quality Factor of a Single Pendulum for Use in Gravitational Wave Interferometry"
• 

  The university campus was on some steep terrain

Netherlands

• • Student: Caela Barry
  • College: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
  • Destination: NIKHEF, Amsterdam
  • Mentors: David Rabeling and Jo van den Brand
  • Project: "Investigating Control Strategies for the Advanced VIRGO EIB IP using SimMechanics"
• 

  Bicycles and canals are a part of Dutch life

Scotland

• • Student: Courtney Linn
  • College: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ
  • Destination: University of Glasgow
  • Mentors: Dr Iain Martin and Matt Abernathy
  • Project: "Determining thermal noise limiting properties of thin films"

  • Student: Sarah Wesolowski
  • College: Saint Vincent College, PA
  • Destination: University of Glasgow
  • Mentor: Dr. Ik Siong Heng
  • Project: "Model selection and data quality for core-collapse supernova waveform simulations"
• 

  Scotland really gave an opportunity to enjoy some quieter moments