Modulating the flow of electrons in semiconductors is central to modern information processing. The 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three researchers who performed experiments that laid the groundwork for the first semiconductor transistors. Much of today’s technology is built upon these foundations. Unfortunately, the raw processing speed of conventional electronics is no longer increasing. The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three researchers who made pioneering contributions to the experimental tools required to steer and observe electronic processes in atoms on attosecond timescales (1 attosecond = 10^{-18} seconds). Harnessing such rapid processes in compact, solid-state devices would accelerate classical information processing from GHz rates to the order of 100 terahertz (1 terahertz = 10^{12} Hz). Lightwave electronics focuses on using precise laser light to manipulate both classical and quantum attributes of electrons on very short timescales. As a research assistant in the Sederberg Photonics Lab, you will receive advanced training in femtosecond laser operation, optics, and measurement techniques. You will learn to implement and use an experimental technique that Dr. Sederberg developed while working in Ferenc Krausz’s (one of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics recipients) research group. This apparatus will be used to implement lightwave electronics in both established and emerging material platforms.

TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC is building a next-generation source of ultracold neutrons (UCN). These very slow (5 m/s) neutrons are an ideal laboratory to study fundamental interactions and symmetries. The flagship experiment with ultracold neutrons is the search for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron, which has intrigued researchers worldwide for decades. A non-zero EDM implies a time-reversal (T) violation, and thus a charge-parity (CP) violation if CPT holds. CP is an essential ingredient in prevailing models to explain the apparent matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. The TUCAN collaboration is also developing a spectrometer to search for the neutron EDM. A USRA student can significantly contribute to the commissioning, experiments and data analysis of the cryogenic UCN source at TRIUMF and to the development of the EDM experiment. We are providing a stimulating research environment in a group that includes 4 post-docs, 5 graduate students, typically 3-4 undergraduate students, 2 senior researchers, 2 engineers and a technician.

Our group uses time-domain terahertz spectroscopy to determine the terahertz-frequency conductivity of semiconductors, metals, and superconductors. With this information we can experimentally determine the mobility of semiconductors, the carrier scattering lifetimes of metals, and the superfluid density of superconductors. Generally, we try to choose materials that are not well understood within the current frameworks of condensed matter physics, particularly metals in which magnetic fluctuations play a role in determining the electrical conductivity. An NSERC USRA would take on the responsibility for measuring the temperature-dependent terahertz conductivity of one or two materials that we are studying, and analyze the resulting data in light of current condensed matter theory. Materials currently under study include the high temperature superconductors LSCO and YBCO, as well as the low-temperature superconductor TiN.

The reconstruction of charged particle trajectories, or “tracks”, is a crucial component of all high energy physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In particular, many searches for physics beyond the Standard Model rely on the identification of new particles which travel significant distances prior to decaying, leaving tracks in the detector which do not point back to the primary interaction point. These “displaced tracks” can be used to identify potentially interesting physics processes, but are notoriously difficult to identify and require specialized methods to reconstruct. To identify these displaced tracks, the ATLAS experiment at the LHC employs a dedicated track reconstruction known as “Large Radius Tracking” (LRT). This algorithm is highly efficient for the current LHC run conditions, but will need to be updated prior to the start of the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) to accommodate a new detector geometry and harsher conditions. To prepare for these challenging conditions, ATLAS will replace the track reconstruction software with an updated implementation known as ACTS (A Common Tracking Software). The ACTS project is an open-source, experiment-independent software toolkit for charged particle track reconstruction in high energy physics experiments implemented in modern C++. With the core track reconstruction software moving to ACTS, the LRT implementation will also need to be adapted to run in this new environment. Additionally, ATLAS is investigating novel machine learning strategies for track reconstruction using Graph Neural Networks (GNN). The GNN-based track reconstruction pipeline has been shown to be highly performant for tracks which originate from the primary interaction, but it remains to be seen if the same algorithm can generalize to displaced tracks. The primary objective of this USRA project is to develop and study the identification of displaced tracks using both ACTS and the GNN-based track reconstruction pipeline, and compare their performance. This is a project on the forefront of modern, complex algorithm development. Previous experience and interest in programming is a strong advantage.

The Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE) is an initiative to construct one of the world's largest neutrino detectors in the deep Pacific Ocean. Located in the Cascadia Basin region of the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), P-ONE will consist of cutting-edge photosensors arranged in a three-dimensional array along cables (strings). During the first phase, each string will extend a kilometre upwards from the ocean floor, with a 50 m inter string spacing, instrumenting more than a 1/8 km3 volume. This provides sensitivity to very high-energy neutrinos originating from some of the most extreme astrophysical processes in the Universe. Within the P-ONE group at SFU we are currently developing and constructing detector modules for P-ONE. Our focus is on the development of the optical laser calibration system with state-of-the-art (sub-)nanosecond optical pulsing, the acoustic trilateration system, the modeling of large mooring structure dynamics in the deep-sea and its currents, and understanding the optical modeling of deep-sea water properties and its calibration. The primary objective of this USRA project is to contribute to these crucial developments within the SFU high-energy particle physics detector lab and contribute to the construction and testing of the detectors for the first deployment.

The `strange’ behavior of quantum mechanics provides exceptional opportunities for humanity to build much more powerful devices. There have been many ideas of using quantum physics to make computers faster, communication more secure, sensors more sensitive, and many more. Our group focuses on a particular type of quantum devices that built with harmonic oscillators, such as light, quantum motion, a large collection of spins, etc. Through theoretical investigations, we want to look for the origins of problems in currently imperfect quantum devices, and explore strategies to get rid of the problems. USRA projects are expected to be sub-projects from graduate students' research in my group. However, students are also welcome to bring in topics and develop the research project together with me.

We are currently testing first test structure of novel 4D detectors, which are silicon based tracking detectors with extremely good timing resolution (pico seconds) and very good spatial resolution (micro-meters). These sensors will be needed for future collider experiments like the 100km Future Circular Collider at CERN but will also find application in other areas of fundamental physics like medical imaging, material science and possibly neutrino physics. The research will take place in SFU's newly built particle physics detector lab, SFU's 4D lab and at TRIUMF. Students with an interest in instrumentation and pushing the limit of new technologies are encouraged to apply.

The Group The SFU experimental particle physics group (hep.phys.sfu.ca) currently consists of four faculty (Matthias Danninger, Dugan O'Neil, Bernd Stelzer, and Mike Vetterli), four postdoctoral fellows, and 7 graduate students. We are actively involved in the ATLAS experiment and have openings for ATLAS students this summer. The ATLAS Experiment: This experiment is running at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva (atlas.ch). The accelerator is colliding 2 beams of 6.5 TeV protons in order to study, among other things, the mechanism of electro-weak symmetry breaking. The biggest physics breakthrough of 2012 has been the discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. Our group contributed to the this milestone discovery and is very active in determining other properties of the Higgs boson. In the past 5 years, our group has helped determine the spin/CP properties of the Higgs boson and identified two additional Higgs boson production modes (VBF and ttH production). Most of these measurements were enabled by the use of advanced analysis techniques (Matrix Element Method, Machine Learning). We are also searching for phenomena that cannot be explained by the Standard Model of particle physics. Such phenomena would point the way to new theories that would extend the already impressive predictions of the Standard Model. Looking to the future, our group has taken on substantial responsibility in the development of the New ATLAS Inner Tracking detector (ITk) increasing the number of space points measurements 50-fold. We are leading the ITk activities in Western Canada, developing ITk silicon detector modules in cleanroom facilities at SFU and TRIUMF. Summer Projects on ATLAS at SFU: In your summer project, you will be able to contribute to determining the properties of the Higgs boson. In particular, we analyze the data that show evidence of Higgs boson decays to two massive W bosons. We are developing novel analysis techniques to increase the sample of Higgs events that lead recently to the first observation of VBF production in H-->WW event using the full LHC Run-2 dataset. We are adding additional physics interpretations to existing results. Once completed, the analysis will likely lead to a paper publication.

The laser applications group at TRIUMF - Canada's particle accelerator centre - provides intense beams of radioactive isotopes for user experiments. This is done by using element selective resonant laser ionization. To this end we investigate the relevant atomic states, i.e. Rydberg and autoionizing states in the elements of interest. Students will be introduced to atomic physics and laboratory principles, instrumentation, and techniques to conduct laser resonance ionization spectroscopy on an element of interest (current elements of interest: Hg, Ga, Au, Bi) at our laser ion source test stand facility. Data taking and data evaluation will close off the research project - which aims to identify new ionization schemes with improved efficiency. In parallel, students will experience research at a large scale user facility for nuclear and particle physics, and will be embedded in the TRIUMF undergarduate and coop-student program training, seminar and lecture series. Research will be conducted at TRIUMF's Isotope Separator and Accelerator facility, located on the UBC campus in Vancouver.

All living organisms face several fundamental physical challenges in their everyday existence. Among these are: the maintenance of order despite the propensity of everything to eventually get messy (a.k.a., the Second Law of Thermodynamics); and the performance of mechanically demanding tasks with the incredibly jiggly materials at hand (a.k.a., proteins). My group’s theoretical and computational biophysics research focuses on determining in this context the design principles for effective operation of molecular machines (proteins that convert between different forms of energy, but are 100 million times smaller than the car engines that engineers already know how to design). More specifically: what are the physical limits on how well these machine can operate; what kinds of designs achieve these limits; and (in collaboration with experimentalists) do real, evolved biomolecular machines actually conform with these theoretical predictions? We have a few projects (either working independently or in collaboration with a graduate student or postdoc) that involve computational simulation of the behavior of model molecular machines, such as ATP synthase (an ingenious crankshaft that makes the basic chemical currency in all living things) and kinesin (an equally ingenious bipedal ‘walker’ that transports cargos along the cytoskeletal tracts that criss-cross every cell). With this simulation data we can examine the soundness and usefulness of recently developed theoretical frameworks (our own and others’) to understand how molecular machines can maximize their miles per gallon. A successful summer would produce theoretical ideas to be tested in later experiments, and (with some follow-up during the next school year) would produce a paper for publication. The day-to-day work involves writing computer programs to simulate dynamics (typically in Python, Matlab, or C/C++, but we are flexible), debugging (sad but true) and testing your programs to make sure they do what you intend, and analyzing the data you generate. These projects are generally best suited for students with some exposure to statistical/thermal physics and computer programming, but most important is enthusiasm to pursue the ideas and dedication to solve problems.

Our research group studies unconventional superconductivity in materials such as cuprate high temperature superconductors, heavy fermion systems, organics and ruthenates. On the experimental side, we use microwave spectroscopy to measure superfluid density and quasiparticle dynamics and to look for order parameter collective modes and states that break time reversal symmetry. On the theoretical side, we carry out phenomenological studies of these systems using models based on realistic parameterizations of electronic structure and disorder potentials. We then use Greens function techniques to calculate experimental properties such as superfluid density and optical conductivity, allowing us to compare with experiment. The goal of the project will be to carry out a complete investigation of a particular unconventional superconductor, using our powerful and easy-to-use dilution fridge system. The student will have the opportunity to work on subprojects that include some or all of the following: theory of superconductivity and correlated electron systems; mechanical design and construction of low temperature apparatus; microwave electronics and signal processing; experiment automation and data acquisition; and data analysis and modelling.

We are seeking motivated candidates with a good background in science and decent computer skills to investigate exotic nuclei and their decays. The students should be genuinely interested in experimental nuclear physics and be highly motivated to learn. Following your internship with us, we guarantee you that your CV will stand out and you gain a set of skills that are equally transferable to both academia and industry. The prospective students will get familiar with fundamental concepts on subatomic particles, particle accelerators, radioactive/unstable beams and nuclei, radioactive decays, quantum mechanics, interaction of radiation with matter, nuclear instrumentation and detectors, computers and simulations, etc. It is expected that the students will work in collaboration with other students and postdoctoral fellows and participate in experiments at TRIUMF.

We have openings for motivated students interested in gaining experience in research in the area of experimental nuclear physics. Our projects use radiation detectors to study the nuclear decays of various beams to investigate nuclei with an unbalanced number of protons and neutron that are created in laboratory. If you have taken quantum mechanics and particle physics courses, and have computer skills, come and work with us for a summer or a term.

The quest to develop a fundamental understanding of the nuclear interaction is aided greatly through measurements made with complex, multi-detector systems. As these systems allow for both an increase in total efficiency due to greater angular coverage as well as correlation measurements in both time and space, the information which can be probed using these detectors is greatly increased over single-detector systems. With an increase in both number of detectors and complexity of detector systems comes challenges in data acquisition. As each detector can obtain data independently, the required throughput of the data acquisition system also increases. To address this problem, real-time event filtering can be performed on the data to only process and store events with certain characteristics. Traditional methods for event filtering require large arrays of electronics to perform logic on unprocessed data, which can be both cost and space prohibited for small laboratories in addition to being difficult to scale to larger systems. At the Nuclear Science lab at SFU, we implement a single unit, computer controlled XLM72S universal logic module to perform real-time event filtering. Specifically, the XLM72S logic module has been implemented in the data acquisition system for the CUBE spectrometer, a detector system consisting of 6 Compton Suppressed Spectrometers at the faces of a cube. The USRA student will be working to maintain, optimize, and operate both the event filtering and CUBE detector systems in order to perform experiments. The student will develop and utilize skills in gamma ray spectroscopy, data acquisition, and general nuclear physics. Opportunities to publish experimental results may be available.

Feedback can regulate the temperature of our homes or our bodies, the flow of fluid in a pipe, drive autonomous cars on a road, and more. But there are more creative uses, too: we can use feedback to create entire new dynamics for particles. Placing a small silica bead in water in a “virtual potential” created by a feedback loop gives us nearly complete freedom to implement what had been only thought experiments: Maxwell’s demon, Szilard’s engine, Landauer’s bit erasure, and more. At SFU, we have several setups for exploring such questions. Previous undergraduate students who have visited the lab have worked on projects ranging from the technical development of new techniques for trapping to new ideas for controlling effective damping (dissipation) to new versions of the classic thought experiments described above. We also explore new ways to make the control of systems more “robust”. Depending on your interests and experience, you can work on a project that will be interesting, challenging, and fun.

Our group is focused on the discovery and synthesis of novel materials with unusual magnetic and electronic ground states as well as the coupling between them. We are particularly interested in, however not limited to, magnetism, superconductivity, and quantum criticality. Our research is more fundamental than applicable. Why is this important? Materials synthesis is a milestone, to a certain extent, because it provides objects to any further studies. If new compounds are synthesized, new properties could be found, leading towards new directions of research. Exploratory synthesis of materials and their characterizations contribute to building a large body of knowledge. Fundamental research and materials discovery ultimately affects the strength of industry and therefore the economy. From the earliest days of condensed matter physics to the latest 21st century initiatives, the pioneering ideas and technologies of materials physics have transformed every aspect of society. Nature has many surprises and has provided an abundance of exotic properties for researchers in structurally complex materials. The exploration of phase-spaces will reveal more unexpected phenomena. The student will synthesize a range of magnetic and electronic materials, and characterize the grown samples by means of XRD, magnetization, electrical resistivity, and specific heat measurements.

The Forde lab specializes in molecular biophysics, specifically focused on the relationship between chemical composition and mechanical properties of biological macromolecules. We utilize a range of techniques from physics, chemistry and biochemistry to manipulate and characterize these systems. This project focuses on collagen, the predominant structural protein building block of our connective tissues and extracellular matrices. In spite of its key importance to our physiology and health, and its wide use in a variety of biomaterials, fundamental questions remain unanswered regarding its structure and mechanics at the molecular level. Summer projects focus on characterizing the mechanics of this protein at the single-molecule level, using the imaging technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM) or with a high-throughput force spectroscopy technique, centrifuge force microscopy (CFM), both established techniques in our lab. Alternative project possibilities may involve instrumentation design and calibration of new microscopy and force spectroscopy instruments, and/or development of new image analysis algorithms.

Students will be involved in fabrication of magnetic multilayers and micrometer size pillars and study of their structural, magnetic and electric properties.

Zinc oxide is a semiconducting material that is under active investigation for a variety of potential applications including visible and UV LEDs and laser diodes, UV optical detectors, gas sensors, etc. Recently it has been shown that donor spins in ZnO can be optically addressed as possible quantum bit (qubits). In order to investigate the feasibility of this approach we are studying the growth of single nanowires as a platform to ultimately address a single donor spin The candidate will assist in the growth of ZnO nanowires and their characterization by optical techniques as well as electron microscopy. Experience with data collection and analysis (e.g. Labview, Python, Matlab, IGOR etc.) are an asset. Some knowledge of basic semiconductor physics is desirable but not necessary.

Solid state deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance is a uniquely powerful experimental approach to the study of phospholipid structure in lipid membranes, yielding quantitative and sensitive determinations of the conformational order of lipid chains as well as the membrane topology. Cell membranes have traditionally been characterized as liquid crystalline lipid bilayers containing membrane proteins and other membrane-associating biomolecules. Membranes are effective barriers to many drugs, including those used in gene therapy, but recent advances in the design of drug delivery vehicles have been promising. Specifically, the use of small interfering RNA complexed with lipids in the form of lipid nanoparticles (LNP) has been an area of great excitement. See, for example, Figure 3 in Fougerolle et al., "Interfering with disease: a progress report on siRNA-based therapeutics" Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 6, 443-453 (2007). These lipid complexes typically contain positively charged lipids which stabilize the negatively charged RNA "cargo". Understanding how LNPs associate with endosomal membranes to eventually release the cargo into the cytoplasm requires understanding how these unusual positively charged lipids behave - how susceptible to form non-bilayer phases are they? Endosomal membranes contain a significant amount of negatively charged lipids, one of the most important being lysobisphosphatidic acid (LBPA). The project will determine how LBPA interacts with cationic lipids. The results of this study are expected to directly benefit researchers optimizing the design of lipidic drug delivery vehicles.