The Bucknell University `Summer Research Program in Physics` will be continued, giving eight undergraduate students per summer the opportunity to collaborate with a member of the Bucknell physics faculty for ten weeks on his or her research. Students will be recruited from around the country, with a focus on colleges in the eastern seaboard and Appalachian region. Six Bucknell faculty will offer projects each summer, so the level of student-faculty interaction will be high. This immersion in a research environment is intended to complement traditional classroom experiences of the students. Participation will help students make career choices, and will provide specific preparation for those that continue on the graduate studies in physics. All of the students will live together on the Bucknell campus, conduct most of their research in on-campus facilities, and participate in weekly departmental seminars and colloquia. Projects offered cover many areas of physics. They include experimental investigations of phase transitions in biological cell membranes, use of laser diodes and magnetic resonance to study atomic interactions, experimental studies of pattern formation and chaos in complex systems, observation based studies of star formation, analysis of data from an experiment performed at Fermilab National Accelerator, theoretical studies in quantum optics, and theoretical studies in general relativity.
