Posted on July 30: Summer research programs build enthusiasm in the lab

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Phil_Elder.jpg” caption=”Phil Elder”]McMaster's Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (BIMR) summer student research program has paid off in more ways than chemistry student Phil Elder could have imagined. Not only has it boosted his enthusiasm for chemistry now he can't wait to do his thesis.
The fourth-year honours chemistry student was one of 17 BIMR students who participated in an annual engineering poster presentation yesterday (Thursday).
Approximately 200 students took part in the event, including those in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), and students with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grants in science and engineering.
Elder worked with Ignacio Vargas-Baca, assistant chemistry professor. Together, they studied the non-linear optical properties of chemicals.
“The summer research project that I undertook this year was in to determine the non-linear optical properties (Second Harmonic Generation, or “SHG”) of chemicals synthesized in our laboratory,” says Elder. “The SHG intensity is characteristic of the material being tested and the compounds we create are designed to have a high SHG intensity. Material which behaves strongly in this manner has applications in optical fiber technology, and the modulation of light signals. As a result, we are hopeful that the compounds made in our labs will improve on existing technology.”
Elder says the experience was priceless. “I learned what it's like to work in a lab atmosphere full-time while using practical applications,” he says. “It has made me so excited to do my thesis next year.”
UROP/Brockhouse/NSERC poster presentation winners
Graeme Baker & David Heska
Supervisor: Dieter Stolle, Civil Engineering
Dennis Bardetsky
Supervisor: Igor Zhitomirsky, Materials Engineering
Elyse Bernard & Tamika Hamlet
Supervisor: Kalai Saravanamuttu, Department of Chemistry
Blythe Fortier-McGill
Supervisor: Harold Stover – Department of Chemistry
James Green
Supervisor: John Brennan – Department of Chemistry
Marka Jansen
Supervisor: Heather Sheardown – Chemical Engineering
Nigel Knott
Supervisor: Anthony Petric – Materials Engineering
Kirk McDonald
Supervisor: Gord Irons – Material Engineering
Abhitej Rewari
Supervisor: Kalai Saravanamuttu, Chemistry Department
Daniel Urbina
Supervisor: Paul Higgs, Physics & Astronomy