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

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[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