Two University of Colorado at Boulder freshmen are starting their college research careers by working for Nobel Prize-winning professors as part of a program designed to attract top students to the university.
Edwin Eng and Kevin Chang, who will begin classes at CU-Boulder in the fall, are among 30 students taking advantage of the university's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program. Eng and Chang are assisting in research projects for professors Carl Wieman and Eric Cornell, winners of the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics.Ìý
"I am excited to participate in the SURE program and to be able to work with some of the top professors in the field and cutting-edge technology," said Eng, who is working in Wieman's laboratory until Aug. 15. "The nature of Dr. Wieman's work is very cool -- using lasers and magnetic fields to supercool atoms to nearly absolute zero. The research material is fascinating."
Wieman and Cornell won the Nobel honor for their creation of the world's first Bose-Einstein condensate, a new form of matter that occurs at just a few hundred billionths of a degree above absolute zero. Cornell is a senior scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and an adjoint professor at CU-Boulder.
"I think the SURE program is a great opportunity to do research before graduate school," said Chang, a Boettcher scholar from Lakewood High School. Chang chose CU-Boulder in part because of the number of undergraduate research opportunities available. "It's great to be up close (to this research) and be able to do something that most students don't get to do," he said.
Chang is working to build an acoustic Paul trap, a device used in the process of making condensates. After his SURE work ends on Aug. 16, he plans to major in electrical engineering and computer science at CU-Boulder and is interested in medical school and a career in the neurological sciences.
SURE was launched in May 1997. Past student research projects have included the design of satellite components at the Space Grant College, recording the human rights abuses of Tibetan refugees, studying stress response in the endocrine system and mapping enormous mass ejections in solar flares.Ìý
This summer, 30 SURE students are working with 16 faculty members on projects including instrument building at Bioserve for Space Station Alpha, the design of new methods of artificial bone-tissue growth and improvement of air quality inside large buildings.
"Â鶹ÒùÔº learn by firsthand experience the logistics of planning scientific research, the exacting standards of replicating experiments and the cutting-edge techniques employed in their disciplines," said Tom Davinroy, director of undergraduate research opportunity programs at CU-Boulder. "Â鶹ÒùÔº also can develop lasting, collaborative relationships with faculty mentors and meet other students in their field of study."
"I know that I will love the experience, meet new friends and have a great time learning and getting to know the professors that I will work with at CU," Eng said.
Eng grew up in Massachusetts and New Jersey, but was drawn west by CU-Boulder and the natural beauty of Colorado. "CU impressed me with its strong academics," he said. "Being state funded, the university reflects how much Colorado values education. The professors seem to really love teaching here."
Eng plans to major in computer science and business, and said a startup company could be in his future. He credits Davinroy for introducing him to the SURE program and helping answer his questions. "The program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm glad I didn't miss it," Eng said.
The CU-Boulder physics department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences.