Jeffery Ambrose

Delaware State University FaST

Jackson State University FaST

Edwin Lazo

Morgan State University FaST

Christopher Owen

Arslan Sayed

Southern University FaST

William Willis

Jeffery Ambrose recently graduated from Southern University at New Orleans with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. For a second summer, he worked with his advisor Murty Kambhampati, at the NSLS as a part of the Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program. During this time, they studied Long Island Pine Barrens soil in collaboration with NSLS scientist Joe Dvorak. At Beamline U4B, their project involved the use of soft x-ray spectroscopy to quantify and identify nitrogen in soils with varying microbial content. In the future, Jeffery plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.

Jeffrey Gatti, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering at the New York Institute of Technology, worked with mentor Payman Mortazavi this summer at the NSLS. During this time, Gatti learned to use the CAD program, Autodesk Inventor, and helped analyze a vacuum pressure vessel for a new addition to beamline X17A. This vessel will house a monochromator that will deflect certain wavelengths of photons to be used for experiments.

Adaire Heady, a senior at Delaware State University studying physics and pre-electrical engineering, worked with her advisor, Gabriel Gwanmesia, at this NSLS this summer as a part of the Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program. During this time, they studied thermoelectric materials with NSLS scientist Lars Ehm, in collaboration with Stony Brook University. Their project consisted of synthesizing a thermoelectric material (e.g., calcium cobaltite, magnesium cobaltite, strontium cobaltite, etc.) and analyzing its properties. At beamline X17C, Heady and Gwanmesia subjected the samples to extreme pressure and temperature conditions, which simulate the Earth's interior. They hypothesized that by distorting the sample, the thermoelectric properties might enhance the effectiveness of the thermoelectric material.

Kiah Hedgeman, a sophomore at Alabama A&M University, worked with Monique Harris this summer as part of the Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program at BNL. They worked under the mentorship of Alabama A&M University electrical engineering professor Zhigang Xiao and NSLS physicist Elaine DiMasi. Together, they designed a thermoelectric cooling device for a computer; a high temperature will cause the computer to overheat.

As part of the Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program, Jackson State University undergraduate students Naquisha Toliver, Ashley Jones, and Courtney Roach worked under the mentorship of Jackson State University associate professor Barbara Wilson and NSLS biophysicist Lisa Miller. Their research focuses on the harmful effect that hard metals have on rat kidneys. Subsequently, they can compare those results to the hazards these metals will have on the human species. Instruments employed in this study included NSLS beamline U10B for Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis, National Institute of Standards and Technology beamline X23A for bulk tissue metal speciation, and NSLS beamline X27A for elemental analysis and subcellular localization of heavy metal complexes in bulk and cross sections of rat kidney tissues.

Shreel Joshi, a sophomore at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, worked with beamline scientist Syed Khalid this summer at the NSLS. Joshi took and analyzed x-ray absorption fluorescence spectroscopy (XAFS) and diffraction data of copper-treated zeolite samples at different temperatures at beamlines X19A and X7B. The data were also compared in transmission and fluorescence mode. This data will help expand the knowledge and potential uses of zeolites as catalysts in oil and detergent industries. Joshi also worked on a project with fellow summer student Arsland Sayed on determining the iron content of spinach, and compared it with its concentration in other green vegetable leaves through XAFS.

Edwin Lazo is a senior at St. Joseph's College of New York majoring in chemistry and working toward his teaching certification. He came to Brookhaven National Laboratory this summer to develop his undergraduate thesis under the guidance of Vivian Stojanoff and Jean Jakoncic. Lazo believes that his experience working in a research Institution and developing his own research subject will allow him to be a better teacher. He is already planning to bring his students to visit and experience the NSLS and, in the future, NSLS-II.

Tom McClintock, a junior at Amherst College, spent the summer working at the NSLS with Dario Arena. Together, they designed a new electromagnet to be used on beamline U4B. This new magnet increased the sustained magnetic field produced inside the vacuum chamber by a factor of five, allowing researchers to better test the magnetic properties of their samples. Additionally, the copper coils of the magnet were housed outside of the vacuum chamber, allowing for water cooling and eliminating the risk of overheating.

Morgan State University students Dennis Thompson and Aron Hadgu and New Jersey Institute of Technology student Sterling Prince worked at the NSLS this summer as part of a Faculty and Student Team mentored by Dereje Seifu, an associate professor of physics at Morgan State University. Under the guidance of NSLS scientists Dario Arena and Elio Vescovo, the team helped apply a technique called the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) to probe the structure of magnetic thin films. The group designed a computer program using Labview that accurately maps the hysteresis loop of a material being studied. The importance of this research is crucial in the creation of better memory storage media, such as hard drives, and also has many applications in the electronics industry.

Shirin Mortazavi, a junior at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, first came to the NSLS as a high school student, when she worked with biophysicist Lisa Miller to apply infrared spectroscopy to forensic identification of fingerprints from children and adults. This summer, she joined Vivian Stojanoff and Jean Jakoncic in their research on NSLS beamline X6A to learn about protein x-ray crystallography. This technique allows scientists to determine the relative position of each atom in a protein molecule and understand how infection occurs, guiding them in the development of new medicine and vaccines. This fall, she will have the opportunity to join a crystallography group at UT.

Christopher Owen, a junior at the University at Buffalo pursuing a double major in chemical and electrical engineering, worked at the NSLS this summer with physicist Vivian Stojanoff at beamline X6A. The primary purpose of this beamline is protein crystallography, which renders the three-dimensional shape of a protein and helps scientists understand the functions and possible applications of the protein in areas such as disease prevention. Working in collaboration with Tony Kuczewski and Peter Siddons, Owen constructed and tested a detector to be used as X6A's beam-position monitor (BPM). This BPM will be able to observe changes in the x-ray beam's position to within a few micrometers – critical for work with increasingly small crystals that require the x-ray beam to be as centered on the sample as possible. It allows for a better analysis of the interaction of x-rays with the protein and, consequently, a better understanding how the protein works in our bodies.

Bishnu Panigrahi, a sophomore at Dartmouth College, worked at the NSLS this summer with Ryan Tappero at beamline X27A. He examined the chemical composition of caraway, fenugreek, cumin, mustard, and turmeric – different spice seeds and roots that are originally from South Asia and are used as alternative medicines. X-ray fluorescence imaging was conducted to see if they accumulated any rare earth elements from the soils in which they were grown. High levels of rubidium and strontium were found in every sample. This experiment can help see if there are any chemical patterns among the spices that infer medicinal value.

Arslan Sayed is a student at the Medical University of Lodz, located in Lodz, Poland, working toward a medical degree, with plans to become an invasive cardiovascular surgeon. Sayed worked at the NSLS this summer under the supervision of Syed Khalid on a project to find the amount of iron in various vegetables, namely spinach. He used x-ray absorption spectroscopy to conduct his experiments.

Parsa Sharifi, a sophomore at Queensborough Community College, worked with Lars Ehm at the NSLS this summer as part of the Community College Institute internship program. They worked on creating a photocatalytic surface to help induce water splitting, which is used to produce energy in the form of hydrogen.

Undergraduates Charles Cobb and Kijuan Poland and professor Elhag Shaban, all of Southern University and A&M College at Baton Rouge, and Anthony Athy of the Community College of Philadelphia collaborated with Peter Siddons at the NSLS this summer as part of the Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program. The team studied the application of Micromesh Gaseous Structure (MICROEMEGAS) and triple-gas electron multipliers to detect minute samples using more gain and less noise as compared to traditional detectors.

Andrew Stiegler, a junior at Columbia University, worked with Larry Carr at the NSLS this summer as a part of the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI). Their experimental goal was to analyze photothermal microscopy techniques in order to determine the advantages these techniques have over traditional Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy. This experiment involved taking spectra from polymer samples through traditional FTIR microscopy, characterizing the temperature response of the thermal probes, and using the probes for photothermal microscopy scans.

William Willis, a junior at Stony Brook University, worked at the NSLS this summer as part of a Faculty and Student Team (FaST) overseen by professor Hazem Tawfik. His project was directed by Brookhaven biologist CJ Liu and biophysicist Lisa Miller. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, samples of mutated tobacco leaves were examined for changes in the cell wall composition ratios. By creating a crop with high cellulose and low amounts of other components such as lignin and protein, bioethanol can be made faster and in greater amounts.

ARTICLE BY: Kendra Snyder

Jeffrey Gatti

Alabama A&M FaST

Shreel Joshi

Tom McClintock

Shirin Mortazavi

Bishnu Panigrahi

Parsa Sharifi

Andrew Stiegler