Summer Research Program

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Physics, astronomy, extrasolar planets, planetary transits, radiation transfer

About the lab:
This project involves theoretical modeling of planetary atmospheres, and is appropriate for students interested in physics and/or astronomy.
Some extrasolar planets pass in front of their parent star, blocking the light from the star. Since the absorption by each atom and molecule has a unique signature, we may hope to uncover the contents of the atmosphere from the observed spectrum. Furthermore, the transit spectrum contains information about the run of temperature in the atmosphere, and also about the interaction of the atmosphere with the stellar wind. The goal of this summer project is to study the interaction of electromagnetic radiation from the star with the planetary atmosphere. The student will learn the basics of how radiation interacts with matter, and will use state-of-the-art computer programs to model the absorption and scattering of starlight by the planet’s atmosphere.

Prerequisites:
Any level (year in college) is appropriate for this project, as the goals can be adjusted for the level of the student. The student should have taken some calculus-based physics. While prior experience with computer programming is not necessary, the student should be interested in learning scientific programming, most likely in python.

Specific project(s) available:
Analyze simulations of radiation interacting with planetary atmospheres to compute the expected “transit spectrum” and “lightcurve.” This will be compared to ground and space-based observations. The focus will be on “atomic resonance lines” which interact strongly with the atmosphere.

Web site:
http://people.virginia.edu/~pla7y/

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Physics, astronomy, extrasolar planets, stars, orbital dynamics.

About the lab:
The student will conduct theoretical modeling of the orbits of extrasolar planets, and how their size and shape may be changed over time due to tides. This project is appropriate for students interested in physics and/or astronomy.
While the planets in our own Solar System have nearly circular orbits, it is quite common for planets orbiting other stars (extrasolar planets) to have highly "eccentric", or squashed-looking, orbits. However, for planets orbiting very near their parent star, the orbits tend to be much more circular than the population as a whole. This is thought to be due to "tidal friction", a process in which the planet and star raise tides on each other, and if there is some friction the kinetic energy in the tidal motions can be converted to heat. The effect of tidal friction is that the non-circular part of the orbit can be damped away, with the heat dumped in the star or planet, and the orbit becomes more circular over time.

Prerequisites:
Any level (year in college) is appropriate for this project, as the goals can be adjusted for the level of the student. The student should have taken some calculus-based physics. While prior experience with computer programming is not necessary, the student should be interested in learning scientific programming, most likely in python.

Specific project(s) available:
The goal of this summer project is to study the dynamics of the fluid motion in the star and planet as well as the orbital dynamics. The primary tool will be computer simulations, and hence the first part of the summer will be spent learning the needed computer skills. Simulations will then be carried out and visualized to understand the different physical processes at work.

Web site:
http://people.virginia.edu/~pla7y/

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Physics, astronomy, stars

About the lab:
Many stars, including our Sun, are observed to be ringing in their internal modes of oscillation. The field of stellar oscillations has recently been revolutionized by observations of thousands of oscillating stars by NASA's Kepler mission.

Prerequisites:
Any level (year in college) is appropriate for this project, as the goals can be adjusted for the level of the student. The student should have taken some calculus-based physics. While prior experience with computer programming is not necessary, the student should be interested in learning scientific programming, most likely in python.

Specific project(s) available:
The wave amplitudes can be modeled as damped, driven oscillators and the goal of the project is to include nonlinear interactions terms between the oscillators and study the exchange of energy. Since these processes are sensitive to details of the stellar structure the goal is to learn more about the hidden interiors of stars through the waves that we see at their surfaces.
The primary tool will be computer simulations, and hence the first part of the summer will be spent learning the needed computer skills. Simulations will then be carried out and visualized to understand the different physical processes at work.

Web site:
http://people.virginia.edu/~pla7y/

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Astrophysics: Black Holes or Extrasolar Planets

About the lab:
We use computer simulations to study the light produced when gas falls into black holes.

Prerequisites:
Familiarity with the Python language or computer programing more generally would be useful for the simulation analysis and visualization project. Some preparation in introductory physics would useful but not essential for all projects.

Specific project(s) available:
Students would run a program developed by Professor Davis to analyze the outputs of computer simulations of black holes (or, alternatively extrasolar planets) to generate model images and spectra that could be compared to observations of these sources. The primary analysis would take the form of running and modifying Python scripts to analyze and visualize these results.

Web site:
http://people.virginia.edu/~swd8g/

Department:
Astronomy

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Star and Planet Formation; Computer Simulations

About the lab:
As a research group, we are interested in several different aspects of how stars and planets form. We learn about these things by using a combination of computer models and observations from telescopes.

Prerequisites:
Some experience with calculus is required. Experience with differential equations is an advantage, but not required. Basic computer programming experience is also a requirement. Any experience with the Python, C, or Fortran programming languages will be an advantage.

Specific project(s) available:
Title: How can we see if newborn planets are growing?
Description: Students will spend most of their summer learning how to use computers to model chemistry and the propagation of radiation (i.e. light, radio waves, etc.) in an astronomical context. The end goal is to make concrete predictions for what we might observe with existing and future astronomical telescopes. From a practical point of view, this includes the use of the Python programming language, version control software (i.e. git), other existing astronomical software, as well as how to perform numerical models in parallel (i.e. on more than one CPU at a time). There will also be opportunities for students to attend professional development seminars and scientific research presentations.

Web site:
https://uva.theopenscholar.com/jon-p-ramsey

Department:
Chemistry

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Inorganic Chemistry

About the lab:
Conducting research related to energy conversion, conducting computational studies related to energy conversion.

Prerequisites:
N/A

Specific project(s) available:
Synthesizing and studying catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction, computationally studying known catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction.

Web site:
https://machangroup.virginia.edu/

Department:
Engineering Systems and Environment

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Civil Engineering, Water Resources, and Hydrology

About the lab:
Work along side a PhD student on your own research related to a larger research project. Projects will generally relate to civil engineering, stormwater management, and flooding within a suburban context. There will an opportunity to learn computer modeling and field data collection.

Prerequisites:
Courses in water resources engineering or hydrology will be helpful. Alternatively students could have experience in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or computer science and focus on real-time data collection, data management, and modeling.

Specific project(s) available:
Most likely the student will work on a project doing modeling and field data collection for a watershed in the Charlottesville region. There is a possibility to do this work either in-person or virtually. If virtually, the focus will be more on computer modeling and data management.

Web site:
http://uvahydroinformatics.org

Department:
Chemical Engineering

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Battery Materials

About the lab:
Our research investigates the design of new materials and materials chemistries. This research involves the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of materials properties using a variety of techniques. The primary area of application that we focus on is rechargeable battery electrode materials.
For laboratory experiments, students may be involved in the synthesis, processing, or characterization of battery materials or cells. We also model the electrochemical behavior of batteries, primarily using electrochemical models at the cell level.

Prerequisites:
Students need to be comfortable in a chemical lab environment. Some computer skills and computational analysis would be helpful. Completion of a college-level chemistry laboratory course required. Completion of introductory engineering coursework would also be helpful.

Specific project(s) available:
Variety of options available depending on if the student is more interested in synthesis, processing, characterization, and/or modelling.

Web site:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/koenig-research-group

Department:
Engineering Systems and Environment

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Digital Concrete (3D Concrete Printing)

About the lab:
Our research explores the design, fabrication, and implementation of 3D printable advanced cementitious composites for the design of sustainable structural systems. As a part of this research, we are exploring the use of remote sensing technologies for the quality control of printed structures.

Prerequisites:
Knowledge on image processing techniques would be helpful.

Specific project(s) available:
Real-time monitoring and quality control of 3D printed concrete structures

Web site:
https://engineering.virginia.edu/rail

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Oceanography

About the lab:
My group uses data analysis, remote sensing and numerical models to examine human and natural impacts on marine ecosystems. The summer project would involve primarily working with an existing data set on a computer using statistical tools and visualization software.

Prerequisites:
Background in environmental sciences; some statistics would be beneficial as well as some exposure to data analysis using software packages (e.g., Matlab or R)

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
https://doney.evsc.virginia.edu/

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Climate Dynamics

About the lab:
My research group focuses on understanding how and why atmospheric wind and weather patterns (jet streams, low- and high-pressure systems, etc.) change and vary over time. Over the 21st century, computer models project that the Hadley circulation, the large-scale atmospheric circulation in the tropics, will widen, pushing arid subtropical regions further poleward. Likewise, regions of heavy precipitation associated with the midlatitude jet streams are also projected to shift poleward. Current research goals focus on 1) understanding the role that clouds play in these circulation changes and 2) isolating the potential impacts of these circulation changes for regional climate change in the United States. A student working on this project should expect to gain experience with scientific computing and statistics. Specifically, a student will learn how to read in and manipulate large climate data sets, apply statistical techniques to isolate patterns of climate variability and change, and plot maps of the resulting patterns to interpret and display.

Prerequisites:
Some prior computer programming experience (especially with MATLAB or Python) is preferred.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
https://uva.theopenscholar.com/kevin-grise/research

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Atmospheric Chemistry, Environmental Justice

About the lab:
More than 100 million people in the U.S. live in areas where air quality does not meet standards designated to protect human health. In U.S. cities, higher air pollution concentrations are consistently observed in neighborhoods where residents are primarily people of color and have lower household incomes, with measurable differences in health and life expectancy as a result. The ability to observe, explain, and regulate this intra-urban pollutant variability has been limited by the lack of concentration measurements that resolve steep pollutant gradients (sub kilometer). For most atmospheric trace species, especially primary pollutants with short atmospheric lifetimes, intra-urban variability within cities cannot be captured using traditional monitoring approaches. In this project, you will analyze novel high spatial resolution airborne and satellite remote sensing observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to improve our ability to describe and explain NO2 disparities in U.S. cities. Airborne remote sensing missions are mapping NO2 concentrations as finely as 250 m x 250 m over U.S. cities and the recently-launched space-based TROPOMI sensor observes NO2 daily and globally, which, when combined with mathematical oversampling techniques, produces NO2 maps at a resolution of 1 km x 1 km. NO2 is a critical control over atmospheric chemistry, a common surrogate for toxic diesel emissions, and a harmful pollutant itself.

Prerequisites:
General Chemistry, basic computer programing or a desire to learn programing

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
https://pusede.evsc.virginia.edu

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Atmospheric Science

About the lab:
Our lab works to improve our understanding of clouds, convection, and precipitation in a changing climate. We use field campaign observations, satellite observations, and cloud resolving models to study the physical processes controlling deep convection and heavy precipitation on small scales, and we use global climate models to study the interactions between deep convection, clouds, and the large-scale atmospheric circulation across scales in the tropics. We are motivated to study these detailed interactions to improve our understanding of hydroclimatological changes in a warming world.

Prerequisites:
Some formal education studying the basics of Earth's atmosphere, climate and weather will be helpful. Introductory Physics and Chemistry preferred. Coding skills preferred, but not required.

Specific project(s) available:
N/A

Web site:
schiro.evsc.virginia.edu

Department:
Environmental Sciences

Area of research and sub-discipline:
Geology and Glaciology

About the lab:
In the Ice & Ocean Group at UVA, we use landforms and sediments to answer critical questions regarding the stability of ice sheets and the processes that influence ice-sheet change - answers to which are needed to constrain potential ice-sheet contributions to future sea-level rise. We merge what we can learn about extinct ice sheets from the geological record with observations of the modern Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Methods that we use include remote sensing, seafloor surveys, microscopic analyses, and geochemistry, and work that we do spans the fields of geology, glaciology, hydrology, marine sciences, chemistry, physics, and statistics.

Prerequisites:
Having taken a geology or environmental sciences class and basic experience with matlab or R and ArcGIS or QGIS would be useful, but not required.

Specific project(s) available:
Exploring sediment sources on the Antarctic seafloor through statistical analyses of sediment size with the goal of being able to identify glacial, marine, and biological processes.

Web site:
iceocean.org