Eric Sembrat's Test Bonanza

Editor's Note: This story by Camryn Burke first appeared on the Center for Teaching and Learning website on May 10, 2019.

A chance to interact with undergraduate students — that’s why Khaled Al Kurdi decided to become a teaching assistant (TA). 

“When you’re working on a Ph.D., you don’t typically get to connect with undergraduate students, because you’re always doing research,” said Al Kurdi, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry. “I became a TA because I wanted to interact with students and challenge myself to be a better teacher.” 

Al Kurdi took home both a Thank A Teacher award and the Graduate TA of the Year award for Chemistry and Biochemistry at the 2019 TA and Future Faculty Awards Day, which was held in April.  

The annual event is sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning, and celebrates students and postdoctoral scholars who have contributed to the learning environment at Georgia Tech. 

This year, 51 students received school-level TA Awards, and 91 students received Thank A Teacher awards. Also, 34 Tech to Teaching participants and 48 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) members received teaching certificates. 

“It was exciting to win these awards, because it shows my work is paying off and that my students care enough to take the time to express that they appreciate my teaching,” Al Kurdi added. 

During the event, the following individuals also received institutewide TA of the Year awards, which include $500 prizes sponsored by the Georgia Tech alumni classes of 1957 and 1972:

Undergraduate TA of the Year

• Adrianna Brown, Computer Science
• Martin Fernandez, Mathematics
• Talha Khawaja, Physics

Graduate TA of the Year

• Jessica Fisch, City and Regional Planning
• Rafael Marin, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Tuo Zhao, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Graduate Student Instructor of the Year

• Evan Mallen, City and Regional Planning 
• Pedro Jose Arias Monje, Materials Science and Engineering
• Sophie Kay, Psychology

When the periodic table intersected with the Spring 2019 Art Crawl, beautiful things happened.

Twenty-eight students submitted to the section for art inspired by the periodic table or chemical elements. In addition to paintings and photographs, the entries included poetry, drawings, sculptures, and digital art pieces.

The diverse creative expressions yielded mind-opening and fresh perspectives of the periodic table. The College of Sciences thanks all participants, who took the time to express artistically their reflections on the periodic table.

Top honors went to three College of Engineering students.

The first-place winner is Ruthvik Chandrasekaran, a third-year Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering, working with Dimitri Mavris and Dewey Hodges, professors in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Chandrasekaran studies jet engine technology disruptors and helicopter rotor blade dynamics.

Chandrasekaran’s entry – “Recharging” – is a photograph of a plasma globe filled with noble gases, such as neon and argon. When the gases ionize because of the high-voltage electrode at the center of the globe, they form beautiful streaks of light, known as plasma filaments, inside the globe.

“Noble gases are usually inert, but under certain extreme conditions they interact with their surroundings to form something vibrant and magnificent,” Chandrasekaran says. “Just like us, noble gases also need the right atmosphere to shine.”

Second place goes to Anna Starr for “The First Element.” Hydrogen is the first element; Starr’s painting of hydrogen’s single proton and lone electron is both riveting and mesmerizing. From afar, the solid black circles beckon. Up close, the lines radiating from the pitch dark objects pulsate.  

A second-year major in industrial and systems engineering, Starr says she’s always looking for opportunities to create art. About “The First Element,” she says: “I wanted to convey the opposing energies of the two particles in a hydrogen atom, with the large negative space representing the positively charged proton and the smaller circle representing the negatively charged electron. I believe the abstract elements of the lines helps capture the mystery of the atom.”

Nishalini Shanmugan took third place with her entry, “Winter Frost.” Using the eerie winter scene, Shanmugan says she wanted to demonstrate with her photograph “how the periodic table coexists with nature and the essence of life.”

Shanmugan is a first-year major in electrical engineering, with a minor in Spanish. Her photograph projects the beauty of the periodic table through its elements, and the molecules they form, coexisting in nature and in different states, such as ice, water, and water vapor. “What better way to do that than with an image of a cold, wintry day?”

Georgia Tech and the College of Sciences celebrated 10 students for excellent academic performance during Georgia Tech’s 2019 Student Honors Celebration, on April 16, 2019, and the College of Sciences Spring 2019 Advisory Board meeting on April 18, 2019.

The student awardees are 

• Mathilda Avirett-Mackenzie 
• Katherine Roberts
• Alli Gombolay
• Dominic Sirianni 
• Steven Creech
• Daniel Gurevich
• Rebecca Durham
• Connor Huddleston 
• Tommie Robinson
• Kenneth Williams

Read the full story here.

Growing up in Alpharetta, Georgia, Bryson Graham Kagy thought he wanted to be an engineer because his father is an engineer. He did robotics summer camps and joined the robotics team of his high school, Milton High School. Although he enjoyed science and engineering, Bryson realized that what he enjoyed most about science and robotics was the mathematics.

As it happened, one of his high school teachers – Beau Chilton – was “passionate about and encouraged me to learn more about math outside the classroom,” Bryson says. This motivation led Bryson to pursue a mathematics degree in college.

“I initially was not that excited about Tech,” Bryson says. “Growing up near the school made me think it wasn’t as good as it really was. I thought I would not meet new people, because lots of people I know would be going here.”

Bryson now acknowledges how wrong he was. “I love the academic environment and community at Georgia Tech,” he says. “The people here are very nice and support and want to help each other.  And there are so many research opportunities, academic talks, and professional opportunities.”

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned the importance of hard work. I didn’t think would take as much work as it actually does to learn math.

I remember getting at 38 on my first analysis test and then really studying hard for the second test, and got an 85!

I am blown away by how much the students want to help each other succeed here. I love how not competitive the environment here is and the sense of solidarity within small classes to try and get everyone to succeed.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I am proud to have served as president of Club Math for two years. I love that club. I hope it continues to support math students for years to come.

I am proud to have posted two research papers to arXiv. It feels great to have a tangible finished product from your work.

I am proud to be part the team that created Mathapalooza and the Seven Bridges of Königsberg concert. Both are mathematics outreach projects that I helped create with a team and Dr. Evans Harrell. I loved showing the public a glimpse of higher mathematics.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

Dr. Michael Lacey made the biggest impact on me. I had him for Foundations of Mathematical Proof, which was my first exposure to higher mathematics. He was my research advisor for my first research project. We have since done a reading course together and planned a new course curriculum and materials. He has given me invaluable guidance both professionally and for life in general. His support and mentorship is what has made it possible for me to pursue my passion in mathematics.

I talked to Dr. Mohammad Ghomi almost daily during coffee and tea times. He made me feel welcome and boosted my confidence about approaching professors.

Dr. Enid Steinbart gave me lots of support and advice. She let me know about lots of opportunities and cared about my well-being. 

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

Some of the most enjoyable times are the breaks between homework with my friends. Once, after we finished our homework, we played bridge at 1:00 A.M. It was so much fun to play with them into the late hours of the night. I have had a lot of fun hanging out with friends. I will miss them.

In what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?

Georgia Tech is where I met my fiancée. It is also where I truly realized my passion as a mathematician. I can’t wait to take the skills and knowledge Tech has given me and continue my studies in math in graduate school.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

I participated in two research experience for undergraduates (REU) programs, at Georgia Tech and at Carnegie Mellon. They cemented my love for mathematics research. I loved learning a specific topic deeply and being in an environment where I could just focus on research and immerse myself in math.

I highly recommend anyone thinking about research to apply over the summer to REUs.

What advice would you give to incoming undergraduate students at Georgia Tech?

Work with other people. When I got here, I did the work for my classes all by myself, because I thought it would make me understand the material better. I have found the complete opposite to be true. 

Working with others has made me understand material more deeply, because you can get different perspectives on the problem, as well as explain to each other parts of the material the other person didn’t grasp as well. It also gives you collaboration skills, which you will need in your career. Lastly, it is a great way to make friends, because working on homework together into the night is great way to bond.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Mathematics in Michigan State University.

Georgia Tech has prepared me with its rigorous classes, research experience, and opportunities to present my research at conferences. All of these will help me succeed in graduate school.

Ever since she could remember, Elma Kajtaz has been fascinated by the nervous system, its mechanics, and how these mechanics help determine an organism’s behavior. An excellent student, she studied behavioral sciences at the University of Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

To further pursue her research interests, Elma moved to the U.S. where she worked as a research assistant in the lab of renowned physiologist Charles J. Heckman, at Northwestern University. There, she studied the role of neural circuits in the mammalian spinal cord, in an effort to understand the plasticity of these circuits. Needless to say, she was hooked on neuroscience for life!

Long before the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge, Elma helped advance the understanding of spinal cord changes associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “The accomplishment gave me a profound sense of purpose and satisfaction that determined my life trajectory,” Elma says. “I was headed for a Ph.D. at Tech.”

At Heckman’s encouragement, Elma learned about the research of T. Richard Nichols, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and in the Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“I was intrigued and fascinated, so I applied to Tech to study with him,” Elma says. “From the first moment I met Dr. Nichols, I knew I needed to learn everything I could from him. His wonderful view on life, insightful scientific ideas, vast knowledge, and unmatched care for humans made him an incredible mentor. I am incredibly happy to have had a chance to work with him.”

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned the value of support and collaboration.  

I completed my thesis research in Dr. Nichols’ Neurophysiology Laboratory with a multidisciplinary team of electrical engineers, medical scientists, and physical therapists.

The faculty at Tech are recognized leaders in motor control, with deep and specific expertise in proprioceptive feedback networks (Drs. Nichols and Timothy Cope) and biomechanics and motor control (Drs. Boris Prilutsky and Simon Sponberg). Their extensive database of neuromechanical data collected through decades of high-level research provided a unique reference for comparison that does not exist in any other institution. Moreover, they gladly share their knowledge, resources, and expertise!

My research would not have been possible without support and collaboration from a diverse neuroscience community in the lab and across the Tech campus. I benefited from an inclusive, supportive, and collaborative academic environment at Tech.

It, indeed, takes a village to raise a neuroscientist.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I take great pride in helping students learn and develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, derive hypotheses and carry out independent research, and collaborate and communicate their ideas to others effectively.

It is not surprising that my proudest moments arise from the success of my mentees. Teaching and mentoring have been immensely rewarding and have reaffirmed my desire to be an educator of the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

My advisor, Dr. Nichols, was incredibly instrumental to my success as an emerging scientist. He taught me new skills, discussed the wonders of science, and listened to all my hopes, dreams, and fears. He encouraged me to spread my wings, challenge and better myself, and form new collaborations and friendships across campus.

This encouragement led me to Dr. Joshua Weitz, when he was starting the Quantitative Biosciences (QBioS) program. Dr. Weitz taught me an invaluable lesson on how to reason quantitatively in the biosciences despite immense uncertainty, through the Foundations of Quantitative Biosciences course, which allowed me to grow as a scientist and reach a new plane of knowledge and understanding.

Dr. Weitz and my peers in the inaugural QBioS class invigorated me, animated my enthusiasm for science, and inspired new ways of thinking about my research. Their unique and diverse scientific interests, willingness to share expertise, and unwavering pursuit of knowledge, made the QBioS program so magnificent.

I am incredibly proud to have been a part of the inaugural QBioS class and to be the first graduate from the QBioS program.

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

My dissertation defense was the culmination of my educational, personal, and emotional experiences and efforts. It is something I will remember forever.

In what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?

Georgia Tech provided an opportunity for me to develop as a neuroscientist, grow as a person, and deepen my friendships.

I’ve met incredible people at Georgia Tech and formed lifelong friendships that are remarkably supportive. I would not be the person I am, without these impactful relationships.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

Yes, Tech does research incredibly well. But I also learned the importance of teaching and mentorship. The personal satisfaction I gain when helping someone with a new skill and watching them succeed is unmatched!

Together with applied physiology colleagues, I co-founded the student group Promoting Applied Physiology Education and Research (PAPER). We organized, led, and instructed several technical workshops and courses for students and faculty. It is incredibly fulfilling to learn that PAPER is now more alive than ever! It still brings new students together to share skills, communicate ideas, and organize outreach programs.

I also had the privilege to share my passion for science and my research findings with a broader and more diverse audience through participation at the annual Atlanta Science Festival and World Science Festival in New York.

What advice would you give to incoming graduate students at Georgia Tech?

Opportunities for personal and academic growth at Georgia Tech are enormous – a remarkable variety of classes, clubs, programs, facilities, local conferences, seminars, talks, etc. Get involved and take advantage of it all. If something you want is not available, organize it yourself.

Get involved in the greater Atlanta community. Atlanta is your home, not just the place where you study. Make it great. 

Take time for yourself, find a hobby, and try new things: hiking, kayaking, swimming. Tech even has an underwater hockey club!

Make new friendships.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I will continue in the field of motor control at the University of Louisville, School of Medicine, in the laboratory of an excellent collaborator that focuses on gait impairment following spinal cord injury. Here, I will expand on the research I performed at Tech. This project has significant clinical applications and direct benefits to society. I’d like to see it succeed.

Mathilda Simone Avirett-Mackenzie was born in Boston but grew up in Atlanta. For as long as she can remember, Georgia Tech had been an important part of her life.

Because her father, Kenneth Mackenzie, was a member of faculty in the Georgia Tech College of Computing until 2003, Mathilda grew up cheering for the Yellow Jackets while being encouraged to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. No surprise that she developed a passion for science and mathematics at a young age.

While attending Atlanta Girls’ School, Mathilda spent two summers as an intern at the Materials Analysis Center, then a part of GTRI. Working there strengthened her love for STEM.

Through Georgia Tech’s Dual Enrollment program, Mathilda took college courses during her senior year in high school. That experience nailed her decision to attend Tech. “Actually experiencing the classroom environments here and walking around campus daily gave me unique insight into Georgia Tech culture,” she says. “I liked what I saw.”

Mathilda is the 2019 winner of the A. Joyce Nickelson and John C. Sutherland Prize, awarded to a top student in the College of Sciences studying at the intersection of physics and mathematics.

What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?

I learned to never, ever give up.

I've struggled academically, personally, and socially. At times I felt like I couldn't possibly succeed. At times I couldn't imagine making it to graduation. And yet here I am, about to graduate with highest honors.

I don't think I really knew what to expect when I started here. Georgia Tech has given me the most challenging, the most rewarding, and the most fun experiences of my life. I don't even regret the many bad experiences I've had here. They have taught me my most vital skills of tenacity and courage in times of hardship.

What are your proudest achievements at Georgia Tech?

I'm the first author on a paper that is now in peer review in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, which is amazing. Papers are a big deal for undergraduate researchers. It's great to see the payoff from the past three years of work.

I got an A in a class I'd previously failed. In fact I went from struggling with motivation, class attendance, and performance to making straight A’s in my last four semesters.

Which professor(s) or class(es) made a big impact on you?

MATH 4317 (Real Analysis 1) is the only class I've ever failed. I took it in fall 2015, which was the worst semester I've had for many reasons including a death in the family. I was intimidated by the material and didn’t have friends in the class. I did not attend most of the lectures, nor did I do most of the homework.  

I learned that simply liking a topic is a terrible reason to pursue it, because the moment something happens to make it unpleasant there’s no reason to keep doing it. I concluded that the skills I was building with the math degree were too valuable to throw away because of one bad class in a tough semester.

I tried again in fall 2016, taking the class with Professor Christine Heitsch, who remains to this day one of my favorite instructors. This time I had the determination and diligence to succeed, as well as my professor’s support.

I had to work incredibly hard both to stay on top of my coursework and to overcome my fear of a repeat failure. It all paid. When I checked the final grades, I cried when I saw that I'd earned an A in the class I'd previously failed.

I thank Professor David Ballantyne for being an awesome research advisor. We've been working together for three years on a project designing and testing models of active galactic nucleus evolution.  He taught me nearly everything I know about being a good scientist. He challenged me, but remained supportive. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. I hope to be as good a mentor to young minds when I'm an experienced researcher.

What is your most vivid memory of Georgia Tech?

During my first semester, I took Honors Physics 2 with Professor Shina Tan. He is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and the class is one of the most difficult I’ve ever taken. His assignments were so difficult that it took all students working together to make a dent.

For a homework on special relativity, I got together with friends in Clough Commons. We quickly filled up one of the rolling whiteboards with calculations. But before we got to a meaningful result, we heard that a larger group was working on it in Howey Building.

To keep the progress we had made, we sneaked the whiteboard out of Clough and wheeled it all the way up to Atlantic Drive to Howey. We carried it down the steps to a lecture hall and proceeded to fill up the entire lecture hall board and the board in the one next door before finally finding the answer.

It was my first college all-nighter and probably the last time I actually had fun doing tedious calculations.

In what ways did your time at Georgia Tech transform your life?

It was at Georgia Tech that I first truly felt a sense of community.

I was a bit of a loner growing up, often perceived as weird and nerdy, and picked upon. I never really felt like I belonged anywhere.

Within my first week at Georgia Tech, that aspect of my life changed. I discovered the Georgia Tech chapter of the Society of Physics Students, a group dedicated to physics education, community, and Super Smash Bros. For the first time, I was surrounded by people whose interests were similar to mine, who were as nerdy as I was, and who accepted me for who I was and wanted to be my friends anyway.

This group is something unique and special about the Georgia Tech School of Physics. I would encourage every incoming student interested in physics to check it out.

What unique learning activities did you undertake?

I spent three years working on a research project. I also did an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) with Professor Heidi Newberg at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in summer 2017.

Research experience is indispensable for any science major planning on graduate school. My advice is start as early as you can. Learning the techniques and ways of thinking that go with research is so valuable, even if projects do not achieve results.

In January 2019, I attended the American Astronomical Society meeting. For the first time, I felt the energy and excitement of seeing innovations in my field. It convinced me beyond a doubt that astrophysics is what I want to pursue in my career.

I was an undergraduate teaching assistant in the School of Mathematics for six semesters. I love working with students, which is why I think I might make a good professor someday.

I also did a study abroad. In 2015 I was in Paris and Nice for the French LBAT. The adventure launched me to a French minor. I made lasting friendships and learned to travel by myself.

During long weekends, I explored Europe. I traveled to Slovakia, where I learned how to manage in a place where I didn't speak the language and most people didn't speak English. I visited a friend in Denmark, where I had the most confusing dinner of my life, as the conversation rapidly shifted between Danish, French, and English.

I went with a group to Chamonix, to see largest glacier in France. For the first time, I stood at over 10,000 feet from sea level. I popped champagne by a pristine mountain lake and learned that every day is leg day in Chamonix.

In Nice, I stayed with a host family that spoke very little English. I learned how to communicate effectively in French.

Studying abroad was one of the most fun, scary, challenging, and incredible experiences of my life.

What advice would you give to incoming undergraduate students at Georgia Tech?

Go to class. Even if you’re late, getting half the lecture is better than none of it, and it’s easier to get back on track after one or two absences than after a month. It’s also good exercise in self-discipline and diligence.

Don't give up your dreams just because you failed at something the first time you tried it. College isn’t a race. Everyone will find their own path to their degree and their career.

Georgia Tech is notoriously difficult. There's no shame in dropping a class or even failing one and retaking it. If you remain focused on your goals and keep fighting to achieve them, you will be successful in the end.

Where are you headed after graduation?

I'm headed for graduate school, but where exactly is still up in the air. If I have to get a job for a few years and then apply again to Ph.D. programs, that's okay, too.

If I've learned anything at Georgia Tech, it’s tenacity and versatility. I know that even if I don't achieve my goals immediately, I am 100% capable of working hard enough to make it happen eventually.

Editor's Note: This story was modified on April 26 to update Kimberly Short's professional status. 

The monthly series "My Favorite Element" is part of Georgia Tech's celebration of 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, #IYPT2019GT. Each month a member of the Georgia Tech community will share his/her favorite element via video.

Kimberly Short is a physicist. She earned her B.S. degree in the University of Arizona and M.S. degree in the University of California, Los Angeles. She is finishing her Ph.D. under the supervision of School of Physics Professor Kurt Wiesenfeld and expects to defend her dissertation in summer 2019.

"Mendeleev's periodic table is a triumph of human pattern recognition," Short says. "He had the foresight to leave holes in his periodic table for theretofore undiscovered elements. Using patterns in the elements in his table, he was able to make predictions of the properties, such as chemical behaviors and masses, of these undiscovered elements"  

Short was formerly the assistant director of the Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology (SCMB). SCMB is one of four NSF-Simons Research Centers for Mathematics of Complex Biological Systems (MathBioSys). The other three are the Center for Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of Biology at Harvard University, the Center on Multiscale Cell Fate at the University of California, Irvine, and the Center for Quantitative Biology at Northwestern University. 

Her favorite element is .... Watch the video!

Renay San Miguel, communications officer in the College of Sciences, produced and edited the videos in this series. 

Other videos in this series are available at https://periodictable.gatech.edu/.

March 2019: Elayne Ashley, scientific glass blower

February 2019: Amit Reddi, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry

January 2019: Jeanine Williams, biochemistry major and track star

To a non-physicist, an “atomic beam collimator” may sound like a phaser firing mystical particles. That might not be the worst metaphor to introduce a technology that researchers have now miniaturized, making it more likely to someday land in handheld devices.

Today, atomic beam collimators are mostly found in physics labs, where they shoot out atoms in a beam that produces exotic quantum phenomena and which has properties that may be useful in precision technologies. By shrinking collimators from the size of a small appliance to fit on a fingertip, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology want to make the technology available to engineers advancing devices like atomic clocks or accelerometers, a component found in smartphones.

“A typical device you might make out of this is a next-generation gyroscope for a precision navigation system that is independent of GPS and can be used when you’re out of satellite range in a remote region or traveling in space,” said Chandra Raman, an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Physics and a co-principal investigator on the study. 

The research was funded by the Office of Navy Research. The researchers published their results in the journal Nature Communications on April 23, 2019.

Here’s what a collimator is, some of the quantum potential in atomic beams, and how the miniature collimator format could help atomic beams shape new generations of technology.

Pocket atomic shotgun

“Collimated atomic beams have been around for decades,” Raman said, “But currently, collimators must be large in order to be precise.”

The atomic beam starts in a box full of atoms, often rubidium, heated to a vapor so that the atoms zing about chaotically. A tube taps into the box, and random atoms with the right trajectory shoot into the tube like pellets entering the barrel of a shotgun.

Like pellets leaving a shotgun, the atoms exit the end of the tube shooting reasonably straight but also with a random spray of atomic shot flying at skewed angles. In an atomic beam, that spray produces signal noise, and the improved collimator-on-a-chip eliminates most of it for a more precise, nearly perfectly parallel beam of atoms.

The beam is much more focused and pure than beams coming from existing collimators. The researchers would also like their collimator to enable experimental physicists to more conveniently create complex quantum states.

^{[Thinking about grad school? Here's how to apply to Georgia Tech.]}

Unwavering inertia machine

But more immediately, the collimator sets up Newtonian mechanics that could be adapted for practical use.

The improved beams are streams of unwavering inertia because, unlike a laser beam, which is made of massless photons, atoms have mass and thus momentum and inertia. This makes their beams potentially ideal reference points in beam-driven gyroscopes that help track motion and changes in location.

Current gyroscopes in GPS-free navigation devices are precise in the short run but not the long run, which means recalibrating or replacing them ever so often, and that makes them less convenient, say, on the moon or on Mars.

“Conventional chip-scale instruments based on MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology suffer from drift over time from various stresses,” said co-principal investigator Farrokh Ayazi, who is Ken Byers Professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “To eliminate that drift, you need an absolutely stable mechanism. This atomic beam creates that kind of reference on a chip.”

Quantum entanglement beam

Heat-excited atoms in a beam can also be converted into Rydberg atoms, which provide a cornucopia of quantum properties.

When an atom is energized enough, its outermost orbiting electron bumps out so far that the atom balloons in size. Orbiting so far out with so much energy, that outermost electron behaves like the lone electron of a hydrogen atom, and the Rydberg atom acts as if it had only a single proton.

“You can engineer certain kinds of multi-atom quantum entanglement by using Rydberg states because the atoms interact with each other much more strongly than two atoms in the ground state,” Raman said.

“Rydberg atoms could also advance future sensor technologies because they’re sensitive to fluxes in force or in electronic fields smaller than an electron in scale,” Ayazi said. “They could also be used in quantum information processing.”

Lithographed silicon grooves

The researchers devised a surprisingly convenient way to make the new collimator, which could encourage manufacturers to adopt it: They cut long, extremely narrow channels through a silicon wafer running parallel to its flat surface. The channels were like shotgun barrels lined up side-by-side to shoot out an array of atomic beams.

Silicon is an exceptionally slick material for the atoms to fly through and also is used in many existing microelectronic and computing technologies. That opens up the possibility for combining these technologies on a chip with the new miniature collimator. Lithography, which is used to etch existing chip technology, was used to precisely cut the collimator's channels.

The researchers’ biggest innovation greatly reduced the shotgun-like spray, i.e. the signal noise. They sliced two gaps in the channels, forming an aligned cascade of three sets of parallel arrays of barrels.

Atoms flying at skewed angles jump out of the channels at the gaps and those flying reasonably parallel in the first array of channels continue on to the next one, then the process repeats going from the second into the third array of channels. This gives the new collimator’s atomic beams their exceptional straightness.

Also read: What spooky quantum particles have in common with curveballs

These authors contributed to the study: Chao Li, Xiao Chai, Bochao Wei, Jeremy Yang, and Anosh Daruwalla, all from Georgia Tech. The research was funded by the Office of Naval Research (award # N00014-17-1-2249). A patent is pending (U.S. patent app. # 62/672,709). Any findings, conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors and not necessarily of the Office of Naval Research.

Media contact/writer: Ben Brumfield

(404) 660-1408

ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu

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