Graduate Assistantship

Teaching assistantships, requiring up to 20 hours per week on instruction and related duties, are available during Fall and Spring Terms. Additional assistantships in Summer Terms are also available. The assistantship provides

• An annual stipend starting at $16,480 for M.S. and $18,540 for Ph.D. students.
  
• Tuition waiver: full-time students need to be enrolled for 9 credit hours in Fall and Spring and 6 credit hours in Summer. The matriculation fee of currently $232.78 per credit hour is waived. The student is still responsible for local per credit hour and per semester fees. For the Fall 2007 semester these total $518.53. (see the Controller's Office for a detailed fee schedule http://finance.fiu.edu/controller/tuitioncalculator.html)
  
• Subsidized health insurance. The student's contribution to this, as of Fall 2007, is $212.50, $212.50, and $0.- for fall, spring, and summer, respectively. See links at http://gradschool.fiu.edu/student_current.html for details.
  

Full-time graduate students admitted into the Physics M.S. or Physics Ph.D. programs are eligible to apply.

Presidential Enhanced Assistantships are awarded to exceptional entering graduate students who enroll full time in a doctoral degree program at Florida International University. The Presidential Assistantships enhance the standard assistantships provided by the unit by $5,000 to $10,000. See http://gradschool.fiu.edu/presidential.htm for details. Also see http://gradschool.fiu.edu/financial.html for other fellowship opportunities.

Research assistantships come with the same benefits as listes above for teaching assistantships. They are available in the following areas:

Lattice Gauge Theory:

Students with an undergraduate degree in physics and an interest in pursuing a Ph. D. in theoretical physics are encouraged to submit their application to the Department of Physics at Florida International University. Strong applicants with interests in pursuing research in the area of  lattice gauge theories as it applies to current research problems in Nuclear and Particle Physics will be considered for admission in the Fall semester of 2003. Dr. H. Rudolf Fiebig and Dr. Rajamani Narayanan are faculty members with research interests in lattice gauge theories. A list of their current publications, reflecting their research interests, can be obtained from SPIRES or arXiv.

Atomic and Molecular and Optical Physics (AMO):

Research assistantships are available in the AMO physics group. These assistantships are funded by a variety of federal and state agencies. The interests of the group include lasing without inversion, electromagnetically induced transparency, laser indeced coherence effects in nonlinear optics, coherence control of optical transients, dark hollow beam guiding of neutral atoms, metastable atom densities in the upper atmosphere, determination of interatomic potentials through scattering studies, studies of dissociative recombination and associative ionization, and atomic beam cooling and trapping.

Experimental Solid State Physics, Surface Science:

A research assistantship position is available via an Air Force Grant. Current projects include ZrO2 thin films, GaAs(100) surfaces, Au/Cu alloys. This assistantship is full-time and the applicants must be US nationals.

Experimental Biophysics:

A graduate assistantship is available in the area of experimental biophysics. The successful applicant will pursue studies towards the MS degree in the physics of the human visual system. The available project is a study of the human macular pigment by Raman spectroscopy. The pigment is found in the center of the human retina where it is believed to play a protective role. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a non-invasive method of quantifying the pigment. The assistantship is provided by a grant from the NIH and is restricted to US Nationals and Resident Aliens. Travel funds for conference participation will also be provided. Contact Dr. Richard A. Bone. (bone@servax.fiu.edu)

Theoretical Biophysics:

A graduate research assistantship is available in theoretical biophysics. The research concerns the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with biological material. A theoretical treatment of the development of intense pressure waves and shock fronts as a result of laser absorption is being developed. This will then be used to determine how biological cells are damaged.

Experimental Nuclear Physics:

Several graduate research assistantships are available. The research focusses on studies of meson electroproduction (how mesons are mesons produced and what are the characteristics of the process), short range correlations in nuclei (how the protons and neutrons are arranged inside of a nucleus), meson exchange currents (describing empirically how the inhabitants of a nucleus communicate), the internal structure of hadrons such as the proton and neutron (both the structure found from elastically scattering off the hadron where the hadron is left intact and inelastically scattering off the hadron where the hadron is broken into small pieces), and the electroproduction of strangeness (both the basic process on a single nucleon as well as hypernuclear physics where the strange baryon is inserted into a nucleus). The research is accelerator-based meaning experiments are carried out at laboratories such as Jefferson Lab, Mainz, SLAC and MIT/Bates and the data brought back to FIU for analysis. Campus based activities include detector building and preparation, experiment planning and testing, data analysis and physics interpretation.

Undergraduate Research Participation Program

The Undergraduate Research Participation Program allows undergraduates to gain experience in advanced physics laboratories. Opportunities exist in these fields:

Theoretical Biophysics of Protein Folding - Dr. Bernard S. Gerstman

Students will be given the opportunity to participate in theoretical research in the physics of protein folding. The mathematical physics of non-linear dynamics and polymer physics will be applied to the biologically critical question of how proteins can fold to the very specific conformations necessary to be able to carry out their biological functions that are crucial for life. The mathematical physics involves non-linear dynamics formalism similar to the study of chaotic systems. In addition, students will use advanced graphical visualizations of the folding process on a Silicon Graphics workstation.

Quantum Optics - Dr. Yifu Zhu

Students will be introduced to laser induced atomic coherence and its manifestation in light amplification and laser propagation in absorbing atomic media. Experiments will be conducted in atomic vapor cells and atomic beam apparatus in which atomic samples are prepared by multiple laser excitations and couplings (with cw single frequency Ti: Sapphire laser and external-cavity diode lasers). Current experiments are being directed toward the realization of cw laser induced transparency and light amplification without population inversion and will be extended to explore possible applications of laser-induced coherence in spectroscopic measurements and nonlinear optics.

Theoretical Solid State Physics - Dr. Xuewen Wang

Students will be introduced to basic topics in quantum theory such as wave equation, spin matrix, and many-body interaction while working on the application of quantum theory in realistic systems. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the calculation of many-body interaction in simple atomic systems and in improving the Monte Carlo procedure used for the calculation. The results will be used to calibrate parameters in various mean-field approximation schemes, which will lead to more precise predictions of the properties of complex systems. Students involved will be exposed to other current research topics in theoretical solid state physics and will gain valuable experience with the mathematical tools and numerical procedures now commonly employed in various areas of the physical sciences.

Experimental Nuclear Physics - Drs. Werner Boeglin, Laird Kramer, Pete Markowitz, Brian Raue, Joerg Reinhold

Students will be introduced to basic experimental nuclear physics techniques. Research projects include analysis of data for data taken in several experiments at Jefferson Lab and SLAC, development and construction of detectors for experiments at Jefferson Lab, and construction of vacuum windows for the Hall A Spectrometer at Jefferson Lab. Support is also available for travel to and participation in experiments at Jefferson Lab.