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Graduate Student Research Competition

February 7, 2008

First Prize: $500; Second Prize: $300

The competition was held on February 5, 2009. This year's winners are:
  1. Retaining Women in Physics: Theory of Self-efficacy, Vashti Sawtelle (advisor Dr. Laird Kramer)
  2. Electroproduction of Hyperons at Low Momentum Transfer, Armando Acha (advisor Dr. Pete Markowitz)

The Physics Department will run its Graduate Student Research Competition on  February 7th, 2008. We invite you to participate and present your research work in  this competition.

About this competition:

This is a competition of oral presentations of graduate student research work, performed under the supervision of FIU Physics faculty. All currently enrolled graduate students in Physics qualify to participate in this competition.

Registration and preparation:

  • Interested students should submit an abstract (limited to 250 words) to Dr. Wenzhi Li via email wenzhi.li@fiu.edu by February 1st , 2008.
  • Maximum time for each presentation is 20 minutes, plus 5 minutes for questions.
  • Presentations must be prepared in transparencies or PowerPoint. 

Evaluation of the presentation:

  • Smoothness of the talk and structure and organization of the presentation. (30 points)
  • Introduction, background and motivation of the research. (40 points)
  • Interpretation of research results. (30 points)

Winners of the 2008 Competition:

First Prize: Non-Metallic In-chains at the surface of In4Se3 Single Crystal, En Cai (advisor Dr. Jiandi Zhang)

Second Prize: Slow light with cavity electromagnetically induced transparency, Jiepeng Zhang (advisor Dr. Yifu Zhu)

Winners of the 2007 Competition:

First Prize: Growth and characterization of magnetic nanodots on TMO Surface, En Cai (advisor Dr. Jiandi Zhang)

Second Prize: Synthesis, Mechanical, Thermal and Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotube-Alumina Nanocomposite, Tao Zhang (advisor Dr. Wenzhi Li)

Graduate Student Research Competition Committee:

Dr. Wenzhi Li
Dr. James Webb
Dr. Bernard Gerstman