Physics Internships
Chris Cunningham worked with Power Technologies Inc., an international consulting firm located in Schenectady, NY during January Term, a couple of years ago. Chris was given the task of investigating the phenomenon of excess sag in overhead transmission lines at high temperatures. The transmission lines he studied were constructed of aluminum wire wrapped around steel cores. The wires heat up because of energy loss from carrying high currents; this causes the wires to increase in length and sag. Chris's project was to examine the behavior of these composite conductors under various conditions using mathematical models and computer simulation.
Chris did a second internship the following summer at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. The project, which was sponsored by an NSF grant, involved work in a laser laboratory, studying various non-linear phenomena. Chris worked with some graduate students at Lowell and also supervised a high school intern.
Alejandro Victoria spent a summer at the University of Pennsylvania where he assisted on the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass project. His research project involved testing the triggering levels of photomultiplier tubes that were to be used with scintillation panels. These panels were part of an apparatus that will be used to investigate the energy vs. flux of the spectrum of cosmic rays.
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