NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

NSERC USRAs are tenable for a 16-consecutive-week duration, and in principle, can be held in any term during the academic year. In most cases, they are held during the summer session.  In addition to a $6,000 stipend provided by NSERC, a faculty supervisor also contributes a minimum topup of $1,500.

Further details about these awards including eligibility criteria can be found on the NSERC website.

As one might expect for a national program, NSERC USRA awards are very competitive, however the rewards are great if you succeed. The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Victoria is typically allocated 6 - 8 awards per year and strongly encourages all interested students (both local and from other universities across Canada and abroad) with first or high second class standing to apply. Preference will be given to students who were not awarded a USRA at UVic in previous years. Note that only students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada are eligible to apply for the USRA.

For a list of project descriptions, see below. 
If interested in more than one project, please indicate this in your cover letter and be sure to rank your preference of projects.

An application consists of the following:
- Cover letter*
- Curriculum Vitae
- Self Declaration form**
- NSERC Form 202 Part I (accessed when you create an account here)
- Post-secondary transcript(s)***

*In the cover letter, Indicate the projects you are interested in; if more than one project, please rank them according to your preference.
**The self declaration form contains the section "In 300 words or less, describe why you wish to engage in a science research project". This text is used by the committee in evaluating applications, so be sure to indicate your research potential, interests and goals.
***An unofficial transcript is acceptable for all UVic students to upload on to the NSERC site as long as the UVic transcript shows the transfer credits from any other post secondary institution(s). An official transcript must be uploaded for students from other institutions applying for a USRA tenable at UVic.

Application deadlines are dependent on the term in which the USRA is tenable and are listed with the project descriptions.

Application deadline: Februray 9, 2024

Email application materials to the attention of: 
Monica Lee-Bonar, Administrative Officer
Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of Victoria

Selection criteria:

Academic excellence
As demonstrated by past academic results, transcripts, awards and distinctions.
Indicators of academic excellence:
- Academic record
- Scholarships and awards held
- Duration of previous/current studies
- Type of program and courses pursued
- Course load
- Relative standing in program (if available)
The committee will consider the entire academic record when assessing academic excellence. The committee will favourably consider situations where an applicant has demonstrated an improving trend.

Research potential
As demonstrated by the applicant’s research history and their interest in discovery.
Indicators of research potential:
- Academic training
- Previous research/work experience (can include co-op terms)
- Relevance of work experience and academic training to field of
proposed research
- Judgement and ability to think critically
- Ability to apply skills and knowledge
- Enthusiasm for research, relevant community involvement and outreach
- Initiative and autonomy
- Research experience and achievements relative to expectations of
someone with the applicant’s academic experience

Project Title:  Astro-Metrology and Atmospheric Metrology: ALTAIR Flights for the Precision Calibration of Measurements of our Universe, and of the Earth’s Atmosphere

Project Supervisor:  Justin Albert

ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction, http://projectaltair.org) is both a miniature propelled high-altitude balloon program and an international collaboration which is funded by NSERC and DND, led by UVic, for precision optical and microwave calibration of ground-based telescopes at sites around the world, such as at the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile (https://www.lsst.org).  A brief 350-word project description of ALTAIR can be found at http://projectaltair.org/page/about_altair.  ALTAIR will be preparing for new flights, and undergoing intensive laboratory and outdoor testing, during this summer.  We are looking for a highly-motivated student, or students, to assist with new design, construction, and testing of ALTAIR, as well as the further development of the flight software.

Project Title:  Solution of Quantum Problems with Entanglement Renormalization

Project Supervisor: Thomas Baker

Entanglement renormalization is a novel approach to solving quantum systems. The quantum problem is recast into a tensor network and then solved rapidly in cases of low entanglement. The researcher on this project will use existing entanglement renormalization methods in the DMRjulia library to model strongly correlated quantum models relevant for large-scale superconducting circuits. Applicants are hoped to have a familiarity with basic, high-level programming as the software is written in the Julia programming language. Studies of quantum systems will be conducted on the Digital Research Alliance’s infrastructure.

Project Title:  Quantum Error Correction

Project Supervisor:  Thomas Baker

Quantum computing, much like classical computing, requires error correction to use fully. In this project, a researcher will investigate the foundational underpinnings of quantum error-correction and mappings to classical lattices to find upper critical thresholds for certain codes. We will generate new proposals for quantum error-correction and test with realistic implementations to gauge their feasibility. A strong background in quantum field theory is useful as is a passing familiarity with Monte Carlo solvers.f

Project Title:  Development of a Fast Dose Calculation Method for KOALA

Project Supervisor:  Magdalena Bazalova-Carter

Radiotherapy is a valuable cancer treatment technique that lacks adequate access in low resource settings. Using a dual-robot system equipped with a kV X-ray tube and a flat panel detector, Kilovoltage Optimized AcceLerator Adaptive therapy (KOALA) treatments can be delivered at a low cost. However, low-cost adaptive therapy treatments, where the patient is imaged and treated in a single session, need fast dose calculations that achieve a reasonable accuracy with fewer computational resources. This project focusses on the development of a dose-calculation technique suitable for a low-cost treatment.

The student will explore fast dose calculation techniques such as analytical models or GPU-based Monte Carlo. The dose calculation technique will be utilized for the dual-robot KOALA system at UVic currently being developed for canine cancer treatments by graduate students. The project is heavily simulation-based, making it more suitable for a student with coding skills, particularly in python.

Project Title: Development of a Raman Instrument with Near IR Excitation 

Project Supervisor: Alexandre Brolo                     

The goal of this project is to construct a new type of microscope able to measure Raman scattering using 1400 nm laser excitation. Raman scattering is a label-free technique that provides specific information at the molecular level. Raman scattering is capable of both identifying and quantifying different molecular species simultaneously even in complex mixtures, because it carries fingerprinting characteristics of vibrational spectroscopy. These characteristics make Raman scattering suitable to biomedical applications in cancer imaging, immune diseases diagnostic and even microbial identification. However, the biomedical applications of Raman are hampered by the intrinsic auto-fluorescence of biological species that interfere with (and most of times overwhelm) the Raman signal. This problem can be averted by using near IR laser excitation.

There are, however, two issues that precluded the use of Raman in the near IR region: 1) the scattering efficiency decreases significantly in that region; 2) near IR detectors have inherently poor response. Our laboratory has acquired through CFI a new type of single photon near IR detector based on superconducting nanowires. That detector is very unique and much more sensitive than regular IR detectors. Therefore, this opens up an opportunity for the implementation of an unique Raman system with enough sensitivity and efficiency to analyse biological specimen in the near IR range without fluorescence contamination.

 The student will set up the Raman microscope system by aligning the 1400 nm laser optics for sample excitation and collection. The collection will involve the rejection of the laser line through a Bragg fiber filter and wavelength selection using a monochromator. The detection will be carried out using our single photon superconducting nanowire detector. The student will also write the codes for data acquisition and spectral display. The system will be tested with standard materials, such as silicon, alpha-pinene and sugar. The student will be assisted by Dr. Stas Koronov, our laser instrument specialist, and by Dr. Alex Wlasenko the management of the CAMTEC Facilities for Imaging Photonics and Spectroscopy (FIPS).

Project Title:  A Nanomedicinal Approach to Improve Current Chemoradiation OutcomeProject

Project Supervisor:  Devika Chithrani

The most commonly used methods for cancer treatment are radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy. There are detrimental aspects to both treatments. Increasing the dose in RT increases the damage to surrounding normal tissue, and in chemotherapy, only 0.1% of the drug gets into the tumor causing many side effects to patients. By enhancing targeted delivery of RT and chemotherapy, there is potential to maximize the effect of dose and decrease the dose received by normal tissue.

To improve the delivery of the chemotherapeutic drug, we will use a lipid nanoparticle system. We will use doxorubicin as the model drug. Lipid nanoparticle encapsulated doxorubicin is used clinically and is called “doxil”. To increase the RT dose, we will use a radiosensitizing agent, gold nanoparticles (GNPs).  We will use both two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) in vitro cell culture models to test the efficacy of our proposed treatment approach where we will use a triple combination of GNPs, doxil, and RT.  

First the uptake and transport of GNPs will be studied in the presence of doxil qualitatively as well as quantitatively to determine optimum conditions for delivery of RT dose. We will use a 6 MV clinical linear accelerator to deliver the RT dose. The outcome of the combined treatment will be evaluated by measuring the cell proliferation and DNA damage. We will use both prostate and breast tumor models to test our treatment approach. This research will help further understand the potential of this novel therapeutic approach, which can result in reducing the chances of failure during clinical trials, and if implemented, the treatment could reduce side effects of chemo-radiation.

The student will learn a) synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles, b) development of 2D and 3D tissue models, c) quantification techniques to assess the efficacy of the treatment, and d) imaging techniques to map the distribution of GNPs and doxil in cells and tissues.

Project Title:  Theory of Entanglement in Photonic Chips

Project Supervisor:  Rogério de Sousa

One of the greatest challenges of photon-based quantum computing and sensing technology is to generate entangled states on demand. In this project the student will perform calculations on mechanisms of photon entanglement in photonic chips. The goal is to optimize the amount of photon entanglement for applications in photonic quantum computing and quantum sensing. The undergraduate student will perform analytical and theoretical calculations under the supervision of a Ph.D. student and the faculty supervisor.

Project Title:  Particle Accelerator Development - Optimizing Thermal Treatments for Superconducting Radiofrequency Resonators

Project Supervisor: Tobias Junginger

Particle accelerators are used in many different applications from fundamental particle physics to health care. Highly efficient machines use superconducting radiofrequency resonators to transform electromagnetic energy into kinetic energy of charged particles passing through the resonators. As superconducting currents only flow within a few nanometers on the surface the performance of superconducting resonators is very sensitive to the near surface properties which can be engineered by tailored heat treatments. For this purpose TRIUMF has installed an induction furnace. Currently the heat treatments are not fully optimized as the actual temperature of the treated resonators is not exactly known. Temperature sensors are placed in the oven but to know the exact temperature on the resonator surface a heat transfer simulation is necessary. Also temperature control is currently done manually by setting the current to the induction heater by hand. We anticipate major performance increases in our resonators through better knowledge and control of the temperature.
The student will first be trained in using the finite element multiphysics software Comsol, which has become a standard tool in research and engineering. They will then proceed to simulate the induction furnace to directly predict the resonator temperature from the temperature sensor readings. Afterwards the student will be trained in using LabView, a standard tool for automatization and control of research equipment, to develop a control mechanism based on the PID technique for accurate temperature control. The student will have the opportunity to implement and test the control software at TRIUMF.

Project Title: Ultracold Quantum Memory

Project Supervisor: Andrew MacRae

Atoms at a finite temperature have a spread in their kinetic energies proportional to their temperature. Since these atoms have very low mass, this velocity can be very high - at room temperature, Rubidium atoms are moving at over 1000 km/hr! This poses a major obstacle in experiments that seek to strongly interface photons and atoms as the atoms quickly leave the experimental region. In order to reduce the average velocity, the atoms must be cooled down dramatically. Unfortunately this is impossible by conventional means - even at 3K (-270C), these atoms are still moving at ~ 30 m/s. Instead we use a technique known as laser cooling to confine and cool atoms down to less than 0.0001 K. This allows us to see the behaviors of the particles with minimal residual motion. 

We have recently constructed a cold atom trap at the university of Victoria's AMO physics lab. One of our next step is to store and retrieve pulses of light in this trap using a technique known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The student project will be exploring EIT in a cold atom trap. We have demonstrated EIT and the next steps will be to explore the storage and retrieval of optical pulses. This will involve learning electronic design, optical alignment, and some theoretical modelling.

Project Title:  Black Holes and Quasinormal Modes

Project Supervisor:  Adam Ritz

Quasinormal modes describe the near-equilibrium perturbation spectrum of black holes, and are of interest for a variety of applications. These include the description of the final (ringdown) stages of gravitational wave emission from a binary black merger (as observed since 2015 by the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra collaboration), and in understanding the near-equilibrium behaviour of strongly interacting thermal matter via holographic techniques utilizing black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. This project will use analytic, semi-analytic and numerical techniques to solve the differential equations that determine the spectrum of black hole quasinormal modes in various cases of interest, including those outlined above.

Project title: Studying Rare Processes in Proton-Proton Collisions with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC

Supervisors: Heather Russell and Michel Lefebvre

The Standard Model of particle physics accurately describes much of the particles and interactions in the universe, but we know it cannot be the full story. Two of the main phenomena not described by the Standard Model are dark matter and the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. These omissions lead us to studying high-energy proton collisions with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The ATLAS UVic group, with members at CERN, TRIUMF, and at UVic, is involved in many aspects of the ATLAS experiment, including the study of rare Standard Model processes — which must be identified over other background processes. Understanding the sources of background events is a key component of the data analysis. In this USRA project, the student will learn about the ATLAS detector and data analysis. The student will assist our team in establishing strategies to estimate backgrounds using actual collision data and simulated events. The project is based at UVic, and could involve two months at CERN if in conjunction with an IPP Summer Student Fellowship. Basic knowledge of Special Relativity, C++/Python would be useful.

Project Title: Future CERN Detector Development with MATHUSLA

Project Supervisor:  Heather Russell & Caleb Miller

CERN is currently considering new experiments at the LHC that we can use to search for new particles that are invisible to the main detectors (ATLAS, CMS, etc...). One of these proposed experiments, MATHUSLA, has a large Canadian contribution and as part of the design/prototyping effort we have constructed a mini prototype version of the detector at UVic.  Students will have the opportunity to work hands-on with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), new formulations of optic fibres provided to us for testing, and assorted NIM and CAEN DAQ setups. The existing prototype provides an opportunity to observe muons from cosmic rays, contribute to the development of our analysis software, and test components individually and as part of the full design. Through this work we plan to identify key design elements needed for the construction of the full-sized MATHUSLA detector and benchmark the expected performance. Students will be supported by Dr. Miller, a post-doc working on the MATHUSLA detector, and have the opportunity to implement design choices which could impact the final detector.

Project Title:  ORCASat data analysis, and ALTAIR construction and development
Project Supervisor:  Justin Albert
ORCASat (Optical and Radio Calibration Satellite, https://www.orcasat.ca) and ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction, http://projectaltair.org) are, respectively, a Cubesat satellite funded by the Canadian Space Agency and led at UVic that has been launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Nov. 26, 2022 and is scheduled to be deployed out of the ISS into its own orbit on Dec. 29, 2022; and a miniature high-altitude balloon program and international collaboration which is funded by CSA, NSERC, and DND and also led by UVic.
Both ORCASat and ALTAIR are for the precision optical (and also future microwave, in the case of ALTAIR) calibration of ground-based telescopes at sites around the world, such as at the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile (https://www.lsst.org).  ORCASat will be in orbit and taking data, which will require analysis, in early and mid-2023; and ALTAIR will be preparing for new flights, and undergoing intensive laboratory and outdoor testing, during that same time period.  We are looking for a highly-motivated student to assist with new design, construction, and testing of ALTAIR, and the astrophysical analysis of new ORCASat data, as well as the further development of flight software for both projects.

Project Title:  Tensor network methods in quantum physics
Project Supervisor:  Thomas Baker
Algorithms to solve some of the largest quantum problems are highly valuable. Having solutions of quantum physics enables us to accurate simulate materials and states of matter. Tensor network methods are one such method that allows us to find ground states of a given Hamiltonian by renormalising the problem for the entanglement, a property of matter. In this project, new codes and algorithms will be constructed with the DMRjulia library, a homegrown library written in the Julia programming language (a Python-like language that is able to run faster in many instances). Topics will include algorithm development, application of methods to physics and chemistry problems, and also quantum computing and quantum algorithms.

Project Title:  Linear algebra methods for tensor networks
Project Supervisor:  Thomas Baker
Tensor networks solve larger systems than exact diagonalization because of the decomposition of the full wavefunction into tensors on each site. However, the tensors themselves can become very large and the efficiency of the linear algebra operations that act on the tensors themselves become very important for larger problems. This project will seek to implement two tools into the DMRjulia library, a code managed by Prof. Baker’s research group. One is to generate a set of functions and benchmark them for the purpose of matrix multiplication and singular value decompositions using graphics processing units (GPUs). The second aspect of the project will be to investigate the sparse-rank factorization methods and to estimate the difficulty in implementing these for tensor network inputs, rather than matrix inputs. This will potentially decrease the time needed for these operations considerably by a factor of 10-1 million. Given time, new algorithms will be implemented.

Project Title:  Theory of entanglement in photonic chips
Project Supervisor:  Rogério de Sousa
One of the greatest challenges of photon-based quantum technology is to generate entangled states on demand. In this project the student will perform calculations on mechanisms of photon entanglement mediated by lattice vibrations (phonons) in crystals. The goal is to optimize the amount of photon entanglement generated in the silicon-germanium chips commonly used in photonic devices. The undergraduate student will perform analytical and theoretical calculations under the supervision of a Ph.D. student and the faculty supervisor.

Project Title:  Testing and performance assessment of electronics components for the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter readout for the high luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider.
Project Supervisor:  Michel Lefebvre & Leonid Kurchaninov
The ATLAS detector is being upgraded to take full advantage of the high luminosity operation of the Large Hadron Collider scheduled to start in 2029, and the deployment of the upgrade will take place during 2026-2028.  The UVic and TRIUMF groups are involved in the upgrade of the readout electronics for the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter system, mainly responsible for the energy measurement of photons and electrons.  The endcap hadronic part of the calorimeter has application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed to shape the signal from the calorimeter cells prior to digitization. The project will involve the testing and performance assessment of these ASIC’s using a dedicated electronics testing infrastructure developed at TRIUMF.

Project Title: Qualification of machine learning algorithms for photon identification at the ATLAS experiment
Project Supervisor:  Michel Lefebvre & Heather Russell
With the average luminosity delivered by the LHC continuing to increase, the ATLAS detector is recording more and more data that are ripe for exploration. But the increase in luminosity produces copious amount of processes that are uninteresting, and increases the probability that particles of interest, such as photons, are produced in each collisions.  One of the ways to discriminate photons produced in the hard scatter (photons of interest) from those produced in hadronic showers (background photons), is by looking at how much energy is produced in the area surrounding a photon candidate. This is referred to as the isolation energy, because when it is zero the photon is “isolated” from all other processes. However, when the number of simultaneous collisions increases, so does the probability that this energy is not from hadronic activity but simply from a separate proton-proton collision.  In order to ensure that we will not be eliminating genuine photons for the wrong reasons, photon identification algorithms need to be revisited.  Current methods are very simple, which provides space for improvements from novel machine learning algorithms.  Improving the ability for ATLAS to discriminate photons from different sources would provide huge gains to many ATLAS analyses, from searches for axions to precision measurements of the Higgs boson.  The project will involve the use of machine learning algorithms to improve photon identification in ATLAS, and the development of the related software environment.

Project Title:  Analysis of GHOST spectra of stars in ultra faint dwarf galaxies
Project Supervisor:  Kim Venn
We have new spectroscopic data from the GHOST spectrograph recently commissioned at the Gemini South observatory.  We would like to hire a student to help us improve our data reduction and data analysis pipelines, and work with us on the analysis of stars in the nearby ultra faint dwarf galaxies.  These galaxies are believed to contain fossil remnants of the early universe imprinted on the chemical and dynamical properties of their stars. 

Project Title:  Radiotherapy System design optimization 
Project Supervisor:  Magdalena Bazalova-Carter
The XCITE Lab is looking for a student to help with the development of low cost radiotherapy systems to be used in developing countries. The prospective student would work closely with graduate students in the lab to optimize the design of radiotherapy systems using Monte Carlo simulations and data analysis techniques in python. Two research avenues are available depending on the student’s interests: One would be to help optimize the design of a kilovoltage treatment machine that we are developing through a collaboration with Sirius Medical LLC, the second would be to improve and ship an open-source, hybrid-Monte Carlo, GPU CT simulation software that we have developed in the XCITE Lab. A strong prospective candidate would have experience in python programming and some prior research experience in medical physics.

Project Title:  Spin-Hall-effect (SHE) measurements in magnetic multilayers
Project Supervisor:  Byoung Chul Choi
The spin-Hall effect is a spin-orbit coupling-related phenomenon which occurs in heavy metals. In this project, the spin accumulation effect induced by the SHE at the interface of magnetic multilayers will be measured. The effect will be detected electrically using three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions. The project will be carried out with the assistance of a graduate student and the PHYS Electronics shop.

Project Title: ORCASat and ALTAIR construction and development
Project Supervisor:  Justin Albert
ORCASat (Optical and Radio Calibration Satellite, https://www.orcasat.ca) and ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction, http://projectaltair.org) are, respectively, a Cubesat satellite funded through both the CSA Canadian Cubesat Project
(https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/cubesat/default.asp) and CSA FAST program
(https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2019-fast.asp) and led at UVic; and a miniature high-altitude balloon program and international collaboration which is also led by UVic.  Both ORCASat and ALTAIR are for the precision optical and radio calibration of ground-based telescopes at sites around the world, such as at the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile (https://www.lsst.org), ORCASat is scheduled for launch from the International Space Station in late 2022; and ALTAIR has had multiple test flights over the past several years and is continuing its development and upgrades.  Both projects are presently under construction, and also are presently undergoing intensive laboratory and outdoor testing.  We are looking for a highly-motivated student to assist with the design, construction, and testing both of ALTAIR and of the ORCASat optical payload, as well as the development of flight software for both projects.

Project Title:  Chemical-dynamical analysis of metal-poor stars in the Milky Way halo and nearby dwarf galaxies 
Project Supervisor:  Kim Venn
In this project, a chemical-dynamical analysis of metal-poor stars in the Milky Way halo and nearby dwarf galaxies will be carried out using spectra from the Gemini Observatories. Targets have been selected primarily from the recent Gaia satellite mission data, and include stars in newly discovered streams, dwarf galaxies, and star clusters, whose analyses can be used to test predictions from cosmological models. Part of this work will include testing the data reduction methods of the newly commissioned Gemini GHOST spectrograph, while learning stellar atmosphere and dynamical analyses. Strong python and programming skills are required.  The student will also learn to decipher the results and determine reliable uncertainties as a member of our research group, which includes four faculty, two postdocs, and both graduate and undergraduate students.  There will also be opportunities for professional development and EDI workshops.

Project Title:  Cancer nanomedicine: nanoparticle-based approach to improve current cancer therapy 
Project Supervisor:  Devika Chithrani
The most commonly used methods for cancer treatment are radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy. There are detrimental aspects to both treatments. Increasing the dose in RT increases the damage to surrounding normal tissue, and in chemotherapy, only 0.1% of the drug gets into the tumor causing many side effects to patients. By enhancing targeted delivery of RT and chemotherapy, there is potential to maximize the effect of dose and decrease the dose received by normal tissue.  This can be accomplished by the implementation of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to current cancer treatment protocol since they can not only carry anticancer drugs but also act as radiosensitizing agents. The objective of the research is to conjugate anticancer drug, bleomycin onto GNPs to test the triple combination of GNPs/BLM/ RT in vitro. We will be testing this GNP-BLM complex not only in tumor cells but also other cells within the tumor microenvironment such as cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which promote tumor growth. We will use both two- and three dimensional in vitro cell culture models to test the efficacy of our proposed treatment approach.  This research will help further understand the potential of this novel therapeutic approach, which can result in reducing the chances of failure during clinical trials, and if implemented, the treatment has the ability to reduce side effects of chemo-radiation.
The student will learn how to synthesize nanoparticles, tissue culture, and imaging in order to carry out the project. In addition, student will learn to analyze data, prepare figures, and learn to write manuscripts for publication.
For more information, visit:  https://web.uvic.ca/~devikac/

Project Title: Spectroscopic computed tomography: Where's the limit?
Project Supervisor:  Magdalena Bazalova-Carter
X-ray computed tomography (CT) is routinely used as a diagnostic tool in medicine. However, some other imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offer better tissue contrast which makes them the preferred modality for some applications. Unfortunately, MRI scanning is time-consuming and costly compared to CT imaging. Recent developments of x-ray detection technology might allow for improvements of x-ray imaging soft tissue contrast which could result in a diagnostic imaging break-through for some diseases.
In this USRA project, the student will be designing, setting up, and using a table-top CT scanner using a spectroscopic (CdTe) detector. The goal of the project will be to optimize the scanner by means of phantom scanning and then scan a biological sample (this can be a sample of the student's choice, but we also have a frozen hummingbird and Cooper's hawk). If the pandemic does not permit experimental work, the project will be translated to the computational world.

Project Title: Chemo-dynamical analyses of stellar streams
Project Supervisor:  Kim Venn
The recent Gaia EDR3 data has shown that our Galactic halo is filled with streams from past accretion and merger events of small dwarf galaxies.  These substructures are now being explored through dedicated photometric and spectroscopic surveys to use their physical properties to test predictions from cosmological models.  In this project, high-resolution spectra from the Gemini observatory of metal-poor stars found in the Pristine survey will be analyzed for a chemo-dynamical analysis of components of the Galaxy.  Only high-resolution spectroscopy can provide the chemical elements necessary to study the star formation and evolution of the stream progenitors. In this project, the student will compare results from both classical stellar analysis techniques and from a new neural network predictor trained on synthetic grids of stellar spectra, both developed in my group.  Strong python programming skills are required.

Project Title: 3D bioprinting of novel tissue models to test cancer therapeutics
Project Supervisor:  Devika Chithrani
1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes, and 1 in 4 will die of the disease. An estimated 50% of all cancer patients can benefit from radiotherapy (RT) in the management of their disease. Currently, we are at the limit of RT dose given to patients, creating a clear need for novel methods to enhance the dose, allowing improvements in survival while reducing toxic side effects.
We are proposing a novel approach where a unique combination of two radiosensitizers, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and docetaxel (DTX) will be added to RT. The goal of this project is to build three-dimensional (3D) tissue models using 3D bioprinting to test this novel therapeutic approach.  These 3D tissue models mimic the real tumor-like microenvironment.
The student will learn how to synthesize nanoparticles, tissue culture, and imaging in order to carry out the project. In addition, the student will learn to analyze data, prepare figures, and write manuscripts for publication.
Millions of dollars are spent in developing, testing, and validating agents and novel techniques for clinical trials. Testing their potential using accurate in vitro 3D tumor models can reduce the chances of failure during in vivo or clinical trials. The high cost and the time-consuming nature of in vivo studies are the reasons why 3D cell models are desired for preliminary screening of novel therapeutics.
(Lab web page: https://web.uvic.ca/~devikac/)

Project Title:  ORCASat and ALTAIR construction and development
Project Supervisor:  Justin Albert
ORCASat (Optical and Radio Calibration Satellite, https://www.orcasat.ca) and ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction, http://projectaltair.org) are, respectively, a Cubesat satellite funded through both the CSA Canadian Cubesat Project
(https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/cubesat/default.asp) and CSA FAST program
(https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2019-fast.asp)
and led at UVic; and a miniature high-altitude balloon program and international collaboration which is also led by UVic.  Both ORCASat and ALTAIR are for the precision optical and radio calibration of ground-based telescopes at sites around the world such as VRO (the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, previously known as LSST, which is presently under construction), by using precisely calibrated light sources carried onboard both ORCASat and ALTAIR respectively.  ORCASat is scheduled for launch from the International Space Station in early 2022; and ALTAIR has had multiple test flights over the past several years and is continuing its development and upgrades.  Both projects are presently under construction, and also are presently undergoing intensive laboratory and outdoor testing.  We are looking for a very highly-motivated student to assist with the design, construction, and testing both of ALTAIR and of the ORCASat optical payload as well as the development of flight software for both projects.

Project Title:  Particle Accelerators Development – A temperature mapping system for superconducting test cavities
Project Supervisor:  Tobias Junginger
Subatomic physics experiments rely on high-energy charged particles supplied by particle accelerators. These use superconducting radiofrequency cavities to transform electromagnetic into kinetic energy. Cavities are typically cooled with liquid helium to temperatures between 4 and 2K. Ohmic losses by the excited rf fields originate on the inside of the cavity and are thermally conducted through the cavity walls into the helium bath. To detect so called ‘hot spots’ of higher than anticipated losses, a temperature mapping system [1] can be attached to the outside of the cavity. Such a system consists of a large number of sensors to measure the temperature distribution along the surface.
The aim of this project is to develop a temperature mapping system for a set of unique test cavities [2] used in development studies for proton and heavy ion accelerators. These are of great interest to TRIUMF, Canada’s center for particle accelerators and research labs worldwide. Tasks include, but are not limited to, design of a printed circuit board (PCB), development of data acquisition electronics, write-up of a NI-Labview data acquisition and visualization software.
[1] Knobloch J, Muller H, Padamsee H. Design of a high speed, high resolution thermometry system for 1.5 GHz superconducting radio frequency cavities. Review of Scientific Instruments. 1994 Nov;65(11):3521-7.
[2] Kolb P, Yao Z, Junginger T, Dury B, Fothergill A, Vanderbanck M, Laxdal RE. Coaxial multimode cavities for fundamental superconducting rf research in an unprecedented parameter space. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. 2020 Dec 2;23(12):122001.

Project Title:  Modelling energy relaxation in superconducting cavities: Applications to quantum computing hardware and particle accelerators
Project Supervisor:  Rogério de Sousa
Decoherence in quantum computing hardware fabricated by Google and IBM is due to energy absorption by amorphous two-level systems at the surface of the superconducting wires and other materials. The same mechanism limits the quality factor of superconducting radio frequency cavities developed for particle accelerators. While these cavities are developed for high energy physics, they can offer a path to a 1000-fold increase in the achievable coherence times for cavity-stored quantum states in the low energy regime (small number of photons inside the cavity). Results from Fermilab show that indeed quantum lifetimes up to two seconds can be achieved with radiofrequency cavities for particle accelerators, but their analysis did not take into account the specific field distribution of these cavities [1] and the intrinsic piezoelectric effect of the superconductor surface [2].
In this project, the student will calculate the field distribution in different superconducting cavities using a finite element code (Superfish). This numerical dataset will then be used to calculate the predicted photon lifetime for different theoretical models based on two-level systems and piezoelectric loss [2]. The results will be used to gain a better understanding of existing data and guide future experiments for superconducting cavities at TRIUMF. The results will also quantify the impact of the niobium/niobium-oxide interface in limiting coherence times of quantum computing devices.
[1] A. Romanenko and D. I. Schuster, Understanding quality factor degradation in superconducting niobium cavities at low microwave field amplitudes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 264801 (2017).
[2] I. Diniz and R. de Sousa, Intrinsic photon loss at the interface of superconducting devices, Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 147702 (2020).

Project Title:  Project with the Belle II Experiment (Three Potential Topics:  Detector R&D; Physics Analysis; and Accelerator Physics R&D) 
Supervisor:  Dr. J.M. Roney
Belle II is a particle physics detector that started collecting electron-positron collision data from the SuperKEKB collider in Japan in 2018. It will perform precision measurements in the quark and lepton sectors of the Standard Model to search for new fundamental physical processes. The energy and momentum of particles produced in the collisions are measured in several subsystems of Belle II. There are three possible projects available, the topic to be decided with the student:
1) One of the subsystems is an array of roughly 9000 CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals arranged around the interaction region of the electron-positron collider. This project will investigate the impact of using differences in the pulse shapes of signals from a Belle II CsI(Tl) scintillator produced by different types of particles as they interact in the crystal to help identify the type of interacting particle. Particles interacting with the strong force, such as neutrons, protons, pions, have a different pulse shape than other particles. The student project will involve the collection and analysis of data from spare Belle II CsI(Tl) crystals exposed to cosmic rays and radio-active sources to study the impact of various systematic effects, such as temperature and radiation damage, on the effectiveness of hadronic/electromagnetic pulse shape discrimination. It will also involve work with GEANT4 simulations of the CsI(Tl) scintillator detector;
2) With early Belle II collision data being collected from SuperKEKB the student will contribute to an analysis of tau lepton physics. The work will involve development of selections of e+e- -> tau+ tau- events and measurements of properties of the events.
3) A proposal is being developed to upgrade the SuperKEKB accelerator with a polarized electron beam. The student will contribute to a project to study the expected impact of installing a spin-rotator magnet system on the spin lifetime and overall performance of the collider. All projects will be conducted in the University of Victoria’s VISPA Research Centre (www.uvic.ca/science/physics/vispa/)

Project Title:  ORCASat and ALTAIR construction and development
Supervisor:  Dr. Justin Albert
ORCASat (Optical and Radio Calibration Satellite, https://www.orcasat.ca) and ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction, http://projectaltair.org) are, respectively, a Cubesat satellite funded through the CSA Canadian Cubesat Project
(https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/cubesat/default.asp) and led at UVic; and a miniature high-altitude balloon program and international collaboration which is also led by UVic. Both ORCASat and ALTAIR are for the precision optical and radio calibration of ground-based telescopes at sites around the world, such as VRO (the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, previously known as LSST, which is presently under construction), by using precisely calibrated light sources carried onboard both ORCASat and ALTAIR respectively. ORCASat is scheduled for launch from the International Space Station in 2021; and ALTAIR has had multiple test flights over the past several years and is continuing its development and upgrades. Both projects are presently under construction, and also are presently undergoing intensive laboratory and outdoor testing. We are looking for a very highly-motivated student to assist with the design, construction, and testing both of ALTAIR and of the ORCASat optical payload, and the development of flight software for both projects.

Project Title:  Characterization a plastic scintillator dosimeter for ultrahigh dose rate radiotherapy
Supervisor:  Dr. Magdalena Bazalova-Carter
Project title: Characterization a plastic scintillator dosimeter for ultrahigh dose rate radiotherapy
Project description: Ultrahigh dose rate ("flash") radiotherapy performed in small animals has shown promise in drastically decreasing side effects of this cancer treatment technique. Before this novel treatment can be applied to patients, an accurate and reliable dosimetry technique has to be developed, since currently used dosimeters are not capable to capture such high dose rates. In this project, the feasibility of a novel plastic scintillator dosimeter (PSD) for the use in flash therapy will be evaluated. The project will include Monte Carlo simulations as well as experimental x-ray measurements in the X-ray Cancer Imaging and Therapy Experimental (XCITE) lab in the basement of Elliott. Towards the end of the project, a publication will be prepared in collaboration with our industrial partner MedScint from Quebec City.

Project Title: Modelling, Creation and Characterisation of Electrostatically Generated Electron Vortex Beams
Supervisor:  Dr. Arthur Blackburn
In this project the student will investigate the creation and control of electron vortex beams produced from placing self-charging micron-scale rods into the path of 60 – 300 keV electron beams. Electron vortex beams, which carry orbital angular momentum, have applications in characterizing the magnetic properties of materials at high resolution. Though the principle of creating vortex beams using this method has already been successfully demonstrated at UVic using the advanced transmission electron microscope facility, this project will further characterise the beams and understand how their performance is affected by geometry and charge equilibrium in a micron-scale rod. The project will involve electrostatic modelling, optimisation, and experimental characterisation using electron microscopy, holography and tomography. The student undertaking this project would benefit from knowledge of Python and/or Matlab programming.

Project Title: Observational Planet Formation 
Supervisor:  Dr. Ruobing Dong
Planets form in gaseous protoplanetary disks surrounding newborn stars. As such, the most direct way to learn how they form from observations is to watch them forming in disks. In the past decade, a fleet of new instruments with unprecedented resolving power have come online. These instruments have unveiled features in resolved images of protoplanetary disks, such as gaps and spiral arms, that are most likely associated with embedded (unseen) planets. Specifically, in a few protoplanetary disks, major azimuthal asymmetries have been found in ALMA dust continuum emission maps. The common interpretation is that these are vortices formed at the edge of planet-induced gaps due to the Rossby wave instability. In this project, the student will study how such vortices appear in near-infrared scattered light, and compare real observations with simulations to check whether the observed “vortices” are consistent with theoretical expectation at near-infrared wavelengths. 

Project Title: Chemical Analysis of Stars in Dwarf Galaxy Merger Remnants
Supervisor:  Dr. Kim Venn
ΛCDM cosmology predicts that there are many partially mixed substructures present in the Galactic halo as remnants of past accretion and merger events of small dwarf galaxies.  These substructures are now being found through dynamical analyses of the Gaia satellite precision astrometry, and their nature explored through dedicated photometric and spectroscopic surveys.  In this project, high-resolution spectra from the CFHT observatory of metal-poor stars associated with the Gaia-Enceladus remnant will be used to examine the star formation history of the progenitor dwarf galaxy.  Early results from the SDSS APOGEE database have suggested there may even be two distinct populations, or two dwarf galaxies with very different chemical evolution histories, that can be examined through the analysis of heavy element nucleosynthesis.  In this project, you will compare results from both classical stellar analysis techniques and from a new neural network predictor trained on synthetic grids of stellar spectra developed in my group (Bialek et al. 2019 https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.02602).  Strong python programming skills are required.

Project Title: Cloud Computing for Particle Physics
Supervisor:  Dr. Randall Sobie
The student will work with the UVic particle physics computing group.  The group is focused on cloud computing, big data and high-speed networks for future experiments.  The group uses cloud computing resources that are distributed around the world and unifies them into a single infrastructure.  We use both private and commercial computing clouds for running particle physics applications.  The system runs application jobs from the ATLAS experiment at CERN and the Belle II experiment at KEK in Japan, and is one of the largest cloud sites for particle physics in the world.  The group is also developing a data federation system so that jobs can retrieve the input data from the nearest location.  The data federation system is still under development by our group and the student will help up build new components and test existing ones.  In addition, we need to develop monitoring displays and debugging tools for the system.  We expect the student will help us develop graphical displays of the relevant data.

Project Title:  Understanding of gold nanoparticle transport in three-dimensional tissue models
Supervisor: Dr. Devika Chithrani
Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are being used as drug carriers and radiation dose enhancers in cancer research. It is important to know how the size and shape of these NPs affect their transport in a tumor-like environment. We have three-dimensional tissue models developed to mimic an actual tumor microenvironment. The goal of this project is to test the transport dynamics of GNPs of different sizes and shapes using these three-dimensional tissue models. The outcome of this research will pave the way for further optimization of the interface between nanotechnology and medicine.

Project Title:  Designing low-noise superconducting flux qubits for quantum computing applications
Supervisor: Dr. Rogério de Sousa
Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are among the most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields, and a major building block for quantum computer architectures based on superconducting materials, such as the one developed by D-Wave systems. Currently, the best SQUID based qubits have a coherence time of the order of 10 microseconds, which is about 10 times lower than the desired quantum error correction threshold. The origin of this low coherence time is intrinsic flux noise from the materials that form the SQUID, most likely due to the fluctuation of spins located at the metal-oxide and substrate interfaces [1, 2]. In collaboration with scientists at D-Wave systems (Burnaby, B.C.) we are currently searching for new qubit designs that minimize flux noise. The goal of this project is to perform theoretical calculations of flux noise for different superconducting wire geometries.
[1] T. Lanting, M.H. Amin, A.J. Berkley, C. Rich, S.-F. Chen, S. LaForest, and R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 89, 014503 (2014).
[2] S. LaForest and R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 92, 054502 (2015).

Project Title:  Computing the energy levels of the quantum Heisenberg model using IBM-Q
Supervisor: Dr. Rogério de Sousa
Quantum computing is becoming a reality with three companies (IBM, D-Wave, Rigetti) making their devices freely available over the cloud [1]. However, these so called "Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum Devices" (NISQ) give rise to uncertain results due to device noise. One key problem in the research with NISQs is to find a computationally-cost-effective procedure to extract reliable results from a noisy quantum computation [2]. In this project the student will implement the quantum phase estimation algorithm [3] to find the energy levels of the Heisenberg model of interacting quantum spins in a lattice. The student will submit the algorithm for calculation in the IBM-Q processor for evaluation using an actual quantum device, and will compare with exact results using exact diagonalization methods. This will allow an estimate of the impact of noise on the IBM-Q device.
[1] See e.g. the IBM-Q website, https://www.research.ibm.com/ibm-q. [2] K. Temme et al, Error Mitigation for Short-Depth Quantum Circuits, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 180509 (2017). [3] See e.g. section 5.2 of "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information", M.A. Nielsen and I.L. Chuang (10th aniversary edition, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010).

Project Title: Our Galaxy in a Computer: Supercomputer simulations of the Local Group of Galaxies
Supervisor: Dr. Julio Navarro
A motivated student is sought to join and carry out original research with Prof. Navarro’s group. A number of research project lines are currently open, many of them exploiting the rich dataset of the suite of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the EAGLE and APOSTLE projects. Possible topics include (i) the origin of the Magellanic Stream; (ii) the predicted inventory of the satellite population of the Magellanic Clouds; and (iii) the effects of the reionization redshift on the properties of the faintest dwarfs, among others. The student will familiarize him/herself with the handling of data from cosmological simulations, will read the relevant literature, analyze the data, and collaborate with other members of the group. A keen interest in Galactic, Extragalactic Astronomy, and Cosmology is required; experience with high-level programming languages and Python would be a plus.

Project Title: Development of Picosecond Time Resolved Magnetic Microscope
Supervisor: Dr. Byoung-Chul Choi
The primary responsibility of the student is to develop a working Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect Microscope, which will be used for the study of magnetization dynamics in small (typically a few hundred nanometers in size) magnetic elements. Experimental arrangements are based on an optical microscope, including a femtosecond pulsed laser as a light source, a piezo-driven flexure stage for scanning the sample, and electronics controlling the optical delay line. Magnetic measurements will be accomplished through the polarization analysis of the reflected laser light in an optical bridge. The student is also expected to work on the fabrication of nanoelements using the Nanofabrication Facility in the department.

Project Title: Muon Detector Construction and Testing for ATLAS upgrades
Supervisor: Dr. Rob McPherson
After the first two successful runs, the ATLAS Collaboration is engaged to exploit the full physics potential of the LHC scheduled to operate at increasing luminosities in the coming years. This will make the forward muon detector subject to high occupancies leading to problems in reconstructing forward muon tracks. It will also result in higher event trigger rates due to high levels of background rates. To address this, ATLAS will replace the forward muon detectors (called the muon wheels) with new high precision muon chambers that will have improved trigger capabilities which will allow for a reduction in the background levels. The project will be based at CERN, working on the construction of new small-strip thin-gap chambers (sTGC) for ATLAS, as well as installation and testing front-end readout electronics on the chambers and analysis of calibration data.

Project Title: Observational Planet Formation
Supervisor: Dr. Ruobing Dong
Planets form in gaseous protoplanetary disks surrounding newborn stars. As such, the most direct way to learn how they form from observations is to watch them forming in disks. In the past decade, a fleet of new instruments with unprecedented resolving power have come online. These instruments have unveiled features in resolved images of protoplanetary disks, such as gaps and spiral arms, that are most likely associated with embedded (unseen) planets. By comparing observations with theoretical models of planet-disk interactions, the properties of these still forming planets may be constrained. Such planets help us understand how planets form.
To this end, here are a few possibilities of an undergraduate research project.
  * There are about 30 disks that have been observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in millimeter dust continuum emission with sub-10 AU spatial resolution. In almost all cases, rings and gaps have been detected. These images have also given us an excellent idea on how mm-size dust particles are distributed throughout the disk. The student will use these state-of-the-art ALMA observations to compose a model to answer the question: what a "typical" protoplanetary disk looks like? Such a model could serve as the starting point in the study of planet formation.
  * Structures in disks can be used to infer the presence and properties of unseen planets. The student will combine the latest ALMA and near-infrared scattered light imaging observations to fit one to a few target disks using numerical simulations (hydrodynamics and radiative transfer) to answer a question: what kind of unseen planets are forming in these disks and producing the observed disk structures.

Project Title: Cancer Nanotechnology: Transport of gold nanoparticles in three dimensional tumor tissue models
Supervisor: Dr. Devika Chithrani
Nanotechnology is at the forefront of cancer research around the world. Among other nanoparticle systems, gold nanoparticles are being used as radiation dose enhancer in radiation therapy. Gold nanoparticles are biocompatible and being successfully tested in early phase clinical trials. However, we do not fully understand how the nanoparticles transport through tumor tissue once they leave the tumor blood vessels. Hence, the goal of this project is to grow three dimensional tissue models and test their transport through the tissue. We will change the size and surface properties of nanoparticles to elucidate the variation in tissue penetration. Outcome of this will result in accelerate their use in the future cancer care.
In this project, student will learn to grow three dimensional tumor tissue in our laboratory followed by studying the nanoparticle penetration through the tissue after 24 hours of incubation. During the project, student will learn the following: synthesis of gold nanoparticles; characterization of nanoparticles, cell culture, quantification of nanoparticle uptake using ICP-MS technique, and imaging of nanoparticles in cells using hyper spectral microscopy. The project will be done in collaboration with Nanoscience and Technology Development Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), and CAMTECH facility in University of Victoria.

Project Title: Experimental particle physics detector R&D project
Supervisor: Dr. J.M. Roney
Belle II is a particle physics detector that will collect data at the SuperKEKB electron-positron collider in Japan beginning in 2018. It will perform precision measurements in the quark and lepton sectors of the Standard Model to search for new fundamental physical processes. The energy and momentum of particles produced in the collisions are measured in several subsystems of Belle II. One of the subsystems is an array of roughly 9000 CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals arranged around the interaction region of the electron-positron collider. This project will investigate the impact of using differences in the pulse shapes of signals from a Belle II CsI(Tl) scintillator produced by different types of particles as they interact in the crystal to help identify the type of interacting particle. Particles interacting with the strong force, such as neutrons, protons, pions, have a different pulse shape than other particles. The student project will involve the collection and analysis of data from spare Belle II CsI(Tl) crystals exposed to cosmic rays and radio-active sources to study the impact of various systematic effects, such as temperature and radiation damage, on the effectiveness of hadronic/electromagnetic pulse shape discrimination. It will also involve work with GEANT4 simulations of the CsI(Tl) scintillator detector. This research will be conducted in the University of Victoria’s VISPA Research Centre (www.uvic.ca/science/physics/vispa/).

Project Title: Spectroscopic Surveys, Precision & Data Analysis
Supervisor: Dr. Kim Venn
Spectroscopy is required to study the physical parameters of stars, such as temperature, pressure, and the detailed chemical abundances. Spectroscopic surveys are done to use these properties to map out our Galaxy to study its formation and evolution. Spectroscopic surveys require and produce millions of spectra, and require both precision observations and fast analysis techniques for timely scientific results. We have two projects in our group; one using machine learning techniques for the efficient data analysis of spectra in the SDSS and other spectroscopic survey data releases, and the second in precision testing of optical fibres that deliver the spectra to the detectors. We are seeking science, computer science, and/or engineering students with some background on one of these topics, programming skills (ideally in python), and the ability to work both independently and in a team.

Project Title: Cloud computing for high energy physics
Supervisor: Dr. Randall Sobie
The High Energy Physics Group at the University of Victoria has an opening for one student the fall term. The position will involve working on the development of a distributed cloud computing environment for particle physics and other computationally intensive applications. (see http://heprc.phys.uvic.ca/) Our group is focusing on the development of systems and software that function on Infrastructure-as-a Service cloud computing platforms like the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and OpenStack. We have been involved with open source projects like OpenStack (http://www.openstack.org/) and have had students participate in the Google Summer of Code Program (TM). Our present focus is on High Throughput Computing for high energy physics applications on cloud platforms for the ATLAS experiment in the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva and the Belle II experiment at the KEK Laboratory in Japan.
Our research is constantly changing, so projects vary from term to term. Students participate in all phases of a project, from conception to production. Previous students have left this position having gained a breadth of knowledge in cloud software, virtualization, development and system administration using open source tools on Linux.

Project Title: ALTAIR observations and data analysis
Supervisor: Dr. Justin Albert
The ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction) project is an international collaboration to provide a precision [0(0.1% uncertainty] photometric reference calibration for astronomical observatories using high-altitude weather balloon flights at altitudes of approximately 20 km with payloads containing in-situ-calibrated light sources, in order to eliminate the largest uncertainty on measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae.
ALTAIR has flown 15 test flights so far and is now transitioning from testing to an operational phase. The student will assist in both the operations and data analysis of the ALTAIR flights. Additionally, the student will assist with the testing of components for future ALTAIR flights, such as new integrating spheres and light sources.

Project Title: Photosensors for Super-K and Hyper-K
Supervisor: Dr. Dean Karlen
The student will perform studies of the photosensors for the Super-Kamiokande detector and the proposed photosensors for the recently approved Hyper-Kamiokande detector.  These massive water Cerenkov detectors are for research into neutrino properties and proton decay.  
The Super-Kamiokande work will use the photosensor test facility (PTF) at TRIUMF.  The key features of the PTF are the ability to fire laser light at a PMT from arbitrary angles and directions and measure the reflected laser light at various points.  This is done by using a pair of optical heads that are translated/rotated using a motor-controlled gantry system.
In parallel, the student will be involved in developing a new photosensor called a multi-PMT for the future Hyper-Kamiokande near detector.  It is a detector with multiple photomultipliers housed within an acryllic vessel.  The main focus will be to develop the gel puck between the PMT and the acrylic dome.  The assembly of the PMT/reflector/gel component, whose support is made by 3-D printing, will be optimized for simpler assembly and better performance.

Project Title: Cosmological Chemical Evolution
Supervisor: Dr. Falk Herwig
Chemical evolution of galaxies is a mature subject in Astronomy, combining the investigation of how the elements form in stars and stellar explosions with the physics of galaxy evolution and the properites of stellar populations in their galactic content.  The evolution of elements in the large and mature galaxies like our own is relatively well understood.  However, the situation is different concerning our understanding of the evolution of the elements in the first phase of the nascent universe right after the Big Bang when the first stars and small galaxies formed.  This project will start with a contribution to post-process a small number of massive star stellar evolution models from the NuGrid model library (Ritter et al. 2018 MNRAS 480, 538) that are presently improved using the NuGrid nucleosynthesis codes (about 1 month).  Then the updated yields will be included and tested in our galactic chemical evolution framework (NuPyCEE, Ritter et al. 2018 doi:10.5281/zenodo.1288696) and tested. An application will be to explore the evolution of isotopic abundances of the CNO isotope to test ideas proposed by our former group member Marco Pignatari (Pignatari et al. 2015. ApJL. 808(2):L43). This will take (1-2 month). The remaining time will be used to explore the conditions in the early universe by using the galactic chemical evolution code extension GAMMA developed by our former group member (Côté et al. 2018, ApJ. 859:67) with the updated yields.

Project Title: Application of Nanotechnology in cancer therapy
Supervisor: Dr. Devika Chithrani
Nanotechnology is at the forefront of cancer research around the world. Among other nanoparticle systems, gold nanoparticles are being used as radiation dose enhancers in radiation therapy. Gold nanoparticles are biocompatible and being successfully tested in early phase clinical trials. One of the most effective cancer treatment options is to use chemoradiation (concurrent use of radiation therapy and chemotherapy). Hence, the goal of this project is to incorporate gold nanoparticles into cancer cells along with anticancer drugs to see whether there is an improvement in the therapeutic outcome since gold nanoparticles can enhance the radiation dose.
In this project, the student will incubate the cancer cells with both gold nanoparticles and anticancer drugs. After an incubation period of 8 hours, cells will be treated with a radiation dose of 2Gy. After the treatment, the effectiveness of the treatment will be assessed using the cell survival assay. During the project, the student will learn the following: synthesis of gold nanoparticles; characterization of nanoparticles; cell culture; quantification of nanoparticle uptake using ICP-MS technique; and imaging of nanoparticles in cells using hyper spectral microscopy. The project will be done in collaboration with Nanoscience and Technology Development Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), and CAMTEC facility in University of Victoria.

Project Title: Search for Dark Matter with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
Supervisor: Dr Michel Lefebvre
The ATLAS experiment is located at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory, near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC provides proton-proton collisions at the highest energy ever reached in the laboratory. The ATLAS UVic group, with members at CERN and at UVic, is involved in many aspects of the ATLAS experiment, including the search for dark matter particles. If produced at the LHC, dark matter particles are by their nature undetected by ATLAS. Their presence is sought in events with missing transverse momentum in association with another Standard Model particle. Our group is working on the search for dark matter produced in association with a Z boson, itself clearly identified by its decay into an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. This search involves looking for rare events in the presence of large backgrounds. Understanding the sources of background events is a key component of the data analysis. In this USRA project, the student will learn about the ATLAS detector and ATLAS data analysis. The student will assist our team in the assessment of the search sensitivity to various dark matter models, and in establishing strategies to estimate backgrounds using actual collision data and simulated events. The project is based at UVic, and could involve two months at CERN if in conjunction with an IPP Summer Student Fellowship. Basic knowledge of Special Relativity and C++ would be useful.

Project Title: ARIEL converter cooling design
Supervisors:  Dr. Alex Gottberg and Dr. Dean Karlen
The purpose of the new ARIEL electron linear accelerator at TRIUMF is to produce isotopes by bombarding target materials with high energy gamma rays. The isotopes will be used for research in nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, materials science, and for medical application development. A significant challenge for the facility is to ensure that sufficient cooling is provided for the electron-to-gamma converter. Working with staff at UVic and TRIUMF, the student will participate in computer modelling and prototype design, manufacture, and tests of the electron-to-gamma converter. Occasional short term travel to TRIUMF may be required.

Project Title: Experimental particle physics detector R&D project
Supervisor: Dr. J.M. Roney
Belle II is a particle physics detector that will collect data at the SuperKEKB electron-positron collider in Japan beginning in late 2017. It will perform precision measurements in the quark and lepton sectors of the Standard Model to search for new fundamental physical processes. The energy and momentum of particles produced in the collisions are measured in several subsystems of Belle II. One of the subsystems is an array of roughly 9000 CsI(Tl) scintillation crystals arranged around the interaction region of the electron-positron collider. This project will investigate the impact of using differences in the pulse shapes of signals from a Belle II CsI(Tl) scintillator produced by different types of particles as they interact in the crystal to help identify the type of interacting particle. Particles interacting with the strong force, such as neutrons, protons, pions, have a different pulse shape than other particles. The project will involve the analysis of data from spare Belle II CsI(Tl) crystals exposed to particles in test beams at TRIUMF (www.triumf.ca/) radioactive sources, and cosmic rays. It will also involve work with GEANT4 simulations of the CsI(Tl) scintillator detector. This research will be conducted in the University of Victoria’s VISPA Research Centre (www.uvic.ca/science/physics/vispa/) and will possibly involve travel to Vancouver for a few days to take data in TRIUMF test beams.

Project Title: Software developer: Python data-analysis for computational astrophysics
Supervisor: Dr. Falk Herwig
Members of our Computational Stellar Astrophysics group produce and analyse large data sets from a variety of simulation codes, such as MESA, PPMstar, NuGrid. To analyse and explore our data sets, our group, together with our international collaborators, have developed and are maintaining and improving a family of scientific python codes, such as NuGridPy. Our group is also involved in CANFAR, the Canadian Advanced Network for Astronomical Research, and here the primary goal is to develop and improve technololgies to make data analysis and exploration available remotely, in a Software-as-a-Service paradigm. This project involes jupyter/docker based virtualization technologies. This position will support the various aspects of our scientific computing program, including scientific python programing, regression testing, module development and close interaction with the scientists in our group and in external collaborations. The successful candidate will have prior experience in some high-level computer language and ideally some previous exposure to programming in python (such as PHYS248). Most important are motivation and eagerness to engage with the project needs of our group members.

Project Title: IR spectroscopy of metal-rich stars
Supervisor: Dr. Kim Venn
The RAVEN multi object adaptive optics science demonstrator was a great success at obtaining diffraction-limited, high-resolution IR spectra of stars towards the Galactic Centre simultaneously. During the commissioning runs, spectra of both metal-poor (published as Lamb et al. 2016) and metal-rich stars were obtained. This project is for a mature research student to examine and analyze the reduced spectra of the metal-rich stars for the first time. Good programming and data reduction skills will be needed, as well as an ability to work within our group, both independently and creatively.

Project Title: Theoretical design of low-noise superconducting wires
Supervisor: Dr. Rogerio de Sousa
Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are the major building block for quantum computer architectures such as the one developed by D-Wave systems. Currently, the best SQUID based qubits have a coherence time of the order of 10 microseconds, which is about 10 times lower than the desired quantum error correction threshold. The origin of this low coherence time is intrinsic flux noise from the materials that form the SQUID, most likely due to the fluctuation of spins located at the metal-oxide and substrate interfaces. In collaboration with scientists at D-Wave we are currently searching for new materials and device designs that minimize flux noise.  The student will perform theoretical calculations of flux noise for superconducting (SC) wires formed by materials with different coherence length. The student will use a recently developed numerical scheme to compute the SC current density as a function of coherence length, and will develop computer code to calculate physical properties such as flux and inductance, and their associated noise power in the presence of spin impurities.

Project Title: Monte Carlo simulations of advanced radiotherapy techniques
Supervisor: Dr. Magdalena Bazalova-Carter
The student will generate software for easy implementation of Monte Carlo dose calculations of clinical and advance plans on patient CT datasets.  The Monte Carlo dose calculations will be performed using the VirtualLinac web-based interface (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) using two input files generated by the student in a python graphical user interface (GUI):  1) phantom file generated from patient computed tomography (CT) images with user-defined voxel resolution and calibration curve and 2)  Developer Mode .xml file defining the machine trajectories, including collimator rotation, MLC settings and couch position.  In addition, the GUI will be capable to generate .xml files for moving geometries, 4DCT data sets and electron fields shaped by MLCs with shortened SSD.  The developed GUI will be used for calculations of dose for advanced radiotherapy techniques, such as total body irradiations (TBI), craniospinal irradiations(CSI), and mixed electron/photon intensity modulated radiotherapy (MPERT) treatments.  The former part of the project will be performed in collaboration with Dr. Daren Sawkey of Varian and the clinical applications will be done in collaboration with Dr. Benjamin Fahimian of Stanford University and Drs. Sergei Zavgorodni and Isabelle Gagne of the BC Cancer Agency. 
The student will be reponsible for generating the python GUI and for its sextensive testing on a number of clinical cases.  The student will design the GUI to allow user-friendly inputs for unconventional beam setups and will make the GUI available to the medical physics research community.  The student will apply the GUI on CT data sets provided by our collaborators and calculate the patient doses for a number of TBI, CSI, and MPERT treatments.

Project Title: Galaxy evolution on the very largest scales
Supervisor: Dr. Jon Willis
Although it is known that galaxy evolution proceeds differently in rich galaxy clusters compared to the field, it remains unknown how the large scale structure beyond the scale of galaxy clusters affects galaxy evolution.  This project will use a database of 6000 galaxy clusters drawn from the K2 galaxy catalogue (Thanjavur et al. 2010).  The aim is to identify which galaxy clusters are located in dense regions of the universe and which are located in voids.  The project will then use Canada France Hawaii Legacy Survey images and photometry of galaxies within these clusters to determine whether subtle differences (e.g. galaxy colours and spatial distribution about the cluster centre) exist beween galaxies in clusters as a function of the scale of the cluster.  Such questions have never been addressed in the literature before and the project promises interesting new results.
A successful applicant for the research project should have good computer skills (e.g. unix, python or c programming) and a background in astronomy (such that concepts in galaxy photometry and cosmology can be understood).

Project Title: ALTAIR observations and data analysis
Supervisor: Dr. Justin Albert
The ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction) project is an international collaboration to provide a precision [0(0.1% uncertainty] photometric reference calibration for astronomical observatories using high-altitude weather balloon flights at altitudes of approximately 20 km with payloads containing in-situ-calibrated light sources, in order to eliminate the largest uncertainty on measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae.
ALTAIR has flown 15 test flights so far and is now transitioning from testing to an operational phase. This summer, we will be performing flights in New Hampshire and in Arizona over Mt. Hopkins (and possibly in Hawaii over the Pan-STARRS Observatory). Our student will assist in both the operations and data analysis of the ALTAIR flights this summer.
Additionally, our student will assist with the testing of components for future ALTAIR flights, such as new integrating spheres and light sources.

Project Title: Designing low-noise superconducting flux qubits for quantum computing applications
Supervisor: Dr. Rogerio de Sousa
Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are among the most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields, and a major building block for quantum computer architectures based on superconducting materials, such as the one developed by D-Wave systems, inc. Currently, the best SQUID based qubits have a coherence time of the order of 10 microseconds, which is about 10 times lower than the desired quantum error correction threshold. The origin of this low coherence time is intrinsic flux noise from the materials that form the SQUID, most likely due to the fluctuation of spins located at the metal-oxide and substrate interfaces [1, 2]. In collaboration with scientists at D-Wave systems (Burnaby, B.C.) we are currently searching for new qubit designs that minimize flux noise. The goal of this project is to perform theoretical calculations of flux noise for different superconducting wire geometries.
[1] T. Lanting, M.H. Amin, A.J. Berkley, C. Rich, S.-F. Chen, S.
LaForest, and R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 89, 014503 (2014).
[2] S. LaForest and R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 92, 054502 (2015).

Project title: Search for Dark Matter with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
Supervisor: Dr Michel Lefebvre
The ATLAS experiment is located at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory, near Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC provides proton-proton collisions at the highest energy ever reached in the laboratory. The ATLAS UVic group, with members at CERN and at UVic, is involved in many aspects of the ATLAS experiment, including the search for dark matter particles. If produced at the LHC, dark matter particles are by their nature undetected by ATLAS. Their presence is sought in events with missing transverse momentum in association with another Standard Model particle. Our group is working on the search for dark matter produced in association with a Z boson, itself clearly identified by its decay into an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. This search involves looking for rare events in the presence of large backgrounds. Understanding the sources of background events is a key component of the data analysis. The USRA project involves learning about ATLAS data analysis, including strategies to estimate backgrounds using actual collision data and simulated events. Basic knowledge of Special Relativity and C++ would be useful.

Project Title: Evaluating photon-hadron separation in CsI(Tl) Scintillators
Supervisor: Dr. J.M. Roney
This is a hardware and simulation project that is based in Victoria. It involves measurements with Thallium-doped Cesium Iodide CsI(Tl) scintillators exposed to photons, neutrons and alpha particles and run simulation code describing the experiments. The goal is to determine whether or not the CsI(Tl) scintillators that comprise the Belle II calorimeter have a time response that can provide discrimination between electromagnetic and hadronic showers. The outcome of these experiments will directly impact the data to beextracted from the Belle II calorimeter.
The Belle II experiment will be located at the SuperKEKB e+e- collider at the KEK laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan. It is a successor to the successful Belle and BaBar experiments, which were cited for their contributions to the phenomenon of CP violation in the 2008 Physics Nobel Prize. The primary physics goal of Belle II is to search for evidence of new physics through a wide range of measurements that are sensitive to the presence of heavy virtual particles, and that can be precisely predicted in the Standard Model. These measurements could include CP violation and other asymmetries, rare decays, or forbidden decays. If new physics is found at the LHC, Belle II can explore its nature by looking for a pattern of deviations from the Standard Model. Belle II will also be sensitive to the direct production of new light particles, including those predicted by dark sector models of dark matter, or additional Higgs particles, particles that will be difficult to detect at the LHC. The experiment will also continue the exploration of the weak force and CP violation, a program successfully followed by BaBar and Belle.
The student will conduct measurements with a CsI(Tl) scintillator exposed to cosmic rays, photons, alpha particles, and a neutron source in the Elliott Building on the University of Victoria campus to determine whether or not there is sufficient differences in time structure to be able to use this in the Belle II calorimeter. If time permits, the student will also prepare simulations of the neutron source and the response of the detector to the neutrons.

Project Title: Scientific Computing Tools for Analysis of Astrophysics Simulations
Supervisor: Dr. Falk Herwig
All the chemical elements heavier than hydrogen, helium, and lithium have been created inside stars by nuclear reactions.  During their lifetime, stars eject a significant fraction of their newly synthesized elements in the interstellar medium, which is the gas that fills the space between stars.  Once ejected, those new elements wil eventually be mixed with other elements and recycled to form new generations of stars that will one more time transform the existing elements into new heavier elements.  In our group, we have developed a chemical evolution model that captures this stellar life cycle and predicts how the chemical elements are modified with time inside a galaxy.  In this project, new python codes will be developed to introduce additional physical processes to make our galaxy simulations more realistic.  The project will also make additions to the library of observed stellar abundance to which the models are compared.  This project involved python programming.  This project will be performed within the international NuGrid collaboration (http://www.nugridstars.org) and in collaboration with the NSF Physics Centre Joint Institute for Nucelar Astrophysics (JINA).  The student will be involved in applying and testing already existing codes.  The student will use the codes to build sample models of extra-galactic systems and combine them with observational data.  The main thrust of the student's work will be in devleoping additional utilities and modules and to maintain and improve existing codes.  This includes making the tools more user friendly so that they can benefit a larger number of our international collaborators.

Project Title: Scientific Computing Tools for Analysis of Astrophysics Simulations
Supervisor:  Dr. Falk Herwig
The computational stellar astrophysics group (http://csa.phys.uvic.ca) is engaged in a number of scientfic computing projects that use the python language.  The tools that the group develops and maintains are used to analyse astrophysics simulation data and facilitate the comparison with observations to test the models.  One emphasis will be on improving the NuGridPy python package (http://nugridpy.nugridstars.org) that supports the international NuGrid collaboration.  The goal of this collaboration is to construct computer simulations that represent the physics of the origin of elements in stars and stellar explosions.  The student will work in a team of six group members including post-docs and graduate students as well as many international collaborators.  The student will homogenize the code base, participate in testing and debugging existing software and contribute to the development of new algorithms.  An important part of the student's responsibility will be to implement new analysis modules that support the interpretation of large-scale 3D hydrodynamic simulations of stellar convection.

Project Title: Cloud Computing for High Energy Physics
Supervisor:  Dr. Randall Sobie
The High Energy Physics Group at the University of Victoria will employ a student interested in working on the development of a distributed cloud computing environment for particle physics applications. (see http://heprc.phys.uvic.ca/). Our group is focusing on the development of systems and software that function on Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud computing platforms like the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and OpenStack. Our systems are used to operate clouds in Europe, Australia, United States and Canada, primarily for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Switzerland. Our research is constantly changing, so projects vary from term to term. Students participate in all phases of a project, from conception to production. Previous students have left this position having gained a breadth of knowledge in cloud software, virtualization, development and system administration using open source tools on Linux. The experience gained on our projects has benefited students who have moved on to graduate school or industry

Project Title: ATLAS Upgrade Electronics and ATLAS Analaysis
Supervisor: Dr. Richard Keeler
The ATLAS experiment is at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN Laboratory. Protons are being collided at the highest ever man-made energies. The ATLAS detector records the energy signatures of the collisions. The data from these measurements gives us an unprecedented look at the physics in a new energy regime. Our group is making detailed high precision measurements to test the Standard Model; we are searching for dark matter at the LHC; and we are developing electronic baseplanes for the next upgrade of the Hadronic Endcap of the liquid argon calorimeters.
Dark matter particles are by their nature invisible. By searching for missing transverse energy in association with a weak boson, Z0, we can look for dark matter candidates. A number of recent theories have been modeled that we should be able to reject or hopefully find supporting evidence for them. This year will be our first look at this new higher energy.
The upgrade is the first step to a new electronic readout of the liquid argon calorimeters of the ATLAS experiment. In this phase, new electronics allows the experiment to make use of much higher rate collisions. Eventually a fully digital front end will be built based on our experience with this first step. We are testing the pre-production version of the boards. If they pass our tests, we will go into full production.

Project Title: Multivariate analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment
Supervisor: Dr. Robert Kowalewski
The CERN Large Hadron Collider is being prepared for a run at higher energy (8 -> 14 TeV) and higher intensity than previously achieved. We can only afford to store ~1/100,000 of the data produced by the collider, so the ATLAS trigger must reject the vast majority of uninteresting collisions and preserve the ability to search for new particles and interactions, refine measurements of the Higgs boson and collect data that is crucial to quantifying detector performance and understanding experimental backgrounds. The University of Victoria has been involved in the ATLAS high level trigger since 2007, and is one of the lead groups in the selection of events with an imbalance in the observed transverse momentum. This imbalance is the signature for particles that escape direct detections, such as neutrinos or, perhaps, particles predicted in theories of SuperSymmetry or Dark Matter. Further refinement of the current selection algorithms, in particular to deal with a sharply increased number of simultaneous proton-proton collisions in the next LHC run, is needed to preserve the ability to select these interesting events. During the May-August period, different approaches to improving the selectivity of the missing transverse energy trigger will be compared. The robustness and speed of the algorithms employed will also be evaluated and optimized. The final decision for the 2015 trigger configuration will need to be made in Fall, 2014. The student project will involve learning about multivariable methods and applying them to classification problems associated with ATLAS data, with a goal of improving our ability to seperate signal from background.

Project Title: Beam profile monitor system for the TRIUMF superconducting electron linear accelerator
Supervisor: Dr. Dean Karlen
ARIEL is a major new facility at the TRIUMF laboratory to enhance the laboratory's capability to produce rare isotopes for science and medicine. The newly constructed high power superconducting electron linear accelerator, known as the e-linac, is the cornerstone of the ARIEL facility. Our group at the University of Victoria is providing important beam diagnostics systems for the e-linac. We recently completed the construction and installation of the first phase of 16 view screen beam profile monitors and control cabinet which have operated successfully in low-power beam-tests. Each system consists of florescent and optical transition radiation foil targets that can be inserted into the beam at a 45 degree angle, and a camera system that records the beam profile with high precision. A calibration target is included to correct for optical and camera distortions. An additional 14 beam profile monitor systems are to be built along with a second control cabinet, for installation in the high energy section of the e-linac. The information from the beam profile monitors is essential to understand the properties of the accelerated beam. The student will work, with help and supervision from technical staff, to assemble, align, callibrate and test the 14 camera systems as well as help build and test the control system.  There may be opportunities to participate int he operation of the beam profile monitors at TRIUMF and in the analysis of the images collected by the system.

Project Title:  High energy physics application software development
Supervisor:  Dr. Randall Sobie
The High Energy Physics Group at the University of Victoria will employ a student interested in working on the development of a distributed cloud computing environment for particle physics applications. (see http://heprc.phys.uvic.ca/).
Our group is focusing on the development of systems and software that function on Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud computing platforms like the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud and OpenStack. Our systems are used to operate clouds in Europe, Australia, United States and Canada, primarily for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva Switzerland.  Our research is constantly changing, so projects vary from term to term. Students participate in all phases of a project, from conception to production. Previous students have left this position having gained a breadth of knowledge in cloud software, virtualization, development and system administration using open source tools on Linux. The experience gained on our projects has benefited students who have moved on to graduate school or industry.

Project Title:  (Super) computing the universe: tracing the formation and evolution of cosmic structure
Supervisor:  Dr. Arif Babul
Galaxy groups and clusters are remarkable systems. With masses ranging from an equivalent of ten thousand billion to a million billion solar masses, these systems are the largest, most massive, gravitationally bound structures in the Universe. The largest of these are easy to identify out to vast distances: They stand out as rich concentrations of bright galaxies; they cause discernable distortions in the cosmic background radiation, and are among the most luminous X-ray sources in the universe. Due to their high visibility, galaxy groups and clusters are frequent targets of observational studies aimed at understanding the processes impacting the joint evolution of galaxies and cosmic baryons across the epochs. In fact, since groups and clusters collectively incorporate more than a third of the diffuse gas and more than a half of all bright galaxies in the low redshift universe, a unified, realistic, predictive model for the co-evolution of galaxies, black holes, and the hot diffuse gas in group and cluster environments is a prerequisite for furthering the larger agenda of understanding galaxy formation and more broadly, the evolution of the baryons in the universe. Since the formation of galaxies and of galaxy groups and clusters is influenced by an incredibly complex network of physical processes all interacting with one another, the emergence of cosmic structure is best studied using numerical simulations that attempt to replicate virtually the universe's 13.7 billion year history. As an NSERC USRA, you will work with the outputs of such simulations, both to analyze the outputs as well as explore innovative ways of representing the data. The overarching goal is to draw insights from the simulations about identify the conditions that endowed cosmic structure with their observed properties.

Project Title:  Carbon-rich stars as tracers of the early universe
Supervisor:  Dr. Kim Venn
It is currently thought that the first stars to form in galaxies were carbon-rich, based on some theoretical models and the evidence that the fractional abundance of carbon on most metal-poor stars is higher than the Sun.  In this summer project, we will examine carbon abundances in metal-poor stars.  This can include the analysis of optical spectra taken at the VLA for stars in a nearby dwarf galaxy, the analysis of IR spectra taken at the Subaru Telescope or available from the APOGEE survey database, and/or other database queries from photometric and spectroscopic surveys of stars in the Galaxy.

Project Title:  Theroretical study of flux noise in SQUIDS and superconducting qubits
Supervisor:  Dr. Rogério de Sousa
Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are among the most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields, and a major building block for quantum computer architectures based on superconducting materials.  Currently, the best SQUID based qubits have a coherence time of the order of 10 microseconds, which is about 10 times lower than the desired quantum error correction threshold. The origin of this low coherence time is intrinsic flux noise from the materials that form the SQUID, most likely due to the fluctuation of spins located at the metal-oxide and substrate interfaces [1-3]. In collaboration with scientists at D-Wave systems (Burnaby, B.C.) we are currently searching for new qubit designs that minimize flux noise. The goal of this project is to consider the impact of shielding planes on flux noise.
[1] R.H. Koch, D.P. DiVincenzo, and J. Clarke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98,
267003 (2007).
[2] R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 76, 245306 (2007).
[3] T. Lanting, M.H. Amin, A.J. Berkley, C. Rich, S.-F. Chen, S.

Project Title:  Cloud Computing at the University of Victoria
Supervisor:  Dr. Randy Sobie, IPP Research Scientist & Adjunct Professor
The Particle Physics group is active on the ATLAS particle physics experiment at the CERN Laboratory and the Belle-II experiment at the KEK accelerator.  This position will involve working on the development of a cloud computing environment for particle physics applications.  The Cloud at the University of Victoria has local resources but also has access to resources at other locations in Canada and the U.S.

Project Title:  Electronic Development for the ATLAS LAr Calorimeter Upgrade
Supervisor:  Dr. Richard Keeler, Professor
The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland is being upgraded to handle increased intensity.  The resulting increase in event rate will create problems for the existing trigger system.  Advances in electronics makes it possible for a more advanced trigger with the necessary capability to be built.  The new trigger requires that more information from the liquid argon calorimeters be made available to the trigger system.  This necessitates changes to the electronic readout of the calorimeters.  The project is to develop, prototype, test and install baseplanes of an advanced electronics crate that will route the electronic signals.  The challenges to be met are high signal density and a requirement for very high fidelity transmission of analogue signals.

Project Title:  Theoretical study of the geometry-dependence of flux noise in SQUIDS
Supervisor:  Dr. Rogério de Sousa, Associate Professor
Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) are among the most sensitive detectors of magnetic fields, and a major building block for quantum computer architectures based on superconducting materials.  Currently the best SQUID-based qubits have a coherence time of the order of 10 microseconds, which is about 10 times lower than the desired quantum error correction threshold.  The origin of this reduced coherence time is intrinsic flux noise from the materials that form the SQUID, most likely due to the fluctuation of spins located at the metal-oxide and substrate interfaces [1,2].  Recently, we developed a theory of flux noise due to the spin diffusion that occurs in the presence of the interaction between spins [3].  The theory presents an explicit expression for the dependence of the noise spectral density on the SQUID wire shape. In this project, the student will write a computer program that computes the flux noise explicitly, and will study the dependence of the noise on different wire dimensions and shapes.  The final result will be a qualitative and quantitative understanding on how SQUID flux noise depends on SQUID geometry.
[1] R.H. Koch, D.P. DiVincenzo, and J. Clarke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 267003 (2007).
[2] R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 76, 245306 (2007).
[3] T. Lanting, M.H. Amin, A.J. Berkley, C. Rich, S.-F. Chen, S. LaForest, and R. de Sousa, Phys. Rev. B 89, 014503 (2014).

Project Title:  Electronic development for the ATLAS LAr calorimeter upgrade
Supervisor:  Dr. Richard Keeler, Professor
Electronics will be developed to upgrade the readout of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter system.  The upgrade will significantly increase the capacity of the ATLAS experiment to select or trigger on events that contain the higgs particle and the electro-weak bosons.  It does this by increasing the granularity and improving the resolution of the signals that will be sent from the calorimeters to the ATLAS trigger system.  The trigger system is also being upgraded to make use of these improved signals.  The upgrade is essential to cope with the luminosity of the LHC collider as it increases beyond the original design specifications.  The higher luminosity will significantly increase the sensitivity to new physics. 
The student will design test equipment to verify prototype electronics meet the specifications needed by the ATLAS experiment.  The work will include developing spice models and bread-boarding circuits.  Electronic tests of prototype electronics will include measurements of the cross talk and pulse shape fidelity.

Project Title:  (Super) Computing the Universe: Tracing the Formation and Evolution of Cosmic Structure
Supervisor:  Dr. Arif Babul, Professor
At present, the most important problem in the area of physical cosmology is to understand how galaxies as well as groups and clusters of galaxies emerge and how they acquire their observed properties - in other words, what physical processes shape their evolution.  This is key to not only making sense of all sorts of observations probing the universe over the past 10 billion years, but also to understand how structures at one epoch relate to structures at another, and how different components of the universe - dark matter, gas and stars - interact. 
Dr. Babul’s research group is carrying out state-of-the-art numerical "holistic" simulations of the formation and evolution of cosmic structure to address the above issues.  The goal is not just to understand this or that aspect but to develop a self-consistent model that can explain a wide range of observations in the X-ray, optical, infra-red, sub-mm, etc.  This is what is meant by "holistic".  We are aiming to get the whole system right.
This project will involve analysis of different suites of numerical simulations and semi-analytic models of cosmological structure formation to assess the properties of structures formed therein, and compare the results to observations.

Project Title:  Hydrodynamics, quantum anomalies, and gravitation
Supervisor:  Dr. Pavel Kovtun, Associate Professor
The main objective is to understand real-time dynamics in strongly interacting quantum systems, such as the quark-gluton plasma, or quantum critical phases.  The hydrodynamic description is a powerful universal language, while the gauge-gravity correspondence provides a set of exactly tractable models against which the hydrodynamic predictions can be tested.
The role of the student will be to help with numerical calculations of gravitational dynamics in anti de Sitter space, and in relating the gravitational dynamics to the collective behaviour in many-body quantum systems.

Project Title:  Study of the Higgs boson properties using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider
Supervisor:  Michel Lefebvre, Professor
The Higgs decay to W+ W- is a highly sensitive channel for measurement of the properties of the recently-discovered Higgs boson at the LHC.  Measurement of the CP content – including the possibility of small CP-violating phases, and the bearing this might have on the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe – in Higgs decays will require detailed analysis of Higgs to W+ W- angular properties.  This project consists in the study of Higgs decay to W+ W- using data collected by the ATLAS experiment and using simulated events, with a view to extract properties of the Higgs boson, such as its spin and parity.  The student will spend two months at UVic and two months at CERN to gain critical experience in ATLAS data analysis, to become a member of the analysis team at ATLAS, and to be a part of the exciting ATLAS and CERN environments.  The student will be supervised at UVic by Prof. Michel Lefebvre, and at CERN by a postdoctoral fellow expert in the Higgs to W+ W- team at ATLAS.  The student will analyze ATLAS data and simulated events using computer software.  This involves learning about proton-proton collisions at the LHC, the Higgs boson and its signatures, and the relevant C++ ATLAS software.  The student will also be required to develop part of the analysis-specific software, and to report on findings to our UVic ATLAS group.

Project Title: Improving the ATLAS trigger for the 14 teV LHC run
Supervisor:  Dr. Robert Kowalewski, Professor
The CERN Large Hadron Collider is being prepared for a run at higher energy (8 -> 14 TeV) and higher intensity than previously achieved.  We can only afford to store ~1/1000,000 of the data produced by the collider, so the ATLAS trigger must reject the vast majority of the uninteresting collisions and preserve the ability to search for new particles and interactions, refine measurements of the Higgs boson and collect data that is crucial to quantifying detector performance and understanding experimental backgrounds.  The University of Victoria has been involved in the ATLAS high level trigger since 2007, and is one of the lead groups in the selection of events with an imbalance in the observed transverse momentum.  This imbalance is the signature for particles that escape direct detections, such as neutrinos or, perhaps, particles predicted in theories of SuperSymmetry or Dark Matter.  Further refinement of the current selection algorithms, in particular to deal with a sharply increased number of simultaneous proton-proton collisions in the next LHC run, is needed to preserve the ability to select these interesting events.  During the May-August period, different approaches to improving the selectivity of the missing transverse energy trigger will be compared.  The robustness and speed of the algorithms employed will also be evaluated and optimized.  The final decision for the 2015 trigger configurations will need to be made in the Fall, 2014.  The student will work in a team of a Professor and two postdoctoral researchers to develop and evaluate trigger algorithms on simulated data and on data recorded in the 2012 ATLAS run.  The student will also participate in weekly meetings with collaborators at CERN, the U.S. and Europe, and will be expected to present updates on the status of the UVic work in this forum.

Project Title: ALTAIR observations and data analysis
Supervisor: Dr. Justin Albert, Associate Professor
The ALTAIR (Airborne Laser for Telescopic Atmosphere Interference Reduction) project is a North American international collaboration which provides a precision [0(0.1% uncertainty] photometric reference calibration for astronomical observatories using high-altitude weather balloon flights at altitudes of approximately 20 km with payloads containing in-situ-calibrated light sources, primarily in order to eliminate the largest uncertainty on measurements of dark energy using type Ia supernovae. ALTAIR has flown 11 test flights so far and is now transitioning from testing to an operational phase. This summer, we will be performing flights in New Hampshire and in Arizona over Mt. Hopkins (and possibly in Hawaii over the Pan-STARRS Observatory). The student will assist in both the operations and data analysis of the ALTAIR flights this summer. Additionally, the student will assist with the testing of components for future ALTAIR flights, such as new integrating spheres and light sources.

Project Title: Optical and Radio Communication for the ALTAIR Project
Supervisor: Dr. Justin Albert, Associate Professor
The ALTAIR project provides precision photometric reference calibration for astronomical observatories via flights of calibrated light sources on small high-altitude balloon payloads. Bidirectional radio communication (at approximately 1 kb/s) between ground stations and the payload is maintained via 1 watt transceivers operating in the licence-free 910 MHz ISM band. The operating range limitation of this communication is approximately 60 km. Occasionally communication will be lost, either intermittently or catastrophically, the latter of which could cause the loss of payloads. Backup transmission is thus essential, and additionally it would be extremely beneficial to increase the range limitation (as the operating altitude of the payloads is already 20 km, and it would be useful to be able to communicate out to the horizon). Two of the candidate bands for backup communication are the 2 meter amateur radio band (at 145 MHz), and optical communication (using visible laser light). The USRA student will construct and compare these two potential modes of backup communication.