Physical Sciences Research

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Chem lab

Research Opportunities

Research is a key component of our degree programs and takes place throughout the calendar year. By working closely with faculty members in generating new scientific knowledge, you will gain critical skills that prepare you for future careers in chemistry, biochemistry/biotechnology, physics, material science, and Earth and space sciences.

There are several ways to get involved in research:

  • You can perform research as part of an independent study course for college credits
  • You can apply for a summer undergraduate research fellowship (SURF), which is available through various federal and state sources.

Your research experience will also count toward departmental honors. Consult the Departmental Honors Program in physical sciences, for more information.

If you are interested in conducting research with a faculty mentor, follow the steps below:

  1. First review their research labs below and choose a research project that matches your interests.
  2. Next, contact the professor who is overseeing the lab, using the email address provided, and express your interest in joining the lab.
  3. After you have been accepted into their lab, you will need to fill out the Independent Study Application Form, which includes a short research proposal. 
  4. After you complete the application, submit it to your research mentor, who will write a brief paragraph stating how you will be evaluated for grading purposes. You will hand in the form to the chair of the Physical Sciences Department and be registered in your research mentor’s course automatically.
  5. Due dates for submitting your Independent Study Application Form are November 15, if the research project is to be undertaken in the spring, and by April 15, if the project is to be undertaken in the summer or fall.
  6. You must submit a new application for independent study each semester that you wish to perform research for credit.

Faculty Researchers

kalmeida@ric.edu
Biochemistry                                                                                     
Research Interests: Bioenergetics, Metabolism, DNA damage response, Protein purification, Structure function studies 

lcooley@ric.edu
Physical Chemistry
Research Interests: Fluorescence, Tryptophan, Micelles, Fluorescence anisotropy, Binding studies

adelvecchio@ric.edu
Materials Science
Research Interests: Thin films, metals, mechanical properties, colloids, crystal structure, crystal growth, soft materials

Research Interests: Biodegradable Polymers for Drug Delivery Applications 

sknowlton@ric.edu
Chemistry, Oceanography
Research Interests: Fate and transport of road salt in Rhode Island freshwater systems and the potential impacts on the Narragansett Bay watershed; Biogeochemical cycles and chemical distributions in coastal waters, including Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, and Block Island Sound 

mlamontagne@ric.edu
Analytical Chemistry
Research Interests: Ion analysis of freshwater systems, metal analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy, chromatography

cleung@ric.edu
Inorganic/Organometallic Chemistry
Research Interests: Green Chemistry, Renewable Chemical Feedstocks, Organometallics, Catalysis, Inorganic Synthesis, Ligand Synthesis, DNA-binding Metal Complexes, Metal-based Antitumor Compounds

mpadmanabhan@ric.edu
Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
Research Interests: Electronic devices, Micro/nano structured materials, Transport measurements in thin films, Optical characterization, Electrochemical growth

srivers@ric.edu
Physics
Research Interests: Surface physics, thin film growth, phase transitions

dsnowman@ric.edu
Physics
Research Interests: Theoretical & Computational physics with a focus on Renormalization-Group Theory, Field Theory, Diophantine Polynomials, Number Theory, Riemannian Topology, Ising Networks, Competition 

jtowle-weicksel@ric.edu
Biochemistry
Research Interests: Polymerase kinetics, DNA repair, cancer, melanoma, protein purification, protein dynamics, fluorescence resonance energy transfer

byoung@ric.edu ​ 
Physics
Research Interests: Surface and Interface Physics, Crystallography, Ion Bombardment, Geiger-Muller tubes and fast pulse counting, Electron Spectroscopies, Monte Carlo Simulation, XPS core and valence models

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Department of Physical Sciences

The Department of Physical Sciences covers the four main branches of physical science: physics, chemistry, Earth science and space science.