# Presentation: 475362

## A National Model in Undergraduate Research: Glass Science at Coe College Steve Feller and Mario Affatigato, Coe College Award #0502051

**The first ****10****B NMR studies, using modern pulsed techniques, on some borate glasses and crystals were performed.  To do so a novel field-stepping system was employed at the University of Warwick in the UK.  The three spectra on the right (top to bottom) are from two glasses: boron oxide and cesium borate, and crystalline lithium metaborate. The theoretical fits are superimposed.  This technique offers the promise of much improved sensitivity in determining glass structure as it is some thirty times more sensitive than traditional ****11****B MAS NMR.   Work is in progress on making precise measurements of various intermediate range structures found in glass. **

**Notes:**
The NMR study shown above is being done in collaboration with Prof. Scott Kroeker of the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada).  It is part of a joint paper presented by our two groups, including our undergraduate students, at the recent Fifth International Conference on Borate Glasses, Crystals, and Melts.  The work is important because it provides state-of-the-art structural information.  In particular, the two N4 features in the NMR spectra, the right two peaks come from tetrahedral borons, are direct evidence for superstructural ring groups in the glasses.  This is providing quantitative information on glass structure at the intermediate range level.  The students are participating in all aspects of the research from sample preparation, to doing the NMR experiments on site in Canada, to giving joint presentations and being coauthors of journal papers.  This is highly instructive and motivating to our students.

## A National Model in Undergraduate Research: Glass Science at Coe College Steve Feller and Mario Affatigato, Coe College Award #0502051

**Outreach: ****Students and faculty participated in  numerous outreach programs including hosting three high school students in summer research, working with students at local schools, and performing physics demonstrations for more than 800 students and parents at an open house.  Also, the *****Iowa Glass Conference***** was run at Coe for more than 35 people from Iowa State Univ., Creighton Univ., Univ. Missouri-Rolla, Univ. of Warwick (UK), and Tsukuba Univ. (Japan).**
**Iowa Glass **
**Conference, **
**2006**

**A National Model in Undergraduate Research: Glass Science at Coe College** Steve Feller and Mario Affatigato, *Coe College* Award #0502051

**Notes:**
Our undergraduate research program is extremely active.  Since its inception more than 150 students have participated in it.  It started as a research project into the atomic arrangements  and some properties of oxide glasses.  But we have expanded it greatly to include rapid cooling, optical characterization and other properties and we have added much instrumentation to it.  Thus, in the past few years we have added a modern laser time-of-flight mass spectrometer, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and atomic force microscopy.  The program attracts significant student participation each summer with approximately 18-20 students working with us.  Also, we have extensive collaborations that work well (see above for some current examples).  Last summer 5 students studied in such labs. We have published about 110 papers with our students in the standard literature of the field and we routinely give talks (both students and faculty at professional meetings here and abroad.  We average about 8-10 talks per year now.
   We have begun giving talks about how we work with students, a program that extends over 4 years at the undergraduate level.  This is a most unusual approach and colleagues seem to be interested in how we do this.  Also, we are part of an NSF REU site.  Our support is also provided by DMR and by the international division of NSF for research in China and Japan.
  This experience is highly motivating to students to further their education and about 75% of our students move on to graduate school in a plethora of research areas.  Recent examples include Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, Johns Hopkins and more.
  Our students and us are eager to spread the word to the general public about our research and other aspects of physics.  They frequently give tours, and we bring glassmaking out to the community.  We think it is a win-win situation for students to do this.  They are our best recruiters of future science students.