The field of fundamental physics is still in its early years as a discipline in NASA's Microgravity Research Program, but there is no questioning the importance of such work.
Fundamental physicists seek to illuminate the darkest secrets of the laws of the universe.
The investigation studied the transition of helium from a normal fluid to a superfluid in microgravity, obtaining the most accurate measurements ever of the effects of this transition. This groundbreaking experiment was led by John Lipa, a researcher at Stanford University. Lipa credits his interest in helium, and its capacity for transforming itself at very low temperatures into an unusual state of matter called a superfluid, to Henry Hall. Hall came to the University of Western Australia, where Lipa was an undergraduate, for a sabbatical during Lipa's fourth year there. Another student and I helped him out and continued the work as an honors project.