Part of the task for an interested student could be getting the time-development program running on Calvin's supercomputer if it is ready. The position will involve extensive use of Mathematica, but prior expertise in Mathematica is not needed. Einstein's theory of general relativity says that space itself is curved by the presence of matter, so that light rays are bent as they travel near massive objects. We hope to detect variability in the quasar source, which would allow us to measure the difference in arrival times of the images. Another aspect of the project is statistical analysis of real and simulated monitoring data, in order to determine the systematic and random errors on our results.
Lipids are the main constituents of cell membranes and are, in essence, biological soaps.
Like soaps in general, lipids form an intricate array of structures when mixed with water. The structures exhibit strong dependence on composition and temperature and constitute a simple example of a 'self-organized' system. There are many unanswered questions about why lipid-water mixtures form such a rich variety of shapes, which makes this a fertile area for investigation into the physics of these systems. Furthermore, a physical understanding of these forms has strong implications for biology, as it has been demonstrated that the propensity of these systems to form certain shapes is correlated with biological behavior and function. This project will involve studying the different structures by measuring the laser light scattered by the sample as a function of temperature.