Department of Physics & Astronomy

California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) physics students and faculty visited the UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy for tours of the condensed matter experimental labs at UCR for the second year in a row. UCR Physics faculty and graduate students took the group of over 20 students to 8 experimental research labs (Joe, Gabor, Mentzel, Cui, Barsukov, Wei, Lui, Shi) and the UCR Nano Fabrication facility to show off the cutting edge research within the department. A morning presentation gave the prospective students a look into the UCR Physics graduate program and information on applying to the program. The outreach and recruitment event gave students from nearby CSUSB a look into the research capabilities at UCR and opened discussions for local collaborations. 

 

Among the visitors was CSUSB Prof. Sara Callori, whose lab investigates ferroelectric, magnetic, and multiferroic thin films. "The students were clearly inspired by the research and instrumentation they got to see and the visit helped them make connections between their current coursework and how it applied to a real-world research environment," said Callori. "I would love to continue this tradition and am hoping I can even incorporate it as a field trip into my upper division courses next year."
 

 

"This was a wonderful opportunity to meet local students who are interested in condensed matter experimental research and show them the research capabilities that we have at UCR. We hope that making this type of connection and showing physics applied in the lab can be impactful for students who are beginning their physics journey," said Prof. Andrew Joe who organized the event.

 

Among the visiting students are Cal-Bridge scholars, students at CSUs who are selected to be a part of the competitive Cal-Bridge program, which gives opportunities for historically underrepresented groups to participate and advance in STEM fields in order to increase diversity in STEM PhD programs. 

 

 

Lab instrument explained by a graduate student in Prof. Cui's lab.