Physics Professor Protik Majumder Awarded NSF Grant to Continue High-Precision Laser Spectroscopy of Atoms

Media contact:  Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., September 29, 2014—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Williams College physics professor Protik Majumder a 3-year, $347,000 grant to continue his precise spectroscopic studies of atoms aimed ultimately at testing the Standard Model of particle physics.

Majumder’s project, “High-Precision Atomic Structure Measurements and Tests of Fundamental Physics in Group IIIA Atoms”, will measure the properties of the heavy metal atoms indium and thallium in unprecedented detail using semiconductor diode lasers. The data obtained from this research will improve theoretical understanding of these complex atoms.  These table-top experiments will complement and help reinforce results produced by scientists at large particle accelerator facilities.

Students have been involved in all aspects of the research: they design and test laser, optical and signal processing systems, they work with electronic and vacuum system components, and they collect, model, and analyze data.

This grant is the latest renewal in a series of NSF awards that began in 1998. The grants have helped provide both student summer stipends and support for postdoctoral fellows who have assisted with research. More than 50 Williams students, including 25 senior honors students, have worked on these experiments. Nearly all of Majumder’s honors students have continued work at the graduate level, entering Ph.D. programs in physics, engineering, and applied science. The grants have also helped purchase lab equipment, including lasers, optical diagnostics instruments, and electronics.

Majumder has been teaching at Williams since 1994. He has taught courses throughout the physics curriculum, most recently “Introductory Quantum Mechanics,” “Sound, Light, and Perception,” and “Electricity and Magnetism.”  Majumder currently serves as the director of the Science Center and chair of the Science Executive Committee.

Professor Majumder received his B.S. from Yale College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1989.  He was a postdoctoral research associate and taught at the University of Washington prior to his arrival at Williams. Since 1998, he has received nearly $1.35 million in funding for his research.

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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students’ educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions on U.S. applicants are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

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Published September 29, 2014