Credit Hours - 45
Details of Experiential Learning
The second year activities aim at guiding students to acquire specific laboratory, analytical, theoretical and computational expertise of relevanceto contemporary research in physics. Students will participate in on-going research programmes in the Department. Projects include the following.
A: Imaging through scattering media (PI: Amos Kuditcher)
This is an ongoing project in the Department that is developing techniques for extending imaging depth in scattering media while maintaining high transverse resolution. The ultimate goal of the project is to achieve high resolution imaging of biological structures. The project uses interferometric and ultrafast techniques for acquiring data. Students attached to this projectwill learn opticalalignment techniques as well as data acquisition with point and array detectors. They will perform analysis image data collected using interferometers. This project is also pursuing applications of short-wave infrared and terahertzradiation to imaging.Students will participate in setting up the imagingsystem.
B: Fabrication and characterization of nano-particles
This is an on-going multi-faceted project, involving several senior members of the Department, which is aimed at developing functional materials for applications in photovoltaics, optoelectronics, and sensing. This project has fabricated several nano- particle and thin film compound semiconductor materials, including zinc oxide, copper oxide, cuprous sulphide, and iron disulphide. Students attached to this project will learn the techniques that have been developed in the project for nano-particle and thin film fabrication, including chemical bath, physical vapour, and chemical vapour deposition. They will also learn to use x-ray diffraction techniques (small and wide angle diffraction), electron microscopy, and optical and infrared spectroscopy to acquire data on existing samples as well as new samples generated by the project. They will use the data to determine physical properties such as band gap of the materials.
C: Electronic structure calculations of materials (PI: George Nkrumah-Buandoh) This is an ongoing project that applies theoretical and computational methods for predicting properties of materials. The project uses state-of-the art codes such as Quantum Espresso to generate electronic structure data which are then analysed to determine electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of materials. Students attached to this project will be involved in hands-on computational training in density functional theory, pseudopotentials, plane waves and iterative diagonalization methods. They will use Quantum Espresso to generate electronic structure data, particularly for the materials that are of interest to the experimental research activities in the Department, such as zinc oxide and copper oxide. They will use the data to determine band gap and absorption spectra of such materials and compare their results to experimental results that have been obtained in the Department.
D: Anaerobic digester(PI: Michael Addae-Kagyah)
This is an on-going project to develop biogas digesters. The project is currently in the design phase. By the time students join the project, design would have been completed.Therefore, students will participate in construction and characterization of the anaerobic biogas digesters. They will learn about active feedback-control systems and construct prototype control systems. They will also participate in gas production measurements. They will use data from the measurements to optimize the designs.