The IAP Corner Tech Talk 1 December 1976

By MARY ENTERLINE

The research project you start during Independent Activities Period could turn into a long-term commitment. It happened to a recent MIT graduate.

When Paul Terry responded to a one-sentence description of an activity in the IAP Guide three years ago, he began a project which he then pursued for the remainder of his undergraduate program and which became the topic of his senior thesis completed last September. In 1974 as a sophomore anxious to do his first experimental work, Terry was attracted to a listing called "Surface Acoustic Wave Phenomena and Devices," under which Professor M.W.P. Strandberg of physics stated, "Contact me any time to discuss possible project."

"Basically Strandberg had an idea for a surface acoustic wave device to produce molecular transport," Terry said recently. "During IAP we went out to Air Force Cambridge Research Labs and Lincoln Lab, talked to people there, and borrowed equipment, but we really didn’t get much done."

In fact, as Strandberg recalls, "IAP was a way for Paul to find out what the words meant. He knew there was something he could work on—nothing pressing, there were no research contracts. He decided to continue working the next semester as a UROP project."

What Terry did was build a new kind of molecular pump. He divided a vacuum chamber in half, placed a small stationary surface between the halves as a bridge, and generated surface acoustic waves on the bridge. He then demonstrated that pressure on one side of the chamber was rising and pressure on the other side was being lowered when a unidirectional acoustic surface wave was induced on the bridge. Terry continued working on the pump on a part-time basis over the summer, but academic pressures during the first semester of his junior year prevented him from continuing his research.

When lAP 75 rolled around, Terry was back in the laboratory full-time. "lAP was a very welcome change without the distractions of classes and exams, problem sets, and all the things that come with classes. I went home for Christmas and returned as soon as possible to begin work. That's when I did most of the actual measurements," said Terry.

Classes in the spring term and a summer job again kept Terry away from the project, but by his senior year he had decided to use it as his thesis topic. Once again during lAP he worked full-time on the subject, this time doing theoretical work and analyzing his data.

According to Strandberg, by his senior year Terry was so "infatuated" with his research that he postponed his graduation until September so he could work over the summer. Even now, as a research assistant at the Fusion Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin, Terry is writing a paper on his research.

Every IAP research project will not start what Strandberg calls the "hierarchy of involvement" from IAP through UROP to a senior thesis, In fact, IAP is the perfect opportunity for students to try out research on a full-time basis without making a long-term commitment.

Professor M.P. Manning of chemical engineering will be directing "Preliminary Research in Biological Denitrification," and Professor Ascher H. Shapiro in mechanical engineering wouId like students to devise "A New Type of Fluidic Logic Element." Students interested in medical research can start projects under Dr. Robert S. Lees and Dr. Joseph J. Torre in the Arteriosclerosis Center.

Professor Al Drake of the Operations Research Center is willing to propose topics related to public attitudes and decision processes pertaining to blood donation. In addition, students can start UROP projects during IAP.