What do you do here at Wright Lab?
I work for Jack Harris on the Helium Drop Experiment. We use large magnets to levitate superfluid (and non superfluid) helium. Helium becomes a liquid (and subsequently a superfluid) at very low temperatures. Levitation of these drops is great because it gives us a chance to completely isolate the helium from its environment, which should give us very precise measurements. There is a lot of interesting physics that is possible with this platform. My role in the lab is currently building, designing, and maintaining equipment to support these physics goals (while also trying to learn as much about the field of optomechanics as I can).
What is the most unique and/or exciting experience you’ve had here at Wright Lab?
There are a lot of things to look back at, but I love the shenanigans process of experimental physics on a day to day level. You never know what interesting problems you might stumble upon trying to solve your core research question. I have found myself investigating dew points and humidity to protect our optics, tone matching an electric toothbrush against a speaker to get an expected value a Fourier Transformed output of a Quadrant Photodiode, and designing an event for the Yale Physics Olympics based on Maxwell’s achievement of creating the first color photograph.
What are you looking forward to in the coming year at Wright Lab?
I am looking forward to developing my expertise in optomechanics and physics more broadly. I am also looking forward to expanding certain outreach efforts and getting to know my colleagues a bit more.
What is something that people might not know about you that you’d like to share with the community?
I like doing a variety of things in my free time, lately I have been trying to improve at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I generally enjoy discussing philosophy and history (Shoutout to HoFoP). I find that these subjects provide a lot of rich context to physics and the world more broadly. I am also ordained to perform wedding ceremonies and have officiated two in the last year and a half.
