Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science are assisting laboratories and universities around the world in the search for dark matter and dark energy. At the request of scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University and under the supervision of Jim Hamilton, UWP professor of chemistry, students are testing special carbon nanotube doped polymer formulations which may be used to clean the detectors as they search for dark matter and dark energy throughout the universe and here on earth.

"Observations of gravitational effects with telescopes reveal that 96 percent of the stuff that makes up our universe is invisible. Observing these virtually undetectable particles means being able to experimentally sift a few "dark matter" collision events per year from the uncountable huge number of normal events. Imagine looking for one needle in a haystack bigger than the solar system! That's where UWP comes in: it's important that the surfaces of these often very small, very fragile detectors be dust and contamination-free and no one can do this yet. We╒ve had an incredibly good result with the polymers so far and we're now conducting more detailed tests," Hamilton explained.

International collaborations such as the The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS), led by Fermilab and Stanford, and the COUPP Bubble Chamber by Fermilab and the University of Chicago, must place these dark matter experiments deep underground to be shielded from cosmic rays. CDMS's location, for example is in an iron ore mine a half-mile underground in Soudan, Minn. These two world class particle physics experiments are trying to narrow down the hunting grounds where dark matter may lie, waiting to be discovered.

The relationship with UWP began when Andrew Sonnenschein, a Wilson Fellow at Fermilab, visited UWP and presented his work in particle astrophysics to faculty and students last year for UWP's Society of Physics Students. Later, Sonnenschein invited Hamilton to present his work in developing the First Contact Polymer at a Research Techniques Seminar at Fermilab, which Hamilton did in June 2007. Upon hearing the research data on successes with the polymer, scientists asked Hamilton to test it on the CDMS detectors. The detectors were sent overnight from Stanford University to UWP where student Philip Striech obtained preliminary data, successfully cleaning the sensitive nanostrucures.

Hamilton, a strong advocate for engaging undergraduate students in applied research, has other students continuing the testing. Brad Ryan, a UWP mechanical engineering major, is studying the surface characteristics of the detectors.

"Doing research for Dr. Hamilton has been an exciting experience for me. This current project has been great because I have learned how to effectively use the scanning electron microscope and its components. Since I am working to obtain a minor in microsystems and nanotechnology, this type of work is very applicable and kind of puts things in perspective for me. I enjoy the opportunity," said Ryan.

Hamilton explained that the research in the area of dark matter and dark energy in the past 10 years has been revolutionary and tantamount to Einstein╒s revelations. "Since normal matter, electrons, protons and neutrons seem to make up only 4 percent of the universe, it is critical that researchers understand the physics in order to understand the nature of our world," he said.

The First Contact Polymer, which Hamilton developed, has been used in a variety of ways, including hard-to-clean and often delicate surfaces such as the Hope Diamond, housed in the Smithsonian Museum, and the Keck Telescope in Hawaii. It is also being tested for use working with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies in fingerprinting hard-to-print surfaces. In June, Hamilton and his Fermilab collaborators are presenting a paper on using the new nanotube-polymers to protect and clean the world╒s largest camera at the Society of Optical Engineering╒s Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation Conference in Marseilles, France. The 520 megapixel Dark Energy Survey Camera will be installed in the La Blanco telescope in Chile and will map dark energy in the universe back in time, shortly after the Big Bang.

Anyone interested in this or Hamilton's other research endeavors may contact him at (608) 342-1670 or hamiltoj@uwplatt.edu. Anyone interested in learning more about the programs offered through the UWP College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science may contact Richard Shultz, dean of EMS, at (608) 342-1561.

Contact: Jim Hamilton, professor of chemistry, UWP Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics, (608) 342-1670, hamiltoj@uwplatt.edu Written by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1615, martense@uwplatt.edu