Jacob Burgess Colloquium
Fri. Mar. 20 12:30 PM
- Fri. Mar. 20 01:20 PM
Location: 3M63
Bootstrapping Bespoke Science: Modernizing Instrumentation Development Research
Developing custom scientific instrumentation requires significant infrastructure and expertise that has traditionally been integrated into Physics departments in most major universities through machine shops and electronics shops. However, as cost focused management evolves in Canadian Universities local availability of this type of resource is under threat. For institutions that have lost this infrastructure, challenges emerge for research groups pursuing custom instrumentation development and limitations degrade access to hands-on education opportunities with a scientific focus.
This colloquium will outline a multi-year effort to address the need for in-house fabrication capabilities in the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba with an emphasis on the impact this has had on my research program in Department of Physics and Astronomy. Strategies to build a facility that meets educational and scientific needs while modernizing equipment and expanding the purpose of the equipment will be discussed. An introduction to my research area, ultrafast scanning tunneling microscopy will also be included to give an example of some of the capabilities robust instrumentation development can offer access to.
Bio: Jacob Burgess is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manitoba. Prof. Burgess’s research program focuses on the development of ultrafast microscopic and spectroscopic tools to probe the dynamics of complex matter such as magnetic quantum materials.
Image above: A titanium 3D printed frame for a scanning tunneling microscope head based on generative design principles