I work on superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities in Cornell's Laboratory for Accelerator based Science and Education (CLASSE). In addition to basic research into the fundamental bevhaviour of accelerator cavities, the SRF group is developing an Energy Recovery Linear Accelerator (ERL), which will provide unprecented levels of electron current in a CW machine with very small power consumption.
My undergraduate degree is in Engineering Physics from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Engineering Physics was an appropriate degree, as I am interested in scientific research and answering some of the fundamental questions about our universe, but I also enjoy problem solving and building things. Accelerator Physics appeals to me as a field that can provide both.
My current projects include:
- Stuying undesired higher order modes in the ERL prototype injector cryomodule: their rejection, and their use as beam diagnostics
- Coating cavities with triniobium tin to increase accelerating gradient decrease power consumption
- Simulations to determine what kinds of cavity defects (impurities, small bumps or pits, etc.) cause quench and which do not.
- Preparing cavities in the clean room and then testing them in liquid helium. We try to correlate performance to preparation methods through these tests.
My advisor is Matthias Liepe and I frequently work with fellow graduate students Nick Valles and Yi Xie.
