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McMorran group December 1, 2018
Left to right: Cameron Johnson, Will Parker, Alice Greenberg, Ben McMorran, Fehmi Yasin

McMorran group March 1, 2016
Front row, left to right: Fehmi Yasin, Quin Konyn (undergrad), Eryn Cangi (undergrad), Saul Propp
Back row, left to right: Alice Greenberg, Tyler Harvey, Jordan Chess, Ben McMorran, Spencer Alexander, Jordan Pierce
Not shown: Galen Gledhill, Cameron Johnson

Prof. Benjamin McMorran, Principle Investigator

Associate Professor of Physics
Oregon Center for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Sciences
Materials Science Institute
Department of Physics

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar page

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Alice Greenberg

Graduate Student

I am interested in the parallels between physical optics and the electron phenomena that Ben McMorran studies. In particular, I want to explore interesting beam modes, such as Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian modes, and their potential applications. Most of my experience is in optics; in the past I have developed optical systems for a scanning tunneling microscope and the electron spectrometer of the KATRIN experiment. Similarly, I am interested in projects developing new optical and electron wave techniques and systems.

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Cameron Johnson

Graduate Student

I am interested in studying the interaction of electron vortex beams with plasmonic nanostructures using energy loss spectroscopy. However, poor beam quality and the low signal to noise ratio of current spectroscopic studies with electron vortex beams have hindered progress in the field. As a result, I have been focused on pursuing different nanofabrication methods to create forked electron diffraction gratings which produce high quality electron vortex beams with a sufficient intensity to perform spectroscopic studies.

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Will Parker

Graduate Student

As an incoming graduate student, my research interests are still broad
and fall under the umbrella of quantum optics. Currently I am
researching a method to sort electrons by orbital angular momentum (OAM)
states. This sorting method is well-tested with photon optics, but has
not been demonstrated with electrons. In addition, it has been used
previously to sort single OAM states or superpositions of only a few,
typically in the context of optical communication; since its primary use
for electrons would be in scattering experiments, I am working to extend
the range of states and superpositions that can be sorted, by
characterizing the device itself for higher quanta of OAM and also by
investigating novel approaches to the analysis of the intensity output
that the sorting method provides.

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Amy Turner profile picture

Amy Turner

Graduate Student

I am interested in sub-angstrom resolved reconstructions of biological specimens using cryo-electron microscopy. Recently developed Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques have revolutionized our understanding of biomaterials, biomolecules and cells, through atomic resolution 3D imaging. Unfortunately, these imaging methods are time-consuming, necessitate averaging images of potentially non-identical biomolecules and, most importantly, destroy the sample. Non-destructive imaging requires a significant decrease in the amount of electrons hitting the sample: a dose limit of about 10 e^–/Å². With current methods, if we decreased the dose such that we do not destroy the sample, we would not have enough signal-to-noise to recreate the faintest image of any specimen. Therefore, we need to increase the information we get from each individual electron probing the sample. In quantum optics, a single photon interferometric technique exists in which information about the sample is gained even when the photon does not pass through the sample. By using interaction-free photons, the dose decreases without sacrificing information. Theoretically, this quantum optics technique should be achievable with electrons. Given this theory, I am developing a single electron interferometer, which provides a low-dose, high-resolution electron microscopy technique for imaging biomaterials.

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Fehmi Yasin

Graduate Student
Project: STEM Holography, Development of an Electron Interferometer

My research is focused on using transmission electron microscopes (TEM) in scanning (STEM) mode to perform electron interferometry experiments. As part of this work our group developed a new technique we call STEM-holography (see figure below), inspired by J.M. Cowley. In addition to working on this technique on the microscope, I spend many hours optimizing the theory and phase reconstruction code for two and three electron beam interference experiments. I will be continuing the development of this technique with Hitachi at their Central Research Laboratory in Hatoyama, Japan next year.

I was lucky enough to teach for my first two years of graduate school, both as a Graduate Employee and a Science Literacy Program (SLP) Fellow. As the latter, I worked with Dr. Ben McMorran to develop curricula and syllabus for a progressive version of PHYS 252-3. We worked towards incorporating a more active learning style during lecture and tutorials via clickers and updated worksheets. I also helped to develop at least half of the exam questions for each exam. Teaching matters!

Additionally, I have developed and coordinated Mad Duck Physics. Since 2014, multiple undergraduate students in the Society of Physics Students (SPS) as well as graduate student volunteers and I have been commuting to River Road Elementary School once a month during their school year to perform hands-on physics and chemistry demos with the students there (usually 3rd through 5th grade). These visits culminate in a field trip that they take to the University of Oregon Physics building, where we perform larger demo shows in addition to smaller hands-on demo stations. Please email me if you’d like to get involved!