Placement Information
Year you started your placement
2015
Placement period
May – August, September – December
Supervisor’s name
Christian Ast
Project Details
Overview
Calculations of the electronic band structure of a graphene lattice perturbed by a randomly fluctuating but continuous and smooth potential landscape are executed using MATLAB. Potential landscapes are simulated via two techniques: the Diamond-square algorithm, and Fractional Brownian motion with Perlin noise. Both methods generate fractal landscapes.
Project objectives
The objective of the project is to gain insight into the electronic properties of graphene when perturbed by randomly fluctuating potentials.
Research outcomes
Project status
Completed
TrevorClarke – 2015 – Presentation
My Co-op Experience at MPI
Why did you apply for a placement with Max Planck Institute?
I was attracted to this placement by MPI’s impressive reputation for high-quality research, as well as by the opportunity to gain some insight into how professional research is conducted. I was also enthralled by the notion of living and travelling in Europe.
What recommendations do you have for students who wish to participate in MPI-UBC exchange program?
Although it is fairly easy to get by without speaking a word of German due to the fact that many Germans speak very good English, being able to speak the native language is an asset in everyday situations such as buying groceries, eating at a restaurant or in social situations.
MPI offers rooms in the guest house for the first few months of your stay, but finding affordable housing within a reasonable distance from the institute can be very challenging. I would recommend searching for housing as early as possible to ensure your living situation for the remainder of your stay is comfortable and priced decently.
If possible, I recommend taking a course in solid-state physics (in addition to other relevant physics courses such as quantum mechanics). Although I learned many of the essentials of solid-state physics during the course of my project, I would have considered it to be an advantage to have had prior exposure to the subject before beginning the work term.
All of Europe is your backyard — take advantage of this cultural goldmine! Travelling on a constrained budget is very doable if planned correctly. More on this below.
Tell us about your travels and cultural experiences in Germany and the rest of the Europe
Thus far into my time at MPI, I have visited Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. I consider each of these trips to be significant events in my life. Because of the difficult climate for finding housing, the high rent for my flat has been a major factor in limiting my ability to travel after leaving the guest house.
To lower the cost of travel, I recommend ride sharing (www.blablacar.de). In addition to saving money, it offers the chance to share a ride and converse with some interesting strangers!
