Monday, July 6,1998-- The Michigan Daily -3
rw.rr9 p . . t 'SZ> n X rays are latest
w4i 'U' researlch
U Research at the University uses lasers to generate
X rays which allow atomic scale iaig

A group of incoming first-year students stand in front of Angell Hall and listen to their student tour guide last week. The tour
gives students the opportunity to explore the University landscape.
.dOrientation introduces many
to campus and student life
U University intends for students to increase their understanding and learning of
campus life, marking the beginning of their college careers.

By Dante Mastri
Daily Stalf Reporter
Lasers and X rays help to bring
microscopic particles into focus in a
University research lab.
The University Center for
Ultrafast Optical Sciences has been
working to produce a focused beam
of X rays for use in atomic scale
imaging.
A research team including electrical
engineering professors Henry Kapteyn
and Margaret Murname and fellows
Andy Rundquist and Charles Durfee is
attempting to provide an important
step in improving detail when view-
ing cellular and molecular compo-
nents.
"We're converting laser light from
the near-infrared end of the spectrum
to the X-ray of the spectrum," said
Durfee, a University Electrical
Engineering research fellow.
"We want X-ray and infrared to trav-
el at the same speed," Durfee said. "We
trap a laser beam in a capillary tube and
speed it up to match the speed of an X
ray," Durfee said.
He added that this process gener-
ates a highly focused beam of X
rays.
It has long been possible to gener-
ate X rays with lasers, but this
research makes the process ruch
more efficient. By shooting a rapid-
ly pulsing laser through a hollow
tube filled with gas, the device cre-
ates a beam with a shorter wave-
length.
Shorter wavelengths allow for more
detail in imaging.
"When using light to take pic-
tures, the finest detail is determined
by the wavelength of the light,"
Durfee said.
Traditional lasers emit light with
wavelengths between the 500-1000
narnometer range.
Dot the University device creates
wavelengths at about 20 nm, with
the possibility of being as short as

"We want X ray
and infrared to
travel at the same
speed"
- Charles Durfee
Electrical Engineering fellow
2nm.
"Now we're working to make the
wavelengths even shorter," Durfee
said.
Dufee said with the increased detail
afforded by the shorter wavelength,
biologists and chemists will be able to
see more detail about their microscopic
subjects.
Another helpful advantage of laser
light is its ability to make three-dimen-
sional holograms.
"In bio-chem you could see 3-D pic-
tures of DNA strands," Durfee said.
Engineering sophomore Karen
Goldkind said she was impressed
with the work being done at the
University.
"You always think of the University
of Michigan as being a leading institu-
tion in research," Goldkind said.
Goldkind said she attended the
University for the possibility of
research in similar fields.
"T'at's one of the reasons I chose to
come here, she said.
University engineers at CUOS are
working on some of the most
advanced lasertechnologies avail-
able today, including femtosecond
lasers which generate the shortest,
most intense bursts of energy yet
produced.
-II'fAv

By Tal Nuriel
For the D.aity
In the past few weeks, there has
been an onslaught of wide-eyed and
bushy-tailed teenagers roaming the
campus in large packs. The arrival of
these herds of incoming first-year
students can mean one thing - ori-
entation has begun.
For many, the thought of attending
a school as large as the University
can be terrifying.
Student orientation leader Rakhi
Shah said the University under-
stands the fear that accompanies
incoming first-year sturdents when
they attend orientation.
"These kids are always going to be
scared," Shah said. "College is a
scary experience."
Shah and the other student orienta-
tion leaders try to ease the transition
into college.
He added that the University intends
for the incoming freshmen to see their
team leaders as students who they can
learn from, instead of adults just there
to show them around campus.
"We facilitate orientation," Shah
explained. "We act as students, hang
out at night, chat with them, etc."
As for the incoming students' per-
ception of orientation, feelings are
mixed depending on their back-
g rounds.
For students entering the
University from a local high school
in Michigan, they do not always see
orientation as necessary since they
already know plenty about the
schisot,- arsd lhave numerous friends

jisrine themssinthle fall.
ISA sophoimore Miki Weinstien.
who comes from a local high school,
did not find orientation as beneficial
as she was hoping it would be.
"I was disappointed because I
"Orientation gives
these kids a good
- Rakhi Shah
Student Orientation Leader
came here with all of my friends and
didn't get the opportunity to meet
any new people," Weinstien said. "In
addition, I really just wish I could
have CRISPed from home"
But Shah said for those who come
from further away "orientation provides
students with a chance to meet their
first friends at the University"
"Plus, it teaches students what it is to
be a college student," a trait which they
will need in the upcoming months,
Shah said.
"I was completely clueless about
the University of Michigan and
about college in general," said
Krista Grimm, an incoming fresh-
man who participated in orientation
earlier this year.
Grimm said she gained more of an
understanding of the University during
orientation.
"Now I knaq Jot mpr and amo less
nervous about coming here" Uritro.

saidt
As for the social scene, Grimm said
she was excited about the people she
met at orientation.
"A lot of the kids didn't know any-
one so they were all very outgoing
and friendly," Grimm said.
Shah said,"Orientation given these
kids a good start" as they embark on
their college adventure.
LSA junior Pamela Hirschman
said she ended up living with her
orientation roommate her sopho-
more year.
"I really enjoyed orientation,"
Hirschman said. "Another day would
have been nice to get to know the
canmpus .

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