By Emily Hubbell

 

For Kangkang Wang, two continents just aren’t enough to satisfy his interest in physics.

Three years ago, the graduate student left his home in China to study physics and astronomy at Ohio University. This quarter, Wang is kicking up dust again—relocating to Hamburg, Germany as part of an international nanoscience research program offered through the office of education abroad and the Nanoscale Quantum Phenomenon Institute.

 

Wang is the first graduate student from OU to participate in the Spin-Polarized Partnership for Inernational Research and Education.

 

Funded by the National Science Foundation and designed by four faculty in NQPI, SPIRE allows undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral and journalism students from OU to interact with leading nanoscience specialists at universities located in Hamburg, Germany and Buenos Aires, Argentina. SPIRE is the first program in NQPI's NanoExchange, which promotes international student exchange, collaboration and communication.

 

“Through SPIRE, we are trying not only to foster research on hot topics with social and technological relevance, but also are encouraging international collaboration,” said Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Dr. Nancy Sandler, who wrote the grant proposal alongside Dr. Arthur Smith, Dr. Saw W. Hla and Dr. Sergio Ulloa.

 

The team chose to collaborate with two universities—one in Germany and another in Argentina—because the institutions have research interests similar to OU’s and also have materials and equipment not available here, Sandler said.

 

“We wanted to work with groups that would compliment our research, not do the same,” she said, adding that sending students to Hamburg will help them learn technical skills in the field, whereas the researchers in Buenos Aires will help students focus on theoretical skills.

 

Dr. Smith, Wang’s advisor and professor of physics and astronomy, said Wang is uniquely suited for the program.

 

“Kangkang is highly motivated, self-sufficient and learns things like a sponge,” Smith said, adding that he talks weekly with Wang on Skype to discuss his experiences in Hamburg.

 

Low Temperature Learning

 

Every weekday morning, Wang wakes up early to catch the subway into the city. After an hour-long ride, he finally arrives at the University of Hamburg, ready to start a full day of seminars and lab research at the college’s institute of applied physics.

 

During seminars, Wang is with a group of 60 students, about ten of whom are international like himself. For lab research, students are divided into subgroups lead by a group leader. Each group focuses on a particular research topic.

 

Wang’s research group is currently conducting experiments in low temperature facilities largely unavailable at OU.

 

"The most important thing I have learned so far is how cryogenic systems work and how to operate them," Wang said. “I think part of the reason they sent me here is to learn how to operate low temperature facilities.”

 

Temperature control is crucial when studying the magnetism of small structures such as nanosized islands and single atoms, which are usually only stable at low temperatures, Wang said. He has been learning to handle, refill and operate liquid helium and liquid nitrogen so that he can work in these facilities, which have temperatures around -450 degrees Fahrenheit.  

 

OU is in the process of acquiring a liquid helium recycling facility, which will make Wang’s training in Hamburg especially useful when he returns, Smith said.

 

For the rest of his time abroad, Wang said he is looking forward to scanning thin iron films using a variable temperature scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument he should be finished constructing within the next few weeks.

 

Talking the Talk

 

When he’s not in the lab, Wang is out experiencing a country that he says is just plain “different than Athens,” where there is a greater emphasis on environmental awareness and where citizens often seem to “drink beer instead of water.”

 

"The science part of this trip is great, but I also really like the cultural aspect," Wang said.

 

On weekends, he spends time traveling. Thus far, Wang has visited Berlin, Reeperbahn—Germany's version of Court Street—and numerous European castles and palaces.

 

These weekend travels put Wang’s German language skills to the test.

 

To prepare for his time in Hamburg, Wang took an introductory German course at OU. He says that speaking about numbers, saying 'How are you?' and greeting people with 'Good morning' are about the extent of his German language proficiency.

 

"Sometimes I stand beside German speakers in the lab and language is definitely a barrier," Wang said. "I'm somewhere in between understanding what they mean, and that's the most difficult part."

 

Wang has also had to make other adjustments while in Germany.

 

Stores close at 8 p.m. daily and are not open on Sundays. This means leaving the lab early some nights just so that he can buy groceries—a different routine from Athens, where Kroeger's is always open, Wang said.

 

Homeward Bound

 

Extended grocery store hours are not the only thing Wang misses about Athens.

 

He also misses knowing the lab’s progress, meeting weekly with Dr. Smith and spending time at Strouds Run during the autumn months. 

 

But when Wang returns to Athens on Nov. 21, he says the first thing he will do is sleep after a long day of traveling.

 

After that, it’s back to work in the lab to prepare for a December conference he will attend in Boston.

 

"I can directly use what I have learned here when I go back to Athens,” Wang said. “I would definitely recommend SPIRE to other students. It’s a fun program.”