DPL

Lab Tours

Our lab offers tours to a broad range of audiences: middle school girls, high school groups, undergraduate clubs, prospective graduation students, visiting faculty, visiting families of faculty and staff, visiting government staff, fire safety personnel, and science journalists. We enjoy sharing the behind-the-scenes of our science projects. If interested in a lab tour, contact us!

Peter Megson explains superfluid helium experiment to grad students Onur Kara explains liquid sodium experiment to grad students Freja Nordsiek explains Taylor couette experiment to high school students
Dan Lathrop explains granular electrification experiment to undergrads Peter Megson explains superfluid helium experiment to undergrads Dan Lathrop explains quantum vortices to undergrads
Dan Lathrop explains liquid sodium experiment to undergrads Fire safety first responders tour the liquid sodium experiment Dan Lathrop talks about liquid sodium fire safety

Maryland Day 2016

For Maryland Day 2016, we continued the tradition started in 2008 with our vortex cannons.

Kids play with vortex rings Kid fires a vortex ring Kids play with vortex rings
Vortex ring closeup Kids play with vortex rings Vortex ring closeup
Kid fires a vortex ring Vortex ring closeup Vortex ring closeup

Tony Richards Photos

Tony Richards is the University of Maryland School of Business resident photographer. He is currently working on a personal project that highlights the interesting people of UMD in their labs, facilities and theaters among other unique places on campus. With our visually striking and dynamic experiments, the Lathrop lab decided to participate in this project.

Senior Technician Nolan Ballew in the machine shop TREND Undergrad Remi Boros in the main lab Grad Student Freja Nordsiek sits by the Taylor Couette experiment
Undergrad Shawn Rosofsky with his Kelvin Dropper experiment Postdoc Doug Stone stands by the 3-meter Spherical Couette experiment Undergrad Evan Wilson in the machine shop

Maryland Day 2015

Started in 2008, our yearly attendance at Maryland Day is still going strong in 2015. Our vortex cannons continue to be a hit with community members of all ages, especially with kids! These vortex cannons help visualize many of the principles at work in our studies of superfulid vortices.

Dan Lathrop intercepting a vortex ring Doug Stone and Matthew Adams help fire a vortex cannon Two vortex rings fired simultaneously
Dan Lathrop demonstrating the vortex cannon Kids fire a vortex ring with Matthew Adams Maryland Day attendees fire the vortex cannon, Dan Lathrop explains
vortex cannon closeup vortex ring kids fire the vortex cannon with Holly Tinkey
kids play with vortex rings kids play with vortex rings vortex ring closeup
kids play with vortex rings kids play with vortex rings vortex ring closeup

GRAD-MAP 2015

As part of GRAD-MAP’s Winter Workshop (January 2015), high school student Kristy Cortez did an experiment in our lab with grad student Peter Megson as her mentor.

Kristy worked on a project that models the electrical charging of particles (for example, sand grains), which could help us explain how lightning arises in sand storms, snowstorms, and volcanic ash cloud eruptions. The apparatus is a large cylinder filled with styrofoam particles. A a fan at the bottom causes the particles to move, collide, and charge.

She obtained time-lapse images and video of the apparatus in motion. Later, she analyzed the images and video and presented her results to her GRAD-MAP Winter Workshop peers.

GRAD-MAP aims to expose students in underrepresented groups to the world of grad school and academic research through interaction with faculty and graduate students, hands-on research experiences, and seminars. For more info on GRAD-MAP go here.

particle charging apparatus closeup of the styrofoam beads used closeup of the styrofoam beads used
Kristy Cortez and Peter Megson set up the experiment imaging Kristy Cortez and Peter Megson set up the experiment Kristy Cortez and Peter Megson set up the experiment
the experiment in motion Kristy Cortez and Peter Megson run the experiment the experiment in motion

Maryland Day 2008

Fun with fluids at Maryland Day 2008! We built two large vortex cannons, ordered some theatrical smoke machines, and set it all up in the sun for a few thousand of our closest friends. Smoke rings rolled across the Physics Building lawn and a good time was had by all. And don't forget the science: these vortex cannons demonstrate many of the principles at work in our studies of superfluid vortices.

children firing vortex cannon Daniel Zimmerman demonstrating vortex cannon Daniel Zimmerman and the vortex cannon
children firing vortex cannon Daniel Lathrop demonstrating vortex cannon Daniel Lathrop and the vortex cannon
vortex cannon vortex cannon