By MIKE RUSSO
Kugelmass, a Baldwin High School alumnus who is now entering his senior year at Stony Brook University, has been doing a summer internship at the Center of Integrated Nano-mechanical Structures at the University of California at Berkeley, where he and some of the world's top nanotechnology researchers have been working together in an experimental physics research group to develop a new type of semiconductor to improve the effectiveness of solar panels.
Kugelmass explained that a semiconductor is the material that allows electrons to induce electrical currents. Scientists have traditionally used silicon as a semiconductor in solar cells, but Kugelmass has been helping to research an alternative method using organic voltaic molecules, which are believed to be cheaper and easier to create, and have greater mechanical flexibility.
The result of this process, known as photovoltaics, is the conversion of light into electricity. While solar power has become an increasingly popular alternative to expensive fossil fuels, it remains costly for the average homeowner due partially to the high cost of manufacturing the silicon-based photovoltaic cells. If a new, less expensive semiconductor can be incorporated into the photovoltaic process, solar energy may one day become more affordable to homeowners, thus reducing dependence on fossil fuels and helping the environment.
Kugelmass worked with Ph.D. and post-doctoral students from Spain, Taiwan, China, Israel, India and Iran. Communication was sometimes an issue, he said, but everyone gets along well, and group members helped one another with their projects.
"I spent most of my time working with postdocs," said Kugelmass. "They were the best and the brightest from around the world in the field of condensed-matter physics. The more work I did, the more they trusted me. Not knowing much at all about quantum physics before I came to work in the lab, I've learned a tremendous amount from my colleagues not only about the science, but about graduate school in general." Mike Crommie, Kugelmass's supervisor at the laboratory, said that Kugelmass is intelligent, motivated and focused, and quickly learned how to operate the lab's Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscope, used in studying atoms. "He quickly learned how to use an STM, and was able to work on his project independently," said Crommie. "As a student of mechanical engineering, Bret was particularly curious about the complexities of the STM's operation, and he was able to use his experience in engineering to suggest possible design enhancements for the STM." Kugelmass said that his typical weekday at the lab started at 10 a.m. and ended whenever his work was complete - often not until late at night. He said that some researchers slept overnight in the lab.
His work at the Berkeley lab, which he began in late June, was a far cry from his experience and background in engineering. Aside from his applied math and mechanical engineering major at Stony Brook University, Kugelmass has completed a wide variety of internships with a strong focus on engineering and robotics. Last summer, Kugelmass worked with robotics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and also lobbied Congress for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Coalition. He has also done internships with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Anthrotronix. Kugelmass was the founder of the popular Baldwin High School robotics team, and competed at a regional robotics competition at Hofstra University and the national competition in Atlanta.
"Since my background in engineering isn't very helpful, I've taken to the library [at Berkeley], spending about half my free time studying quantum physics," said Kugelmass, who plans to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. "I decided I wanted to broaden my experience and get into a hot new field while it was still relatively early in my academic career. Now that I have, I have more options for post-undergrad work and study."
Kugelmass had great things to say about the Berkeley area. He said that the variety of food available within walking distance of the college rivals Manhattan, and that beautiful stone-column buildings stand in the shadow of tall pines, oaks, redwoods, palms and eucalyptus trees. He visited San Francisco, San Jose, the Napa Valley, San Diego and Yosemite National Park.
"The internship was great, but it was living on the West Coast that made it a really different and incredible experience," said Kugelmass. "It was great to get a better idea of what grad school life will be like as a whole."
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