Matthew Vannette

Professor of Physics

Department of Physics

Science Engineering & Technology

Academic and Student Affairs


SVSU Main Campus

Science West 249

989-964-4332

mvannett@svsu.edu

Biography

I joined the Department of Physics at SVSU in the Fall of 2009.  I came here from Iowa State University/Ames Laboratory in Ames, IA.  Before earning my PhD (Iowa State, 2009), I taught middle school and high school math and science at a private school in southwest Missiouri.  Prior to this, I earned my Master's of Science in Physics at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA.  Going back one more step, I earned my Bachelor's of Science in Physics at Indiana State University in 1999.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
Iowa State University

Teaching Interests

My background is in the field of experimental condensed matter physics. I have experience working with cryogenic systems (3He down to 300 mK and 4He down to 1.5 K), measurements of specific heat, DC magnetization, AC magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, and radio-frequency properties of materials.

My teaching experiences at SVSU include Physics 107, 111, 112, 150, 211, 212, 301, 302, 313, 402, 404, and 497, along with the x11 and x12 laboratory classes. This amounts to 16 out of the 27 courses we offer (excluding x90 Special Topics).

Research

My research focuses on measurements of the electric and magnetic properties of materials. In my lab we employ a self-resonant LC circuit to probe the magnetic susceptibility of samples. We work in the 10's-100's of megahertz, which falls in the radio-frequency band. Hence, we measure the rf susceptibility.

I am also interested in playing with the LC circuit itself to search for novel ways to implement it. This type of work includes applied electronics when designing the circuit, possible biological measurements (can this system probe the iron content of your blood without sticking you with a needle?), and whatever might strike our fancy to try to measure.

Students working with me will learn elements of cyrogenic techniques, instrumentation, electronics, data analysis, and low vacuum systems.

Affiliations

American Physics Society (APS)
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Office Hours

Friday
  • 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Wednesday
  • 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
  • 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM