Tsitsi Madziwa-Nussinov

The research efforts underway in the GEE laboratory in which she is part of involve the construction of highly sensitive torsion balances for investigating various aspects of Gravitation. These experiments are for testing Einstein's Equivalence Principle and Newton's inverse square law of gravity at sub-millimeter distances. The experiments at sub-millimeter distances are motivated by String theories and the search for new fundamental forces. For these projects, we have set up a laboratory in the basement of the Earth and Planetary Science building at Washington University and the chamber and balance construction are already underway for the 2 main experiments.

In addition to the Gravitation experiments, she is working on the development and characterization of instruments capable of recording the rotations associated with seismic activity and normal mode oscillations of the Earth. In the field of Seismology, the translational motions induced by seismic activity along the three axes have been observed extensively, yielding essentially all the information that is currently known about earthquakes and the structure of the Earth. The rotations about these axes have proven to be very difficult to observe directly, mainly because of the lack of suitable instruments. A highly sensitive instrument for fundamental studies in Seismology and a robust instrument for near- field and engineering applications has be built. Upon completion of the characterization of the instrument, we will have an improved understanding of the structure of the Earth and will be capable of making observations which will mitigate the effects of geological hazards like earthquakes by providing inputs for the designs of earthquake resistant structures.


	Tsitsi Madziwa-Nussinov

Tsitsi Madziwa-Nussinov obtained her M.S. in Physics (1997) and her Ph.D. in electrical engineering (2004) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before coming to Washington University, she was a guest scientist and post-doctoral associate with the Plasma Physics and ISR groups at Los Alamos National Laboratory. There she worked on several Plasma Physics experiments, including the Reconnection Scaling Experiment (RSX), non-thermal plasma aerodynamics experiment and the Electron Beam Integrated Thruster (EBIT) experiment.

Research Interests The research efforts underway in the GEE laboratory in which she is part of involve the construction of highly sensitive torsion balances for investigating various aspects of Gravitation. These experiments are for testing Einstein's Equivalence Principle and Newton's inverse square law of gravity at sub-millimeter distances. The experiments at sub-millimeter distances are motivated by String theories and the search for new fundamental forces. For these projects, we have set up a laboratory in the basement of the Earth and Planetary Science building at Washington University and the chamber and balance construction are already underway for the 2 main experiments. In addition to the Gravitation experiments, she is working on the development and characterization of instruments capable of recording the rotations associated with seismic activity and normal mode oscillations of the Earth. In the field of Seismology, the translational motions induced by seismic activity along the three axes have been observed extensively, yielding essentially all the information that is currently known about earthquakes and the structure of the Earth. The rotations about these axes have proven to be very difficult to observe directly, mainly because of the lack of suitable instruments. A highly sensitive instrument for fundamental studies in Seismology and a robust instrument for near- field and engineering applications has be built. Upon completion of the characterization of the instrument, we will have an improved understanding of the structure of the Earth and will be capable of making observations which will mitigate the effects of geological hazards like earthquakes by providing inputs for the designs of earthquake resistant structures. Recent Publications R. Cowsik, T. Madziwa-Nussinov, K. Wagoner, D. Wiens and M. Wysession (2009) Performance characteristics of a rotational seismometer for near-field and engineering applications. BSSA, 99; no. 2B, p. 1181-1189; DOI: 10.1785/0120080207. M. Light, T. Madziwa-Nussinov, P. Colestock, and R. Kashuba (2009) Electron beam generation by an electron cyclotron resonance plasma. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 37, No. 2. T. G. Madziwa-Nussinov, D. Arnush, and F. F. Chen (2008) Ion orbits in plasma etching of semiconductors, Physics of Plasmas 15, 013503. T. G. Madziwa-Nussinov, D. Arnush, and F. F. Chen (2007) Ion-shading effects during metal etch in plasma processing. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 35, 1388. I. Furno, T. P. Intrator, S. Abbate, T. Madziwa-Nussinov, A. Light, L. Dorf, G. Lapenta, and D. D. Ryutov (2006) Current driven rotating kink mode in a plasma column with a non-line-tied free end. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 015002.

Contact	Tsitsi Madziwa-Nussinov Laboratory for Space Sciences Physics Department, CB 1105 Washington University 1 Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA	Phone: (314) 935-4493 Fax: (314) 935-4083 Email: tsitsi@physics.wustl.edu

Back to the People Page	Home Page of the Laboratory for Space Sciences

Tsitsi Madziwa-Nussinov

Research Interests

Recent Publications

Contact