KU senior to present cosmology research with faculty adviser in Europe

LAWRENCE -- Stephen Floor's first trip to Europe won't be like those of many other college students.

He'll visit cities such as Berlin, Munich, Stockholm and Rome. But sightseeing isn't all the University of Kansas senior will do.

A physics and astronomy and computer science major, Floor also will present cosmology research to three groups of scientists from around the world.

He will present "Ellipticity Evolution in Simulated Galaxy Clusters" in three European cities in June. Floor's research, a collaboration with research adviser Adrian Melott, professor of physics and astronomy at KU, focuses on the time it takes gravity to round out elliptical galaxy clusters.

Floor's first presentation will be at the Theoretical Astrophysics Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 7. Next he will travel to Tartu, Estonia, for a June 14 presentation at the Tartu Observatory.

But it's the Greek portion of the trip that Floor is especially excited about.

"I've always been fascinated by ancient Greek myths, so frankly Athens is the destination that I'm most looking forward to," Floor said.

Adding to the thrill of checking out Athenian landmarks is Floor's opportunity to present his research to about 400 cosmologists at the Multi-Wavelength Cosmology conference June 17 on Mykonos Island, located off the southeast coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea.

Few, if any, undergraduate students are selected to present at the conference, Melott said.

"As far as I know, I'm the only undergraduate there," Floor said. "They post the list of people presenting, and most of them are professors."

Earlier research by Melott had found that some galaxy clusters, observed and catalogued by previous astronomers, had been rounding out rapidly. With funding from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, he and Floor ran numerical simulations to learn more about what was happening and found that the simulated clusters didn't change as rapidly as the real ones. The findings could mean that there is an error in the physics of the simulations scientists are using or that there is bias in researchers' choice of samples for cluster evolution studies.

The opportunity to present at the conference isn't the first accolade Floor has received this year. He received a $1,300 Undergraduate Research Award through the KU Honors Program for a related project on galaxy clusters.

With the recognition his work has garnered him, will Floor make a career of cosmology? Maybe.

"Simulated physics is something I plan on doing forever," Floor said. "Whether it's cosmology or not, we'll see."

Floor is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Erik Floor of Lawrence.