Luther Vucic '07
Faculty advisor: Gary Reich, physics Searching for a Random Number Generator in Simulating Lattices
On a steamy August day, Luther Vucic stays cool in the air-conditioned physics lab as X's dance around his monitor in seemingly random patterns. Vucic has learned to make sense out of the chaos.
His summer project isn't easy to render in layman's terms. He is studying a branch of statistical mechanics known as percolation theory. He uses a computer program to study the phase transitions of materials at the quantum level, simulating levels of magnetism, conduction and temperature.
Explored by Professor Gary Reich for the past five years, the field is a fit for Vucic, who was drawn to physics because it provides “the ability to describe, in minute detail, the physical properties of life,” he said. To Vucic's credit, Reich says, “It is no small task to learn programming, and Luther has been industrious and successful.”
Vucic is sincerely intrigued with tackling academics and life. He believes the mysteries he can solve with physics-how chalk sticks to a chalkboard or why the life-giving sunlight is no different from the glow of fireflies-are so broad they can provide a lifetime of inquiry.
A self-proclaimed “extremist” with his own diverse array of interests-he has rowed on the College crew team and belongs to Union's Motorcycle and Astronomy clubs-Vucic aspires to the title “mad scientist.” He dreams of owning his own lab to explore everything his curiosity dictates.
He admits his dreams change daily, however. “Maybe tomorrow I'll want to be out at sea on a research boat or in space as an astronaut or in the rainforest as a doctor.”
A native of Angola, N.Y., Vucic is a member of Green House. He transferred to Union as a sophomore, drawn by the College's reputation for undergraduate research, he said.