Jackson Mance

Major: Physics
Mentors: Alex Giovannone, Professor Mark Sherwin

Automating Alignment for EPR Spectroscopy

EPR Spectroscopy can be used to study protein evolution, detect and analyze free radicals, and explore applications in medicine, material science, and biochemistry. In the absence of automation, aligning our EPR system is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. This project involves designing an automated alignment system for the Sherwin Lab’s new high-field EPR spectrometer. Two high-precision stepper motors drive the alignment system. The EPR signal is recorded on the computer and processed to generate feedback commands for the Arduino, which regulates motor movement via pulse signals sent to the drivers. This alignment system can automatically maximize the EPR signal, which allows us to shrink the size of our pulses. This gives us the ability to measure excitations with shorter lifetimes. Additionally, it improves the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) for all measurements.