Last summer David Storm took time out from his job as a physics professor at the University of the Virgin Islands to work as a fellow at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., studying conductors.
His findings made it into the February issue of the Journal of Applied Physics, a subscription-based electronic version of the print journal of the same name. It is published by the American Institute of Physics.
Robert Stolz, chaiman of UVI's mathematics division, said Storm's research has the potential to increase the capacity of widely used electronic equipment such as cellular phones.
"It will help with building wider band semiconductors that can withstand higher voltages," Stolz said.
Storm said he is pleased with the recognition because it lends credibility to UVI's physics studies.
His research was also corroborated by a French scientific group, Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique.
Storm theorized that a semiconductor material used in the construction of transistors, indium gallium nitride, does not collect at the same rate at which it is added. The CEA sent Storm a graph of its findings, showing basically the same thing.
"It's beautiful," Storm said. "It's an indication that I was on the right track."
Storm has taught physics at UVI since 1994. The university offers an associate's degree in physics.
