offers a baccalaureate degree in Physics with emphasis on undergraduate research and a three two engineering cooperative program. Dr. Mahanta has been pursuing research in the fields of Quantum Information Processing(QIP) and Nanotechnology for several years. The QIP research was carried out at the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, NY through several summer fellowships and a two year (2004-2006)Senior Research Fellowship awarded by the National Academy of the Sciences. The research involved the study of light profiles with orbital angular momentum, called a donut beam, which can be used as a quantum tool for processing information as well as for nanowire manipulation. The characterization data were published through presentation at International conferences of IEEE and QCMC in Singapore and Japan as well as at Rochester, NY. Dr. Mahanta continues to investigate the use of the donut beam for nanowire characterization and manipulation in the next phase of her research.