A project led by Dr. Paul Syers, in collaboration with Prof. Michael Fuhrer, studied the bulk and surface state contributions to the electrical resistance of single-crystal samples of the topological Kondo insulator compound SmB6. Using two approaches, this study investigated transport behavior both as a function of crystal thickness and surface charge density, the latter tuned by ionic liquid gating with electrodes patterned in a Corbino disk geometry on a single surface. By separately tuning bulk and surface conduction channels, conclusive evidence was found not only for coexistent insulating bulk and metallic surface states, but also a readily observable gate-modulated field effect, providing promise for both fundamental and applied studies of gate-tuned devices structured on bulk crystal samples (see arXiv:1408.3402, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.)