Michael Anderson with Jesse Beresovsky
Advanced Undergraduate Acoustics Experiment
Acoustics represents a body of science that is rich in theory and new concepts and has many applications in everyday life. Unfortunately, many undergraduates are not afforded the opportunity to explore acoustics past a brief introduction. The purpose of this project, then, is...
2014
Edwin Bernardoni with Rolfe Petschek
Optimization of the Static First Hyperpolarizibility of Many Non-Interacting Fermions
Large non-linear electronic polarizabilities would be advantageous for a variety of devices and have been intensely studied for around three decades. This project will examine theoretical limits on the static first non-linear electronic susceptibility of...
Nicholas Clyde with John Ruhl
Polarization Properties of Half-wave Plates
Millimeter wave optical components are useful for current Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) experiments in the field of astrophysics. Therefore, it is useful to characterize these components. The purpose of this study is to test specifically the polarization properties of Millimeter...
Calvin Gao with Dan Akerib and Tom ShuttAnalysis of Single-Electron/Few-Electron Background in LUX S2 DataThe LUX dark matter experiment consists of a two-phase xenon detector which detects interactions between particles and the xenon nuclei and electrons. Such interactions will excite the xenon atoms causing them to emit photons and...
Jacob Derzon with Justin Gallagher
Evaluation of US Renewable Portfolio Standards in Terms of Effectiveness and Intention
In the past several decades, there have been several attempts by lawmakers to increase the use of renewable resources in various states through legislation known as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which mandates increased...
Oliver Ernst with Erkki Somersalo
Optimal Current Patterns and Resolution Limitations of the Bayesian Methodology in EIT
One of the applications of the Bayesian methodology is to the determination of the electrical admittivity distribution from measurement data in Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). Since this inverse problem is ill-posed, a spectrum of...
Nathan Harmon with Paul Harding
Improved Photometry of Metal-Poor Giants in the Kepler Field
Astroseismology is capable of measuring the properties of the interior of stars, for red giants an accurate measure of their age can then be derived. The purpose of this project is to find potentially old stars which...
Matthew Krupcale with Philip FengNanoscale Membrane Structures for Radiation DetectionRadiation detectors are used in a wide range of environments from medical to nuclear and research facilities. The use of nanoscale membranes for radiation detection has largely been unexplored, despite having interesting optoelectronic properties. This project focuses on conducting a...
Shay Mathews with Roger French, Timothy Peshek, and Yang Hu
Photovoltaic Degradation Analysis and Two Diode Simulated Models
An understanding of the degradation process of photovoltaic modules during real world use is crucial to extending their lifetime and reliability. The degradation that occurs during normal use of a panel can be...
Kristen McKee with John Ruhl
Measuring Scattering, Absorption, and Reflection Properties for Filters in the South Pole Telescope
A current problem with many ground-based telescope experiments, such as the South Pole Telescope, is that the optical loading on the detectors is undesirably high. In the South Pole Telescope, millimeter-wavelength photons from...