Ross Anderson with Harihara Baskaran, Jean Welter & Robert BrownModeling Oxygen Diffusion Through an Inhomogeneous Growing Cartilage Matrix Once cartilage, a cushioning tissue in a joint, has failed, the mobility of the patient is significantly inhibited due to pain caused by bone-bone interaction. Cartilage lacks a vascular system, and...
2006
Joshua Ball with Harsh MathurThe Efficiency of Adiabatic Quantum ComputingAdiabatic quantum computing is a newly proposed method developed to solve exact cover and other NP-complete problems. Classically, NP-complete problems can only be solved in exponential time. However, numerical simulations of the adiabatic quantum computer on a classical computer suggest...
Frank Calma with John Ruhl (project started January 2006)Magnetic Bearing for Cosmic Microwave PolarimetryBalloon borne polarimetry experiments such as the BOOMERANG experiment require adjustable polarimetry apparatus with low frictional loss or heat discharge. One such design is to use a bearing containing a half wave-plate polarimeter. Unfortunately, typical mechanical...
James Garrison with Tanmay VachaspatiAn Investigation of Classically-Forbidden Quantum Detection and its Application to Island CosmologyIsland cosmology is a cosmological model that is an alternative to the inflationary paradigm. In island cosmology, the universe is initially void of matter but filled with cosmological constant. Quantum fluctuations of an existing...
Jonathan Glicoes with Dan Akerib & Richard SchneeInvestigation of Background Rejection in the Search for Dark MatterThe Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment seeks to demonstrate the existence of dark matter in the form of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS). In order to attempt to distinguish potential WIMPS from...
Edward Hawkins with Hiroyuki Fujita, Xiaoyu Yang & Robert BrownConstructing a Birdcage Coil, Facilitating Freedom from the MRI CageMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) represents the marriage of medicine and physics, producing images of the human body which are astoundingly accurate while employing only non-invasive shifting magnetic fields as detectors. Because...
Joseph Kolthammer with Kathy KashNear-Atmospheric Thermal Gradient Growth of Single Crystal Gallium NitrideGallium nitride (GaN) is a highly desirable wide bandgap semiconductor with myriad optoelectronic applications. Reliable GaN growth has in the past been limited to reactions at 10 kbar or greater pressures; a near-atmospheric process features much easier...
Chris Muscatello with Tanmay VachaspatiPropagation of Charged Particles with Spin in Helical Magnetic FieldsThe study of cosmic rays and their origin has both cosmological and astrophysical implications. Some previous works dealt with the propagation of charged particles through large-scale randomly distributed astrophysical magnetic fields. Magnetic fields are known to...
Christian Perez with Arnold Dahm (project started January 2005, finished in December 2005 )Quantum Computation: From Electron to QubitThe characterization of electron states for quantum computing with electrons on liquid He requires several proprietary components. Two of those are a low-T, low noise microwave bolometer and submicron electrode array...
Salem Ritenour with Corbin Covault (project started January 2006)Cosmic Ray Showers: Detectors, Simulation, and ReconstructionThe arrival of cosmic rays into earth's atmosphere poses a variety of scientific conundrums. One can examine these problems by devising methods of deducing the Entergy, arrival direction, and composition of the rays. Our approach...
12