Aaron Shojinaga with Jie ShanAC Conductivity of Silver NanoparticlesThe electrical conductivity for bulk metal is described by the well-known Drude model. As the size of the metal is reduced to the nanometer scale however, the energy levels become discrete, rather than continuous. The average spacing between adjacent energy levels...
Academic Year
Joseph Sklenar with Kathleen KashGrowth of ZnSnN2The synthesis and study of group II-IV nitride semiconductors is an area of condensed matter physics that has not been rigorously explored. However, growth of group III nitride semiconductors has received a great amount of attention because of their interesting properties. For instance,...
Zachary Tobin with Philip TaylorComputer Modeling of Ionomer Membranes Under Fuel Cell ConditionsAn ionomer membrane is the central component of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Its purpose is to separate reactants while only allowing one specific ion to pass through it. In the case of a hydrogen fuel...
Michal Usowicz with Volodimyr DuzhkoSelf-Assembled Solar Cells of Nanostructured Architectures Currently the most efficient solar cells are made of silicon and are not a viable technology due to high device fabrication costs. It is hoped that organic semiconductors and hybrid systems with nanostructured inorganic materials can be used to construct...
James Verbus with Tom ShuttLow Background Radon Emanation Counting for the Large Underground Xenon Dark Matter DetectorThe Large Underground Xenon detector requires a very low background environment in its search for weakly interacting massive particles. One contributor to the radioactive background is radon (222Rn) emanates out of materials used...
Nicholas Barbuto with prof. Kenneth SingerPhotoluminescence in Doped 1-D Photonic CrystalsInterference effects inside a photonic crystals provide mechanisms for the precise control of light both within and outside of the photonic crystal. In particular the emission direction, spectrum, intensity, and dynamics can be affected by the band structure. We...
Ryan Berkheimer with Prof. Kathleen KashSonoluminescenceSonoluminescence is the process of changing a mechanical pressure into electromagnetic radiation and heat. Applying an external harmonic oscillating sound field at a certain resonant frequency to a gas bubble in a liquid chamber will force the gas bubble to oscillate its volume, shrinking...
Kyle Box with Prof. Harsh Mathur TitleA Quantum Algorithm for Testing for Mersenne PrimesIn this project we will be looking for a quantum algorithm to solve a specific number theory problem - testing for Mersenne primes. Prime numbers play an important role in modern life, mostly in various data...
Yvette Cendes with Prof. Corbin CovaultTest and Feasibility of a Cherenkov Detector for the Auger North ProjectCherenkov radiation can be used to reconstruct the energy of high-energy cosmic rays entering the Earth's atmosphere. A durable, low-cost Cherenkov detector will be tested with actual cosmic ray events and compared to...
David Crowley with Prof. Jie ShanThin Films for THz GenerationTHz generation is a well known nonlinear effect that has been used in many spectroscopic methods. Most well known is time domain spectroscopy (THz TDS) which has the additional benefit of not only providing information on the amplitude changes, but...