Thomas Sanders with Chris Zorman (Electrical Engineering)Design of a Novel Microfabricated Antenna for Use in Lossy MediaMicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has advanced to the point where wireless systems that incorporate microfabricated, thin film antennas are beginning to emerge, especially for harsh environment applications were wired systems are not practical...
Academic Year
Nathan Shaman with Tom Shutt (project started in summer 2006 and finishing in fall 2006 )Building a Radon Counter to Characterize Radon in the Case XENON DetectorWe attempt to design and build a radon counter to characterize 222 Rn levels in the XENON detector. For XENON to operate effectively,...
Benjamin Shank with Arnold DahmHe3 Diffusion As a Probe of Delocalized Vacancies in HCP He4Vacancies travel through He4 crystals by quantum tunneling. NMR will be used to measure the rate of vacancy assisted diffusion of isotropic He3 impurities through the HCP lattice of He4. The rate of this motion...
Audrey Todhunter with Tanmay VachaspatiEvolution of Cosmic IslandsWe study the evolution of a ball of radiation and/or dust (``island'') in a universe driven by a cosmological constant.
Matthew Whilden with David FarrellOptimization of a High Tc Susceptometer - Imaging Using High Tc Magnetic SusceptometryIn-vivo magnetic susceptometers using liquid helium cooled low-temperature superconducting materials have been used clinically for over twenty-five years for measuring the amount of iron in the human liver. Despite their accuracy and established...
Edgar Wilson with Corbin CovaultTiming Measurement and Angular Reconstruction for the Pierre Auger Observatory /A Measurement of the Timing Offset for the Pierre Auger ObservatoryOne of the great current mysteries of our universe is the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. One experiment that sets out to study this...
Sebastian Wyman with Lawrence KraussGravitational Waves From the Early UniverseThe student will initially master enough of general relativity and cosmology to understand the basic features of gravitational waves in an expanding universe. Then we will examine signatures of a stochastic background of gravitational waves from a variety of possible...
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...
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...