Steven Stroiney with Lawrence KraussAxions, Quintessence and NaturalnessWe will explore the issue of naturalness as it relates to one of the prime candidates for "quintessence"... a scalar field in a slowly varying potential that mimics, for some time, a cosmological constant in the Universe. The field we will examine...
Academic Year
Jonathan Wheeler with Clemens Burda (Dept. of Chemistry) Investigations of the Optical Properties of CdS Nanoparticles for Potential Applications in SpintronicsThe goal of this project is to investigate the optical properties of Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) semiconductor nanoparticles using spectroscopic techniques such as UV-vis, fluorescence and laser spectroscopy in the femtosecond...
Kimberly Charlton with Eric Baer ( Macromolecular Sci.)(Don Schuele - physics co-advisor)Effect of Orientation on Structure-Property Relationships of PEBAX/PP Microlayered Films The purpose of the project is to study the effects of orientation on the structure-property relationships of PEBAX/PP microlayered films. The films will be oriented using the Instron testing machine,...
Chad Davis with Glenn StarkmanHigher Spin Wave Equations on Compact Hyperbolic Manifolds and ApplicationsMuch attention has been paid recently to the possibility of extra dimensions, most of it in the context of "extra" flat toroidal factors to the space-time manifold; however, compact hyperbolic factors have recently been shown to...
Anthony Hall with Robert BrownStudies in Quantum Computing and ChaosThe parallel evolution of entangled quantum states is at the heart of quantum computation theory; the most renowned results are the exponentially improved efficiencies for finding hidden stabilizer subgroups (the RSA cryptosystem belongs to this class of problems). The potential...
Andrew Huss with Stephen Phillips (Electrical Engineering) Integration of Sensor Technology for Mini-WHEGS RobotWHEGS stands for wheels with legs. The mini-WHEGS robot is approximately the size of a pack of playing cards, and possesses great power and agility for its size. It can maneuver over or around almost any obstacle,...
Peter Hyland with Dan AkeribCharacterization of a Cryogenic Detector to Improve Background RejectionBased on our understanding of gravity, observations of the motion of stars and galaxies demonstrate a stronger gravitational force than can be accounted for by observable matter, i.e. matter that emits or absorbs light. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis...
Nathan Kaib with Chris Mihos (Astronomy)The Study of Diffuse Intracluster StarlightAs galaxies move throughout clusters, they are subjected to the tidal forces due to the gravitational field of the cluster and gravitational forces called galaxy harassment stemming from close encounters with other cluster galaxies. Both of these effects tend...
Cameron Keenan with Lawrence KraussHalo Signatures in Dark Matter Detection Matter plays a crucial role in the nature of the universe. Features such as the expansion rate of the universe and the value of Einstein's Cosmological Constant are determined by the amount of matter present in the universe. If dark...
Joseph Khalil w. Guillermo Bozzolo (Ohio Aerospace Inst.)(Gary Chottiner - Physics co-advisor)Atomistic Modeling of the Co/Cu(111) Surface Observed surface features of Co growth on the Cu (111) surface show promise in enhancing electron transport, increasing magnetic sensitivity, and growing quantum wires. Specific features include triangular-shaped islands with a height of two layers above...