Journal of Undergraduate Research

Steven L. Tait, Jr. and Dr. William J. Strong, Physics and Astronomy Introduction Many sound pairs in the English language appear ambiguous to lip readers, such as /pa/ and /ba/ or /ki/ and /gi/. In previous studies, a lip reading aid was developed to overcome this obstacle by processing sound signals and displaying them as […]

Cynthia E. Mills and Dr. R. Steven Turley, Physics and Astronomy Little is known about the interaction of extreme ultraviolet light (EUV) with materials. This project is a beginning step to filling the information void. My wavelength, 584 Å, is a dominant He I line in the EUV, the 1s 2p to 1s2 transition. The […]

Philip Du Toit and Dr. Jean Francois Van Huele Introduction Quantum mechanics attributes to matter the properties of waves. The postulate that matter behaves as a wave and can be described by a wave function provides a mathematical description or model of many previously unexplained physical phenomena such as the diffraction pattern of an electron […]

Taylor S. Wood and Dr. Richard Vanfleet, Physics and Astronomy Abstract Carbon nanotubes have an unusually high strength-to-weight ratio and thus present an exciting material for use in reinforcing the structural integrity of microstructures. However, despite their desirable properties, carbon nanotubes have proved difficult to incorporate in materials as strengthening elements. Our group has developed […]

Cary Tippets and Dr. Robert Davis, Physics and Astronomy Photovoltaics, solar cells, have great potential as an energy source. Currently solar energy is too expensive for it to make a considerable impact on the energy market. Including production and maintenance cost, solar energy is nearly five times more expensive than traditional energy sources such as […]

Joseph Nelson and Dr. Karine Chesnel, Physics One of the greatest challenges facing the magnetic data storage industry is the sensitivity of magnetic media to degradation by external fields. Because of this sensitivity, long-term archival data storage, which is required by law for many industries, has become very expensive to upkeep. To protect against possible […]

Benjamin Frandsen and Dr. Branton Campbell, Physics and Astronomy A wide variety of electronic devices, including microphones, acoustic transducers and high-powered microscopes, rely on a phenomenon called piezoelectricity. This is the property by which a crystal, when subjected to an electric field, experiences mechanical strain. Conversely, an applied mechanical stress produces voltage across the crystal. […]

Derek Felli We looked into OH-MASER transitions considered rare in star forming regions. A MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is emission from compact clouds of molecular gas. MASERs may consist of OH, H2O, SiO and CH3OH molecules to name some of the most common and intense. This study is helping to provide […]

Aaron Bennett and Dr. Dallin Durfee, Physics I will discuss a high speed, low noise homodyne photo-detector. This detector will be used to better implement laser locking techniques, such as the Pound-Drever-Hall Method, that use lock-in detection. A basic explanation of the Pound-Drever-Hall method is presented in my proposal. In this report, I will discuss […]

Kyle Zufelt and Dr. Robert Davis, Department of Physics and Astronomy My research proceeded more or less according to the plan that I proposed. What changed was that I realized there were many more details necessary to work out than what I had included in my proposal. By collaborating with professors in the physics and […]