Journal of Undergraduate Research

Adam Wallace and Dr. Lawrence Rees, Physics and Astronomy Over the last year I have built several neutron detectors with lithium-6 glass and tested their efficiency. As stated in my proposal, this detector is being designed for use by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at portal monitors. In order to meet their […]

David Landry and Dr. David Allred, Physics Department, College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are commonly used to build sensors for consumer products such as game console controllers1 and smart phones2. These sensors use piezoelectric materials and are wired directly into a larger electronic system. Because of their use case, these sensors […]

Adam Konneker and Dr. David Allred, Department of Physics and Astronomy Over the course of the past year, I have had the invaluable opportunity to pursue a research project under the guidance of Dr. David Allred. I am still working on completing the project, but I have made significant progress and gained experience in designing […]

Kelsey Jorgenson and Dr. Eric Hintz, Physics and Astronomy A large part of astronomical research involves gathering information about celestial objects and drawing conclusions about that information. Astronomers commonly gather data for research projects via sweeping surveys, either of particular regions of the sky or of specific kinds of stars or celestial objects. Data from […]

Jarom Jackson and Dr. Dallin Durfee, Department of Physics and Astronomy Purpose of the Project The experiment which we are building here in Dr. Durfee’s lab is a novel one, the key part of which is an ion interferometer. The interferometer consists of a beam of Sr+ ions which will be split in half. The […]

Caleb Hustedt and Drs. Robert Davis and Richard Vanfleet, Physics and Astronomy Graphene is an exciting material that stands to have a large impact on the scientific community. Unfortunately, graphene cannot be fully utilized due to its small scale and time consuming production. Graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition solves these issues but comes with […]

Blaine Harker and Drs. Kent Gee and Brian Anderson, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy Time reversal is a relatively new type of acoustic localization with many applications, such as lithotripsy to destroy kidney stones, and secure underwater sound communication, though in some ways time reversal is still in the development stage. To this end, we […]

Kevin C. Wright and Dr. Bret C. Hess, Physics and Astronomy This research project has been much more time-consuming than I anticipated. Because the required lasers and optical elements are very sensitive and highly susceptible to accidental misalignment and damage, many parts of the multi-stage laser amplification system had to be rebuilt from the ground […]

Nathan B. Terry and Dr. Justin B. Peatross, Physics and Astronomy The laser trapping of microscopic particles has many applications, especially in chemistry, biology and physics (1). It is of special interest to utilize optical trapping to levitate small objects for interferometry work. The levitation of a glass microsphere requires first that the Van der […]

Ryan Hamilton and Dr. Lawrence Rees, Physics and Astronomy; Dr. Nolan Mangelson, Chemistry; Dr. Delbert Eatough, Chemistry In an effort at reducing the carbon monoxide levels in the atmosphere, Utah has mandated the use of oxygenated fuels during winter inversions. While the fuel additive has been shown to reduce CO levels by as much as […]