Ultra-Small Scale Hydroelectric as a Supplemental Energy Source

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Andrew Thompson and Dr. Daniel Maynes, Department of Mechanical Engineering For centuries water has been used as a source of power; from the middle ages where waterwheels were used for simple mechanical tasks to the 21st century where large hydroelectric power plants supply megawatts of electricity to the power grid. In recent decades developing and […]

Computer Modeling and Mapping of Ultrasound Intensity in Human Tissues for Gene and Drug Delivery

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Spencer Smith and Dr. William Pitt, Chemical Engineering Introduction and Purpose Over the past years ultrasound has been used extensively in medical treatments. It is now being developed and tested in localized drug and gene delivery. One of the main applications for drug delivery is treating cancer. The first step in this process is to […]

Thermal Management of Lithium Iron-phosphate Batteries

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Nicholas V. Riedel and Professor Perry Carter, School of Technology The BYU Electric Vehicle Competition Team (EVCT) elected to use Lithium-iron phosphate batteries as the power source for their streamlined electric race car. This car will be used to attempt a land speed record for electric vehicles under 1800 lbs at the Bonneville Salt Flats in […]

Development of Synthetic Composite Materials to Simulate Vocal Fold Tissue

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Allyson Pulsipher and Dr. Scott Thomson, Department of Mechanical Engineering Over the past 25 years, research has been done to analyze the response of vocal fold tissue to tensile loading. Although the research provided better understanding of vocal fold behavior, there has been significant variability in the results of each research endeavor. Many factors may […]

Coastal Wind Retrieval using Satellite Scatterometer Data

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Michael Owen and Dr. David Long, Electrical Engineering The SeaWinds scatterometer aboard the QuikSCAT satellite has been functioning to measure radar backscatter over the ocean since its launch in 1999. The backscatter data from the scatterometer is used to infer wind speeds over the ocean and is vital to ocean wind measurement as the satellite […]

Computational Analysis of PROSTHETIC Voice-Producing Elements

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Britton Olson and Dr. Scott L. Thomson, Mechanical Engineering Many voice disorders impede normal speech production. In severe cases such as laryngeal carcinoma, the total laryngectomy procedure is required, resulting in the loss of the natural ability to produce sound for speech. In this case synthetic forms of speech are employed. One method of synthetic […]

A Race Vehicle Data Acquisition System

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B. Taylor Newill and Dr. Mark Colton, Mechanical Engineering Department Introduction The Society of Automotive Engineers hosts the annual Formula SAE student design competition. This year 70 teams will design, build, and race a one man, open-wheeled road racer. Formula SAE is considered by many to be the most prestigious university engineering design competition in […]

Nanoemulsions of Non-Toxic Fluorocarbon Liquids Used to Transfect Genes with Applied Ultrasound

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Cody L. Martin and Dr. William Pitt, Chemical Engineering Gene delivery has been an important topic of medical and scientific research today, due to its potential in aiding the fight against cancer, heart disease and many genetic disorders. By transfecting appropriate genes into diseased cells, specific proteins can be produced that will alleviate problems at […]

Antibody-Conjugated Polymeric Micelles that Attach to Specific Cancer Cells

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Douglas S. Lewis and Dr. William G. Pitt, Chemical Engineering Introduction In the past decade, many efforts have been made to improve chemotherapeutic treatments for cancer patients. One of the specific efforts seeks to actively deliver anti-cancer drugs to the target tissue rendering the chemotherapy more efficient and less damaging to nearby uninfected cells. The […]