Snyder Space and Non-Commutative Quantum Mechanics

by

Mark Transtrum and Dr. Jean-Francois Van Huele, Physics and Astronomy Non-commutative quantum mechanics is an active field of research in which the operators corresponding to different spatial dimensions are assumed to not commute, as a consequence of quantization of spacetime. This field is important because it investigates the relationships between fundamental physical ideas such as […]

Optimal Path Scheduling of Tracking Systems

by

Nghia Tran and Dr. Sean Warnick, Computer Science Department We studied the path control problem, which differ from reference tracking problems in its optimality measure. In general, tracking problems employs the point-wise distance measure, while the path control problem uses the alignment distance. The former is a simple distance measure between particular parameterization of the […]

The Unique Photo-toxic Properties of Pyridinium Bis-retinoid Compounds

by

Matthew Sparks and Dr. Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, BYU Chemistry & Biochemistry Department Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an ocular disease that currently afflicts approximately 25–30 million people around the globe.1,2 The disease is characterized by the destruction of the macula, the central region of the retina. As the disease progresses, central vision becomes distorted, clouded, and […]

2-Dimensional Magnetic Transducers For Stringed Instruments

by

Brandon Skinner and Dr. Tim Leishman, Physics and Astronomy Introduction The idea for this project came at a time when I was learning many new things about sound, electronics, and electromagnetic theory. In fact, it was the combination of these ideas that lead me to question the functioning of magnetic guitar pickups and to wonder […]

Traveling Waves

by

Keith Rudd and Dr. Jeffery Humpherys, Mathematics Traveling waves are, mathematically speaking, partial differential equations which can be expresses as U(x-ct), where x is the spatial variable, t is time, and c is the speed of the wave. Traveling waves have applications in fluid dynamics, optics, and many other areas. In our research we continued […]

Vanadium Dioxide Deposited Substrates for Thermochromic Applications

by

S. Andrew Ning and Dr. David Allred, Physics and Astronomy As the technology was readily available here at BYU, we decided to make our own electrochromic material to meet our specifications. After a literature review we found a study done by Wang et al. [1] which suggests a preparation method using a thin film of […]

Ultra-Stable Laser For Use In A Next Generation Atom Interferometer

by

Brian Neyenhuis and Dr. Dallin Durfee, Physics and Astronomy Laser diodes are an attractive option for atomic physics research. They are small, available in a wide variety of wavelengths, inexpensive, and require little power. Because diode lasers are typically made in bulk for the computing or telecom industries where linewidth and mode structure are not […]

Effect of the −1 Triplet in tmRNA

by

Mickey Miller and Dr. Allen Buskirk, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry tmRNA (transfer-messenger RNA) is a functional RNA that acts as both tRNA and mRNA to rescue ribosomes stalled on mRNA lacking a stop codon or on nascent peptide sequences in eubacteria (1). When a ribosome stalls, the tRNA-like structure of tmRNA enters the ribosome […]

Use of Solid-Phase Extraction to Enrich Protein Biomarkers of Disease from Blood Serum

by

Peter F. McLean and Dr. Craig Thulin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Biomarkers in blood serum are the keys needed for the early detection of several types of cancer, complications of pregnancy, and potentially many other diseases, to allow time for successful treatment. Blood serum is ideal because it comes in contact with all parts […]