The Brain’s Response to Music Using fMRI

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Todd Harris and Dr. Travis Oliphant, Electrical Engineering While it is obvious that hearing a sound produces measurable changes in the brain’s auditory cortex, it is less clear how a compilation of tones, beats, and rhythms affect other areas. In this study I use fMRI to observe which structures in the brain become active in […]

GPS navigation module for the Handspring Visor PDA

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Craig Cody Hardcastle and Craig Tingey and Professor Richard Helps, Electronics and Information Technology The focus of our research project was to build a GPS navigation module to be used with the Handspring PDA. It provides a highly mobile method of finding exact locations using an interface and display that is familiar and friendly. Our GPS […]

The Brain’s Response to Physical Activity Studied With fMRI

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Ren Weidman and Dr. Travis Oliphant, Electrical and Computer Engineering In recent years the fields of medicine and physiological research have made many advancements as a result of application of technology. One example of this is the device known as the Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI). MRI machines use innovative methods based on principles of […]

FMRI Investigation of Brain Function While Reading Different Types of Literature

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David A Thayer and Dr. Travis Oliphant, Electrical and Computer Engineering Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a new imaging technique that results in images showing what areas of the brain are active during different activities. In spite of the popularity of this new technology there are no commonly available or widely accepted programs for processing […]

An Analysis of Beowulf Supercomputing Clusters, and Their Potential Application in Higher Education

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Curtis R. Nielson and Professor C. Richard G. Helps, Electronics and Information Technology A supercomputer may be defined as a computer that leads the world in processing capacity, particularly in terms of calculation speed. Historically, the processing power of a supercomputer has been reserved for government or scientific research agencies; however, advances in computing technology […]

Enhanced High-Alphabet FM for a Flight Termination System

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Brent Allen Kenney and Dr. Michael D. Rice, Electrical and Computer Engineering The BYU Telemetry Lab has functioned in a consulting role for NASA’s Enhanced Flight Termination System (EFTS) group since 2000. NASA initiated the EFTS program to develop a new system to be used on their many test ranges for unmanned flight vehicles throughout […]

Synchronous Data Link Control Communication Chip

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C. Alva Barney and Dr. Doran K. Wilde, Electrical and Computer Engineering In conjunction with the ORCA research grant I was able to design, layout and simulate an integrated Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) communication chip. SDLC communication chips are commonly used to transfer data between computers in serial bit-wise transmission. Extensions of the SDLC […]

MRI RF Receiver and Transmitter Design

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David A. Thayer and Dr. Travis E. Oliphant, Electrical and Computer Engineering Radiofrequency (RF) transmitters and receivers are a critical component in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These are the components used for imaging. The goal of this project was to design an RF transmitter and receiver. Both were successfully designed and implemented. RF Receiver Design […]

Low-Power Reference String Design for CMOS Flash Analog-to- Digital Converters

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Daniel W. Pulsipher and Dr. Craig Petrie, Electrical and Computer Engineering Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) play a prominent role in modern electrical systems. The environment in which we live consists primarily of analog signals, information-carrying waveforms continuous in time and value. Because of this continuous characteristic, analog signals are difficult to store and manipulate. Digital signals […]

Characterization of Silicon Oxide and Silicon Nitride Deposition Using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD)

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Stephen Markham and Dr. Aaron Hawkins, Electrical and Computer Engineering Abstract: Waveguides will become more important as optical networks replace traditional wire networks for data transfer. This research explores one method of creating multimode waveguide that uses Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition to grow oxide and nitride layers on Silicon. As the Information Age matures, […]