Senior Projects

 

My diverse interests can be lumped into the following four broad categories: Energy Technologies, Atmospheric Dynamics, Particle Physics and Cosmology. I am actively working with students in some of these areas and additional ideas for projects are listed below. If you are a student looking for a project that is not indicated below but falls into the broad categories that I mention above please feel free to come by my office to discuss your ideas.

 

Projects currently being investigated:

 

  1. Photovoltaic (solar cell) Devices: This line of research is currently focused on improving the power conversion efficiency (light energy to electrical energy) for hybrid polymer based cells using computer simulations and direct experimentation. Students with experimental interests in this project will need to complete the polymer electronics lab course (EE 422). Students wanting to perform simulations need to know how to program in C and have taken Phys 408. Both types of students should plan on taking solid-state physics lecture and lab (Phys 412 and 423). Peter Danza is currently working on the experimental aspects of this project and Chris France has just begun with the computer simulations. Local collaborators on this project are Dr. Kevin Kingsbury (Chemistry) and Dr. David Braun (Electrical Engineering). Additional collaborators include Dr. Alison Breeze at the National Renewable Energy Lab and Dr. Sue Carter at the University of California Santa Cruz.

 

  1. Middle Atmosphere Dynamics: While 90% of the atmospheric mass is located in the lower part of our atmosphere (the troposphere), the middle atmosphere (or stratosphere) has a subtle influence on the variability of the climate experienced on earth. A prominent feature in the equatorial stratosphere is the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), whereby the winds change from easterly to westerly and then back to easterly with a period of approximately two years. Although the mechanism for the QBO is mostly understood, its influence on higher latitudes, relation to the sunspot cycle and weather in the troposphere continues to be an active area of research. In collaboration with colleagues at U.C. Davis and San Jose State University, Cal Poly physics student John Ross and myself will soon be contributing to this research effort. Students with interest in this area need to have taken introduction to atmospheric physics (Phys 313) and a special topics course with me. Knowledge of a programming language is also essential. Most students will contribute to the observational aspects of this project (data analysis) but simulation work is available for the more mathematically inclined.

 

  1. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Detection: The CMB is a remnant from an early time (380 thousand years after the Big Bang) when the Universe underwent a transition from being opaque to transparent. Since this time the free streaming photons have been redshifted by the expansion of the Universe. When we measure these photons today they have a thermal spectrum that peaks at 1.1 mm in the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. While the CMB is currently being precisely measured using the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) with many interesting implications for Cosmology (see below), Daniel Elmore will be building a simplified ground based detector to demonstrate the existence of the CMB. Future projects using the CMB detector would involve putting it on a drive and mapping out the plane of our own Milky Way Galaxy in microwaves. Students interested in this future project should have completed Phys 409, Phys 256, and have taken at least an introductory astronomy course.

 

Additional future projects:

 

  1. The long awaited Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has dramatically increased the precision of the standard inflationary Big Bang model of the Universe. For example, the data suggests the Universe is 13.7 billion years old with an uncertainty of 0.2 billions years. While there are an enormous number of interesting projects related to this new CMB data, I would like to begin by investigating two areas. Students with interest in these projects should have completed Astr 326 and/or plan on taking a special topics course with me.

a)      The WMAP data suggests that the geometry of the Universe is flat and that the fluctuations in the CMB are adiabatic, Gaussian and have a nearly scale invariant power spectrum. The purpose of this project would be to understand how a simple model of inflation gives these results.

b)     When the WMAP data presented in this figure is combined with other data sets and represented with spherical harmonics the resulting angular power spectrum shows a number of interesting peaks. The theoretical line going through the data depends on a number of cosmological parameters such as the mass density, vacuum energy density and others. In this project we would understand the theory responsible for the curve that fits this data and why these parameters are now tightly constrained.

 

  1. Black holes, one of the many predictions of Einstein’s general theory of relativity, have fascinated physicists for many years. While the stationary (Schwarzchild) and rotating (Kerr) black holes have been investigated extensively less is know about how these solutions are modified by the recently discovered vacuum energy density pervading all space. This project would aim to address the question of how vacuum energy density modifies the evolution and structure of stationary and rotating black holes. Students with an interest in this project should have completed our general relativity course.

 

  1. Recent solar and atmospheric neutrino data suggests that neutrinos are not massless as assumed in the standard model of particle physics but must have a small mass to account for the observed neutrino oscillations. This project will bring us up to date on the latest data as we investigate some of the proposed neutrino oscillation models. Students need to have completed Phys 403 to embark on this project.

 

  1. When the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) comes on line in the next few years we should learn whether or not we live in a supersymmetric world. Students working on this project will learn what supersymmetry is and why we believe the world probably is supersymmetric. In addition, the LHC, should detect the Higgs particle which gives mass to all the known particles. Understanding some of the many possible detection scenarios involves a comprehensive knowledge of particle physics interactions. Students interested in these projects need to have completed Phys 403.

 

  1. Radio Astronomy: The thrust of this project is the design and construction of a radio telescope and electronics for signal processing. Future projects could involve duplicating the initial design for implementation in an interferometry system giving improved resolution. Students interested in these projects should have completed Phys 409, Phys 256, and have taken at least an introductory astronomy course.