Senior Projects of the Class of 2004
updated March 31, 2004
Rachel Benish with Corbin Covault
STACEE Experiment Data Calibration Based on the STACEE Atmosptheric Monitor
Crucial to the STACEE experiment is the ability to distinguish Cherenkov pulses of light from the night sky background. This project will further the work of Joshua Boehm, begun in 2002, to select and calibrate quality STACEE data by examining the data collected by the Stacee Atmospheric Monitor (SAM). In particular, it will examine the utility of photometry and infrared SAM data in this selection process.
Zachary Berkowitz with John Ruhl
Design, Fabrication and Testing of Suspended Millimeter-wave Absorbers
Research into the nature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is an ongoing field of study. New designs and new materials for detectors which promise better results are being developed and modeled for use in upcoming experiments. However, such devices must at present be constructed elsewhere off the Case Western Reserve University campus. This project aims to move towards the in-house construction of such devices by working though the process of design, fabrication and testing of silicon nitride suspended elements constructed in a clean room on campus. Testing of this device could then help improve the development of polarization sensitive detectors to be used in future CMB studies.
Nicholas Borchers with Lawrence Krauss
Efficacy of Ground-based Supernova Searches to Distinguish Between Dark Energy Models
Recent evidence, obtained from measurements of distant type Ia supernovae, indicates that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. A new component called dark energy is presumed to cause this acceleration, and its origin and properties are one of the great mysteries of cosmology. In this project I propose to explore how ground-based measurements of type Ia supernovae can be best used to probe the properties of dark energy. In particular, despite the fact that dark energy models are more easily distinguishable at high redshift, supernova measurements are noisier at high redshift, indicating that nearby (low-redshift) supernovae may be an effective tool to rule out various models. I will be following up on two previous senior projects.
Stephanie Bush with Chris Mihos (astronomy)
Probing the Structure of Galaxies Using Tidal Debris
The properties of tidal tails in colliding galaxies are sensitive to the structure of the progenitor disk galaxies. We will use simulations of colliding galaxies to study whether or not galactic disks with short truncation radii (as suggested by some recent observations) are consistent with the long tidal tails observed in many interacting galaxies. We will also simulations of tidal debris to constrain the distribution of dark matter in spiral and elliptical galaxies.
Jeremy Cuson with Harsh Mathur
Primality Testing with Quantum Computers
To date there has been only one significant number theoretic algorithm developed for a hypothetical quantum computer, Shor’s algorithm, which allows one to factor large primes. The task of this project would be to ascertain the usefulness of a quantum computer for other number theoretic algorithms in particular primality testing. Classically, the computational complexity of a factoring algorithm is greater than that of a primality testing algorithm. The project will explore whether this parallel exists in quantum computation. Specifically, we would like to develop a feasible quantum algorithm for testing the primality of Mersenne numbers (2^n -1) for which there exists the classical Lucas-Lehmer test. Given sufficient time, we would like to explore the quantum computation of combinatorial optimization particularly the traveling salesman problem.
Benjamin Davidson with Joel Langer, Mathematics, & Harsh Mathur
Circle Geometry and Time-Resolved Crystallography
Time-resolved crystallography has the ability to show the structure of reactants, intermediates, and products of a reaction. The images that arise often have patterns of circles in them. It may be possible to establish a link between the resultant images and circle geometry. By studying the Mobius group and other topics we hope to be able to explore this connection.
Matt Finnerty with Robert Brown
On New Methods to Improve the Way We Learn and Their Relationship to Neuroscience
Over the past decade, there have been many developments in the methods used to present the subject of physics to students. Some examples of the latest techniques include interactive lecture demonstrations focusing on fundamental principles, student-led workshops, physics through guided inquiry, and an involved process revolving around questions during lecture called Peer Instruction. Some methods, such as the student-led workshops, show no statistical improvement when compared to a more traditional professor-led recitation. However others, in particular Peer Instruction, have been well-received and the students show an increase in how much they learned from the lectures.
Our goal is to develop new methods that enhance a student’s ability to learn the subject. One possible idea is to take a group of students who are struggling in one type of learning environment and place them in another to see if the change creates improvement. Also, an attempt will be made to link this learning to what we presently understand from neuroscience research into the brain.
Jeremiah Garretson with Philip Taylor
Feasibility of DC Transmission of Electricity
In today's world, alternating current (AC) is the norm for transmission of electrical power. This has been true since the days of Westinghouse and Edison. However, new discoveries have made the possibility of direct current (DC) transmission of electricity much more efficient. High Voltage DC (HVDC) transmission is currently used to transfer power between AC grids and transmit electricity over vast distances, but the possibility of replacing more if not all of the AC grids with DC may one day become reality. In this project, new technology and physics will be analyzed to determine if increased reliance on DC transmission is not only more feasible technologically but also more efficient then the current AC grids. If times permits, the economic and political obstacles for DC transmission will also be examined, as well as possible environmental benefits.
Benjamin Johnson with Cyrus Taylor
Advanced Hydrofoil Systems
In standard boating design, the hull of the boat is pushed through the water by the propulsion system. The result of this is that most of the energy is used to displace this water. Hydrofoils seek to overcome this drag by lifting the boat out of the water using the same principals that airplane wings used to lift the aircraft. Thus, the boat’s propulsions system needs only to overcome the drag on the wings which remain in the water and the craft is removed from the turbulence of the water’s surface. The purpose of our project will be to develop a feasible design for a hydrofoil system and determine its viability in the boating market.
Sam Khamis with John Ruhl
Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Superconducting Transition Edge Bolometer
Bolometers provide the most accurate measurements of electro-magnetic radiation in the range from 200µm to 3mm. This range is of particular interest to the study of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Superconducting Bolometers provide an enticing possibility as a replacement for the current semi-conducting bolometers as they bring a decreased response time (lower time constant). Superconducting Bolometers are also sought after because of the ease of creating large arrays of them. Since they are read out through SQUIDS (superconducting Quantum Interference Devices) they can be easily multiplexed in large arrays.
We will attempt to design, fabricate and test a superconducting thin film, with a Tc of approximately 4K. This will lead to the design of a Superconducting Bolometer of the same material. We will employ the techniques of thin film deposition and optical lithography. These techniques also lend themselves fairly easily to the production of large arrays of bolometers.
Brian Kubera with Jie Shan
Vibrational Circular Dichroism in the Far-Infrared
Extending the ability to measure circular dichroism spectra into the far-infrared will allow for observation of lower frequency modes in chiral materials. Vibrational CD spectra contain not only the chirality of the sample, but, also sufficient information to predict the absolute molecular configuration when combined with the absorption spectra and a suitable model. Advancements in FIR sources may make such a measurement feasible in this spectral range. A measurement scheme should be developed to utilize freely propagating, ultrafast, FIR pulses for the detection of CD. Once the device is constructed and characterized, biomolecules of interest will be selected and studied.
Nathan Kundtz with Corbin Covault
Event reconstruction analysis of hybrid ground array and fluorescence detector data for the Auger project
The Auger High Energy Astro-physics experiment seeks to detect high energy particles entering the earth’s atmosphere through the detection of a Chrenkov shower. These events have a cross section with the atmosphere of approximately 1 event * km-1year-1 so a very large detector is needed. The detector being used spans an area the size of Delaware in the desert of Argentina. Many ground based detector water tanks equipped with photomultiplier tubes are used to create the large detection area. A secondary fluorescence detector is used to help determine the direction of the shower and improve the accuracy of reconstructions. The ground based detectors are equipped with a GPS receiver/antenna used to determine the time of each event. These clocks must be accurate to an estimated 20ns for event reconstructions to be valid. Using the powerful reconstructions provided through ground-array and fluorescence detector data the event timing of the clocks on each of the GPS receivers used will be tested. This data will be compared to receiver timing offsets measured in our lab this summer. The effects of second order changes in the behavior of the GPS clocks on event reconstruction will also be determined.
Bryan Linkous with John Ruhl
Thermo-electric Model of a Superconducting Bolometer
Bolometers have often been used as detectors of low energy radiation, but there has always been a choice to make between speed and sensitivity. A new design of superconducting bolometers promises to deliver increases in both speed and sensitivity over the older, semiconductor designs. The superconducting bolometer consists of a voltage biased transition edge sensor mounted on a cold substrate. Impinging microwave radiation heats the sensor, which in turn lowers the power (i.e. heat) output of the TES. This strong electro-thermal feedback makes analytic analysis of such a system extremely difficult, if not impossible. Thus, a computer model was seen as the best option for predicting the detector’s behavior. Once the model is completed it will be used to investigate the likely noise properties and response of such a detector under conditions such as those used in the study of the CMB.
David Miller with Tanmay Vachaspati
From Inverse Scattering To Field Theory
In a general quantum mechanical problem, one can reconstruct an analytic potential from the spectrum of eigenvalues for the system using symmetric reflectionless potentials. This technique works well for reconstructing potentials in simple 1-dimensional problems.
We are interested in the field theory underlying an excitation spectrum of eigenvalues of a topological defect in the field. The potential detailed by this set of eigenvalues is inherently connected to the field theory underlying it. This means that one can determine the complete field theory from the excitation spectrum of the defect. The process for recovering the field theory is not guaranteed to be analytic however, so numerical processes are necessary in some cases. Cases where the field theory is analytic serve as useful examples for qualitative analysis. We can use this method to determine the field theory in problems that are one-dimensional and ones in which we have S-wave eigenfunctions. Specifically, we wish to consider a generally more complicated spectrum of eigenvalues, and see what we can determine about the field theory underlying it, and the transitions therein when the eigenvalues change.
Mike Minar with Kathy Kash
The Growth of Single Crystal InSb via Electrochemical Deposition
A “bottom-up” approach to device fabrication is generally regarded as cumbersome when creating device quality semiconductor material; however, certain device geometries cannot be constructed from conventional “top-down” methods. If electrochemical growth of device quality material is possible it will represent a breakthrough for device fabrication in one of the fastest increasing areas of research, nanotechnology. This project investigates the possibility of growing single crystal InSb using electrodepostion techniques. Once samples have been developed x-ray and electron diffraction will be used to determine the crystal structure, chemical composition will be studied with Auger analysis, and crystal quality will be studied by optical absorption.
Justin Morgan with Richard Schnee (2nd semester of project)
Numerical Calculation of a Comparison Between Various WIMP Search Experiments
One WIMP dark matter search, the DAMA experiment, has claimed detection of WIMPs, in possible conflict with other searches that have detected no signal. Comparisons made so far between this experiment and others (such as the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, the WIMP search in which our group is involved) have depended on approximations. Furthermore, no statistical comparison has considered the effects of possible different distributions of WIMP velocities in the Galaxy (different WIMP "halo models"). The goal of this senior project would be to compare the results of these experiments without approximations by simulating expected results for the experiments. These simulations would also consider different possible WIMP halo models.
Adam Morley with Sue Hinze (sociology), Glenn Starkman & Cyrus Taylor (2nd semester of project)
A Study of Gender in Undergraduate Physics Majors and Minors at Case Western Reserve University
We will analyze the enrollment of women in undergraduate physics at Case Western Reserve University, specifically why the percentage of women majoring or minoring in physics is significantly less than the percentage of women undergraduates enrolled at the university. We will first analyze the applicable literature, starting with literature relating to gender in physics and/or the hard sciences, written by those in the hard sciences. Then, we will analyze the literature produced by those in sociology, anthropology and other social sciences. After the literature analysis portion, we will conduct a survey, either custom created or an attempt to replicate previous survey data to ascertain what factors contribute to the disproportionate (less than expected) enrollment of women in physics. We will survey those currently enrolled in physics, those previously (but no longer) enrolled in physics, and a random sample of students outside of physics. Proper random sample selection methods will be used. This survey will be followed up with individual interviews of survey participants if time permits.
Sarah Mullet with Cyrus Taylor
Advanced Hydrofoils in the Boating Market
Hydrofoils, in the most basic sense, are to boats what wings are to planes. By acting as ‘wings’ for a boat, hydrofoils create lift, raising the boat above the surface of the water, thus minimizing drag. This in turn can help the boat travel faster and more efficiently. Our main goal is to aid in the design and eventual manufacture of hydrofoils and to research their viability in the boating market.
David Nielsen with Dan Akerib and Kathy Kash
Characterization and Quality Control of TES used in Dark Matter detection
A relatively new class of cryogenic particle detectors involves cooling substrates to sub-100mK temperatures and recording the energy deposited in scattering events by the subsequent warming of a superconducting film patterned onto the surface of the substrate. It has proven difficult to assure the quality of these films during the fabrication process. Quality assurance therefore requires extensive cryogenic tests. The goal of this senior project is to prepare samples of superconducting films and explore possibilities to characterize them through both cryogenic test and room temperatures analysis techniques.
Marisa Quattrone with Robert J. Maciunas, MD, (Univ. Hosp.)
Nonrigid Registration Algorithm for Warping Intraoperative MR Scans to Preoperative MR Scan for Optimal Surgical Navigation
Selected neurosurgical patients will have markers filled with Vitamin E placed on their heads to appear on an MRI scan of their brains. The BrainLab Navigation System will be used to register and match these markers on the MRI scan to the actual spatial area of the head at the beginning of the surgical procedure. Intraoperative MRI images will be taken and then several different algorithms will be used to warp the pre- and intraoperative images. This method of nonrigid registration will be very useful in ensuring optimal surgical navigation, making these procedures more accurate and less invasive.
Peter Ritchie with Rolfe Petschek & Maureen McEnery (School of Medicine)
Protein Co-Localization Using Gold Colloid Coupled Antibodies
Immuno-fluorescence microscopy employs fluorochromes bound to antibodies to localize proteins. These are certain fluorescent dyes bound to specific locations on antibodies to enable immunofluorescence. Such dyes will be coupled to antibodies that bind to specific amino acid sequences on a protein. This project is aimed at examining how and if gold colloids coupled to another of antibody can be used to determine if the two proteins are in the same place by changing the absorption and propagation of light. We will examine theoretically and experimentally the possibility that gold colloids change the fluorescence of dyes over the 20nm length scale of antibodies, in an empirically observable and interesting way. There are many applications for techniques which co-localize protein pairs on such short length scales or determine the spatial proximity of specific amino acid sequences and separate proteins.
Mike Rousos with Richard Schnee
Simulation of Neutron Background for One Ton Dark Matter Detectors
One of the difficult sources of background particles in WIMP dark matter searches is due to high-energy neutrons produced by cosmic-ray muons interacting in the material near the detector apparatus. A one-ton, segmented detector may be able to reject nearly all of this background because a single neutron would usually scatter in multiple detectors, while a WIMP would scatter in only a single detector. To test how well such a detector would reject this background, a numerical "Monte Carlo" simulation will be performed to simulate the transport and interactions of neutrons near the segmented detector. The results of this study will indicate how many separate detectors are needed, and how large a neutron background could be rejected with this technique.
To create the Monte Carlo simulations, I will learn to use the GEANT 4 toolkit to model particles’ travel through matter. I will then learn about existing detectors so that I can model them appropriately with GEANT 4 and C++.
Micah Waldstein with David Farrell, John Tripp and Bob Brown
Imaging the Density of the Human Body
By taking advantage of the phenomenon of high-Tc superconductivity, the physics department’s superconductivity group has recently miniaturized the equipment used for performing in-vivo magnetic susceptometry. As a result, multi-detector susceptometer arrays are now practical. This in turns means that density imaging of the human body has become feasible, at least in simple form. We will explore this by modeling the response of a variety of detector arrays, and obtaining solutions to the inverse problem. The results will allow us to compare the suitability of different arrays for density imaging.
Density is a fundamental physical parameter that is markedly changed by a number of serious disease states - for example, osteoporosis. Since no existing diagnostic modality measures the parameter as directly as magnetic susceptometry, it is possible that the results of this project may prove of value in medical diagnostics.
Matt Wilbanks (with Lawrence Krauss)
Computation and Consciousness in an Expanding Universe
Recent evidence indicates that the universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion; this project is designed to pursue and discuss the consequences of the ever-expanding universe model for life in the very distant future. Of particular interest will be the conditions, both satisfied and unsatisfied, for the gathering and processing of information large-scale structures in the universe. Given that the total observable matter within our horizon decreases with time, is it possible that the total number of configurations of processed information could be infinite? What are possible strategies for computation in this context? I will explore the physical basis of computation, and attempt to understand the possible computational limitations imposed by the expansion of the universe. Of possible interest will be a discussion of whether the limitations imposed on computation would entail and limitation on consciousness, whether the kinds of physical processes that accompany consciousness can be accurately identified as computation.
Mark Winkler with Ken Singer
Surface Mediated Photorefraction in Liquid Crystals
Liquid crystals are known to have interesting photorefractive properties. One way to induce a large photorefractive effect is to layer a liquid crystal and a photoconductor. Light-induced modulation of surface charge on the photoconducting layer lowers the surface energy of the liquid crystal, inducing molecular reorientation (and thus photorefraction) in the bulk of the material. In this project, we will attempt to intensify the observed photorefractive effect in the liquid crystal 5CB by increasing the surface charge on the photoconducting layer, using ionic polymers to increase the surface charge and gold nanoparticles to increase photoinduced charge generation through amplification of the internal electric field. Techniques will include dynamic holography, 4-wave mixing, and surface charge generation on a photoconductor.
Scott Woods with Bob Brown
Development of Experiential Learning Based Science Curriculum for Cleveland Municipal School District High Schools
It is no surprise that the Cleveland Municipal School District falls below average in many areas of academic proficiency, the worst of which is in science. In step with the new vision of experiential learning for the University, this project aims to combat the problem in the CMSD by helping the high school science teachers develop a demonstration-based curriculum that builds on the experiences and activities of the students. The ultimate goal is to develop lessons that are simple enough to be done year after year with little help or funding, but rigorous enough that the students will improve their overall understanding of the sciences.