Akash Dixit
Dark matter is ubiquitous in this universe yet has not been detected directly. The leading candidate particles for dark matter are Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search utilizes measurement of ionization and phonons in order to discriminate between background particles and rare WIMP interactions. Achieving complete charge collection by the ionization readout is challenging due to trapping within the low temperature Germanium detectors. The charge transport experiment will provide great insight into the phenomenon of charge trapping and this information will have wide implications in low […]
Nadir Bilici
Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) is an alternative semiconductor to silicon for photovoltaic applications. Its advantageous physical properties allow it to absorb an equal amount of light with a fraction of silicons thickness; this means lower material costs. However, lack of fundamental research renders this material less efficient than silicon. Recent attempts at reducing manufacturing costs of CdTe solar cells investigate solution deposited nanocrystal (NC) films, i.e.semiconductor ink. During solar cell fabrication, CdTe films must be exposed to CdCl2 and heated to improve device performance. My research will investigate the effect of […]
Arvin Javadi
TRPA1 ion channels are a specific example of a protein class that help the cell interact and respond to its environment. TRPA1 channels have been shown to consist generally of six trans-cell-membrane segments with two ends, an N-terminal and C-terminal end, with the N-terminal end extending into the cell. This endo-cellular region consists of 16 structural repeats called ankyrin repeat (AR) motifs. Studies have shown that TRPA1 channels in snake cells respond more to heat than chemical stimuli, in contrast to similar channels in mammals. Past research has also shown […]
Bernard Kim
Supercapacitors have emerged as an attractive option to augment batteries in small electronic devices by providing the large power draws over short periods of time that would otherwise reduce the cycle life and health of the battery. Printing provides a cost-effective manufacturing method for uniform process control of individual components as well as for total device integration. Although ionic liquid supercapacitors have been successfully printed, there exists much room for improvement at the electrode interfaces with both the electrolyte and the current collector. The porous electrodes interfacial structure must be […]
Matthew Turner
Throughout the summer, I will be undertaking my project with the Fajans Nonneutral Plasma Physics Group in Berkeley. One of the central steps in many tests done with the cold electron research (CERES) apparatus in Berkeley and with the ALPHA Experiment at CERN involves the transport of a nonneutral plasma (electrons, antiprotons, ions, etc.) between potential wells in a Penning Trap. The basic process is that a cloud of charged particles is trapped using static electric and magnetic fields in a potential well on one side of the trap and […]
Christine Wong
The improvement of photovoltaic materials is currently a major concern for further development of sustainable energy devices such as solar cells. This summer, I will be developing high mobility, high work function transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) for such photovoltaic devices. These materials will have minimal parasitic absorption and resistive losses, and their application will be useful in increasing photovoltaic device efficiency. I will also be characterizing the TCOs using x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, and Hall measurements, and studying their evolution under rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in order to prepare […]
Neil Thomas
Bottom-dwelling marine animals produce microscopic larvae that are dispersed to new habitats via ocean currents. In order to direct their movements and settle on a suitable site, suspended larvae must respond to physical cues from the turbulent flow forces that act on them. Understanding the flow types that larvae are subjected to and their response patterns can give us insight into trends in marine larvae dispersion. To conduct this research, mesofluidic devices are built to simulate fluid flow around marine larvae, and their responses are recorded and analyzed. My project […]
David Taylor
The barrel cortex, a structure found in the brains of mice, plays an important role in processing sensory input from whiskers. Mice rely heavily on their whiskers to perceive the environment, and this makes the barrel cortex an attractive model for studying sensory processing. At this time, many connections between the barrel cortex and other brain regions are only superficially known. Using a double viral injection technique, I will specifically label the subset of barrel cortex neurons that project axons to the striatum, a structure associated with several functions including […]
Robert Potter
Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates the host response to prevent bactericidal mechanisms and promote its own survival. AKT is one enzyme that has been linked to proliferation of M. tuberculosis within its target. As a serine/threonine protein kinase, AKT is an important enzyme in signal transduction pathways for apoptosis. Inhibition of AKT during infection leads to increase bacterial death. By looking at the downstream effects of the AKT pathway, our goal is to determine, why? This will be accomplished by using site directed mutagenesis to create multiple alterations to the structure of […]
Henry Pham
Recorded in literature, it has been observed that mud banks can dampen overpassing waves, absorbing the energy stored in the waves. In the Theoretical and Applied Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, team members have built an artificial seabed carpet coupled with dampers and springs acting vertically at various locations on the carpet to mimic the effect of a muddy seafloor. I will be investigating methods to optimize the parameters of the carpet which include designing a power take off system, spring stiffness and damping coefficient of the carpet as well as many […]