A lipid bilayer separates a cell from its surroundings and determines what substances, such as therapeutic drugs, may enter the cell. Because in situ research on cell membranes is difficult and drug development is costly,  research on the behavior of proteins embedded in lipid bilayers is often done with molecular dynamics simulations. This project has studied the output of a continuum model recently developed at LLNL and found that the lipid concentrations therein can be described by a multivariate gaussian model. This model powers an application, GRuMPy (Generative Membranes in Python), that allows researchers to construct, simulate, and analyze realistic membranes starting from incomplete specifications. As part of this process, we developed and performed two validation tests to ensure that there was appropriate probability density in the generative model over compositions that are reasonable in the continuum model. We also fit and tested an asymmetry model that allows the application to take percent compositions as input and output full membranes with appropriate proportions of lipids in the inner and outer leaflets. In addition, we provide a tool that allows researchers to train and deploy generative models based on new or updated continuum model output.

Given that we generate membranes from a model, and that GRuMPy provides the ability to simulate the compositions that it generates, we also sought to validate the generated compositions as reasonable. Validation tests done on membrane simulations of size 5 nm to 30 nm using compositions generated by the application show that the membranes generated have simulated properties identical to membranes in the continuum model. Compositions generated by the application show no significant deviation from the continuum model in area per lipid, bilayer thickness, area compressibility, or order parameter. In effect, with the assumption that the continuum model data is composed of reasonable membrane compositions, GRuMPy is able to generate physiologically realistic membranes.

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory use an optical interferometric technique to observe moving surfaces with high time resolution. Light from a signal laser travels through an optical fiber before shining on the surface under test. The small portion of the beam that reflects from the surface and re-enters the fiber is mixed with a reference laser signal and the combined signal as detected by a fast optical detector is digitized at rates up to 50 GHz. The resulting data stream must then be analyzed to identify signals that encode the motion of the surface. The velocity of the surface along the direction of the laser beam produces a proportional frequency shift in the reflected light; these frequency shifts can be determined from a spectrogram of signal intensity as a function of both frequency and time calculated from the \( V(t) \) data using standard fast Fourier transform techniques. 

The reflected light is often weak and may vary in intensity over the short time of the experiment, which makes separating the signal from background noise difficult. Some experiments may cause the surface to eject particles, which can efficiently scatter light back to the fiber. In such cases many different velocities may be present in the spectrogram. Los Alamos seeks a more automated way to process photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV) files containing \( V(t) \) data to produce surface velocity and uncertainty as functions of time, where such surfaces exists, and to quantify velocity distributions for ejecta.

Cellular membranes are the barrier protecting the inner cell components from the outside environment. They are composed of proteins and lipids that form lipid bilayers of varying complexity. One approach to understanding the behavior of lipid bilayers uses molecular dynamics simulations of realistic size and complexity. Realistic bilayers are asymmetric, having different concentrations of various lipids in the two leaflets. This asymmetry affects the stability, sometimes approximated as “flatness,” of the simulated bilayer. Many properties have been used to judge whether simulated bilayers are stable and realistic, but a quantitative definition incorporating multiple properties has not been proposed.

For the Lawrence Livermore National Lab Clinic project, we will create and analyze lipid membrane simulations to provide a deeper understanding of how asymmetries of varying complexity within the lipid bilayer leaflets affect membrane properties. These properties may include area per lipid, area compressibility, order parameters, and bilayer thickness, among others. From these properties, we will attempt to create a metric of stability for asymmetric bilayers. We will also develop a streamlined process for simulating and analyzing stable bilayer membranes. The final product will be used to inform and benefit future research in membrane biophysics.

HRL is currently developing a qubit built from three interacting quantum dots. Although tuning up qubits this way is difficult, we have begun to develop a machine-learning model to automate this process. Successfully tuning up the qubit requires the model to adjust voltages on six gates to load a single electron into each of three closely spaced quantum dots. To reduce the time to compute charge occupancy plots during training, we simplified the problem to analyze a two-dot system. Our model performs well under ideal conditions, but when factors like thermal noise are included the convolutional neural network struggles to glean useful features from the simulator's dot occupancy plots. The model managed to correctly tune up the dots 74% of the time in the absence of noise, but was only able to tune up the dots 38% of the time and 16% of the time with cold and hot noise, respectively. The results suggest that our deep reinforcement learning model on its own will not be able to properly tune up the quantum dots, but we have outlined steps for improvement such as the addition of a classifier and an improved simulator.

This project aims to measure the size dependence of the dielectric constant of barium titanate (BTO) nanoparticles in epoxy composites. To accomplish this, we developed improvements to an existing sample fabrication process to reduce defects within the composite and improve yield, as well as improved computational models of particle size, shape, and agglomeration. In previous years, HMC Sandia Clinic teams used a ball milling procedure to reduce particle agglomeration and fabricate composites containing nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 200-nm to 500-nm. However, the dielectric constants for many of these samples did not match the predictions made by computational models that assumed 0% particle agglomeration. We examined the particles at various stages throughout the manufacturing process using DLS and SEM, and used image analysis techniques to extract information on particle size, shape, and agglomeration from microscopy images. This information was then used to inform finite-element computational models. Additionally, we employed a new, low-viscosity epoxy and a rotary evaporator to improve particle dispersion and manufacturing yield. Next semester, we will use these improvements to fabricate composites of nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 50-nm to 500-nm at both 10-vol% and 20-vol% loading. We will measure the dielectric constant of these composites and compare those results with those from refined computational models to determine the dielectric constant of individual BTO nanoparticles.

The Claremont Locally Grown Power (CLGP) Clinic Team at Harvey Mudd College is analyzing new photovoltaic technology, invented by idealPV®, to evaluate its efficiency. This report presents a status update for three distinct aspects of the project: (1) a field study evaluating the performance of idealPV’s technology versus the industry standard; (2) a model, based on data taken in the field study, to predict watt-hour production of both types of solar arrays, with inputs of insolation, ambient temperature, system panel architecture, and sun angle; and (3) documenting the conditions and effects of reverse bias on photovoltaic cells. The team has secured a site for the field study and researched the relationship between temperature and power output of a solar cell for the model. Additionally, they have made a rudimentary model using data from PVWatts. The team completed the analysis documenting the effects of reverse bias on a solar cell and delivered their analysis to the liaisons. Sections one through four of this report detail the work that was completed by the team in the Fall of 2017. The last section of the report details project management for the upcoming Spring 2018 semester.

Barium titanate, or BTO, is widely used as a dielectric material due to its high dielectric constant, which typically ranges from 1500 to 2000 in bulk. Despite its prevalence as a dielectric material, current literature remains unclear on how BTO nanoparticle size impacts the dielectric constant, particularly for non-sintered, discrete nanoparticles. Other research groups have reported BTO nanoparticle dielectric constants ranging from 135 to 5000, with no indication of the uncertainty. Our team previously attempted to measure the dielectric constant of BTO nanoparticles by loading them in an epoxy composite, measuring the effective dielectric constant of the mixture, and using COMSOL modeling to extract the dielectric constant of the nanoparticles themselves. Experimental observations and additional COMSOL modeling indicated that agglomeration of BTO nanoparticles within the composites raised the effective dielectric constant such that determination of the BTO nanoparticle dielectric constant was impossible using our existing methods.

In order to overcome the agglomeration issue and allow for the extraction of the BTO nanoparticle dielectric constant, we developed a ball-milling procedure to eliminate BTO nanoparticle agglomerates before loading them into the epoxy. We examined two volume fractions of BTO that can be achieved with this procedure, and were  able to determine the dielectric constant of 500 nm BTO nanoparticles in a 20% volume loading composite to be 225 ± 75 for our nanoparticles, assuming 0% agglomeration. Finally, we also developed more robust COMSOL models for understanding the effects of BTO agglomerate size on the effective dielectric constant.

Raman spectroscopy can discriminate between healthy and cancerous breast tissue. This report examines the potential to implement an inexpensive commercial Raman system and hand held probe for the in vivo, real-time detection of cancer in surgical margins. First, 785 nm and 1064 nm systems are compared, and the 785 nm system is identified as preferable because of its greater resolution, superior signal-to-noise ratio, and extended spectral range. A method to eliminate the greater fluorescent contribution resulting from excitation with 785 nm is described. In a second experiment, Raman spectra are collected along lines that transect cancer margins of two patients following lumpectomy. Spectra are classified as either healthy or cancerous according to histological assessment of collection location, and 15 spectral bands are identified as the most descriptive of spectral variation. Discriminant analysis performed on the two primary principal components of the bands is shown to classify tissue as healthy or cancerous with 100% accuracy. A third experiment expands the classification to naive spectra obtained from tissue samples of additional patients to assess cross-patient classification. Finally, a fourth experiment achieves 100% classification using substantially reduced spectral bins, demonstrating the potential for real-time in-vivo cancer detection.

The team designed an algorithm that loads electrons onto silicon heterostructure quantum dots to initialize a qubit. The algorithm relies on an internal electrostatics model of the dot system to navigate through the space of voltages controlling the potential energy landscape. It also uses a modified second model to simulate real experimental feedback during development and testing, since the team did not have access to the laboratory setup. The algorithm queries the internal model to determine a path through voltage space that results in a specific charge configuration for the quantum dot system.

Integrated Dynamic Electron Solutions manufactures dynamic transmission electron microscopes that observe samples at high spatial and temporal reso- lution by using a pulsed laser and a high-voltage electron beam. Currently, it is extremely difficult to align the excitation laser pulse with the electron beam inside the microscope. The goal of this project is to develop a method to mon- itor alignment of the two beams to roughly 10-μm resolution and to measure the spatial profile and intensity of the laser pulse at the sample plane. To this end, the Harvey Mudd College Clinic team created two design alternatives: the sensor-in-vacuum design and the borescope-phosphor design. The first design uses a sensor directly in the beam path to image the beams, while the second design uses a borescope to image the glow of a phosphor excited by the beams. The team pursued both designs and tabled the sensor-in-vacuum design given the time constraint of the project. The team further pursued the borescope- phosphor design and, after thorough testing, made a final prototype that successfully images a laser profile.

The Harvey Mudd clinic team sponsored by HRL Laboratories has been tasked with designing, evaluating, and modeling optical networks to generate sequences of ultrafast optical pulses on a time scale of 300 to 3000 nanoseconds. The Final Report summarizes the team’s conceptual design process, presents several design alternatives, and describes the completed simulation and modeling work. Based on the flexibility in pulse arrival times which the designs must accommodate, the team has created designs which are suitable for different ranges of experimental parameters. The specific experimental advantages and disadvantages of each design are modeled. The team also wrote extensive MATLAB and Simulink modeling tools that are usable for optics experiments well beyond this clinic project.

Barium titanate (BTO) nanoparticles exhibit intriguing size-dependent structural and dielectric properties which make them a candidate for use in novel capacitor technologies. This year, Sandia National Laboratories has once again engaged a clinic team (SNL Ferroelectric 2013-14) at Harvey Mudd College to explore BTO nanoparticle behavior. Building upon last year’s results, the current SNLFE clinic team has worked to finalize and implement a procedure for measuring the dielectric constant of BTO nanoparticles in stable dispersions by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). We have investigated the effects of sonication on dispersion stability for a range of BTO/solvent slurries, finding highly stable slurries of 50 nm Sakai KZM-50 series particles for low BTO loadings. Alternately, we successfully imbed BTO nanoparticles in an ULTEM polymer matrix at volume fractions up to 10%. In addition, we have measured the permittivity of 1 vol% to 10 vol% BTO slurries with high reproducibility (roughly 3% variation in permittivity between samples). However, our numerical models have revealed an extreme sensitivity of the calculated average particle permittivity to the measured overall dispersion permittivity.

We have also begun to probe the structure and ferroelectric behavior of BTO nanoparticles of different sizes and syntheses using a variety of spectroscopic, microscopic, and diffraction methods. For nanoparticles of 50 nm in diameter and smaller, preliminary atomic pair distribution function measurements confirm the absence of a sharp transition from tetragonal to cubic structure at the bulk Curie temperature. This lack of transition is in agreement with both the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 Raman measurements, while in stark opposition to prior XRD measurements which indicate a cubic structure at all temperatures. These results suggest phase decoherence in smaller nanoparticles, which we speculate may be due to surface lattice distortions.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Clinic Team designed, built, and tested a method for calibrating the energy and position of an antineutrino event within a scintillator detector. The calibration method was automated so minimal human input is needed. Such detectors will be deployed near nuclear reactors and used in the search for the sterile neutrino. The team modeled the experimental setup using a particle interaction simulation which will be used to inform the design of future scintillator detectors.

Most antennas with wideband range and high directionality are three dimensional in shape, with spiral and bicone antenna geometries as notably useful and common examples.  A three-dimensional shape makes antennas non-ideal for aerospace applications.  Trivec Avant asked the Clinic team to develop a planar, ultra-wideband antenna (225 MHz–2000 MHz) with return loss below –5 dB and directivity at azimuth above –6 dBi across the entire frequency band.

The LLNL Clinic Team has simulated, designed, built, and tested a large-volume, high-frequency resonant microwave cavity to be used in the Axion Dark Matter experiment (ADMX).  Multiple conductive tuning posts within the cavity are used to manipulate the characteristic modes of the system, allowing the cavity to potentially detect axions, a possible candidate for dark matter, by tuning the cavity resonant frequency.

 

Aerosol Dynamics has patented a novel process called diffusive mixing that could be used to grow water droplets around airborne nanoscale particles and improve the efficiency of aerosol counters.  The Clinic team’s project is to develop computational models to simulate diffusive mixing, and then design and build a prototype aerosol counter which implements the diffusive mixing technique.

The Sandia National Laboratories clinic team characterized the permittivity of barium titanate particles in colloidal suspension as a function of primary particle size, synthesis method, and surfactant choice using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.  To accomplish this goal, the team has built a sample holder to contain the suspension, developed a procedure to extract nanoparticle permittivity from the suspension permittivity, and integrated both of these deliverables into a testing procedure.

 

Sensitive monitoring of antineutrino flux from nuclear power plants documents the consumption of fissile materials, thereby enhancing nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation.  In the team’s newly designed hybrid scintillation detector, energy depositions from prompt gamma rays and delayed neutron capture events provide an unambiguous signal for antineutrino detection.  Dual scintillation materials are used with wavelength-shifting plastics to direct light to photomultiplier tubes most efficiently.  Material characterization tests and Monte Carlo simulations were used to optimize the design of the detector.

The Harvey Mudd College Artemis clinic team will design, build, and test a mobile prototype of a microwave transmitter and receiver system for wireless solar-generated power transmission operating at 2.45 GHz.  The clinic team will construct a prototype capable of transmitting 100 watts of power at a distance of 100 meters.  The prototype will be modular in design and possess beam directional control capability.

The SLAC clinic team is working with researchers from the LINAC Coherent Light Source, the world’s brightest X-ray laser.  Our goal is to reduce timing errors that occur when synchronizing laser pulses in their pump-probe experiments.  Since researchers believe the current 250 femtosecond (\( 2.5 \times 10^{-13}~\text{ s} \)) timing error is primarily caused by their photodiodes, the team built a timing platform to characterize the errors introduced by these devices.

The Axion Dark Matter Experiment (ADMX) clinic project is sponsored by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop a piezo-electric rotary drive system.  This drive system will move tuning rods within a microwave cavity to adjust the cavity’s resonant frequency as it scans for signatures of axion dark matter.  The system must be able to operate with heat generation on the order of 100 microwatts or less at 0.1 K in an 8 T magnetic field and 10^-6 torr vacuum.

The SHAZAM system is able to take very high resolution data of the Sun’s magnetic field through a new technique called Stereoscopic Spectroscopy.  This technique combines a unique instrument setup with new reduction algorithms to allow for full integration over all wavelengths and spatial dimensions.  This Clinic project produced a data processing pipeline that performs standard data reduction, cross correlation stereoscopy, and newly developed differential stereoscopy on recorded data in order to produce final magnetograms.

The joint Physics/Engineering project sponsored by LLNL aims to research a potential organic scintillator for use in an antineutrino detector.  Such a detector must have neutron-gamma discrimination capabilities, and the HMC team will test those capabilities for various cell dimensions and reflectivity levels.  The team will also investigate the relative efficacy of two different algorithms for discriminating between neutron and gamma events.   The result of the team’s research will inform the direction of LLNL’s next antineutrino detector.

The goal of this project is to produce a mathematical model of fluid flow in subcutaneous tissue.  Two models have been developed: a compartment model that segregates the fluid into homogeneous regions, and a continuous model that describes the properties of the fluid at each point in space and time.

The joint Physics-Engineering clinic team has designed and constructed a waterproof, tagged neutron source for the purpose of calibrating a new type of neutron detector currently in development at LLNL.  The calibration of the LLNL detector is required to verify that its efficiency is maintained as the detector is scaled up to the size required for security scanning at major ports of entry as part of a program aimed at non-proliferation of fissile material.

 

The team was asked to systematically evaluate a broad range of possible conservation-themed projects to improve campus sustainability at HMC.  The team developed a set of metrics that prioritizes and compares the performance of diverse projects such as real-time monitoring of electricity usage, solar photovoltaics, and improvements to landscaping.  The metrics will also be used to evaluate future HMC sustainability projects.

In August of 2011, NASA will launch the satellite Juno to conduct an in-depth study of the planet Jupiter. On board the satellite there are three electrostatic analyzers (ESAs) that will measure the energy and trajectory direction of electrons in Jupiter’s auroras. The behavior and performance of ESAs is well understood in the absence of a magnetic field. It was the task of this Clinic team to account for the effect of these magnetic fields. The team ran computer simulations of the ESAs in magnetic fields of varying magnitude and direction. Mathematical models were then devised for the energy of the electrons and their incoming angle relative to the direction of the magnetic field. These models can be used to translate the data that will be collected by the ESAs into a map of the spectrum of the electrons near Jupiter.

The Clinic team designed, constructed, and tested a new muon veto system for LLNL’s second generation cubic meter scale antineutrino detector for use in reactor monitoring applications.  To maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of this veto system the team conducted tests to characterize the spatial response of different types of muon veto paddles.

The team also conducted simulations to verify and extend our experimental data.  The team designed and implemented a framing system to hold the muon veto paddles in a robust and gap-free arrangement around the anti-neutrino detector.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory Solid State Optical Refrigerator cools a Ytterbium doped fluoride glass with a high power infrared laser, and presents the means for vibrationless localized cooling to 77 K. For practical cooling implementation, photon absorption on an attached thermal load must be greatly reduced. The team has designed, constructed, and tested a thermal link to attach to the system that optically isolates the thermal load and that minimizes photon absorption within the link.

Soot particles are a common byproduct of combustion. These sub-100-nm carbon particles can lodge deep in the lungs, leading to cardiovascular and pulmonary health problems. They also contribute significantly to air pollution and potentially to global warming. Recent work has clarified the absorption and scattering properties of bare carbon particles in sunlight, but impurities in fuel often produce carbon particles coated with significant layers of sulfur and other dielectric compounds. To understand the role carbon aerosols play on global climate, and potentially to build remote optical diagnostics of soot emissions, it is necessary to measure the optical properties of these coated nanoparticles. The goal of this clinic is to characterize the light absorption and scattering properties of coated soot aerosols. Soot particles will be generated in the lab by partially combusting ethylene and subsequently coated via a particle coating condenser. Their optical properties will be determined using angle-resolved scattering and cavity ringdown techniques. Last year's team built most of the apparatus, including the means to filter the soot from the exhaust air so it can be exhausted into the room. This year's team is refining the setup, calibrating both ringdown and angle-resolved scattering setups, and investigating the impact of oleic-acid coatings.

Among the central themes of vision research within the United States today, are the efforts to understand the limits of human visual acuity and the changes in vision associated with aging and retinal disease. The Adaptive Optics group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with researchers at the UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) and the University of Rochester, has applied adaptive optics technology to the study of the human eye to: (1) measure the visual performance of the eye when virtually all the aberrations of the eye are corrected, and (2) obtain high-resolution images of the retina, thereby allowing correlation of retinal structure with visual performance. The research program at UCDMC has focused specifically on the optical and neural factors responsible for the normal aging of the human visual system, and cellular mechanisms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the United States. The goal of the LLNL clinic project at Harvey Mudd College is to convert the current adaptive optics ophthalmic-imaging instruments from prototype/bench-top systems into a “clinical” instrument. The Harvey Mudd team will be responsible for the development of a next-generation ophthalmic imaging instrument that incorporates new design features aimed at improving the clinical utility of the instrument, for instance, by reducing its size and by making it easier to be operated by a trained technician. The HMC team will implement a broad range of optical, mechanical and software improvements required to make these changes.

Soot particles are a common byproduct of combustion. These sub-100-nm carbon particles can lodge deep in the lungs, leading to cardiovascular and pulmonary health problems. They also contribute significantly to air pollution and potentially to global warming. Recent work has clarified the absorption and scattering properties of bare carbon particles in sunlight, but impurities in fuel often produce carbon particles coated with significant layers of sulfur and other dielectric compounds. To understand the role carbon aerosols play on global climate, and potentially to build remote optical diagnostics of soot emissions, it is necessary to measure the optical properties of these coated nanoparticles. The goal of this clinic is to characterize the light absorption and scattering properties of coated soot aerosols. Soot particles will be generated in the lab by partially combusting ethylene and subsequently coated via a particle coating condenser. Their optical properties will be determined using angle-resolved scattering and cavity ringdown techniques.

This year’s project continues the work of last year’s on vibrating beam angular rate sensors, but aiming to develop an over-size working prototype compatible with MEMS production techniques.

Currently laryngeal cancer can only be diagnosed with biopsies which are invasive, permanently damaging, and can miss cancerous tissue.  Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that non-invasively images several millimeters into tissue to seek structural abnormalities, which can indicate cancer.  We will design and construct an OCT device for attachments to a laryngoscope that will image two-dimensional cross-sections in the larynx, for the purpose of diagnosing laryngeal cancer in its early stages.

Northrop Grumman is the second largest defense contractor in America, designing and producing a wide variety of technologies ranging from aircraft to sensors.  The clinic team performed a proof-of-concept study using microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS) technology to produce a vibrating beam angular rate sensor based on the Coriolis force.  Experimental and analytical results were reported.

SIM is an orbiting interferometer telescope capable of relative star measurements 100 times more accurate than ever before.  Specifically, the team is devising a technique for measuring the spacing between telescopes, measuring changes in distance to an accuracy of 100 picometers, or 1 angstrom, roughly the size of a hydrogen atom.

While modern software radio systems are compact and capable of output across a wide frequency range, existing antenna designs capable of transmitting across a wide frequency range in all directions are too wide and unwieldy for many mobile platforms.  Trivec Avant Corporation team has tasked the Harvey Mudd team with designing a compact, planar, and ultra-wideband (225-20000MHz) antenna that radiates omnidirectionally in azimuth.

 

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Clinic team investigated various behavior aspects of a novel magnetotactic bacterium, LA-ARB-1.  Aerotaxis, phototaxis, motility, and viability studies were the focus of the team’s investigations.  Results from their work contribute to a better understanding of how LA-ARB-1 uses its internal structure to take advantage of its unique environment.

Etec Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the designing, manufacturing, and marketing of mask-making solutions for the semiconductor industry.  Our Clinic team is providing Etec with a feasibility study on a potential technology for tightening the focus point of a laser on the photoresist layer of a mask beyond the normal diffraction limit, enabling the writing of smaller mask features.  We report both analytical and experimental results.

Optivus Technology uses a proton accelerator as a radiation source for treating cancer patients. The current method of attacking tumors with the proton beam has been successful, but Optivus would like to improve the treatment by using a raster-scanning technique, requiring a much tighter control on the beam intensity. Our goal is to develop an improved electronics system to process the output of a beam intensity detector, allowing a feedback loop to control the beam at a much higher bandwidth.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Clinic team constructed a modified Michelson interferometer to combine the light from two 10-meter Keck telescopes situated on the island of Hawaii. The system combines two 1" infrared beams of light from the telescopes and incorporates feedback control to ensure that the optics are correctly focusing the collimated beams into fiberoptic cables. The telescope system will allow for the direct detection of Hot Jupiter planets in other solar systems.

Aerojet's current Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) orbits the earth, passively measuring the intensity of particular microwave frequencies for meteorological purposes. The team has explored and analyzed a number of new and innovative technologies in an effort to reduce the size and manufacturing cost of the AMSU receiver subsystem. Extensive research was done to determine the fundamental properties of the different technologies in order to pinpoint their limitations and foresee possible advances. The team has proposed feasible alternatives to the design of the current AMSU.

The clinic team investigated and developed models for the reflection of the sun off the ocean's surface to create an improved “glitter” routine for Arete Associates' RenderWorld, their software package for modeling natural scenes. Current software techniques do not allow for efficient simulations of light reflection off small-scale water waves (referred to as glitter) because it is too computationally intensive. The team developed a software implementation of its recommended solution to Arete Associates. Images generated using the RenderWorld's package will be shown.

The team designed and built a system for a massively parallel automated fluorimeter. The source provides bright, stable, spatially uniform light across the underside of the 11 cm by 11 cm sample tray in any six narrow bands in the visible and near UV spectrum. The team used compact high intensity arc lamps, holographic diffusers and dichroic optics to develop a system that outperforms the existing source at SAIC while costing one-third as much.

The Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) is a widely-used instrument for spectral analysis of thermal sources. The interferometry based FTS has a limited field-of-view (FOV). Gencorp/Aerojet has contracted the Harvey Mudd College Engineering/Physics Clinic team to determine the feasibility of a field-widened FTS. Extensive research has been carried out towards the understanding of both internal and external FOV constraints of the FTS. The focus on internal constraints has led to several interferometry design approaches; the most promising design utilizes a mechanically deformable cat?s eye mirror, which in place of the traditional plane moving mirror, allows for change in the curvature of the mirror as the cat’s eye is moved. Alternate designs include lens focusing systems and the addition of dispersive media. The team explored these prospective designs for a field-widened system through feasibility studies and performance evaluations.

BHK requested a design for a deuterium lamp that has a higher output and greater lifetime than existing lamps on the market. The team developed a model relating to such parameter as fill composition, pressure, and geometrical measurements to the intensity and spectral characteristics of the output, and suggested and evaluated design modifications to improve performance.