This project is focused on the interfacial engineering of nanoparticles by the formation of metal-ligand conjugated bonds. The resulting nanoparticles exhibit effective intraparticle charge delocalization. The emergence of unique optical and electronic properties may be exploited for chemical and biological sensing applications. Mentor: Shaowei Chen, Faculty, Professor Secondary Mentor: Chris Deming (graduate student)…Continue Reading Functional Nanoparticles by Interfacial Engineering
Study on Optical Properties of Metal Oxides for High-Efficiency Planar Optical Waveguide Coupler Transformers in Highly Concentrated Solar Light Applications
In this project students will acquire basic knowledge and hands on experience in designing and fabricating optical couplers and obtaining their optical properties. The students will design, in both ray optics and wave optics regimes, optical couplers made of various metal oxides available in our laboratory. The students will also fabricate the couplers and characterize…Continue Reading Study on Optical Properties of Metal Oxides for High-Efficiency Planar Optical Waveguide Coupler Transformers in Highly Concentrated Solar Light Applications
Study on Physical Properties of Metal Oxides for Resistive Switching Devices in Advanced Electrical Memory and Neural Computing Applications
In this project students will acquire basic knowledge and hands on experience in designing and fabricating resistive switching devices known as “memristors” and obtaining their electrical properties. The students will fabricate the devices using various combinations of metal oxides and electrode materials using atomic layer deposition and sputtering systems in our laboratory. The students will…Continue Reading Study on Physical Properties of Metal Oxides for Resistive Switching Devices in Advanced Electrical Memory and Neural Computing Applications
Study on Physical Properties of Semiconductor Nanowire Networks for High-Speed Photodetectors, Ultra-Sensitive Chemical/Biological Sensors and High-Efficiency Thermoelectric Power Generators
In this project students will acquire basic knowledge and hands on experience in obtaining optical (photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy), electrical (current-voltage characteristics), and thermoelectric (Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity) properties of a network of semiconductor nanowires grown in our laboratory. The students will use an optical set up including laser light sources and a spectrometer,…Continue Reading Study on Physical Properties of Semiconductor Nanowire Networks for High-Speed Photodetectors, Ultra-Sensitive Chemical/Biological Sensors and High-Efficiency Thermoelectric Power Generators
Luminosity Functions of Faint Globular Clusters
Globular cluster are old populations of stars at the outer edges of the Milky Way. Years ago, they were thought to be simple systems whose stars formed at the same time out of the same material. Today we know that the formation and evolution of globular clusters is very complicated. The specific question we would…Continue Reading Luminosity Functions of Faint Globular Clusters
Spectroscopic Properties of Carbon Stars in Andromeda
Carbon stars are a rare subset of evolved stars that contain enhanced carbon in their atmospheres. They are examples of intermediate-age asymptotic giant branch and their demographics provide insight into the star formation history of their host galaxy over the last few billion years. Their enhanced carbon manifests itself in the form of specific molecular…Continue Reading Spectroscopic Properties of Carbon Stars in Andromeda
Campus Transportation Network iPhone Application
The Internet Research Group (i-NRG) at UCSC’s Baskin School of Engineering is developing a system that aims at improving the UCSC campus transportation network (e.g., campus shuttles). To this end we developed a tracking system that monitors the campus vehicles during their daily operation. The system logs, in real-time, information such as current vehicle route…Continue Reading Campus Transportation Network iPhone Application
A Near-Infrared Window into Star Formation Around Quasars
Quasars are accreting supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. Their extreme energy output probably has unusual effects on the galaxies around them, but quasars are so luminous in optical light that they almost entirely outshine the surrounding starlight. This makes it very difficult to measure the properties of their host galaxies. We will…Continue Reading A Near-Infrared Window into Star Formation Around Quasars
Circumnavigating the Galaxy Halo and Exploring the Magellanic Clouds
In the nighttime sky of the southern hemisphere, the Magellanic Clouds are striking in their beauty. Yet, more than just pretty, bright nebulae, these “dwarf satellites” are some of the closest known galaxies to our own, and therefore serve as good laboratories for studying essential astrophysics. I am currently working on a project to understand…Continue Reading Circumnavigating the Galaxy Halo and Exploring the Magellanic Clouds
An Interactive Web-Database for Galaxy Surveys
Modern astronomers are like librarians. In the era of the big observatories and large surveys astronomers must handle gigantic data-sets, and they have to face the challenging task of merging all the data before being able to study the properties of stars and galaxies. To improve this situation, the community has devoted a considerable effort…Continue Reading An Interactive Web-Database for Galaxy Surveys