Student Honors Theses
2023
Stoddard, Colby, "Thermodynamics of Bulk Glass Formers," advisor: Prof. Hillary Smith
2022
Wang, Jiaming, "X-ray Spectroscopy of the O Supergiant ζ Puppis Indicates Surprising Variation in the Wind Mass-loss Rate on Years Timescales," advisor: Prof. David Cohen
2021
Mebratu, Matiwos, "DeepCIP: Probing Compensated Isocurvature Perturbations in the CMB Using Deep Neural Nets," advisor: Prof. Tristan Smith
2020
Chalifour, Matthieu, "Measurement of Angular Correlation of Two Protons in Quasielastic Neutrino-Nucleus Cross-Section," advisors: Prof. Catherine Crouch, Prof. Kevin McFarland
2018
Shrock, Jaron, "Compression and Acceleration of Taylor State Plasmas on SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael Brown
Wentworth-Nice, Prairie, "Structured Randomness: Jamming of Soft Disks Within Lattices of Pinned Particles," advisor: Prof. Amy Graves
Zhang, Zechen, "A Theory for Allosteric Temperature-Sensitive Transcription Factors," advisors: Prof. Catherine Crouch, Dr. Rob Phillips
2017
Hudson, Emily, "Developing Pulse Shape Discrimination Techniques to Identify Alpha Particles, Neutrons, and Gamma Rays," advisor: Prof. Carol Guess
2016
Parks, Holden, "Magnetic Field and Ion Density Correlation Analysis of SSX Plasma," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Rock, Ariel, "Physical Interpretations of Permutation Entropy Scaling Analyses in Turbulent Fluids," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
2015
Weck, Peter J., "The Ordinal Dynamics of Turbulence: Permutation Entropy and Complexity in Turbulent Plasmas," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
2014
Kim, Tae, "Characterizing Functional Reconstitution of Influenza A M2 Protein into Guvs," advisors: Profs. Kathleen Howard, Catherine H. Crouch, Carl H. Grossman
Regan, Margaret H., "Assembly Processes in Chromonic Liquid Crystals: IR-806 and Pinacyanol Acetate," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
2013
Agarwala, Atish, "Geometry Induced Non-Linear Optical Properties of Elliptical Negative Index Metamaterials," advisors: Profs. Carl H. Grossman, Dani Keshav
Nieser, Kenny, "Kinetics of Self-Assembly and Disassembly in Chromonic Liquid Crystals: Benzopurpurin 4B and IR-806," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
2012
Zhang, Xingyu, "Diffuse Optical Tomography: Breast Imager Studies," advisor: Prof. Frank A. Moscatelli
2011
Bernhard, Jonah, "Lorentz Violation in Solar-Neutrino Oscillations," advisor: Prof. Matthew Mewes
Labe, Kevin, "Lorentz-Violating Models of Neutrino Oscillations," advisor: Prof. Matthew Mewes
MacArthur, James, "Laboratory Astrophysics: Spectral Analysis of Photoionized Neon," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
Mills, Elizabeth, "Analysis of IR-806 Aggregation and Chromonic Liquid Crystal Properties," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Zimmerman, Andrew, "Lorentz Violation in Degenerate Resonant Cavities," advisor: Prof. Matthew Mewes
2010
Cubuk, Ekin Dogus, "An Information-Theoretic Perspective on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics," advisor: Prof. John R. Boccio
Good, Benjamin H., "Modularity and Community Detection in Complex Networks," advisors: Profs. John R. Boccio, Aaron Clauset
Schoenholtz, Samuel, "An Investigation Into Jamming Percolation Using Renormalization Group Methods," advisors: Profs. Andrea Liu, Amy L. Bug
Smith, Erik, "Experiments in Light Scattering: Examining Aqueous Suspensions of Graphene Oxide and the Aggregation Behavior of Bordeaux Dye," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
2009
Cosgriff, Margaret, "Antibunching and Excitation Lifetimes in CdSe Nanocrystals," advisor: Prof. Carl H. Grossman
McKitterick, Chris, "Aggregation of Benzopurpurin 4B," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Mohr, Robert, "Excitation Energy Dependence of Flourescence Intermittency in Core/Shell CdSe/ZnS Nanocrystals," advisor: Prof. Catherine H. Crouch
2008
Duchon, Eric, "Creation and Alteration of Two Dimensional MOTs," advisor: Prof. Frank A. Moscatelli
Hoyer, Stephan, "Quantum Random Walk Search on Satisfiability Problems," advisor: Prof. David A. Meyer
Rosenberg, Michael J., "Spectral and Hydrodynamic Modeling of X-Ray Photoionization Experiments," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
2007
Barry, Jennifer, "Monte Carlo Methods for Sampling Classical and Quantum Particles," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
Chaplin, Vernon H., "High Time Resolution Spectroscopic Measurements of Electron Temperature in the SSX Plasma," advisors: Profs. David H. Cohen, Michael R. Brown, Chris D. Cothran
Deyle, Ethan R., "LDW Small-Molecule Organic Luminophores for OLED and OPV Device Fabrication," advisor: Prof. Catherine H. Crouch
Eccles, Jacob D., "Ferroelectricity in Amphiphilic Monolayers," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Erb-Satullo, Nathaniel, "Aggregation Properties of the Chromonic Liquid Crystal Benzopurpurin 4B," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Forman, Daniel, "Imaging of Ultracold Atomic Populations in Magneto-optical Traps," advisor: Prof. Frank A. Moscatelli
Hang, George, "Finding the Energy Spectrum of the Quantum Hindered Rotor by the Lanczos Method," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
Horwitz, Jason, "Flow Measurements on Single and Merging Spheromaks at SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Peterson, Daniel J., "Genuine Fortuitousness, Relational Blockworld, Realism, and Time," advisor: Prof. John R. Boccio
Tomasik, Michelle, "The Aggregation and Liquid Crystal Properties of Bordeaux Dye," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
2006
Cronin, Timothy W., "Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation of Positronium in Cylindrical Pore Spaces," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
Dhital, Saurav, "Pulsed Accretion in the Young Binary UZ Tauri East," advisor: Prof. Eric L. N. Jensen
Fung, Jerome, "High Resolution Flow and Ion Temperature Measurements with Ion Doppler Spectroscopy at SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Gersh, Jessica, "Determining the Phase Diagram and Aggregate Size of a Chromonic Liquid Crystal," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Setlow, Cortland M., "Measurement Theories in Quantum Mechanics," advisor: Prof. John R. Boccio
Skemer, Andrew, "Circumstellar Disk Modeling with Bayesian Statistics and Marginal Probabilities," advisor: Prof. Eric L. N. Jensen
Wolfson, Zachary, "Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation of Positronium Within a Dielectric Spherical Cavity," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
2005
Aronzon, Dina, "The Optical and Physical Properties of a Photosensitive Nematic Liquid Crystal," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Higby-Naquin, Cameron, "Surface Gravity as a Diagnostic of Stellar Youth," advisor: Prof. Eric L. N. Jensen
Horowitz, Viva R., "Fundamental Measurements on an Aggregated Dye Liquid Crystal," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Murchadha, Aongus O., "Ion Temperature and Flow Velocity Measurements on SSX-FRC," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Shupe, Nathan C., "Modeling Studies of Photoionization Experiments Driven by Z-pinch X-rays," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
Willis, Lauren J., "Measuring Weak Lensing of a Multiply Imaged Quasar," advisor: Prof. Christopher R. Burns
Yue, Dan, "The Pervasive Maxwell Demon," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
2004
de Messieres, Genevieve, "XMM-Newton X-Ray Spectroscopy of the B2 Bright Giant Canis Majoris," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
Miller, Matthew, "Applications of Photospheric Spot Temperature Models to the Study of Stellar Angular Momentum Evolution in the Orion Nebula Cluster," advisors: Profs. Keivan G. Stassun, Eric L. N. Jensen
2003
Falk, Abram, "Dynamics of Field-Reversed-Configuration in SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Fefferman, Andrew, "Formation and Stability of Spheromak/Field Reversed Configuration (FRC) Hybrids in SSX-FRC," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Kramer, Roban Hultman, "Modeling O-Star X-Ray Emission-Line Profiles: Fitting a Parameterized, Spherically-Symmetric Wind Model to Chandra Spectra," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
Landremann, Matt, "The Three-Dimensional Structure of Magnetic Reconnection in SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Loeb, Michael, "A Study of Langmuir Monolayers to Find a Template for Two-Dimensional Porphyrin Aggregation," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Muluneh, Melaku, "Positronium: A Theoretical Lifetime Calculation and a Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulation in an Electrical Field," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
Romanowsky, Mark, "Thermal Fluctuation in the Isotropic Phase of Nematic Liquid Crystals," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Smith, Robin, "Photon Echo and Single Molecule Fluorescence Measurements of Organic Dyes in Thin Polymer Films," advisor: Prof. Carl H. Grossman
Tonnesen, Stephanie, "X-ray Emission Line Profiles from the Magnetically Confined Wind Shock Model," advisor: Prof. David H. Cohen
2002
Brown, Joanna, "Modeling Density Enhanced Shells in the Circumstellar Envelope of the Carbo-Rich AGB Star IRC+10216," advisors: Profs. David H. Cohen, Tom Millar
Cikoski, Rebecca, "Analysis of Photomultiplier Spectra of the LHCb CP Violation Experiment," advisors: Profs. Chris D. Cothran, Lubna Rana, Stephan Eisenhardt
Larrimore, Lisa, "Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations of Positronium in Argon," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
McFarland, Robert Nicholas, "A Simple Model of Decoherence in the Measurement of a Spin-1/2 Particle," advisor: Prof. John R. Boccio
Ouellette, Nicholas, "Quantum Computation," advisor: Prof. John R. Boccio
Setter, Kevin, "On the Statistical Mechanics of Quantum Geometry," advisor: Prof. Seth Major
2001
Auerbach, David, "Ion Temperature Measurements in SSPX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Gray, Tim, "Density Studies on SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Reighard, Amy B., "The β-effect: Turbulent Conductivity Measurements in Spherical Liquid Sodium Flows," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Schlossberg, David, "Energetic Particle Studies on SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Seifert, Michael, "Angle and Volume Studies in Quantized Space," advisor: Prof. Seth Major
2000
Biller, Beth, "On the Enigma of H20 Maser Linewidths," advisors: Profs. Vladimir Strelnitski, Frank A. Moscatelli, Eric L.N. Jensen
Krich, Jacob J., "Light Scattering Studies of the Correlation Length and Chirality of fluctuations in the Isotropic Phase of Nematic and Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystals," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Lukin, Vyacheslav S., "Modeling SSX Spheromak Plasmas: Internal Physics from External Measurements," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Mills, Thalia, "Study of the Aggregation of an Octahedral Complex of Cobalt (II) on a DNA Template and the Self-Aggregation of a Perylenediimide Dye," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Pomerance, Laura, "The Use of Resonance Light Scattering to Determine the Size, Shape and Aggregate Number of Aggregated Tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
1999
Hall, Katherine J., "Quantifying Brightness and Radii of Known Objects Observed with the Hα Southern Sky Survey," advisor: Prof. John E. Gaustad
Huff, Benjamin P., "Investigating the Property of Chirality in Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Compounds," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Lifton, Joshua H., "Direct Measurement of Polodial Current Flux in the Helicity Injected Torus II," advisors: Profs. Brian A. Nelson, Michael
R. Brown
Luh, Walter J., "Measurements of Magnetic Field Convection in Spherical Liquid Sodium Flows," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Pyle, Jonathan, "Modeling the Photoisomerization of Retinal," advisor: Prof. Daniel P. Aalberts
1998
Fecko, Christopher J., "Doppler-free Polarization Spectroscopy," advisor: Prof. Carl H. Grossman
Hoffman, Joan, "Interferometric Studies of a Partially Ionized Laser-Ablated Lithium Plasma," advisors: Profs. Thomas Donnelly, Frank A. Moscatelli
Kornack, Thomas W., "Magnetic Recomnnection Studies on SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
McMenomy, Mary, "H2 as a Probe for Guest Sites in Zeolite Na13X in Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectra," advisor: Prof. Amy L. Bug
Murphy, Michael James, "Critical Phenomenon and the Invaded Cluster Renormalization Group," advisor: Prof. John R. Bocio
Rosolowsky, Erik W., "The Spectral Correlation Function--A New Tool for Analyzing Spectral Line Maps," advisor: Prof. John E. Gaustad
1997
Geddes, Cameron, "Spheromak Equilibrium Studies on SSX," advisor: Prof. Michael R. Brown
Schwan, Daniel, "Characterization of Aggregate Size and Resonance Light Scattering for H2TPPS4-4 Aggregating Porphyrin," advisor: Prof. Peter J. Collings
Schwartz, Brian, "N2 Formation via the Reaction of N2 with Electronically Excited O2: A Matrix Isolation Study," advisor: Prof. Thomas Donnelly
