UC Davis

Name: Dong Yu
Title: Photocurrent imaging of nanodevices
Description: Dr. Dong Yu's group investigates charge transport in low-dimensional materials using spatially resolved optoelectronic techniques. Irradiating a spot on the sample with a laser creates charge carriers. They move depending on sample characteristics and applied fields, and are detected as currents reaching fixed electrodes on the sample. By successively focusing the laser on different spots, his group can determine the lifetime and distance traveled by the excited carriers, and much more. One possible project for a Cal-Bridge scholar is to study hybrid halide perovskites for solar energy harvesting and light emitting devices. The other one is on topological insulators for spintronics and quantum computing. The student will have the opportunity of synthesizing materials, fabricating nano-devices, as well as optoelectronic measurements.
Preferred qualifications: Some knowledge of Python would be useful for analyzing the data.

Name: Michael Mulhearn
Title: Data Acquisition System for Cosmic Ray Shower Detector
Description: Cosmic rays with an energy above 10^15 eV produce extensive air showers (EAS) which are capable of being detected on the ground. This project involves building a data acquisition system (DAQ) for a ground-based EAS detector. The DAQ will be based on the Zynq architecture, an innovative new system that combines a CPU with an FPGA (programmable digital logic) on a single chip.
Preferred qualifications: The ability to work independently, for at least a few days at a time, is essential. Familiarity with FPGAs and related vendor software tools is *not* expected. Some experience with programming to this project as described here. However, there are many other issues related to this project, and so the scope of this project can be adjusted to the students past experiences.

Name: Tucker Jones
Title: Early galaxy formation
Description: Galaxies grow by converting gas into stars. In this project, students will use data collected from Keck Observatory to study the gas within and around (and being ejected out of) distant galaxies. We are using observations of gravitationally lensed galaxies, which are highly magnified allowing us to more easily detect and spatially map the gas. We will analyze spectroscopic signatures to characterize the kinematics (velocity), chemical composition, and/or spatial distribution of the gas. The overall goal is to better understand how the gas distribution and feedback processes regulate galaxy formation over cosmic time.
Preferred qualifications: Preferred skills: computer programming with python (or other languages); knowledge of error analysis and error propagation. Some astronomy knowledge from classes is helpful.