My first semester in graduate school I took an advanced computational physics course. The majority of the course revolved around a project of the student's choice. I decided to model the energy levels in quantum dots. To do this I wrote FORTRAN code that numerically calculated the solution to a simplified Hamiltonian describing the quantum dots.

The second major project I worked on in graduate school involved testing AMTEC energy conversion cells. Most of the work on this project was done in the summer of 1996 at the Space Power Lab on Kirtland AFB under the direction of Dr. Michael Schuller. The project was sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. While there I tested AMTEC cells, performed calibration tests on experimental setups, and constructed a high temperature ( > 1000K) heater for simulating a heat source to power AMTEC cells.

Computerized Data Acquisition System for an Electrocardiograph

This project was one of the first I worked on as an undergraduate in the electrical engineering project labs. The group's objectives for this project were to develop and implement two methods of measuring and displaying an electrocardiograph signal from a patient. My responsibilities for the project were to develop MATLAB code for recording the signal, performing any signal enhancement that was necessary, and then to display the signal. The code I developed also created a graphical user interface for zooming in on parts of the electrocardiograph waveform. I also wrote a simple peak counting routine to determine the beats per minute of the electrocardiograph signal. All of this work was done in approximately five weeks time.

Texas Tech University has been involved hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) research for several years now. My group worked on a modified Ford Escort station wagon. This vehicle was equipped with two three-phase electric motors that generated approximately 30 hp each. A Kawasaki motorcycle engine modified to burn ethanol also powered the vehicle. Our group began work on the car just after new motor mounts were installed and the entire engine bay had been redesigned. Our objectives were to obtain complete electrical schematics for the vehicle, reroute any electrical connections that were necessary, and to repair the onboard battery charger for the motorcycle engine starter. Again, we had approximately five weeks to complete these tasks.

The expert system was my senior project in electrical engineering. This system was designed to diagnose, on the basis of an expert database created by experienced process engineers, faulty VLSI fabrication processes. The project originally started with a graduate student in electrical engineering. My objectives were to repair and or augment the expert system. Primarily, this project involved debugging about 5000 lines of Windows code. At the inception of the project, I had no experience in Windows programming so I had a difficult task to be completed in 12 weeks. The original code written by a graduate student didn't function correctly, so I had correct the diagnosis procedures and create a feature for adding information to the expert system database. I successfully got this project working.

For my senior project in physics I created Schottky diodes for performing deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). DLTS is a technique in which the capacitance transient of a reverse biased Schottky diode is measured over a range of temperatures. Characteristics of defects producing energy levels deep in the energy gap can be determined with DLTS. Most of this work involved created Schottky diodes from n-type CZ silicon. I began by lapping silicon wafers and then depositing gold contacts to create the diodes. Unfortunately, I was working on the VLSI expert system concurrently, so I only learned the basics of DLTS and capacitance voltage measurements.