Getting a physics degree at Utah State University (USU) is not just about taking courses and passing tests. A USU physics degree is about learning how to do physics and, most importantly, learning how to teach oneself the physics needed to solve problems as well as engaging in research and experiments in order to discover new aspects of the field. All physics majors finish their USU degree by doing just that. Through the capstone course, Research in Physics, each student teams up with a faculty mentor to perform research in a variety of physics topics over one or more semesters. Upon completion of their project, each student prepares a written exposition and gives a public presentation of their work. Many of these projects are documented here.

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2024

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Analyzing Atmospheric Gravity Waves Over Antarctica and Visualizing Machine Learning Data, Anastasia N. Brown

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Simulating Ice Particle Properties Under Varying Electric Fields, Joseph Cooney

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Non-Destructive Thickness Uniformity Measurement of Photosensitive Gelatin Film, Clayton Halper

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The First Variational Formula, the Phase Space of Solutions, and the Ostrogradsky Formalism, Matthew Pontius and Drew Watson

2023

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Preparation, Characterization and Electron Yield Analysis on Highly Insulating Granular Particles, Heather Allen

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Metasurfaces for Holography, Scott Howell

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High Frequency Radio Communication, Tyler Larsen

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Radon in Utah Homes, Madison Mackay

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Effectiveness of Multilayer Graded-Z Forms of Radiation Shielding, Brinley Packer

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Engineering Lab Building Telescope Manual, Aidan L. Tueller

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The Kp Index and Behavior of Quiet Periods, Collette Walbeck

2022

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Characteristics of Mesospheric Temperature and Gravity Waves over Chile in 2020-2021, Damien M. Devitt and Kenneth Zia

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Large Earthquakes' Effect on the Ionosphere, Aaron Houston

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Seasonal Variations in Global Ionospheric Total Electron Content, Jason Knudsen

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Effects of Exposure to Atmospheric Humidity on Breakdown Field Strength Measurements of Polymers, Megan Loveland DeWaal

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Improving the Efficiency of the Preconditioning of Iterative Solutions to the Kinetic Equation, D. Caleb Price

2021

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Comparisons of Mesospheric Temperatures Between 70 and 110 km: USU Lidar, NASA's TIMED Satellite, and the MSIS2 Empirical Model, David M. Collins

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The Effects of Materials and Profiles of Gratings on Diffraction Spectra, Brock Halling

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Phase-Space Dynamics of Runaway Electrons in Tokamaks, Gavin Held

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Improving Skills in Computer Methods: Introductory Toolkit to Python for Undergraduate Physics Majors, Erin O'Donnell and Melissa Rasmussen

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Developing Electron Beam Lithography at Nanoscale Device Laboratory, Din Pašić

2020

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Clustering and Classifying Geophysical Rock Properties of the San Andreas Fault, Jared Bryan

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Giving Students a Better Understanding of the Concepts Behind the Coriolis Force, Ridge Cole

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Traveling-Wave Electrophoresis: 1D Model, Austin Green

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Synthesis of Graphene by Liquid Precursors at Lower Temperatures, Clayton Hansen

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Determining the Phase of the Diurnal, Solar Thermal Tidal Wave in the Upper Atmosphere Using Nighttime Na Lidar Measurements, Trevor Harshman

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Determing the Chaotic Nature of Periodic Orbits, Bo Johnson

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Waves Over McMurdo Station, Robert Johnson

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Material Outgassing Kinetics: The Development of a Testing Capability, Alex Kirkman

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Fabrication of Suspended Microbolometers on SOI Wafers, Isaac Maxfield

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National Security and Climate Change, Madison Moran

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Understanding Noether’s Theorem by Visualizing the Lagrangian, Seth Moser

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Hodographic Analysis of Na Lidar Data to Measure Atmospheric Gravity Wave Parameters, Jeffrey Ormsby

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Optical Relaxation of Defects in Kapton Caused by Irradiation, Ashlan Keeler Swainston

2019

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Monitoring Ambient Laboratory Conditions with a Raspberry Pi, Joshua Boman

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Decomposing the Hamiltonian of Quantum Circuits Using Machine Learning, Jordan Burns, Yih Sung, and Colby Wight

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Thermal Oxidation of Silicon in a Home-Made Furnace System, Joshua Koskan

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Porting Symbolic Libraries from Maple to Python, James Lewis

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Physics 4900, David Maughan

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Yang-Mills Sources for Biconformal Gravity, Walter Davis Muhwezi

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Relaxation of Radiation Effects in Polymers, Alexandra Hughlett Nelson

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The Effects of Beta Radiation on the Electrostatic Discharge of LDPE, Kip Quilter

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Thermodynamic Properties of Black Holes, Geoffrey Schulthess

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Octonionic Maxwell Equations, Ben Shaw

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Mathematica Program to Compute Klein Gordon Equation for Generic Black Holes, Brant Smith

2018

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Numerical Methods for Anisotropic Thermal Conduction, Brett Adair

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Investigation of an Unusual Thin Layer Descending Through the Upper Stratosphere, Houston D. Bentley

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Gravity Waves Over Antarctica, Vanessa Chambers

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Phonon Dynamics of Alkali Metals in the HCP Lattice Structure, Jake Christensen

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Solar Observatory: Shedding Light on the Surface of the Sun, Zane F. Davis

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Calculating Redshift via Astronomical Spectroscopy, Joshua Glatt

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The Effects of the Beta Transition on Dielectric Breakdown in LDPE, Tyler Kippen

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Electron Yield Comparisons of Low and High-Density Polyethylene, Jordan Lee

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D-Region VLF Monitoring System, Jonh Carlos Mojica Decena

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Characterization of Programmable Arduino Sensors, Brett Mortenson

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Impact of Bubble Baths on Stainless Steel Sphere Water Entry, Wesley Robinson

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Mathematica Program to Compute Klein Gordon Equation for Generic Black Holes, Brant Smith

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Atmospheric Gravity Wave Events over Antarctica, America Wrobel

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Sodium Lidar for Mesopause Temperature and Wind Studies, Xiaoqi Xi

2017

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Growing Bores at the South Pole, Mikaela Ashcroft

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The Global Positioning System, Brendon Baker

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UV Degradation of Polycarbonate, Katie Gamaunt

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The Use of Plenoptic Cameras in Astronomy, James R. Hamilton

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Explorations in Hybrid Rocket Technology: Arc-Track Ignition in 3D-Printed Rockets, Richard Harvey

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Rayleigh-LIDAR Observations of Mid-Latitude Mesospheric Densities, Brandon S. Hustead, Lucas R. Priskos, Jonathan L. Price, and Joshua P. Herron

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An Investigation of the Alkali Metals in the fcc Structure Using an Embedded-Atom-Method (EAM) Model, Marcus Jackman

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Arduino and Raspberry Pi in a Laboratory Setting, Dustin Johnston

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Investigating the Weddell Sea Anomaly using TIE-GCM, DaeSean K. Jones

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Measuring and Modeling the Conductivity of Highly Insulating Materials, David King

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Analysis of Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Levels in Side-blotched Lizards ( Uta stansburiana ) Fed Varying Diets, Kati Mattinson

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Reducing the Contact Time of Bouncing Droplets using Macro-Textured Surfaces, Andrew Merritt

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Microcontroller Survivability in Space Conditions, Windy Olsen

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Rayleigh-LIDAR Observations of Mesospheric Densities, Lucas R. Priskos, Brandon S. Hustead, Jonathan L. Price, and Joshua P. Herron

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Wormholes: Gates to the Stars?, Samuel Shreeve

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Tilt Classifications in Perfect Fluid Cosmology, Bryant Ward

2016

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Algorithms for the Optical Profiling of the Atmospheric Limb Radiometry Data Analysis for the OPAL CubeSat, Eric D. Ashby

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High Altitude Payload for CubeSat Aeroboom Development, Jessica Gardiner

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The Consensus Problem, Cellular Automata, and Self-Replicating Structures, David Griffin

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Atmospheric Modeling for OPAL Mission, Preston Hooser

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Complexity and Art, Jeffrey Jenkins

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Importance of Grad-Shafranov Re-Solves Towards Accurately Modeling an ITER Equilibrium in NIMROD, Joseph Jepson

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Mineral Physics Modeling of the Effect of Water on Crustal Seismic Velocity Ratios, Eric Lyman

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Smartphone Seismology: Data Acquisition Through Consumer Available Devices, Matt Olsen

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The Schwarzschild Solution and Timelike Geodesics, Matthew Ross

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Mysterious Mesospheric Bores Over the South Pole, Christina Solorio

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Predictive Formula for Electron Range over a Large Span of Energy, Anne Starley

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The Equivalence Problem: Einstein­-Maxwell Solutions, Rebecca Whitney

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OPAL CubeSatellite Flight and Line of Sight Integration Modeling, Kenneth Zia

2015

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Electrically Induced Plasma, Nate Ashby

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Imaging the Brigham City Fault Segment Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography Techniques, Alex Barker

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Centrality Measures of Graphs utilizing Continuous Walks in Hilbert Space, Jarod P. Benowitz

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Thermal Evidence of Flat­-Slab Subduction Perturbations in the Western US, Michael Berry

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PT401 Paint Process Development and Infrared Reflectance Measurements, Sariah Cassidy

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Statistical Variation of Diverse Light Emission Measurements from Bisphenol/Amine Epoxy Under Energetic Electron Bombardment, Justin Christensen

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Suitability of Nickel Chromium Wire Cutters as Deployable Release Mechanisms on CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit, James Gardiner

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Analysis of Electrostatic Breakdown Sites, Sam Hansen

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Correlations of Fault Rock Constitutive Properties Derived from Laboratory Retrieved Data of the North-Eastern Block of the Southern San Andreas Fault, Mecca Hills, CA via Computational Analysis., Ryan M. Lee

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Physics Education: Analysis of the Effects of i>clicker Usage in the Gen Ed Classroom on Content Learning, Collin Mortensen

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Catching Mesospheric Gravity Waves Over Bear Lake, Utah, Kelly Osborne

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Langmuir Probes in a Microwave Generated Plasma, Wesley Rawlins