This research will improve our understanding of the effect of dissolved organic matter on ocean color, marine life, and the production of volatile gases that affect the atmosphere. Dr. Chris Diorio, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, will seek to create reprogrammable silicon synapse-transistors. Dr. Ronald Fedkiw, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, will pursue algorithm design for computational fluid dynamics, in particular to calculate pressures in flowing fluids near an interface. These numerical techniques will also be applied to three-dimensional visualization of data and image processing. Dr. David Goldhaber-Gordon, Physics Department, Stanford University, will fabricate semiconductor nanostructures and investigate the transport of spin polarized electrons subjected to magnetic fields generated by currents in nanoscale wires.
Results can impact low power lasers, visible and infrared detectors, and quantum computing.
Dr. Ben R. Hodges, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, will investigate new methods for incorporating into hydrostatic ocean models the net vertical transport due to the effect of internal waves. This research is expected to improve the accuracy of calculations of acoustic transmission loss in the ocean. Dr. Cynthia Young Hopen, Department of Mathematics, University of Central Florida, will explore optimal signal processing methodologies for laser sensors, considering the effect of atmospheric turbulence on laser beam propagation, divergence, coherence and scintillation. This research can improve long range surveillance using laser radar. Dr. Farhad A. Jaberi, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, will attempt to develop and validate improved models for turbulent reacting flows, as occur in various propulsion systems.