U R O P Projects 2010
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APPLICATION
RESTRICTIONS |
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A number of UROP projects are restricted to EU students or those that
meet EPSRC residency criteria. (
See LINK for criteria ) Additionally each project is marked clearly that the restrictions
apply. |
Electronic
instabilities in transition metal compounds
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. Malte Grosche, Quantum Matter Group,
Physics Department
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project
Description:
Context: A new class of high temperature superconductors has recently been discovered, which is based on transition metal-pnictide compounds. Prominent examples are the so-called 1-1-1-1 materials, such as LaFeOAs, the 1-2-2 materials, such as SrFe2As2, and the 1-1 materials, such as FeTe. Superconductivity typically occurs, when these parent compounds are tuned slightly, either by changing their chemical composition or by doping. Because the transition temperatures are in some cases beyond what would be expected from conventional pairing mechanisms, these discoveries have caused considerable excitement: whereas for two decades, high temperature superconductivity has been solely associated with copper oxide compounds, there now is a second, large class of materials with very high transition temperatures. Maybe there can be many more such materials in the vast space of available compounds?
Plan: A guided exploration of materials related to the superconducting iron pnictides may turn up further superconductors, but on the way, it may also bring to light other, interesting low temperature states, such as unconventional forms of magnetic, charge or structural order. The guiding principle for this search involves tuning materials with known low temperature order, in particular Mott insulators or metallic antiferromagnets to regions in their phase diagram, where their ordering temperature extrapolates to zero. These points are called quantum phase transitions, and are of fundamental interest in condensed matter physics.
Project: The immediate objective of this project is to investigate the electronic structure of a number of candidate materials using numerical calculations, to pick a suitable material from this list on the basis of the electronic structure calculations, to synthesise that material, and to characterise the resulting crystals. Time permitting, low temperature, high pressure measurements will be carried out on the crystals, in order to investigate the possibility of observing a quantum phase transition and the associated quantum critical behaviour. The work is likely to widen the class of materials available for the study of novel electronic states in solids, and will feed into further, more detailed work by other members of the group.
Methodology: Candidate materials will be chosen from the class of 1-2-2 pnictides, silicides and germanides. The calculations are carried out using widely available band structure code, such as the WIEN2K package, on a desktop computer. The summer student will collaborate with PhD students in the Quantum Matter group to synthesise the required material. Depending on the choice of material, the synthesis may involve solid state reaction, flux growth or radio-frequency melting. Sample characterisation can be carried out using x-ray facilities within the group or at the Department of Materials Science, and using a commercial Physical Properties Measurement System within the group. Research measurements to low temperature can be carried out in a recently installed Dryogenic Measurement system, using high pressure cells developed within the group.
Insertion Date: 18/06/2010
Usable home energy
monitoring
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Alan Blackwell, Computer Lab
Project Description:
This project is part of the Technology Strategy Board "Retrofit for the Future" programme, designing ways to make houses more energy efficient. The goal of this project is to make a step change in home energy monitoring and 'smart meters', that would allow home owners to better predict and adapt their energy usage. The student appointed would work in collaboration with a professional interaction designer, to create novel web-based visualisations of energy usage and control. Skills in Javascript, Flash, AJAX or similar will be necessary.
Insertion Date: 03/06/2010
Algebraic path
problems in Haskell
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Timothy Griffin, Computer Lab
Project Description:
Finding shortest-path in graphs is a popular activity. Many of the standard algorithms have been generalized to algebraic structures called semirings. This project will implement such generic algorithms in Haskell, as well as a library for constructing interesting semirings.
Insertion Date: 24/05/2010
Guess Who? Using
online games to label emotions
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Laurel Riek, Computer Lab
Project Description:
The Computer Laboratory is working on a variety of projects involving affective computing and robotics [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/emotions/]. We are interested in making machines that are capable of recognizing and synthesizing emotions. One of the problems we face in our work is that it is extremely time consuming and expensive for people to label our data manually. We would like to explore the use of human computation (such as crowdsourcing) to label facial expressions, through the use of an online game. Such games have been successfully used for labelling image data, videos and sounds [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~biglou/research.html]; now we would like to apply the technique to facial expressions.
The key idea of this project will be to design and implement an enjoyable, web-based game that permits the labelling of short video clips of people expressing various emotions. Students will be free to design the game how they choose, though one possibility might be to try something like the board game "Guess Who?" [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4143/guess-who ].
Insertion Date: 21/05/2010
Development of an
Environment Group Website
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Ian Slack, Department of Engineering and Ruchi Choudary, Co-Supervisor, Department of
Engineering
Project Description:
The Department of Engineering Environment Group has a remit to motivate, promote and support bottom-up led initiatives to improve our environmental profile; to monitor current environmental performance and to maintain a regularly updated vision statement to inform future departmental decisions about opportunities and priorities to reduce our environmental impact.
The development of an Environment Group Website would allow staff, students, researchers and visitors to have a readily identifiable point of reference for local environmental information, issues and discussion and provide quantitative information monitoring progress towards reducing the environmental impact of activities within the Department.
Content could include utilities and transport monitoring, recycling facilities, local initiatives, news, views, articles and talks, links to relevant ‘in-house’ research, links to relevant building and maintenance information and the Department vision statement.
Part of the project would be the critical review of similar websites. The published website should be easy to navigate and update. The successful applicant would be embedded in the Energy Efficient Cities Initiative Research Group.
Applicants should be experienced in website design and publishing (examples should be presented) and have an interest in Environmental issues.
Insertion Date: 18/03/2010
Concurrent
development of novel digital manufacturing processes for an innovative
commercial product
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr W-K. Hsiao, IfM, Dept. of Engineering
Project Summary/Description:
Digital manufacturing processes such as inkjet printing of functional materials and laser fabrication can produce product features that are impossible to achieve using traditional fabrication methods. The main challenge now is to transform these techniques into primary means to fabricate commercial products. To do that, we need an integrated approach of combining research, design, and commercial enterprise know-how. An interdisciplinary development team based at IfM, Alan Reece Building, on the West Cambridge Site, will attempt to produce an example of how that can be done.
The project is seeking a highly motivated student to join the team in the early design stage to concurrently develop novel hybrid manufacturing processes that combine inkjet and laser fabrication techniques to produce an innovative new commercial product. During the 10 week project, the student will work closely with a UROP design student and colleagues with different expertise to investigate and develop processes and apparatus that can produce functional product prototypes being conceptualised concurrently. Some of the potential areas to be investigated include altering surface properties to assist inkjet deposition by laser pulses and combining inkjet deposition of functional materials in laser sintering. The focus will be to translate proven sciences to useful fabrication techniques and equipments rapidly to meet the long term project aim of delivering a tangible product/prototype and a viable business plan for it by summer 2011.
The ideal candidate will have good practical skills in fabrication and quick problem solving ability. Proficiency and experience in electromechanical integration including programming in Labview or C++ is highly desirable. Preference given to third year students as it may be potentially extended as a 4th year project. Starting and end dates are both flexible.
Insertion date: 20/05/2010
Project Summary/Description:
This project is about investigating how we can better explain machine learning and other inference algorithms to users. It consists of two parts. The first part is to create visualizations of two classes of inference algorithms: statistical feature-based and template-based. The second part is to assess how such visualizations affect users' understanding of the logic behind the algorithms and their consequences.
Insertion date: 20/05/2010
Project Summary/Description:
If you've not seen "The Dambusters" movie, then you should http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCRIsjJFRNo. I've been asked to help with a TV documentary which will blow up a real dam with a real bouncing bomb dropped from a real plane. There's quite a lot of work to be done, and I'll need one, perhaps two students to help put it together. You may end up spending quite a lot of time away from Cambridge, but all expenses will be covered.
You need to be reasonably good with IA/IB Mechanics/Structures because there's a fair bit of design work involved. We plan to build a bungee-canon-device to propel 'bombs' onto a lake so that we get the angle right. We also need to design the bomb release mechanism for the plane, and we also plan to build the dam itself. Yes, completely mad. But that's just "dam" spelt backwards.
Insertion date: 17/05/2010
Geoengineering by
Solar Radiation Management
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Hugh Hunt, Department of Engineering
Project Summary/Description:
We are expecting the EPSRC to sponsor SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) in which we deploy a balloon at 20km to suspend a pipe so that we can pump particles into the stratosphere. These particles will scatter incoming solar radiation, so cooling the planet.
See: http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~hemh/climate/Geoengineering_RoySoc.htm. Before the project starts we need to be sure that alternative delivery systems are not viable:
- aircraft - artillery - balloons etc.
See a rather emotive picture at
http://www.lightwatcher.com/chemtrails/geoengineering.jpg.
The UROP is an opportunity to get involved in the project by doing a thorough investigation of the costs and resources required to deliver, say, 10 million tonnes per year of particles into the stratosphere (sounds like a lot, but its only 20 milligrams per square metre per year, and we generate 60g of CO2 per square metre - 3000 times as much).
For instance, if we use high-altitude planes then perhaps we need 500,000 flights per year, and the planes are pretty expensive.
And if we use artillery we'd need to fire perhaps 100 million shells per year. What do these techniques cost?
No particular experience needed - just a very open mind. Numeracy certainly helps!
Insertion date: 17/05/2010
Steam Sterilization
of Babies Bottles
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Hugh Hunt, Department of Engineering
Project Summary/Description:
This is a project to do with measuring the effectiveness of steam sterilizers for babies bottles. Perhaps we'll have a go at building a 'perfect' steam sterilizer. This project will eventually lead to the design and development of a revolutionary new baby-bottle sterilizer, supported by well-known global brands.
Ideally you'd be good at IA/IB thermofluids (particularly things to do with evaporating and condensation of steam, and heat transfer) and product design. We also want to be able to measure bacteria levels so some biology background would help. In Part IIA 3A6, 3C1, 4C4, 3G1 would be good.
Insertion date: 17/05/2010
Water Purification
for Disaster Relief Areas
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Hugh Hunt, Department of Engineering
Project Summary/Description:
When disaster strikes in the Third World (eg Haiti earthquake) it can be impossible to provide sufficient supplies of fresh water. Purification plants need electricity but there are circumstances where mains power is unavailable, batteries are inconvenient and a diesel generator is inappropriate. Solar power doesn't work in dusty environments. Can we develop a light-weight, portable, hand-held device that is battery free and that powers a chlorine generator with a continuous uninterrupted power supply? The device is an ironless axial-flux generator which incorporates a flywheel.
Producing chlorine by electrolysis requires a steady un-interrupted current. One of the key issues is to determine how steady the current must be for effective chlorine generation; we can't be sure that the end users will be technically literate.
Good for 3C5/3C6/3B4/3A6/3C1/4C4/3G1.
Insertion date: 17/05/2010
Project Summary/Description:
We have developed the ‘Fluphone’ study software to measure human contact networks using mobile phones. Participants are also asked to notify about any influenza-like symptoms they experience during the study period, so that we can match the spread of flu to the underlying social network. We will also run ‘virtual’ epidemics on participants’ phones, which will give us a real-time picture of the social network between participants from the perspective of infectious disease.
See http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/srg/netos/fluphone/ for more detail of the project.
We look for a student, who will extend software for mobile phones (J2ME, Android) and web servers to communicate with mobile phones, including database management. There is also application development by analysing the collected data to give a feedback to the study participant. The position requires practical knowledge to deploy scalable client-server software and database servers as well as good Java or Python knowledge.
Insertion date: 10/05/2010
Project Summary/Description:
This project investigates understanding information flow and social topology
by analysing Twitter. By crawling followers in Twitter, you can build a
directional graph as social networks. You can also extract information about
the interaction graph by looking at individual tweets that contain "@
Then you have the spread of things like retweets and hashtags. For example, you could analyse the data to see whether certain users (or users with a certain characteristic in the social graph) are successful at spreading hashtags through the social graph. You could also see what about the graph causes a user's tweets to be retweeted (my speculation: people with a large number of followers and who follow a small number of people will have a high probability of retweeting, but there may be other interesting cases). Correlation between hashtags or degree of people or position of people in the graph could be interesting to explore. Particular focus can be geographical spread of information. You could also look at the spread of links to YouTube videos.
Insertion date: 10/05/2010
Project Summary/Description:
This project aims at building Xen based Haggle simulator. Haggle is a type of delay tolerant networks and is implemented like a distributed database platform. See Haggle project detail at http://www.haggleproject.org. The Haggle is built over a layerless networking architecture that incorporates event-driven and asynchronous operations, which reside in the device as a kernel component. Functional components implement the functional logic and interact only directly with the kernel. A data object is an object defined in Haggle as an entity to move between Haggle equipped devices. There is a base implementation of Xen based simulator and the task of this project is extending existing simulator and make it usable by providing API. This project requires a basic knowledge of Xen and Linux. Good understanding networking is essential.
Insertion date: 10/05/2010
Evolutionary
blending of 3D surface models
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Alan Blackwell, Computer
Laboratory
Project Summary/Description:
This computer graphics project will implement a mathematical optimisation technique for calculating geometrically constrained blends of two different 3D surface meshes. The surface meshes have already been derived from several sources, including laser scans of prehistoric fossils, 3D CAD solid models for rapid prototyping, and a novel interaction device at Microsoft Research that allows new objects to be sculpted by manipulating a ferroliquid sensing device. This applied project will be based at the Computer Laboratory, but is in collaboration with the London Natural History Museum, Cambridge Zoology Museum and Central Saint Martins School of Art. Prior computer graphics experience is not essential, but strong programming skills (ideally including 3D geometry processing), and knowledge of numerical optimisation techniques will be important.
Links:
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/Ferromag/
Insertion date: 06/05/2010
Design of an
innovative new product highlighting novel digital manufacturing processes
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr W-K. Hsiao, IfM, Dept. of Engineering
Project Summary/Description:
Digital manufacturing processes such as inkjet printing of functional materials and laser fabrication can produce product features that are impossible to achieve using traditional fabrication methods. The main challenge now is to transform these currently niche techniques into primary means to fabricate commercial products. To do that, we need an integrated approach of combining research, design, and commercial enterprise know-how. An interdisciplinary development team based at IfM, Alan Reece Building, on the West Cambridge Site, will attempt to produce an example of how that can be done.
The project is seeking a highly motivated student to join the team in the early design stage to develop an innovative new product highlighting novel digital manufacturing processes, particularly inkjet and laser-based techniques which are actively researched in IfM. During the 10 week project, the student will work closely with colleagues with different expertise to develop design concepts. The long term aim is to deliver a tangible product/prototype and a viable business plan for it by summer 2011.
The ideal candidate will have some design experience and flair, and must be eager to engage and learn. Some hands-on work involving model construction may also be involved so practical skills are highly desirable. Starting and end dates are both flexible.
Insertion date: 06/05/2010
Study of the role
of instanton-motivated interaction in low energy meson scattering
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. Deirdre Black, Department of
Physics
Project Summary/Description:
Many approaches have been used to study meson scattering at very low energies. Scattering of light pseudoscalar mesons is interesting in its own right and also because in certain channels it involves scalar mesons, some of which are not completely understood as quark-antiquark states. One approach is to use effective Lagrangians based on chiral symmetry and to explore non-standard types of interactions which may arise naturally if the scalar mesons are not pure quark-antiquark states. Recently it has been suggested that a particular type of interaction (which could be due to "instantons") may be important. This project involves extending earlier work, which focusses on decays and mixing of scalar mesons, to study the effect of this interaction in scattering of pions, kaons and possibly eta mesons. Restrictions: This is a theoretical project, with some computing, and is most suitable for a student who has an interest in High Energy Physics.
Duration: The project would be for 8 or 9 weeks, possibly with a two-week break in the middle.
Links: http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/0801.2288
Insertion date: 05/05/2010
Behaviour of
implant alloys under repetitive pulse voltage
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof Tim Burstein, Department of Materials
Science and Metallurgy
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project Description:
The application of voltage pulses across surgically implanted alloys is potentially capable of having a significant effect upon alloy performance. This project examines the effects of applying single and repetitive voltage pulses across implant alloys in environments that simulate the physiological system. A range of electrochemical techniques, some rather subtle, will be used, and attempts will be made to simulate an electrolytic “by-pass” system. After treatment, the alloy surfaces will be examined electron-microscopically, and some quantitative elemental analysis carried out. The work is a preliminary survey, and is aimed at understanding the possible interfacial reactions in vitro on a nanoscopic scale, and the possible consequential effects of such processes in vivo.
This project is subject to the availability of the EPSRC summer studentship funding.
Insertion Date: 30/04/2010
Driving method for
realisation of grey scale images in highly reflective multi-stable displays
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Daping Chu, Department of Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project Description:
This project will investigate the grey scale performance of highly reflective multi-stable displays and develop suitable driving schemes accordingly.
This project is suitable for engineering students who are currently completing their second or third year.
The project will involve fabrication and electro-optical characterisation of the customised display test cells as the first step, followed by modelling the use of passive matrix with suitable driving waveforms to drive such pixelated system to display grey scale images. Finally the developed scheme will be utilised on the full scale drivers developed in house for display panels.
The project will involve both hand-on and modelling works.
The project will run for 10 weeks.
Links to relevant group information on the web: See http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/photonics_sensors/
This project is subject to the availability of the EPSRC summer studentship funding.
Insertion Date: 30/04/2010
Bio-Soil
Interaction and Engineering ‘‘The Effect of Microbial Carbonate
Precipitation on Sand Permeability’’
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof Kenichi Soga, Department of
Engineering
Project Description:
SUMMARY
The use of bio-technologies in geotechnical engineering has been one of the rising fields in the past few years. One of the major technologies that have shown some promise is the use of bio-activity in sand cementation via calcium carbonate precipitation, namely, microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP). Calcite precipitation results in changing many of the sand’s properties including permeability. This experimental-based project provides an introduction to the microbial carbonate precipitation process and will mainly involve measuring the change in the samples permeability with different amounts of carbonate precipitation. Students will measure the permeability while applying bio-cementation on sand samples.
AIMS
• To introduce the principles of Bio-Geo engineering and specifically microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP).
• To investigate the effect of carbonate precipitation on the permeability of sand.
• To get a correlation between the reduction of permeability and the amount of precipitation and to investigate if the chemical treatment method affects the results.
FORMAT
Student will work individually under the supervision of a PhD student, and results will be coordinated between them to produce a final report.
ACTIVITIES
Week 1-2: i) Go through biological and chemical principles required for the project. ii) Prepare required chemicals and liquid media in addition to growing of bacteria for experiments. iii) Preparation of experimental setup and flexible wall cells
Weeks 3 -4: Samples preparation and conducting two runs of the test for two different chemical treatments. Each run will include: i) Chemicals injection, ii) data extraction, ii) experiment termination.
Week 5-10: Measurement of the amount of CaCO3 in samples, data analysis and a report comparing the results of the two chemical treatments as well as their effect on permeability will be prepared.
This project is subject to funding.
Insertion Date: 28/04/2010
Engineering issues
with the energy retrofit of Cambridge
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof MJ Kelly, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
Using publicly available data, it is estimated that the expenditure of £550M on buildings in Cambridge city (both domestic and non-domestic) could reduce the carbon footprint of the city by at least 25% by 2020 using off-the-shelf technology interventions. This, together with 75% decarbonisation of the current electric grid would see Cambridge meeting the UK’s 2050 CO2 reduction targets. Even if the finance can be arranged, and the democratic mandate be obtained, there are many practical engineering issues of delivering this project to time and to budget. A civil engineering student would be able to enumerate some of these challenges and undertake initial research on the possible options to pursue towards their solution.
This project is subject to funding.
Insertion Date: 27/04/2010
Modeling of
Environmental Processes Under Uncertainty
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Geoff Parker, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
This 10-week UROP project builds upon previous research and tools to model environmental process kinetics under uncertainty. Such a tool is of value to local (e.g. water use and treatment) and global (e.g. climatic change) contexts and this project will provide an individual with a head start into such applications.
We are interested in implementing a basic model in an highly parallel fashion, leveraging the CUDA parallel computing architecture. The student will be part of a team designing and implementing the following basic architecture for application to an environmental problem:
1) Definition and testing of the model conceptual definition. This step will involve a review of the literature followed by performance evaluation testing to meet given criteria. 2) A parser that will interpret and implement the model conceptual and structural (connectivity) elements according to a specified standard. 3) A job scheduler that will manage the former using the CUDA platform based on dynamically generated metrics.
It is expected that most of the code will be written for the CUDA architecture and the student will gain expertise on this exciting platform. The ideal candidate will have a good to excellent knowledge of C and an interest in parallel programming/HPC paradigms. Visualization experience and experience in Fortran and RAD languages are also very desireable. The project has broad scope and the student will have an opportunity to influence its direction. Project to begin June 2010.
This project is open to 2nd or preferably 3rd year students with an interest in modeling and (re)solving environmental problems.
This project is subject to funding.
Insertion Date: 27/04/2010
Tyre wear
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Michael Sutcliffe, Department of
Engineering
Collaborator: Goodyear
Project Description:
Tyre wear is of great concern to tyre, car and truck manufacturers and end-users but is relatively little understood. This project will explore the failure of tread due to impact with rough surfaces. The fatigue life of typical rubber compounds will be examined by testing, using samples provided by Goodyear. This may require modification of existing test rigs and examination of the failure modes of the specimens. The effects of temperature, stress and number of cycles will be examined.
The project can be taken in conjunction with a MEng project.
Insertion Date: 27/04/2010
Rapid free surface
flows in complex channels
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Dongfang Liang, Department of
Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project
Description:
Computer modelling will be carried out to investigate the influence of the open channel shape on the rapid flows inside. For rapid flows, shocks (hydraulic jumps and hydraulic bores) will be formed where the channel bends or the cross-section shape or bed slope varies. Over the shock, the water depth often experiences a sudden increase by two or three times. It is thus important to have a good design of the channel so that no spillage occurs. The student will need to generate the computational grid that incorporates the information about the channel geometry and analyse the computational results. Interest in computer modelling and fluid dynamics is required. The start and end dates are negotiable.
This UROP offers the opportunity to continue into a 4th year project.
This project is subject to the availability of the EPSRC summer studentship funding.
Insertion Date: 27/04/2010
Numerical
simulation of flapping flight
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Fehmi Cirak, Department of
Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project
Description:
The experimental and numerical investigation of animal flight is an active field of research. Moreover, there is an increasing interest in micro air vehicles designed as ornithopters. Nevertheless, the aerodynamic phenomena of moving wing structures at intermediate Reynolds numbers are poorly understood and require more in-depth studies.
The student will be conducting computational fluid dynamics simulations of the airflow over two-dimensional airfoils and three-dimensional wings. Starting from simple fixed-wing models, the aim of the project is to carry out large-scale computations of the three-dimensional flow patterns caused by flapping wings. The outcome will be validated against available experimental data and reference solutions.
This project is embedded into a collaboration with the Animal Flight group of the Department of Zoology. The software environment for the student will be provided. Good computing skills are of great importance for the success of this work.
This project is subject to funding!
Insertion Date: 27/04/2010
High Power Diode
Laser Materials Processing
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Bill O'Neill, Centre of Industrial
Photonics, Institute for Manufacturing, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
This project will seek to develop a series of laser matter interaction experiments to determine the process window for the high speed welding of polymer materials using a high brightness single mode fibre delivered diode laser. The project, based at the IFM, Alan Reece Building, on the West Cambridge Site, will establish a small-scale experimental laser facility, determine the weld process window for a range of polymers, and produce a series of showcase example welds of interest to a range of industrial users.
No prior laser experience is necessary although applicants should possess excellent practical skills. The project will run for 10 weeks.
This UROP offers the opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project.
Links to relevant supporting information on the web: http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/cip
Insertion Date: 26/04/2010
Pre-ignition
suppression in extreme downsized gasoline engines
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. Nick Collings, Professor of Applied
Thermodynamics, Head of the Division of Energy, Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery,
Department of Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project
Description:
Future gasoline engines need to emit significantly less CO2 than current engines. Downsizing engines is one of the most attractive methods of achieving this objective, with a boost system (typically turbocharger) to achieve adequate performance at high load demand. Unfortunately high boost leads to pre-ignition problems, due to the high effective compression ratio. In this project, the use of water injection to suppress pre-ignition during high boost conditions will be examined. This will cool the inlet air, and increase the density, both of which will improve performance, while the pollutant emission, especially NOx, will be reduced. Engine experiments and computational modelling will be used to determine and predict the performance enhancement that is realisable. Excellent experimental facilities are available.
Project: "Subject to funding"
Insertion Date: 26/04/2010
Manufacturing
Process Cost Modelling
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. D Cebon, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
Process cost models estimate the cost (financial or energy) of manufacturing a component. The CES Edupack database contains a process cost model that is based on sound economic principles. This project will involve applying the CES cost model to the production of specific components, where the key input data is known. The predicted costs will be compared with true costs, measured by the manufacturing engineers who make the components.
The work will be performed in collaboration with Granta Design and Emerson Electric – a very large US manufacturing company.
This project is suitable for engineering students who are currently completing their second or third year or for students studying, or planning to study MET.
The project will run for 10-12 weeks.
This UROP does not offer the opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project!
Links to relevant supporting information on the web: See www.grantadesign.com, www.emerson.com
Insertion Date: 23/04/2010
Materials
Information Software Development
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. D Cebon, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
This project will involve a number of sub-projects concerned with materials information software. These include interfacing Microsoft Excel with SQL Server so as to provide powerful user interfaces to a database; investigating use of OLAP tools; and investigating and implementing web-crawling technologies.
This project is suitable for engineering or computer science students who are currently completing their second or third year and who are programming enthusiasts. You will need skills in (or willingness to throw your self at) Visual Basic, C++, C#, VBA, and web technologies.
The project will run for 10-12 weeks. No other restrictions.
This UROP does not offer the opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project!
Links to relevant supporting information on the web: See www.grantadesign.com
Insertion Date: 23/04/2010
Simulating
Regenerative Braking Systems
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. D Cebon, Department of Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project
Description:
Regenerative braking systems capture energy when a vehicle is braking and re-inject it into the drive-train during acceleration.
This project will investigate hydraulic regenerative braking systems for heavy goods vehicles. These store energy in a pressurized hydraulic accumulator. They can provide an efficient and cost-effective way to improve fuel consumption of lorries for urban driving.
This project is suitable for engineering students who are currently completing their second or third year.
The project will develop a detailed mathematical model of a heavy vehicle and its regenerative braking system, by combining existing models. It will then investigate the fuel consumption benefits that can accrue from use of regenerative braking for various driving scenarios and will optimise the design by varying key design parameters.
The project will also involve some hands-on testing of heavy goods vehicles.
The project will run for 10-12 weeks. No other restrictions.
This UROP offers the opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project!
Links to relevant supporting information on the web: See http://www.cvdc.org/
Insertion Date: 23/04/2010
Research Web Site
Development
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. D Cebon, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
This project is concerned with developing web-based tools for accessing research information on the web. There are two sub-projects. The first will be concerned with developing and improving access to a large number of publications from a set of international conferences. The second will focus on deploying a large database of test data on the properties of asphalt road materials.
Experience with web site development and VBA macros is essential.
The project will run for 10 weeks.
This UROP does not offer the opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project!
Links to relevant supporting information on the web: http://www.grantadesign.com/news/archive/miforresearch.htm
Insertion Date: 23/04/2010
Boundary Layer
Ingesting Fan System
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Cesare Hall, Whittle Laboratory,
Department of Engineering
Project Description:
One means to reduce fuel consumption of aircraft is to employ Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI). This involves using jet engines to ingest and re-energise the aircraft's boundary layer. A rig is available that can be used to model the fan system of a BLI propulsion system. The aim of this experimental project is to test and develop the rig to demonstrate that it has suitable performance and operating range for boundary layer ingestion studies. This will involve the application of a number of experimental techniques to measure the fan flow-field as well as the use of turbomachinery analysis methods and rapid prototyping to improve the design.
Any restrictions for your project:
Only suitable for 3rd year engineers specialising in Fluids/Thermo.
Does this UROP offer an opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project?
The project will lead into a 4th year project on distortion and boundary layer ingestion.
Insertion Date: 21/04/2010
Environmental
assessment of a small company
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Claire Barlow, Institute for
Manufacturing, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
Grant Instruments is a small privately-owned company in a rural setting close to Cambridge which manufactures laboratory equipment and is keen to improve its environmental performance www.grant.co.uk/.
A first step is to measure aspects of the company’s operation in order to identify where improvements could be made. Realistic recommendations need to be made in the context of the economic environment in which the company operates, so part of the project will be to try to benchmark Grant’s performance against that of its competitors. This summer’s work will act as the foundation for future projects, so we will initially choose some of the following areas on which to focus:
Operation of the building (heating, cooling, lighting; water usage);
Supply chain and transport: assessment of resource usage;
Assessment of the resource usage in manufacture of the products;
Assessment of the resource usage of the products in service;
Assessment of the resource implications for the product at end-of-life.
The project is open to two students, who will be expected to spend part of their time at Grant Instruments.
The company is at Shepreth, 8 miles south of Cambridge, an easy train journey.
Does this UROP offer an opportunity to continue/develop into a 4th year project: Possibly
Insertion Date: 20/04/2010
Biofuels -
Influences on Combustion Chamber Deposits
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Nick Collings, Department of Engineering
Project Description:
In the drive for lower CO2 emissions and improved energy security, biofuels are now firmly established as a serious energy source. Second generation biofuels offer carbon emission savings of up to 80% but create some technical challenges including the build up of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber. As part of an advanced engineering project, Delphi Diesel Systems wish to analyse the mechanism of soot deposition on metal components which can have a deleterious effect on the performance of a state of the art combustion pressure sensor. The project requires engine testing with a variety of configurations of the cavity being blocked and various surface finishes with subsequent analyses of the carbon films that have been generated using optical, electron and atomic force microscopy. The objective is to identify a technical solution to reduce the amount of soot building up in the cavity.
Insertion Date: 24/03/2010
Global optimisation
of interatomic potential energy
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Gabor Csanyi, Department of Engineering
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project description:
The arrangement of atoms in molecules and materials is usually determined computationally by optimising all the atomic positions to achieve the lowest possible potential energy. Local optimisation methods are standard and efficient, e.g. Conjugate Gradients, BFGS, etc. However, the potential energy usually has many local minima, and find the global optimum is a daunting task for which no general method exists, only heuristics applicable in a restricted domain. This project is aimed at investigating an idea for a global optimisation method that is based on first approximating the potential energy function and then calculating analytical estimates of the global minimum.
Insertion Date: 23/02/2010
Asset Management
and Industrial Sustainability
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. Ajith Parlikad, Institute for
Manufacturing, Department of Engineering
Project description
Over the past decade the term “Triple Bottom Line”- based on combined economic, social, and environmental performance - has gained popularity in corporate reporting and marketing. While the Triple Bottom Line concept useful in conceptualizing the rising push for sustainable industry, there still remains a lack of holistic frameworks to incorporate sustainability within industrial activity down to the operational level.
Industrial asset management has been traditionally been based on internal economic performance (Cost, Reliability, Flexibility, etc.). This can create an added environmental risk exposure and loss in ability to foresee and capture opportunities to improve operations. Porter, Shrivastava, and others argue that the firm benefits of environmental technologies and process improvements that reduce waste, abate pollution and increase efficiency go beyond the historically understood cost reduction and liability issues. With rising external pressure for more sustainable industrial systems, a potential environmental competitive advantage exists in managing assets in ways that better meet the needs of the multiple stakeholders. In order to improve the information available to and transferred between decision makers, frameworks must be developed to help determine combined environmental and economic impacts of asset decisions.
The UROP project aims to develop a framework which will improve the understanding of the environmental impact of asset management decisions, and the trade-offs within.
The 10-week project will:
. identify the key decisions made during the asset lifecycle (key phases being acquire,
maintain, use, and retire)
. identify the key environmental parameters affected by these decisions
. identify the critical trade-offs
. identify the information that will help support decision makers make decisions considering environmental factors as well
It is desirable to be able to complete the following tasks as well:
. identify the tools/techniques used to support these decisions
. understand how these tools/techniques incorporate environmental issues
. identify the key gaps and opportunities
Restrictions: A sound engineering background with exposure to financial decision-making, and sustainability issues. The candidate will be asked to capture data from secondary sources (e.g. papers, websites) or by conducting telephone or in person interviews, analysing and classifying data.
Please note: This project is subject to funding!
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Synthesis and
processing of doped nano-particle NKN lead free piezoelectrics
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr K.M. Knowles, Department of Materials
Science and Metallurgy
Project details:
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based materials are successful piezoelectric technological materials widely used for actuators, sensors and transducers, but are neither environmentally friendly nor biocompatible because of the lead within them. Hence, there is an interest in developing replacement materials which are free of lead and which can substitute for PZT with comparable, or even better, electrical properties. This project will undertake research into lead-free piezoelectrics using a novel sol-gel chemical production method. Nanoparticles based on (Na0.5K0.5)NbO3 (NKN) will first be synthesized by a modified Pechini route. The polymerised precursor gel produced by this chemical route will be analysed using thermogravimetric analysis, then calcined to give a ceramic powder. The powder will be analysed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, with the ultimate intention of producing pellets from the powder which can be sintered. If time permits, the microstructure of these pellets will be analysed and the electrical properties of these pellets will be tested.
Hydrogen generation
from sea-water by electrolysis using new base electrocatalysts
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Professor G Tim Burstein, Department of
Materials Science and Metallurgy
Project details:
Generation of hydrogen for use as a fuel can only be viably accomplished in the long term by decomposition of sea-water. On a large scale, this is a major and difficult problem: one of the problems is the use of platinum. Sea-water is also corrosive, and this prevents the use of simple base metals.
The present project is an investigation of the electrolysis of sea-water using new electrocatalysts made from base materials. These electrocatalysts have been designed and tested in the Department in Cambridge for use as fuel cell electrodes. However, preliminary studies of their behaviour as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution in sulphuric acid solution is promising. The base electrocatalysts will be synthesised as thin films by magnetron sputtering onto suitably conductive substrates, and will be tested in an electrochemical cell in synthetic sea-water for their electrocatalytic activity towards the cathodic evolution of hydrogen and towards the anodic evolution of oxygen. They will also be tested for degradation by the corrosive environment.
This project will provide the student with experience at electrochemical methods and theory, an introduction to thin-film synthesis by magnetron sputtering, and an introduction to some of the issues of renewable energy and fuel production.
Insertion Date: 19/02/2010
Cyclic thermammetry
of metals in foods
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Professor G Tim Burstein, Department of
Materials Science and Metallurgy
Project details:
Cyclic thermammetry is a new electrochemical technique which gives sensitive quantification of the temperature response of electrochemical reactions. Electrochemical reactions are highly temperature dependent. We have recently used this technique to identify the electrochemical oxidation of vitamin C in milk, and have observed this on both platinum and stainless steel electrodes.
The technique involves measuring the current response of an electrochemical reaction to a pre-programmed temperature ramp between defined temperature limits. The method allows both heating and cooling ramps, through as many thermal cycles as required. The technique has potential application in allowing quantification of reactions in the food industry between metal surfaces and the food. Both the metal itself and components of the food are capable of reaction.
This project will investigate and identify electrochemical reactions of metals with foods by cyclic thermammetry, using the technique to quantify the reaction rates as well as the degree of reaction. We will explore the reactions of vitamin C, and perhaps vitamin A further as a function of temperature and potential, and attempt to quantify the reaction as a function of the concentration of the solute in solution. The results obtained from simple aqueous solution will be compared with those achieved in typical foods, such as milk and potatoes. The objective is to assess whether the method can be developed into a quantitative sensor for analysis of vitamin content in foods. This requires not only that the component can be detected quantitatively, but also whether this is possible without interference from other components.
The project will provide experience of electrochemical methods and techniques. It will help develop an understanding of basic electrochemical theory, and provide insight into sensor development.
Insertion Date: 19/02/2010
Current flow in
striated superconducting wires
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. Noel Rutter, Department of Materials
Science and Metallurgy
Project details:
Superconducting current flow in high temperature superconducting wires and tapes is often non-uniform due to the presence of grain boundaries and other inhomogeneities. This causes the maximum current density (called the critical current density) to vary as a function of the tape’s length and width. Furthermore this effect will cause a reduction of the critical current when the tape is subdivided into sections by striation. This striation may however be desirable, as it reduces the energy losses when an A.C. current is flowing, so it is important to design an arrangement which does not cause a significant decrease in the critical current. Computer models have been developed to calculate how current-carrying capacity varies with sample dimensions and the aim of this project is to further develop these models to deal with striations. Whilst the focus of the project is computer modelling, there will also be experimental measurements of superconductors in order to assess the validity of the model. Though not essential, some familiarity with computer programming would be advantageous.
Insertion Date: 19/02/2010
Use of Nanoindentation
to Map Residual Stress Levels across a Weld
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. J Dean, Department of Materials Science
and Metallurgy
Project details:
A methodology has recently been developed [1] in the Gordon Laboratory for extraction of constitutive relations from nanoindentation data, and evaluation of residual stress levels in surface layers. It has been shown that, at least for equal biaxial stress states, the residual stress level can be evaluated with good accuracy from the load-displacement-time characteristics of the nanoindentation response, provided information is available concerning the plastic deformation and creep characteristics of the alloy concerned. The shape of the residual indent, obtained using AFM, also constitutes useful data. The technique will be applied to a welded component, with linear arrays of indents being created across the weld, so that the distribution of residual stress in the vicinity of the weld can be established. Spherical indenters will be used. The process will be repeated after annealing of the weld, designed to reduce the residual stresses. Attention will be paid to issues such as the grain size, relative to the indent size, and also to certain boundary conditions in the FEM modelling, such as the coefficient of friction between indenter and specimen. Measured residual stress fields will be compared with those expected from information about conditions during the welding process. 1. J Dean, JM Wheeler & TW Clyne "Use of Quasi-Static Nanoindentation Data to Obtain Stress-Strain Characteristics for Metallic Materials", Acta Materialia, in press (2010)
Insertion Date: 19/02/2010
The Creation of
Terraces on the Surface of Palladium and their Effect on the Proliferation and
Adhesion of Bone Cells
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Professor TW Clyne, Department of Materials
Science and Metallurgy
Project details:
There is a lot of interest in measures designed to improve the proliferation and adhesion of bone cells to the surface of prosthetic implants. There are some indications that certain topographies, such as regular steps or terraces, can enhance cell adhesion. An attractive way to create such surface features is by means of a simple heat treatment under controlled atmosphere, leading to the preferential exposure of low energy crystallographic planes via (surface) diffusion. The main requirement for this to occur is simply that the surface oxide film should be removed. This may be possible for alloys such as stainless steels, although, according to the Ellingham diagram, a very high vacuum is required in order for this to be possible. However, the situation is very different for Palladium, since, at temperatures above about 1000°C, the oxide is thermodynamically unstable even in air. It has already been shown that terraces can be created on Pd in this way, and that a measure of control is possible over their step height and other characteristics. Furthermore, Pd is a biocompatible material. Tests will be carried out concerning the proliferation and adhesion characteristics of human osteoblast cells on these surfaces, with adhesion strength being measured using an accelerated buoyancy test involving a high speed centrifuge.
Insertion Date: 19/02/2010
The channelling and
spreading of granular materials
Contact:Lead Supervisors: Dr. Jim McElwaine and Dr. Nathalie Vriend, Department of Applied
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Project details:
Granular materials are of tremendous importance in industrial processes and natural phenomena. This ten-week project seeks to quantify the channelling and spreading of such materials under the action of gravity.
The UROP-researcher starts with laboratory experiments employing an inclined granular chute to investigate the response of the granular flow to tall obstacles placed within it to restrict motion to a narrow channel. We are particularly interested in the behaviour downstream of this channel where the flow has the potential of spreading freely. This work will make use of a high-speed camera and laser scanner to obtain detailed measurements of the flow velocity and surface height. In the second part of the project the UROP-researcher will focus on the development of a physical and mathematical model to explain the observed flow behaviour.
Experience and/or interest in engineering-related challenges in combination with a talent for physical modelling is highly welcome.
Further information: CLICK HERE
Insertion Date: 22/02/2010
MRI studies of the
flow within growing porous crystalline materials
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. Herbert Huppert, Department of Applied
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Project description:
The growth of materials from multi-component solutions has many industrial and environmental applications. The porous solid that forms is composed of a crystalline matrix bathed in a saturated fluid. Thermal and compositional gradients within the fluid both external and internal to the solidifying material often produce convective motions which can dramatically effect the form of the solid so produced.
This project will explore the evolution of such materials by directly imaging the velocity structure and evolving phase fraction of a salt solution using MRI techniques developed at the MRI Research Centre (MRRC). The student will conduct experiments both at the MRRC and in DAMTP’s GK Batchelor Laboratory, and will assist in developing models to understand these experimental results that will lead to a greater understanding of this key process. Further work will consider implications of such processes for solidification of sea ice, a key component of the Earth’s climatic system.
Further information: CLICK HERE
"This project is available, subject to funding"
Insertion Date: 22/02/2010
“Fluid
dynamics and surface deformation of carbon sequestration”
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. Herbert Huppert, Department of Applied
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Project description:
The current concern about the long-term effect on the Earth’s climate of increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) has prompted efforts to sequester large volumes of this greenhouse gas within porous geological formations. The pressures needed to pump this supercritical gas into subsurface storage reservoirs are substantial, and the added fluid must displace ambient liquid as it propagates throughout the reservoir. These factors contribute to noticeable surface deformations over current CO2 sequestration sites (exemplified by measurements over BP’s In Salah project). Such deformations may lead to fracturing of the bounding cap rock, and release of the CO2 back into the atmosphere. The student undertaking this project will pursue a combined theoretical and experimental study of the behaviour of buoyancy-driven flow in a confined, and flexible, geometry. The models developed from work such as this will help us assess the security of this approach to mitigating the effects rising CO2.
Further information: CLICK HERE
"This project is available, subject to funding"
Insertion Date: 22/02/2010
Convective
dissolution in carbon sequestration
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof. Herbert Huppert, Department of Applied
Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Project description:
The current concern about the long-term effect on the Earth’s climate of increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) has prompted efforts to sequester large volumes of this greenhouse gas within porous geological formations. When injected buoyant CO2 rises and spreads beneath impermeable strata. On longer time scales the dissolution of CO2 into the interstitial brine leads to an increase in the brine density resulting in convection. The convective dissolution of CO2 is therefore important in determining the efficiency with which the CO2 is stored as it provides a mechanism that mitigates leakage through the bounding cap rock. The student undertaking this project will use a novel experimental analogue for this process that allows us to continuously monitor the concentration of convective plumes. The results of these experiments will form the basis for new models that will help us develop strategies for maximising the use of these natural geological reservoirs.
Further information: CLICK HERE
"This project is available, subject to funding"
Insertion Date: 22/02/2010
Tomographic
measurements of internal waves
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr. Stuart Dalziel, Department of
Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics
Project description:
Density variations within a fluid are important in a broad range of scientific and engineering problems, yet there are relatively few techniques able to give accurate, non-intrusive measurements over an extended domain. Tomographic Synthetic Schlieren (TSS) promises to rectify this situation. Developed in DAMTP during 2009 for measuring internal waves within a stratified fluid, TSS is based on a synthesis of pattern matching and tomographic reconstruction. Internal waves play a critical role in energy transfers and mixing in the oceans, but elements of their behaviour remain poorly understood. The student undertaking this project will both perform laboratory experiments to improve our understanding of internal waves reflecting from three-dimensional surfaces, and help in the further development of Tomographic Synthetic Schlieren. This ten-week project is suitable for an undergraduate studying mathematics, physics, engineering or computer science with an interest either in fluid dynamics experiments, or in image processing.
Further information: CLICK HERE
"This project is available, subject to funding"
Insertion Date: 22/02/2010
UV photo-switching
materials: tuning stannate perovskites
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof Simon Redfern, Department of Earth
Sciences
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project description:
This project explores the properties of a new class of photocatalytic materials, and the links between their atomic scale structure and their materials properties, in particular with a view to assessing their potential as UV-sensitive switching devices.
Alkali-stannates are a series of potential multiferroic perovksites. They range in symmetry from cubic to orthorhombic and are ferroic over a range of compositions with observed incipient nanoferroelectricity in SrSnO3 [1] at high temperature, as well as potential photo-induced modifications of their structure (in CaSnO3) at lower temperatures [2]. These phenomena lead to modifications of structure, and for the calcium stannate anomalous behaviour is seen in materials studied in UV illumination compared with results collected without illumination.
Here, the student will investigate a composition-dependent series of stannate perovskites to determine the influence of the composition-dependent electronic bandgap on their structural and ferroic properties. The proposed photo-induced siorder in CaSnO3 [2] occurs above room temperature, but appears also to exist below room temperature in SrSNO3. By tuing the chemical composition we aim to create a material with photo-indiced ferroic properties at room temperature. The role of chemistry in controlling the materials properties will be explored.
The student will be trained in experimental methods of X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy, working within an active and young research group in Earth Sciences. Samples will be prepared as synthetic powders and studies in the presence and absence of UV illumination, with the temperature-dependence of the physical properties also amenable to study using IR, Raman and X-ray methods. The project will identify the optimum chemistry for development of photo-induced phase transitions in these materials, with potential future application in switching devices.
For more information, please contact Prof Simon Redfern.
[1] A L Goodwin, S A T Redfern, M T Dove, D A Keen, M G Tucker (2007) Ferroelectric nanoscale domains and the 905 K phase transition in SrSnO3: A neutron total-scattering study. Physical Review B 76: Art No 174114
[2] C.-J. Chen, J. Kung, C.-M. Lin, M. Zhang, S.A.T.Redfern (2010) Photo-induced high-temperature order-disorder phase transition in CaSnO3 perovskite revealed by Raman spectroscopy. Physical Review B submitted, http://arxiv.org/abs/1001.3973
Insertion Date: 23/02/2010
Development of
models of low-density glasses
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Prof Martin Dove, Department of Earth Sciences
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project description:
Over the past decade there has been a huge amount of interest in a new class of materials in which metal cations are connected via organic molecules to form infinite networks [1]. These materials are known to form glasses, and we have recently obtained the first detailed characterisation of one example [2]. The project is concerned with developing a method from which we can construct defect-free models of these glass phases.
The project will develop a popular approach that is known to give excellent models for normal-density silica glass. The problem with this approach is that whilst it can yield models of different density, it is biased towards creating models that contain rings of five atoms or more, yet the metal-organic frameworks we are concerned with here are likely to contain rings of four atoms. The bias comes from the use of simple interatomic potential energy functions that include bond-angle terms. The aim of the project is to replace the use of the potential energy functions with an approach based on matching histograms of interatomic distances. The resultant method will have a wide-spread generality and will have applications far beyond the specific application that motivates this project.
The project will require computer programming in C.
For more information, please contact Prof Martin Dove.
[1] CNR Rao, AK Cheetham & A Thirumurugan, Hybrid inorganic–organic materials- a new family in condensed matter physics. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 20, 083202, 2008
[2] TD Bennett et al. Structure and properties of an amorphous metal–organic framework. Physical Review Letters, in press, http://arxiv.org/abs/1001.1332
Insertion Date: 23/02/2010
Android for
education in the developing world
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Andrew Rice, Computer Lab
Project details:
There are a large number of services for mobile phone users which rely on simple functionality such as SMS messages. Smartphones have significantly more capability and capacity than traditional handsets and we are interested in how we might exploit this to build a next generation services platform. We are seeking to understand more about what is desirable by implementing some example applications. Last year we produced an language learning application called Learn (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/language). This project will extend this implementation based on suggestions from our colleagues in University of Cape Town, South Africa with the aim of producing an implementation which can be trialled in a classroom environment in the developing world.
Prerequisites: Java programming to a standard of completing Workbook 7 of the Programming in Java course at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/0910/ProgJava/ .
No prior experience with Google Android or mobile phones is required.
Further information on our summer programme is available:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/summer/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Sharing sensor data
anonymously from your Android mobile phone
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Alastair Beresford, Computer Lab
Project details:
Tor is an overlay network for anonymous data transmission and we'd like to enable its use from a mobile phone. One particular application we have in mind is anonymous contribution of sensor data collected by users who wish to preserve their own location privacy. Last year, a summer student ported an existing Java program, Onion Coffee, to connect to the Tor network from an android mobile phone. This was released on the Android marketplace and proved popular; so popular in fact that the Tor Project developers have since worked hard to make the C implementation of Tor work on an Android phone. Whilst the core libraries are taking shape, there is still much work to be done to integrate this into the phone cleanly for the application programmer and write some demo applications.
Prerequisites: Experienced C programming. Java programming to a standard of completing Workbook 7 of the Programming in Java course at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/0910/ProgJava/.
No prior experience with Google Android or mobile phones is required.
Further information on our summer programme is available:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/summer/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Scavenging
real-time transport data using an Android mobile phone
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Alastair Beresford, Computer Lab
Project details:
Most public transport systems operate against timetables, however adverse levels of congestion or bad weather sometimes mean that trains or buses are cancelled, diverted or running late. Other items of interest include the number of free seats, cleanliness, facilities on board etc. This project will explore whether bus or train users can collect and share movement data and other meta data whilst on public transport, and whether this information can be used to provide a real-time estimate of the likely arrival of a bus to other passengers waiting at later stops.
Prerequisites: Java programming to a standard of completing Workbook 7 of the Programming in Java course at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/0910/ProgJava/. No prior experience with Google Android or mobile phones is required.
Further information on our summer programme is available:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/summer/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Building a personal
energy meter on an Android mobile phone
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Andrew Rice, Computer Lab
Project details:
Every day each of us consumes a significant amount of energy either directly through transportation, heating or use of appliances or indirectly from our needs for production of food, manufacture of goods or provision of services. A Personal Energy Meter (PEM) is an (as yet hypothetical) device which can record and apportion an individual's energy usage in order to provide baseline information and incentives for reducing the environmental impact of our lives. This project will explore the construction of a prototype PEM for the web or Android mobile phone.
Prerequisites: Java programming to a standard of completing Workbook 7 of the Programming in Java course at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/0910/ProgJava/ . No prior experience with Google Android or mobile phones is required.
Further information on our summer programme is available: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/summer/
More information on the PEM: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~sjeh3/pem/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
OpenRoomMap on an
Android mobile phone
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Dr Andrew Rice, Computer Lab
Project details:
OpenStreetMap allows individuals to collaboratively build up a free and open map of the outdoors. Recently, researchers at the Computer Laboratory have built OpenRoomMap, a means of mapping indoor environments in a similar way. This project involves building an interface to OpenRoomMap for the Android mobile phone. It should allow users to view, add and edit maps of the indoor environment easily from a phone. A static snapshot of the current map generated with this system is available (http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/openroommap/static/).
Prerequisites: Java programming to a standard of completing Workbook 7 of the Programming in Java course at http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/teaching/0910/ProgJava/ . No prior experience with Google Android or mobile phones is required.
Further information on our summer programme is available:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/dtg/summer/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Loki -
shape-shifting many-core
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Robert Mullins, Computer Lab
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project details:
The EPSRC-funded Loki project at the Computer Laboratory is exploring the design of massively-parallel single-chip processors. These are constructed from thousands of simple processors and memory blocks. In many respects these processing fabrics have more in common with FPGAs than traditional multicore chips. The individual processors are deeply interconnected to their neighbours enabling us to dedicate and specialise areas of the fabric to specific tasks in many interesting ways. Unlike an FPGA, Loki is programmed using a high-level language (Loki-C) and simply runs software.
We are currently developing both a simulator and compiler for our Massively-Parallel Processor Array (MPPA) and would like to explore its characteristics and performance when running real-world applications. The summer project will explore the implementation of applications on this novel platform, areas of interest may include: robotics, aerospace and avionics, driver assistance systems, wireless baseband implementations, etc. The applications will be described in Loki-C, a C-like language with extensions to support parallel programming.
There is also scope for exploring how the activity in the fabric, when running a program, could be visualised. This could both help identify bottlenecks and debug problematic code. A fabric visualiser would read an event trace from the simulator and enable the events to be visualised in a range of different ways.
Project webpage: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rdm34/loki/
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010
Exploring taste
influence on online social networks
Contact:Lead Supervisor: Cecilia Mascolo, Computer Lab
EPSRC criteria apply CLICK
HERE for criteria
Project details:
The people you know and you spend time with are very likely to influence what music you listen to, what books you read, etc and, eventually, what you like and dislike. Social influence is so strong that it largely determines what cultural traits we adopt. Only recently have we gained the capability to gather enough data to fully understand these phenomena thanks to the massive amount of people that share large bits of personal information on online social networking websites.
We plan to launch a large-scale social experiment by developing a Facebook application where people can compete with each other to be influential: by sharing and promoting videos, photos or link, everybody will try to impress their friends to gain points and be at the top of the chart. In the meanwhile, we'll study their behavior, trying to distill the essence of social influence and competition.
This project will involve the design of the social experiment, the design and the development of the Facebook application and the subsequent analysis of the real data extracted from it. Then, the next step would be to derive a mathematical and statistical model of social behavior, to validate over the data.
Insertion Date: 24/02/2010