Much of the previous work in the large data visualization area has solely focused on handling the scale of the data. This task is clearly a great challenge and necessary, but it is not sufficient. Applying standard visualization techniques to large scale data sets often creates complicated pictures where meaningful trends are lost. A second challenge, then, is to also provide algorithms that simplify what an analyst must understand, using either visual or quantitative means. This challenge can be summarized as improving the legibility or reducing the complexity of massive data sets. Fully meeting both of these challenges is the work of many, many PhD dissertations. In this dissertation, we describe some new techniques to address both the scale and legibility challenges, in hope of contributing to the larger solution. In addition to our assumption of simultaneously addressing both scale and legibility, we add an additional requirement that the solutions considered fit well within an interoperable framework for diverse algorithms, because a large suite of algorithms is often necessary to fully understand complex data sets. For scale, we present a general architecture for handling large data, as well as details of a contract-based system for integrating advanced optimizations into a …

YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} (YBCO) coated conductors are promising materials for large-scale superconductivity applications. One version of a YBCO coated conductor is based on ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) of magnesium oxide (MgO) onto polycrystalline metal substrates. SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) is often deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods as a buffer layer between the YBCO and IBAD MgO due to its chemical stability and lattice mismatch of only {approx}1.5% with YBCO. In this work, some aspects of the stability of STO with respect to copper (Cu) and chemical solution deposition of STO on IBAD MgO templates were examined. Solubility limits of Cu in STO were established by processing Cu-doped STO powders by conventional bulk preparation techniques. The maximum solubility of Cu in STO was {approx}1% as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rietveld refinements of x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. XRD analysis, performed in collaboration with NIST, on powder compositions on the STO/SrCuO{sub 2} tie line did not identify any ternary phases. SrCu{sub 0.10}Ti{sub 0.90}O{sub y} buffer layers were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and CSD on IBAD MgO flexible metallic textured tapes. TEM analysis of a {approx}100 nm thick SrCu{sub 0.10}Ti{sub 0.90}O{sub y} buffer layer deposited by …

Experimental studies of the relative atomic mu --meson capture probabilities in the constituents of chemical compounds are described. Fermi and Teller had predicted that the atomic-capture probability is proportional to the nuclear charge of the atomic species weighted by its atomic concentration. This is sometimes referred to as the Fermi-Teller Z law.'' Previous experiments indicated no clear systematics to this capture process, and there are conflicts between the results of several measurements made with the same or similar compounds. In these experiments the capturing atom was identified by detection of either mesic x rays or decay electrons from mu /sup -/ mesons bound in the mesic K shell in the atomic species, In these experiments oxides and sulfides of some medium- and high-Z elements as well as two metallic solutions were used, and a nuclear capture product (neutron) rather than the decay electrons was detected. Results show that among the substances examIned, namely CuO, Sb/sub 2/O/sub 3, PbO, CuS, Sb/sub 2/S/sub 3/, PbS AgLi, and CuAu, the Z law'' behavior is not indicated either in insulators or in metals, although in all cases there is a preference for capturing in the atom of higher Z. If the atomic-capture probability is …

Better devices are needed for the detection of aerosolized biological warfare agents. Advances in the ongoing development of one such device, the BioAerosol Mass Spectrometry (BAMS) system, are described here in detail. The system samples individual, micrometer-sized particles directly from the air and analyzes them in real-time without sample preparation or use of reagents. At the core of the BAMS system is a dual-polarity, single-particle mass spectrometer with a laser based desorption and ionization (DI) system. The mass spectra produced by early proof-of-concept instruments were highly variable and contained limited information to differentiate certain types of similar biological particles. The investigation of this variability and subsequent changes to the DI laser system are described. The modifications have reduced the observed variability and thereby increased the usable information content in the spectra. These improvements would have little value without software to analyze and identify the mass spectra. Important improvements have been made to the algorithms that initially processed and analyzed the data. Single particles can be identified with an impressive level of accuracy, but to obtain significant reductions in the overall false alarm rate of the BAMS instrument, alarm decisions must be made dynamically on the basis of multiple analyzed particles. …

Over the past ten years, methods have been developed to construct discrete nanostructures using nanocrystals and biomolecules. While these frequently consist of gold nanocrystals and DNA, semiconductor nanocrystals as well as antibodies and enzymes have also been used. One example of discrete nanostructures is dimers of gold nanocrystals linked together with complementary DNA. This type of nanostructure is also known as a nanocrystal molecule. Discrete nanostructures of this kind have a number of potential applications, from highly parallel self-assembly of electronics components and rapid read-out of DNA computations to biological imaging and a variety of bioassays. My research focused in three main areas. The first area, the refinement of electrophoresis as a purification and characterization method, included application of agarose gel electrophoresis to the purification of discrete gold nanocrystal/DNA conjugates and nanocrystal molecules, as well as development of a more detailed understanding of the hydrodynamic behavior of these materials in gels. The second area, the development of methods for quantitative analysis of transmission electron microscope data, used computer programs written to find pair correlations as well as higher order correlations. With these programs, it is possible to reliably locate and measure nanocrystal molecules in TEM images. The final area of …

Methods are presented for synthesizing nanocrystal heterostructures comprised of two semiconductor materials epitaxially attached within individual nanostructures. The chemical transformation of cation exchange, where the cations within the lattice of an ionic nanocrystal are replaced with a different metal ion species, is used to alter the chemical composition at specific regions ofa nanocrystal. Partial cation exchange was performed in cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanorods of well-defined size and shape to examine the spatial organization of materials within the resulting nanocrystal heterostructures. The selectivity for cation exchange to take place at different facets of the nanocrystal plays an important role in determining the resulting morphology of the binary heterostructure. The exchange of copper (I) (Cu+) cations in CdS nanorods occurs preferentially at the ends of the nanorods. Theoretical modeling of epitaxial attachments between different facets of CdS and Cu2S indicate that the selectivity for cation exchange at the ends of the nanorods is a result of the low formation energy of the interfaces produced. During silver (I) (Ag+) cation exchange in CdS nanorods, non-selective nucleation of silver sulfide (Ag2S), followed by partial phase segregation leads to significant changes in the spatial arrangement of CdS and Ag2S regions at the exchange reaction proceeds …

Ulrich in the forward to the Zenger and Folkman (2002) book, ''The Extraordinary Leader'', wrote about the importance of character in leadership stating, ''Everything about great leaders radiates from character. Character improves the probability of exhibiting strong interpersonal skill. Some of this perceived character is innate . . . but more is driven by the leader's self-awareness and interactions with others'' (p. ix). The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between leadership effectiveness and character using leader-managers of knowledge workers as the subject sample. Findings indicated that character, particularly those factors associated with honesty, setting the example, and valuing and strengthening others, were what set the most effective leader-managers apart from their peers. Technical competence and self-efficacy were found to be common characteristics of the study sample as was a drive for results. Who a leader-manager is, his/her substance, was found in this study to differentiate the ''best'' leader-managers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By their character, leader-managers establish the environment in which knowledge workers contribute and grow. As found by Pfeiffer (2000), Leaders of companies that experience smaller gaps between what they know and what they do (to turn knowledge into action), understand that their …

Surfactant-coated cobalt nanocrystals can be prepared with areasonable degree of control over particle size and shape using athermolytic route. The small crystallite size, enhanced reactivity andtunable interparticle interactions enable use of this material asstarting material for demonstration of achievement of novel structuresusing extremely simple solution-based approaches. In particular,formation of hollow cobalt sulfide nanocrystals upon chemicalmodification and emergence of long-range orientational order upondrying-mediated assembly of cobalt nanocrystals is reportedhere.Colloidal preparation of Co nanocrystals has been well-studied.Here, we emphasize general principles and crystallographic/morphologicalcharacterization of disk-shaped hcp-Co nanocrystals. Use of surfactantmolecules enables achievement of multiple morphologies in one syntheticsystem.Formation of hollow structures upon in-solution sulfidation of Conanocrystals is presented and discussed. A Kirkendall-type effect,involving dominant outward mass transport during formation of the ionicshell material explains the results naturally. It is expected that thisphenomenon will generalize extensively to formation of hollow structuresof an enormous variety of compositions. Detailed study of particlemorphology as a function of reaction conditions suggest phenomena likelyto be generally relevant to use of this approach. A short report ofcrystallographic co-alignment into vortex-like structures is alsoprovided. Our current best picture of this process involves an interplayof packing and magnetic interactions between facetedparticles.

This document is the third sub-report of the EUV AIM design study being conducted at LLNL on behalf of International Sematech (ISMT). The purpose of this study as identified in section 1.2 of the statement of work is to research the basic user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool, potential design configurations and top-level specifications. The objectives of this design study specifically identified in section 1.3 of the statement of work were to: (1) Determine the user requirements of an actinic defect characterization tool; (2) Determine if an EUV AIM tool is an appropriate platform for actinic defect characterization; (3) Determine possible design configurations and top-level performance specifications; (4) Identify potential technical issues and risks of different technical approaches; (5) Provide estimates of cost relating to different technical approaches; and (6) Provide simulated performance for key subsystems and the entire system. The sub-sections of the study to be addressed were accordingly defined in the statement of work as being: (1) Formulation of top-level specifications; (2) Identification of system configurations suitable for meeting the top-level specifications; (3) Preliminary design of imaging systems; (4) Preliminary design of illumination systems; (5) Prediction and comparison of performance through aerial image calculation; (6) Identification …

Deuteron photodisintegration is a benchmark process for the investigation of the role of quarks and gluons in nuclei. Existing theoretical models of this process describe the available cross sections with the same degree of success. Therefore, spin-dependent observables are crucial for a better understanding of the underlying dynamical mechanisms. However, data on the induced polarization (P{sub y}), along with the polarization transfers (C{sub x'} and C{sub z'} ), have been shown to be insensitive to differences between theoretical models. On the other hand, the beam-spin asymmetry {Sigma} is predicted to have a large sensitivity and is expected to help in identifying the energy at which the transition from the hadronic to the quark-gluon picture of the deuteron takes place. Here, the work done to determine the experimental values of the beam-spin asymmetry in deuteron photodisintegration for photon energies between 1.1 – 2.3 GeV is presented. The data were taken with the CLAS at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility during the g13 experiment. Photons with linear polarization of ~80% were produced using the coherent bremsstrahlung facility in Hall B. The work done by the author to calibrate a specific detector system, select deuteron photodisintegration events, study the degree of photon …

This dissertation presents the research on the development of mesoporous silica based nanotechnology for applications in biofuels and plant science. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been the subject of great interest in the last two decades due to their unique properties of high surface area, tunable pore size and particle morphology. The robust nature of the silica framework is easily functionalized to make the MSNs a promising option for selective separations. Also, the independent channels that form the pores of MSN have been exploited in the use of particles as platforms for molecular delivery. Pore size and organic functionality are varied to identify the ideal adsorbent material for free fatty acids (FFAs). The resulting material is able to sequester FFAs with a high degree of selectivity from a simulated solution and microalgal oil. The recyclability and industrial implications are also explored. A continuation of the previous material, further tuning of MSN pore size was investigated. Particles with a smaller diameter selectively sequester polyunsaturated free fatty acids (PUFAs) over monounsaturated FFAs and saturated FFAs. The experimental results were verified with molecular modeling. Mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials with a pore diameter of 10 nm (MSN-10) were decorated with small gold nanoparticles. The …

In the past decades, there has been increasing interest in pulsed high power RF sources for building high-gradient high-energy particle accelerators. Passive RF pulse compression systems have been used in many applications to match the available RF sources to the loads requiring higher RF power but a shorter pulse. Theoretically, an active RF pulse compression system has the advantage of higher efficiency and compactness over the passive system. However, the key component for such a system an element capable of switching hundreds of megawatts of RF power in a short time compared to the compressed pulse width is still an open problem. In this dissertation, we present a switch module composed of an active window based on the bulk effects in semiconductor, a circular waveguide three-port network and a movable short plane, with the capability to adjust the S-parameters before and after switching. The RF properties of the switch module were analyzed. We give the scaling laws of the multiple-element switch systems, which allow the expansion of the system to a higher power level. We present a novel overmoded design for the circular waveguide three-port network and the associated circular-to-rectangular mode-converter. We also detail the design and synthesis process of …

Guest-host interaction has long been a subject of interest in many disciplines. Emphasis is often on how a small amount of guest substance could significantly affect the properties of a host material. This thesis describe our work in studying a guest-host effect where dye-doping of liquid crystalline materials greatly enhances the optical Kerr nonlinearity of the material. The dye molecules, upon excitation and via intermolecular interaction, provides an extra torque to reorient the host molecules, leading to the enhanced optical Kerr nonlinearity. We carried out a comprehensive study on the dynamics of the photoexcited dye-doped liquid crystalline medium. Using various experimental techniques, we separately characterized the dynamical responses of the relevant molecular species present in the medium following photo-excitation, and thus were able to follow the transient process in which photo-excitation of the dye molecules exert through guest-host interaction a net torque on the host LC material, leading to the observed enhanced molecular reorientation. We also observed for the first time the enhanced reorientation in a pure liquid crystal system, where the guest population is created through photoexcitation of the host molecules themselves. Experimental results agree quantitatively with the time-dependent theory based on a mean-field model of the guest-host interaction.

The morphology of craters resulting from high irradiance laser ablation of silicon was measured using a white light interferometry microscope. The craters show a dramatic increase in their depth and volume at a certain irradiance, indicating a change in the primary mechanism for mass removal. Laser shadowgraph imaging was used to characterize and differentiate the mass ejection processes for laser irradiances above and below the threshold value. Time-resolved images show distinct features of the mass ejected at irradiances above the threshold value including the presence of micron-sized particulates; this begins at approximately 300 {approx} 400 ns after the start of laser heating. The analysis of the phenomena was carried out by using two models: a thermal evaporation model and a phase explosion model. Estimation of the crater depth due to the thermally evaporated mass led to a large underestimation of the crater depth for irradiances above the threshold. Above the threshold irradiance, the possibility of phase explosion was analyzed. Two important results are the thickness of the superheated liquid layer that is close to the critical temperature and the time for vapor bubbles that are generated in the superheated liquid to achieve a critical size. After reaching the critical size, …

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The work described in this dissertation has improved three essential components of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography: exposure tools, photoresist, and metrology. Exposure tools. A field-averaging illumination stage is presented that enables nonuniform, high-coherence sources to be used in applications where highly uniform illumination is required. In an EUV implementation, it is shown that the illuminator achieves a 6.5% peak-to-valley intensity variation across the entire design field of view. In addition, a design for a stand-alone EUV printing tool capable of delivering 15 nm half-pitch sinusoidal fringes with available sources, gratings and nano-positioning stages is presented. It is shown that the proposed design delivers a near zero line-edge-rougness (LER) aerial image, something extremely attractive for the application of resist testing. Photoresist. Two new methods of quantifying the deprotection blur of EUV photoresists are described and experimentally demonstrated. The deprotection blur, LER, and sensitivity parameters of several EUV photoresists are quantified simultaneously as base weight percent, photoacid generator (PAG) weight percent, and post-exposure bake (PEB) temperature are varied. Two surprising results are found: (1) changing base weight percent does not significantly affect the deprotection blur of EUV photoresist, and (2) increasing PAG weight percent can simultaneously reduce LER and E-size in EUV …

We are becoming dependent on energy more today than we were a century ago, and with increasing world population and booming economies, sooner or later our energy sources will be exhausted. Moreover, our economy and welfare strongly depends on foreign oil and in the shadow of political uncertainties, there is an urgent need for a reliable, safe, and cheap energy source. Thermonuclear fusion, if achieved, is that source of energy which not only will satisfy our demand for today but also for centuries to come. Today, there are two major approaches to achieve fusion: magnetic confinement fusion (MFE) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). This dissertation explores the inertial confinement fusion using the fast ignition concept. Unlike the conventional approach where the same laser is used for compression and ignition, in fast ignition separate laser beams are used. This dissertation addresses three very important topics to fast ignition inertial confinement fusion. These are laser-to-electron coupling efficiency, laser-generated electron beam transport, and the associated isochoric heating. First, an integrated fast ignition experiment is carried out with 0.9 kJ of energy in the compression beam and 70 J in the ignition beam. Measurements of absolute K{sub {alpha}} yield from the imploded core revealed …

Modern calculations are becoming an essential, complementary tool to inelastic x-ray scattering studies, where x-rays are scattered inelastically to resolve meV phonons. Calculations of the inelastic structure factor for any value of Q assist in both planning the experiment and analyzing the results. Moreover, differences between the measured data and theoretical calculations help identify important new physics driving the properties of novel correlated systems. We have used such calculations to better and more e#14;ciently measure the phonon dispersion and elastic constants of several iron pnictide superconductors. This dissertation describes calculations and measurements at room temperature in the tetragonal phase of CaFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} and LaFeAsO. In both cases, spin-polarized calculations imposing the antiferromagnetic order present in the low-temperature orthorhombic phase dramatically improves the agreement between theory and experiment. This is discussed in terms of the strong antiferromagnetic correlations that are known to persist in the tetragonal phase. In addition, we discuss a relatively new approach called self-consistent ab initio lattice dynamics (SCAILD), which goes beyond the harmonic approximation to include phonon-phonon interactions and produce a temperature-dependent phonon dispersion. We used this technique to study the HCP to BCC transition in beryllium.

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The castor bean plant (Ricinus communis) is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. In spite of its common name, the castor plant is not a true bean (i.e., leguminous plants belonging to the family, Fabaceae). Ricinus communis is native to tropical Africa, but because the plant was recognized for its production of oil with many desirable properties, it has been introduced and cultivated in warm temperate regions throughout the world (Armstrong 1999 and Brown 2005). Castor bean plants have also been valued by gardeners as an ornamental plant and, historically, as a natural rodenticide. Today, escaped plants grow like weeds throughout much of the southwestern United States, and castor seeds are even widely available to the public for order through the Internet. In this study, multiple loci of chloroplast noncoding sequence data and a few nuclear noncoding regions were examined to identify DNA polymorphisms present among representatives from a geographically diverse panel of Ricinus communis cultivated varieties. The primary objectives for this research were (1) to successfully cultivate castor plants and extract sufficient yields of high quality DNA from an assortment of castor cultivated varieties, (2) to use PCR and sequencing to screen available universal oligos against a small panel …

Graphene, a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb structure allotrope of carbon atoms, has a long history since the invention of the pencil [Petroski (1989)] and the linear dispersion band structure proposed by Wallace [Wal]; however, only after Novoselov et al. successively isolated graphene from graphite [Novoselov et al. (2004)], it has been studied intensively during the recent years. It draws so much attentions not only because of its potential application in future electronic devices but also because of its fundamental properties: its quasiparticles are governed by the two-dimensional Dirac equation, and exhibit a variety of phenomena such as the anomalous integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE) [Novoselov et al. (2005)] measured experimentally, a minimal conductivity at vanishing carrier concentration [Neto et al. (2009)], Kondo effect with magnetic element doping [Hentschel and Guinea (2007)], Klein tunneling in p-n junctions [Cheianov and Fal’ko (2006), Beenakker (2008)], Zitterbewegung [Katsnelson (2006)], and Schwinger pair production [Schwinger (1951); Dora and Moessner (2010)]. Although both electron-phonon coupling and photoconductivity in graphene also draws great attention [Yan et al. (2007); Satou et al. (2008); Hwang and Sarma (2008); Vasko and Ryzhii (2008); Mishchenko (2009)], the nonequilibrium behavior based on the combination of electronphonon coupling and Schwinger pair production is an …

Undergraduate thesis exploring modern American racism as the result of the nation's legacy of theological white supremacy and its deep-rooted racial issues that remain unresolved because of the theo-mythologies embedded at the core of the nation's foundational fabric that have been and continue to be largely unaccounted for in corrective racial discourse through a case study of Denton, Texas. By employing localized interdisciplinary methodological approaches aimed at unveiling the theo-myth which underscores the modern American racial ontology, this study examines how theological white supremacy was homogenized into popular culture in Denton County Texas following the Civil War via neo-Confederate Ku Klux Klan movement, which the author calls Ku Klux Konfederatism, that continues its influence today through localized theo-political institutions, sociocultural systems and cultural 'norms.'

Knowledge discovery from large and complex collections of today's scientific datasets is a challenging task. With the ability to measure and simulate more processes at increasingly finer spatial and temporal scales, the increasing number of data dimensions and data objects is presenting tremendous challenges for data analysis and effective data exploration methods and tools. Researchers are overwhelmed with data and standard tools are often insufficient to enable effective data analysis and knowledge discovery. The main objective of this thesis is to provide important new capabilities to accelerate scientific knowledge discovery form large, complex, and multivariate scientific data. The research covered in this thesis addresses these scientific challenges using a combination of scientific visualization, information visualization, automated data analysis, and other enabling technologies, such as efficient data management. The effectiveness of the proposed analysis methods is demonstrated via applications in two distinct scientific research fields, namely developmental biology and high-energy physics.Advances in microscopy, image analysis, and embryo registration enable for the first time measurement of gene expression at cellular resolution for entire organisms. Analysis of high-dimensional spatial gene expression datasets is a challenging task. By integrating data clustering and visualization, analysis of complex, time-varying, spatial gene expression patterns and their formation …

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