New Jersey Institute of Technology
Purushothaman Srinivasan - First Place - Graduate Catagory
Low-frequency 1/f noise performance in MOSFET devices

Low-frequency noise (1/f) in MOSFETs  This talk introduces the 
low-frequency (1/f) noise for analog applications in 
semiconductor devices. Also called as flicker noise, this is 
one of the reliability factors that needs to be 
considered when Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect-Transistors
are to be considered for analog and mixed applications. This is 
also used as a reliability and diagnostic tool and performance of
various MOSFET devices will be discussed in detail during the 
presentation. The impact of gate stack technological and processing 
parameters in high-k based gate stacks on 1/f noise will also be 
outlined.
 
  
Stevens Institute of Technology
Justin Rodriguez, Timothy Garner - First Place - Undergraduate Catagory
Applications of Swarm Intelligence in Robotics

Swarm intelligence has been an area of much research in recent years 
due to its promise and widespread implications in the area of robotics.
Swarm intelligence can allow multiple inexpensive robots to perform a
task more efficiently than a single expensive robot, while also 
allowing for a more versatile range of functions. It can also allow 
multiple robots to cooperate in a synchronous manner to perform 
certain tasks. 	The foundation of swarm intelligence is the ability 
of each individual robot in a group to communicate with other robots 
and assign tasks to maximize the efficiency of the group. Each robot 
is designated as a single memory cell contributing to the whole. With
this collective intelligence, the swarm is able to maximize 
efficiency by having each robot decide on a task by utilizing the 
information provided. This is possible even if some robots are
disabled. 


Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fatima Masheeb - Second Place - Undergraduate Catagory
Display Technologies for Automobiles

In this paper, I will evaluate the status of automotive devices and 
introduce prospective developments in display technologies for use 
in automobiles.  The center of attention will be the excess of 
instrumentation used to display information to the driver.   I 
will show that conventional display technologies can be proficiently 
used to replace an abundance of secondary instruments and a number of
primary functions that will greatly decrease the present clutter on 
car dashboards. We will show that by replacing existing display 
technologies, we can shorten the drivers eye movement time and
therefore 
make the driving experience both safer for the driver and also for 
other drivers and pedestrians.  There are a variety of choices in 
display technologies that could be implemented, including active 
matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs), electrically controlled 
birefringent color LCDs, vacuum florescent displays (VFD), LED, 
LCD light valves and head-up displays (HUDs); I will focus mostly 
on Head Up Displays (HUD), which have the potential to introduce 
instrumentation which follows driver eye movement. Finally, we 
address issues relating to the manufacture and integration of 
displays for automotive instrumentation to include cost, reliability, 
weight, and footprint by adopting advanced packaging technologies. 



Fairleigh Dickinson University
Sowrabh Sharma - Third Place - Undergraduate Catagory
Wireless Speedometer using an Optocoupler

There are many situations where signals and data need to be 
transferred from one subsystem to another, within a circuit, or from
one piece of equipment to another, without making a direct ohmic 
connection. Often this is because the source and destination are 
(or at times may be) at very different voltage levels. The coupling 
of one circuit with respect to another, with no galvanic or ohmic 
connections between them, can be achieved by using light as the 
mode of communication.  This process is called optocoupling, and 
the device used to achieve the process is called an optocoupler. 
For example a microprocessor which is operating from 5V DC but being
used to control a triac which is switching 240V AC needs to be coupled 
with an optocoupler. To better understand the working of optocouplers 
and their implementation, I designed a speedometer that uses an 
optocoupler as its central design feature. This unit can be used to 
monitor speed of F-1 cars where high precision is a priority. This 
optocoupler is connected to a wireless transmitter receiver circuit 
so that the race team can monitor the statistics of the car from a 
remote location.