Gemstone Team Research

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/9070

The Gemstone Program at the University of Maryland is a unique multidisciplinary four-year research program for selected undergraduate honors students of all majors. Under guidance of faculty mentors and Gemstone staff, teams of students design, direct and conduct significant research, often but not exclusively exploring the interdependence of science and technology with society. Gemstone students are members of a living-learning community comprised of fellow students, faculty and staff who work together to enrich the undergraduate experience. This community challenges and supports the students in the development of their research, teamwork, communication and leadership skills. In the fourth year, each team of students presents its research in the form of a thesis to experts, and the students complete the program with a citation and a tangible sense of accomplishment.

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Author: search.filters.author.AbouSaleh, Samer

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    Magnetic Field Manipulation as a Means of Stabilization
    (2017) AbouSaleh, Samer; Badami, Nikhil; Foote, James; Hurwitz, Adam; Johnson, Alexander; Kessler, David; Lamas, Jose; Lynch, Jesse; McFaul, Robin; Ogden, Thomas; Rosofsky, Shawn; Wichrowski, Noah; Woo, Chungho; Coale, Frank J.
    Magnetic levitation technology is rapidly evolving, yet its applications to magnetic stabilization, or using magnetic levitation to stabilize a floating object, have not been fully explored. The goal of our research was to modify current magnetic levitation technology and create a proof-of-concept that paves the way for future research that more specifically explores the real-world applications of magnetic stabilization such as wind turbines. As such, our research was primarily focused on developing a system that could stabilize a levitating magnet using inductors. We accomplished this using data we gathered on several permanent magnets to ensure proper inductor calibration. We then developed code for a microcontroller with a real-time operating system to interface with the system's circuit components. We formulated the microcontroller's code by adapting a general control algorithm to make micro-adjustments to the current provided to our inductors. Our code used the real-time data gathered by a PCB Hall-effect sensor array to make the necessary adjustments to achieve stabilization and levitation. Our findings and methods for code development show encouraging results and suggest that further improvements to the design and calibration of our system should be explored in order to refine our proof-of-concept for specific applications.