In this thesis investigations of short pulse XeCl, KrF and ArF excimer lasers and HF laser transmission in fused silica and fluoride glass fibres respectively are reported, together with studies of polymer and soft tissue ablation in air and saline. Etch rate and photoacoustic m…
Two dimensional (2D) materials have become a very popular topic in the last 15 years since the original isolation of graphene, which kickstarted a new class of ultra-thin materials with unique properties. Since then, many other layered materials were reduced to monolayer or few-…
High-temperature composite materials have broad applications in the energy and transportation sectors because of their unique capabilities to sustain strength at elevated temperatures, inert interaction with some coolants, and their high strength-to-weight ratio. These encompass…
The importance of renewable energy technologies is more critical than ever now in 2020. Among the different types of renewable energy sources, solar energy is especially promising because of its abundance. This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on harnessing solar energy on two differe…
Purpose: Studies exploring the use of non-coplanar radiotherapy involving unconventional combinations of treatment couch and gantry orientations have demonstrated significant dosimetric benefits. However, clinical implementation of optimum non-coplanar radiotherapy has not becom…
Detection, characterization and separation of chiral structures as one of the fundamental constituents of biomolecules are crucial in chemical and biological applications. Conventionally, chiroptical techniques such as circular dichroism (CD) are exploited to identify the materi…
Experiments with nanoscale structures, designed to measure some of their thermal and optical properties, are the subjects of this dissertation. We studied the transport of thermal energy in systems of nanoparticles, and used the method of transient thermoreflectance to monitor t…
In recent years, interest in wide bandgap materials such as diamond, SiC and GaN has grown due to their ability to withstand operation in high temperature and high-power environments as well as their ability to absorb light in the ultraviolet spectrum while not showing a signifi…
The accuracy of proton dose computation in the treatment planning system relies on the conversion from the Hounsfield units (HU) of each voxel in the patient CT scan to the proton stopping power ratio (SPR). The aim of this study is to investigate the potential improvement in de…
According to the data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Salmonella (S. typhimurium), a common food borne pathogen, is responsible for more than one million illnesses each year in the United States alone. It is one of the top most pathogens contributing to domestic…
Trivalent lantanit iyonlarının fotolüminesans özellikleri, tıbbi teşhis, hücre görüntüleme, güneş panelleri ve fonksiyonel nanomalzemeler gibi geniş uygulanabilirlikleri nedeniyle uzun yıllardır muazzam bir ilgi uyandırmaktadır. 3.8 eV geniş bir bant aralıklı olması sebebiyle La…
The present work is concerned with methods of finding the energy eigenvalues of the one-particle Schrödinger equation for various model potentials in one, two, three and N-dimensional space. One major theme of this thesis is the study of diverent Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbatio…
This thesis reports on the integration of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and gamma ray detectors to improve the non-intrusive localisation of radioactive wastes buried in porous materials such as soil and concrete. The research was undertaken in two phases. In the first phase, a…
This dissertation consists of three chapters demonstrating novel applications of social choice and game theory concepts to Formula 1 racing. Chapter 1 explores the history of the sport, focusing on early connections to national politics in Europe, strategic manipulation of rules…
Additive manufacturing (AM) offers exciting advantages for the fabrication of metallic parts compared to traditional techniques, such as the ability to create complex geometries with less material waste. This is done by building arbitrary geometries in a layer-by-layer fashion, …
Using nanomechanical resonators, it is now viable to estimate the mass deposited on the surface of the device with high accuracy and sensitivity. We present a theoretical framework applied to the specific example of a vibrating nanostring by which we infer the history of mass de…
Mechanical fatigue has been a research topic since quite a long time. It is a complex phenomenon at molecular level. The fact that fatigue failure occurs much below material’s yield point, made it much interesting area for research. So, to understand the physics behind fatigue f…
Cold storage can be challenging and expensive for the transportation and storage of biologics. We are developing a new processing technique, light-assisted drying (LAD), to prepare biologics for anhydrous storage in a trehalose amorphous solid matrix. Nucleic acid nanoparticles …
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, referred to as the Delta, is of great significance to California in numerous aspects. As one of the largest estuaries in the western United States, the Delta is vital to California’s water supply system. Essential lifelines such as the tra…