1. In 1965 Mark discovered a paradox in the Princiiple of Equivalence in General Relativity. Consider a charged particle in the "Einstein Elevator" which is either in a static gravitational field or in uniform acceleration in free space. The question is whether or not measurements in the elevator could distinguish these two cases . The paradox I raised at that time was that an accelerated charge radiates but if there were no acceleration it would not radiate. Thus, it appears possible to distinguish between the two cases.  I raised this question to Dr. B.K. Harrison from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. in Pasadena, California. He supported me for two years as a graduate student at Brigham Young University to address this paradox but we were not successful.  Since then others have addressed this paradox with different answers. The theory of relativity is based on two principles; the principle of covariance and the principle of equivalence. This paradox questions the validity of the second principle. I do not plan to study this topic further as a Research Professor but it continues to interest me. . 

  2. Mark was a Research Scientist at IRECO Chemicals from 1968 to 1976 where he developed the first permissible slury explosives that were used in underground mining as a safer replacement for dynamite. He also made the first underwater measurements of the shock energy of slurry explosives which used the pre-trigger function to avoid sacrificing a second sensor closer to the detonation as was done at that time at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center at White Oak, MD.. He also developed a system for accurate measurements of the energy in a detonation or seismic disturbances by integrating the square of the particle velocity output from a seismometer. I do not plan to address this work as a Research Professor. 

   3. In graduate studies from 1976 to 1981 for his doctorate at the University of Utah Mark worked with Professor Om Ghandi to develop thefirst computer program to determine the distribution of electrical current in the human body exposed to electromagnetic radiation.  This software was used in establishing guidelines to mitigate the hazards caused by the exposure of humans to electromagnetic fieds. Subseequently, as a Research Scientist at the NIH he used this software to model cancer therapy by electromagnetically-inducd hyperthermia. I do not plan to address this work as a Research Professor.  

  4. In 1992 he made the first flexible non-invasive flexible current probe to measure current induced in humans exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. These probes were used by NIOSH and OSHA and further developed with funding from NASA and the DoD. They are similar to "Rogowski coils" but self-contained hand-held instruments were made and used in several applications. Further development of these probes would be an interesting topic for a Master's thesis.

  5. Others have reported current densities as high as 10¹² A/m² in field emission using extremely short electrical pulses, but mark made an analysis based on descriptions of their equipment which suggest that this was only displacement current in the capacitance between the cathode and the anode. This effect would cause errors in circuit applications of electron field emission. Mark already published his calculations and conclusions but this could be extended as a topic for a Master's thesis.. 

6. Mark pioneered in modeling multibody and multiphoton effects in quantum mechanics, and was the first to combine density functional theory with Floquet methods in the Fokker-Planck equation to include the effects of scattering in photon-assisted quantum tunneling. This topic would be interesting to pursue as a Doctoral dissertation to better understanding of these processes. 

7. Mark is presently working on the analysis, measurement, and applications of laser-assisted quantum tunneling to generate harmonics of the pulse repetion rate for a mode-locked laser. Simulations suggest that these harmonics extend to 45 THz and most of the energy is generated at terahertz frequencies.  He has published on this topic, receiving SBIR and STTR funding and collaboration with the CINT program at Los Alamos National Laboratory prior to  becoming a Research Professor at the U. I look forward to obtaining funding and working with faculty and students on this topic.  

8. Mark led a SEMI sub-committee to establish industry standards for using Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) in the semiconductor industry. At present SSRM and SCM (Scanning Capacitance Microscopy) are used to measure carrier density in quality control, and it is my opinion that neither can provide a resultion finer than 10 nm.  Thus, they are inadequate for supporting production of the devices which are presently used in cell phones and other applications. Mark has done published and funded research on the new method of Scanning Frequency Comb Microscopy (SFCM) in which the feedback control of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is accomplished using the harmonics generated by a mode-locked laser focused on the tunneling junction.  Simulations suggest that this method may provide adequate resolution for carrier profiling in the semiconductor industry and I look forward to obtaining funding and working on this topic with faculty and students.