The Xilinx Partial Reconfiguration tool kits have been instrumental for performing a wide variety of research on Xilinx FPGAs. These tool kits provide a methodology for creating rectangular partial reconfiguration modules that can be swapped in and out of a static baseline design with one or more PR slots. This thesis presents a new PR toolkit called OpenPR that, for starters, provides similar functionality to the Xilinx PR tool kits. The distinguishing feature of this toolkit is that it is being released as open source, and is intended to be customizable to the needs of researchers. OpenPR has been designed to be easy to use, extensible, portable, and compatible with a wide range of Xilinx software and devices.Aside from supporting the slot-based PR paradigm, OpenPR also provides a solid base for further research into partial reconfiguration and FPGA productivity oriented design tools.

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The development of a noninvasive, self-contained optical pH sensor probe intended as a direct replacement for a pH electrode is presented. It uses a fluorescent excitation-ratiometric pH sensing dye in a patch. The patch is excited by light emitting diodes of differing wavelengths which are controlled by a microcontroller (MCU). The emission levels are measured by analog circuitry and their ratio is converted by the MCU into a linear output which mirrors that of a conventional pH electrode. The optical sensor readings were consistent with readings from a glass pH electrode with average difference .061 pH. This sensor allows noninvasive, low-cost optical pH sensing with the ability to interface with existing pH monitoring equipment.Index Terms-Biomedical and bioprocess monitoring, chemical transducers fluorescence spectroscopy, optical chemical sensors.

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