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Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology For Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules, Githin Alapatt
Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology For Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules, Githin Alapatt
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With a cumulative generation capacity of over 100 GW, Photovoltaics (PV) technology is uniquely poised to become increasingly popular in the coming decades. Although, several breakthroughs have propelled PV technology, it accounts for only less than 1% of the energy produced worldwide. This aspect of the PV technology is primarily due to the somewhat high cost per watt, which is dependent on the efficiency of the PV cells as well as the cost of manufacturing and installing them. Currently, the efficiency of the PV conversion process is limited to about 25% for commercial terrestrial cells; improving this efficiency can increase …
Empowering Citizens In A Global Era: A Grounded Theory Study Of Community Gardens, Anita Tam
Empowering Citizens In A Global Era: A Grounded Theory Study Of Community Gardens, Anita Tam
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In our global era, the modern food system can be viewed as consisting of a dominant macro-level corporate food industry, challenged by broad-based meso-level food justice and democracy movements, which are in turn fueled by micro-level community food initiatives. Research has yet to examine the role of community gardens in the context of this complex, multi-level food system. Grounded theory methodology was thus used to explore the deeper meaning of the community gardening experience to participants, in order to better understand the ways in which community gardens may scale up and contribute to democratizing the food system. Analysis of the …
The Challenges And Opportunities Throughout The Life Cycle Of Landscape-Scale Collaborative Conservation Organizations: Case Studies In The Southern Appalachians And The Northern Rockies Ecosystems, Jennifer Thomsen
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Currently our natural environment is threatened by climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other transboundary issues. To address these problems, it is thought that conservation organizations and land management agencies should attempt to manage at larger geographic scales and across political boundaries. The Crown Managers Partnership (CMP) and the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative (SAMAB) are two such organizations that work at an ecoregional scale to support collaboration among agencies, aboriginal groups, conservationists, scientists, and other stakeholders for the conservation and restoration of the Northern Rocky Mountain and the Southern Appalachian regions in North America. Over the past decades, …
A Comprehensive Assessment Methodology Based On Life Cycle Analysis For On-Board Photovoltaic Solar Modules In Vehicles, Mahmoud Abdelhamid
A Comprehensive Assessment Methodology Based On Life Cycle Analysis For On-Board Photovoltaic Solar Modules In Vehicles, Mahmoud Abdelhamid
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This dissertation presents a novel comprehensive assessment methodology for using on-board photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies in vehicle applications. A well-to-wheels life cycle analysis based on a unique energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and economic perspective is carried out in the context of meeting corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards through 2025 along with providing an alternative energy path for the purpose of sustainable transportation. The study includes 14 different vehicles, 3 different travel patterns, in 12 U.S. states and 16 nations using 19 different cost analysis scenarios for determining the challenges and benefits of using on-board photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies …
Applied Statistics In Environmental Monitoring: Case Studies And Analysis For The Michigan Bald Eagle Biosentinel Program, Katherine Leith
Applied Statistics In Environmental Monitoring: Case Studies And Analysis For The Michigan Bald Eagle Biosentinel Program, Katherine Leith
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The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is an extensively researched tertiary predator. Its life history and the impact of various stressors on its reproductive outcomes have been documented in many studies, and over many years. Furthermore, the bald eagle population recovery in Michigan has been closely monitored since the 1960s, as it has continued to recover from a contaminant-induced bottleneck. Because of its position at the top of the aquatic food web and the large body of ethological knowledge, the bald eagle has become a sentinel species for the Michigan aquatic ecosystem. In April 1999, the Michigan Department of Environmental Qualtity, …
An Experimental Investigation Towards Improvement Of Thermoelectric Properties Of Strontium Titanate Ceramics, Arash Mehdizadeh Dehkordi
An Experimental Investigation Towards Improvement Of Thermoelectric Properties Of Strontium Titanate Ceramics, Arash Mehdizadeh Dehkordi
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The direct energy conversion between heat and electricity based on thermoelectric effects is a topic of long-standing interest in condensed matter materials science. Experimental and theoretical investigations in order to understand the mechanisms involved and to improve the materials properties and conversion efficiency have been ongoing for more than half a century. While significant achievements have been accomplished in improving the properties of conventional heavy element based materials (such as Bi$_2$Te$_3$ and PbTe) as well as the discovery of new materials systems for the close-to-room temperature and intermediate temperatures, high-temperature applications of thermoelectrics is still limited to one materials system, …
South Atlantic Stream Fish Assemblages: Multi-Scale Structuring Factors, Trait Associations And Channelization, And Responses To Dam Removal, Cathy Marion
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South Atlantic coastal plain wadeable streams are unique and understudied freshwater environments that provide crucial habitats for a wide range of aquatic taxa. In Chapter 1, we investigated patterns in fish assemblages across South Carolina's coastal plain, and developed statistical models to identify the dominant multi-scale abiotic environmental factors that influence assemblage structure. Our analyses indicated the presence of four predominant fish assemblages that commonly occur in the coastal plain, which we termed the: 1) fluvial, 2) eastern mudminnow, 3) centrarchid, and 4) non-fluvial assemblages. Natural geographic gradients and instream habitat parameters associated with velocity, channel form, stream size, and …
Investigation Of Concurrent Energy Harvesting From Ambient Vibrations And Wind, Amin Bibo
Investigation Of Concurrent Energy Harvesting From Ambient Vibrations And Wind, Amin Bibo
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In recent years, many new concepts for micro-power generation have been introduced to harness wasted energy from the environment and maintain low-power electronics including wireless sensors, data transmitters, controllers, and medical implants. Generally, such systems aim to provide a cheap and compact alternative energy source for applications where battery charging or replacement is expensive, time consuming, and/or cumbersome. Within the vast field of micro-power generation, utilizing the piezoelectric effect to generate an electric potential in response to mechanical stimuli has recently flourished as a major thrust area. Based on the nature of the ambient excitation, piezoelectric energy harvesters are divided …
Understanding Public Perceptions About Beach Nesting Shorebirds And Habitat Management On Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Marla Hamilton
Understanding Public Perceptions About Beach Nesting Shorebirds And Habitat Management On Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Marla Hamilton
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Coastline habitats along the eastern seaboard of North America serve as prime locations for beachfront development and consumptive and non-consumptive recreational opportunities. Many of these areas are also globally important nesting and wintering areas for threatened and endangered shorebirds (primarily species belonging to the order Charadriiformes). Across the span of their hemispheric ranges, shorebirds face significant threats due to increases habitat loss, human disturbance, and illegal hunting practices. With coastline use increasing human-wildlife interactions, positive public input and interaction is needed to mitigate negative consequences to wildlife. Although many techniques have been employed to discourage beach users from practicing recreational …
Isolated And Ephemeral Wetlands Of Southern Appalachia: Biotic Communities And Environmental Drivers Across Multiple Temporal And Spatial Scales, Joanna Hawley
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Throughout the world, wetlands are known to support a wide variety of taxa as well as high levels of biodiversity and species richness. Although the ecological significance of wetlands is well documented in the scientific literature, efforts to map and assess wetlands on regional or national scales (e.g., National Wetlands Inventory (NWI)) often overlook wetlands which are either very small (< 1 ha) or have ephemeral hydroperiods. While the vast majority of wetland research in the southeastern United States has focused on wetlands distributed across the coastal plain ecoregion, very little information exists on small and/or ephemeral wetlands in areas of southern Appalachia, although there are several notable exceptions. Despite the paucity of small wetland data in this region, the southeastern US is known as a hotspot for both aquatic biodiversity and species endemism. My goal with this project was to examine the biotic communities inhabiting small, ephemeral and geographically-isolated wetlands to identify the major environmental drivers that contribute to observed community patterns and species' distributions. I studied a set of small, mostly-ephemeral, mostly-isolated wetlands (N = 41) in the upper Piedmont and lower Blue Ridge ecoregions of South Carolina from January-June of 2010 and 2011 and focused my efforts on describing the structure, biotic communities and surrounding habitat characteristics of my study wetlands. I observed high levels of species richness and biodiversity in this previously-undocumented wetland system, despite the small size and ephemeral nature of study wetlands. My results indicated that the amphibian and benthic invertebrate communities of small, ephemeral wetlands responded to different environmental drivers (e.g., wetland depth, area, hydroperiod, canopy cover, surrounding land use types) occurring across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Additionally, the amphibian community was significantly influenced by a number of environmental variables occurring at both the within-pond scale and larger spatial scales (250 m, 500 m and 1 km surrounding land cover variables). By contrast, the benthic invertebrate community was significantly influenced primarily by variables occurring at the within-pond scale. This wetland system also served as both breeding and overwintering habitat for a variety of species such as wood frogs (Lithobates sylvatica), spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana), cricket frogs (Acris crepitans). This study highlights the ecological importance of small, ephemeral aquatic habitats in a region where little research exists regarding such systems; these often-unnoticed ecosystems are likely the result of a combination of historical anthropogenic and natural environmental process. These legacy wetlands (i.e., wetlands that are the unintended result of some human-induced environmental change in either the recent or long-term past) are found ubiquitously across the landscape and are often missed by coarse-filter mapping approaches (e.g., National Wetlands Inventory). I observed many study wetlands to be extremely small in size (< 0.05 ha) and that many wetlands were habitats of circumstance and opportunity rather than of permanence and predictability. The ephemerality of the majority of study wetlands demonstrates the biological significance of small, temporary habitats for many species requiring these habitats for breeding activity. Despite the small size and ephemeral nature of my study wetlands, I found that these wetlands represented a large proportion of amphibian biodiversity in the regional species pool and thus, are an important conservation feature at the local, landscape and regional scales. My study demonstrates that small, semi-isolated, mostly-ephemeral wetlands in southern Appalachia support high levels of biodiversity and are an important asset deserving of further study and conservation recognition.