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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

A New Open Source Platform For Lowering The Barrier For Environmental Web App Development, Nathan R. Swain, Scott D. Christensen, Alan D. Snow, Herman Dolder, Gonzola Espinoza-Dávalos, Erfan Goharian, Norman L. Jones, E. James Nelson, Daniel P. Ames, Steven J. Burian Aug 2016

A New Open Source Platform For Lowering The Barrier For Environmental Web App Development, Nathan R. Swain, Scott D. Christensen, Alan D. Snow, Herman Dolder, Gonzola Espinoza-Dávalos, Erfan Goharian, Norman L. Jones, E. James Nelson, Daniel P. Ames, Steven J. Burian

Faculty Publications

The interactive nature of web applications or “web apps” makes them a well-suited medium for conveying complex scientific concepts to lay audiences and creating decision support tools that harness cutting edge modeling techniques and promote the work of environmental scientists and engineers. Despite this potential, the technical expertise required to develop web apps represents a formidable barrier—even for scientists and engineers who are skilled programmers. This paper describes four hurdles that contribute to this barrier and introduces an approach to overcoming these hurdles. We present an open source implementation of this approach, a development and hosting environment for environmental web …


An Investigation Of The Impact A Rov Competition Curriculum Has On Student Interest In Stem, Specifically Technology And Engineering, Daniel Gordon Bates Jun 2016

An Investigation Of The Impact A Rov Competition Curriculum Has On Student Interest In Stem, Specifically Technology And Engineering, Daniel Gordon Bates

Student Works

This research investigates the impact a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) program has on student interest in, and perception of, technology and engineering (sTEm). ROV programs embed areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) into their curriculum; however, emphasis for this study is placed on interest and perception of the "T" and "E" of STEM. Although there are many articles detailing the benefits of ROV programs, there is little empirical data documenting the impact on student interest and perception of sTEm. This study outlines the background of a few major ROV programs in the U.S.; specifically Utah Underwater Robotics (UUR), …


An Overview Of Current Applications, Challenges, And Future Trends In Distributed Process-Based Models In Hydrology, Simone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L. Ogden, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Benjamin Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W. Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H. Davidson, Brian Ebel, Norm Jones, Jongho Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David Tarboton Mar 2016

An Overview Of Current Applications, Challenges, And Future Trends In Distributed Process-Based Models In Hydrology, Simone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L. Ogden, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Benjamin Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W. Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H. Davidson, Brian Ebel, Norm Jones, Jongho Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David Tarboton

Faculty Publications

Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow paths or distributed state variables and/or preservation of physical constraints is important. Examples of this include: spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture, groundwater flow and runoff generation, sediment and contaminant transport, or when feedbacks among various Earth’s system …


Laboratory Exercise- Mapping The Risk Of Structural Failure In Schools Due To An Earthquake, Joel Barker, Kimberly Sowards, Casey Webb Jan 2016

Laboratory Exercise- Mapping The Risk Of Structural Failure In Schools Due To An Earthquake, Joel Barker, Kimberly Sowards, Casey Webb

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Utah’s present geology has been greatly dictated by tectonic stresses that have occurred over the last 0.7 Ga. A determining factor in much of this Geology is the Hingeline that runs through Salt Lake County. Throughout the history of the western North America, this has been an important weak zone. It is no surprise that this same zone is now home to the Wasatch Fault System, which accommodates some of the extension of Western North America. The steep mountains facing west toward Salt Lake City were formed from the tectonic processes of the Fault. The Wasatch Fault is a normal …


Laboratory Exercise X – Most Dangerous Places To Live In The United States Based On Natural Disasters, Joshua Alpers, Luke Kevan, Santiago Tovar Jan 2016

Laboratory Exercise X – Most Dangerous Places To Live In The United States Based On Natural Disasters, Joshua Alpers, Luke Kevan, Santiago Tovar

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

This laboratory assignment simulates the most dangerous places to live in the United States based on natural disasters. The natural disasters that will be used in this assignment include wild fires, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding. These inputs will be required in creating a heat map of the United States showing what locations are most likely to have a high probability of natural disasters.


Final Laboratory Project - Finding The Ideal Camping Location In The Uintas, Jeffrey Baker, Josh Curtis, Ryan Egbert Jan 2016

Final Laboratory Project - Finding The Ideal Camping Location In The Uintas, Jeffrey Baker, Josh Curtis, Ryan Egbert

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used extensively by the United States Forest Service in mapping and research. Many resources are available online including raster data and shapefiles. The use of GIS tools allows for analyzing entire forests and finding specific points within large areas that meet certain criteria. The Ashley National Forest, High Uinta Mountains Wilderness, in northeastern Utah contains many shapefiles including roads, forest, highway, points of interest, lakes, streams, etc. The purpose of this lab is to use these available datasets to identify ideal locations to set up camp in the Uinta Mountains.


Laboratory Exercise – Ideal Locations For A Family, Benjamin Barrett, Colin Esplin, Chris Garcia Jan 2016

Laboratory Exercise – Ideal Locations For A Family, Benjamin Barrett, Colin Esplin, Chris Garcia

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Upon the successful completion of a college degree, many students (and their families) are offered job positions in various locations throughout the Unites States. As a result, these young families are tasked with the challenge of finding a suitable place to live in an area they are completely unfamiliar with. By using a model in ArcMap this task can be made much easier. In this lab a model will be created in ArcGIS Model Builder along with a corresponding map showing suitable locations.


Final Laboratory Project – Emergency Landing Site Map, John Chadwick, Daniel Pope, Todd Weichers Jan 2016

Final Laboratory Project – Emergency Landing Site Map, John Chadwick, Daniel Pope, Todd Weichers

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Utah County is constantly developing and expanding. New developments require new roads, new power lines, and changes to existing topography. GIS data is maintained and made available for the state of Utah by Utah AGRC (Automated Geographic Reference Center). GIS can be used to make an easy to update map that will display the current situation of roads, power lines, population density, and terrain. In this exercise a model will be created that will execute to create a map that will display safe emergency landing sites for recreational aircraft in Utah County.


Laboratory Exercise – Determining Evacuation Route For Deer Creek Dam Failure, Eleise Hinton, Matt Randall, Brian Packer Jan 2016

Laboratory Exercise – Determining Evacuation Route For Deer Creek Dam Failure, Eleise Hinton, Matt Randall, Brian Packer

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Deer Creek Reservoir holds a volume of approximately 153,000 acre-ft of water. All of this water is held back by Deer Creek dam. Below the dam, the Provo River flows through Provo Canyon and down into Provo before terminating at Utah Lake. While the chance of a dam break is considered unlikely, an extreme event such as a major earthquake could trigger a break. In the case of a dam break, residents of Provo who live in the flood path will need to know where to evacuate. This exercise will create a model to show the nearest evacuation sites for …


Child Safety Near Pot Shops In Denver, Jacob Flansberg, Elise Jackson, Amelia Theobald Jan 2016

Child Safety Near Pot Shops In Denver, Jacob Flansberg, Elise Jackson, Amelia Theobald

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Some major factors in deciding where one’s family should live include relative safety of the neighborhood, available green space such as parks and schools, grocery stores, and other commercial retail in the area. With the legalization of marijuana in states such as Colorado, proximity of these marijuana dispensaries has become another factor. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can be used as a measure of vegetation, and to determine areas with high levels of irrigated vegetation. Using ArcGIS Modelbuilder, the data from an NDVI analysis can be used to determine the proximity of marijuana shops to these types of greenspaces …


Laboratory Exercise — Safety On Roads, Elise Estep, Kyungmin Kim, Danielle Nixon Jan 2016

Laboratory Exercise — Safety On Roads, Elise Estep, Kyungmin Kim, Danielle Nixon

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

In transportation study area, safety is a great issue. GIS is appropriate to perform spatial analysis the accident history in define area. Specifically, GIS allow researchers to find an area or road segment that have high probability of any type of car accident such as Vehicle to Vehicle, Vehicle to Pedestrian, and Vehicle to Bicycle.