Engineering Commons^™

Enabling An Equitable Energy Transition Through Inclusive Research, Michael Ash, Erin Baker, Mark Tuominen, Dhandapani Venkataraman, Matthew Burke, S. Castellanos, M. Cha, Gabe Chan, D. Djokic, J.C. Ford, Anna P. Goldstein, David Hsu, Matt Lacker, C. Miller, D. Nock, A.P. Ravikumar, Allison Bates, Anna Stefanopoulou, E Grubert, D.M Kammen, M. Pastor, S.Z, Attari, S. Carley, D.L Clark, D. Dean-Ryan, U. Kosar, Kerry Bowie, Tina Johnson

ETI Publications

Comprehensive and meaningful inclusion of marginalized communities within the research enterprise will be critical to ensuring an equitable, technology-informed, clean energy transition. We provide five key action items for government agencies and philanthropic institutions to operationalize the commitment to an equitable energy transition.

Raising Dielectric Permittivity Mitigates Dopant-Induced Disorder In Conjugated Polymers, Meenakshi Upadhyaya, Michael Lu-Díaz, Subhayan Samanta, Muhammad Abdullah, Keith Dusoe, Kevin R. Kittilstved, Dhandapani Venkataraman, Zlatan Akšamija

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publication Series

Conjugated polymers need to be doped to increase charge carrier density and reach the electrical conductivity necessary for electronic and energy applications. While doping increases carrier density, Coulomb interactions between the dopant molecules and the localized carriers are poorly screened, causing broadening and a heavy tail in the electronic density-of-states (DOS). The authors examine the effects of dopant-induced disorder on two complimentary charge transport properties of semiconducting polymers, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, and demonstrate a way to mitigate them. Their simulations, based on a modified Gaussian disorder model with Miller-Abrahams hopping rates, show that dopant-induced broadening of the …

A Synergistic Anti-Diabetic Effect By Ginsenosides Rb1 And Rg3 Through Adipogenic And Insulin Signaling Pathways In 3t3-L1 Cells, Hee-Do Hong, Sun-Il Choi, Ok-Hwan Lee, Young-Cheul Kim

Nutrition Department Faculty Publication Series

Although ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 have been identified as the significant ginsenosides found in red ginseng that confer anti-diabetic actions, it is unclear whether insulin-sensitizing effects are mediated by the individual compounds or by their combination. To determine the effect of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 on adipocyte differentiation, 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were induced to differentiate the standard hormonal inducers in the absence or presence of ginsenosides Rb1 or Rg3. Additionally, we determined the effects of Rb1, Rg3, or their combination on the expression of genes related to adipocyte differentiation, adipogenic transcription factors, and the insulin signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 cells using …

Where To Buy Materials For The Activities, Morton Sternheim

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

Sources for some of the less common materials used in the activities.

Nanotechnology Overview Powerpoint, Mark Tuominen

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. This PowerPoint gives an overview of the field and introduces the teacher summer institute.

Seeing At The Nanoscale: New Microscopies For The Life Sciences, Jennifer Ross

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

Visualizing single modules with fluorescence microscopy

Ozone, Uv, And Nanoparticles, Morton Sternheim, Jennifer Welborn

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

•Ultraviolet light causes skin damage and cancer •Ozone in the stratosphere blocks UV •Sunscreen blocks UV, partly •Nanoparticles in sunscreen improve blocking Sunscreen PowerPoint and activities based on NanoSense web site:

http://nanosense.sri.com/activities/clearsunscreen/index.html

Self Assembly, Mark Tuominem, Jennifer Welborn, Rob Snyder

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

No abstract provided.

Nanomedicine, Mark Tuominen

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

An overview of nanomedicine. The end goal of nanomedicine is improved diagnostics, treatment and prevention of disease. Nanotechnology holds key to a number of recent and future breakthroughs in medicine.

Evaluation Report, Alan Peterfreund

STEM Digital

This evaluation report synthesizes the results of evaluation activities conducted by SageFox Consulting Group of the STEM DIGITAL project led by the UMass STEM Ed Institute for its no-cost extension year, covering the period September 2013 to August 2014. The goals of the program are to facilitate the participants’ abilities to stimulate student interest in STEM careers while engaging them in ways to think critically about their environment. Participating teachers incorporated digital cameras and Analyzing Digital Images (ADI) software into lab activities focusing on environmental science. STEM DIGITAL materials focused on three strands related to (1) ozone and air quality, …

Making Solar Cells, D. Venkataraman

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

Overview of solar energy and photovoltaic cells. Making a cuprous oxide cell activity.

Institute Overview, Morton Sternheim

STEM Digital

Digital cameras and computers are widely available for students and teachers. However, they are mainly used for documentation: creating PPT presentations, handouts, posters, etc. STEM DIGITAL shows how digital image analysis can be applied to environmental (and other) research in STEM courses. Application to studies of air quality, water quality, arsenic contamination, climate change, diffusion, etc.

Digital Camera Basics, Stephen Schneider

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.

Measuring Lengths And Areas With Adi. Student Guide, Morton Sternheim

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.

Measuring G With Movie Tracker, Stephen Schneider

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.

Detecting And Mixing Colors, Rob Snyder

STEM Digital

How can Analyzing Digital Images software reveal the differences between primary colors of light and primary colors of paints or pigments?

Measuring The Acceleration Of Falling Objects, John Pickle

STEM Digital

Earth's gravity pulls all objects toward its center, and near the Earth's surface. Objects in free fall accelerate at 9.8 m/s² vertically downward, provided air resistance is negligible. This value of acceleration is often referred to as "g". There are many ways to measure this rate of acceleration, and most require a timing device. Typically, stopwatches are the least expensive technology, so these are commonly available in high school science classrooms. With the recent addition of movie cameras on cell phones and digital cameras, another timing tool is available at moderate cost (free if the school policy …

Leaf Leaching Experiment, David Reckhow

STEM Digital

Water treatment engineers and public health officials need to pay careful attention to the presence of dissolved organic matter in water supplies selected for human consumption (i.e., raw drinking waters).

Measuring Albedo With Adi - An Intensity Application, Morton Sternheim

STEM Digital

Why are Polar Regions more affected by global warming than other parts of the globe? One reason (there are others) is that as sea ice melts and more open water appears, more energy is absorbed, and warming accelerates. This is a form of positive feedback and it makes the polar climate change faster than the climate in temperate areas. Increasing vegetation on land also has a similar positive feedback effect. This effect is a change in the albedo – the fraction of the incident sunlight that is reflected back to space.

Stem Digital And Adi In The Classroom, Jennifer Welborn

STEM Digital

Applications of ADI by students at Amherst Regional Middle School

Co2 Diffusion Through Gelatin Experiment, Jennifer Welborn

STEM Digital

An example of measuring lengths.

Natural Organic Matter In Water, David Reckhow

STEM Digital

Formation in Watersheds and Removal in Water Treatment

Using Adi To Quantify A Color Change In Crayfish, Jennifer Welborn

STEM Digital

Do Crayfish Change Color If Their Environment Changes? A Guided Inquiry Lab for 7th grade Life Science

Background: There is anecdotal evidence from bass fisherman that crayfish are able to change color depending on their surroundings. A (cursory) literature review of this phenomenon showed that no formal research has been done in this area. Students had an additional informal lesson about research funding (or lack thereof) because of this finding.

Students designed and conducted a controlled experiment to see the effect of changing environment color on crayfish color.

ADI was used to quantify a color change.

Human Variation In Skin Color And Race As A Social Construct, Jennifer Welborn

STEM Digital

This lesson is part of evolution unit which follows heredity and genetics

The lesson is interdisciplinary in nature in that I discuss the concept of race as a social construct and the idea that there are “black, white, red, yellow” skinned people is something that people developed. It is not based on biology. Race groupings are human-made groups.

Students first learn about mixing light and how to determine black and white from an ADI analysis. They learn that red and green = yellow, etc.

They then photograph each other’s forearms and analyze the images using ADI.

We then discuss skin …

Air Quality: Carbon Dioxide, Deborah Carlisle, Stephen Schneider

STEM Digital

Measuring CO2 with BTB and ADI.

Measuring Angles With Adi, Stephen Schneider

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Digital Images (Adi) Resources, Rob Snyder

STEM Digital

Basic introduction to installing and using ADI

Arsenic Project Topics, Julian Tyson

STEM Digital

How do analytical chemists make light work in tracking potentially harmful chemicals?

Water Treatment Experiments, David Reckhow

STEM Digital

•The water industry spends a lot of money and effort on removal of natural organic matter (NOM) from drinking waters •Problems with NOM (the more NOM the bigger problem) –NOM interferes with the ability of water treatment systems to remove substances that cause disease •Pathogenic organisms •Toxic chemicals –NOM reacts with chlorine‐based disinfectants forming carcinogenic organic byproducts

Experimental Design For Ozone Projects, Deborah Carlisle, Stephen Schneider

STEM Digital

No abstract provided.