Engineering Commons^™

Cnt-Tio2 Composites For Photocatalytic Oxidation Of Atmospheric Pollutants, Alison Chan

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The design of catalysts for growth of carbon nanotubes is studied to develop recipes and mechanisms for controlled and scalable growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The objective of the study is to tune the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) by coupling to multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Multiwalled CNTs have been shown to act as an electron sink when coupled with TiO₂, thereby inhibiting electron-hole recombination and enhancing photocatalytic degradation of environmental pollutants. A test using acetaldehyde confirmed our findings in the field, where the loading ratio of 99 wt% TiO₂ (1 wt% CNTs) has a high …

Wastewater Denitrification Using Bhn-Probiotic Solutions As An Alternative External Carbon Source, Guadalupe Arreola

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Wastewater Denitrification Using BHN-Probiotic Solutions as an Alternative External Carbon Source

Guadalupe Arreola, Evan Heronemus, Megan Lehman, and Dr. Prathap Parameswaran

Department of Civil Engineering

College of Engineering

Reducing the amount of Nitrogen found in wastewater is a crucial step for wastewater treatment plants, and denitrification is an essential biological step that could be rate-limiting. To reach the stringent nutrient discharge standards, treatment plants commonly use methanol as an external carbon source; however, there are many safety issues that can arise from using methanol. This problem prompted the study to find and compare other sustainable and environmentally-friendly carbon sources that …

Advantages Of Air Cooling In Thermal Ablation, Alexander Sheikh

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Advantages of Air Cooling in Thermal Ablation

Alex Sheikh, Dr. Punit Prakash, Hojjat Fallahi

Department of Electrical and computer Engineering

Thermal ablation is the method of destroying tumors through the application of extreme temperatures. For this experiment, heat is used and supplied by an amplifier/power generator. The heat is transported out through a catheter device and into the designated area of the tumor. Cooling the tip of the device can be used to control this heat in effort to expand the ablation size and cut down on the destruction of unwanted tissue. Thus far, water has been the primary strategy …

Manufacture Of Dual Sided Microstructured Semiconductor Neutron Detectors, Jared Medina

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The world is in need of a new way to detect neutrons. The best current detectors rely on ³He, which is in short supply. The ³He detectors are extremely expensive. The goal of this project is to produce inexpensive and robust detectors that do not rely on ³He. Instead of using gas, the Dual Sided Microstructured Neutron Detectors (DS-MSNDs) are made from a semiconductor material. The DS-MSNDs have been simulated to have up to 70% efficiency, which is comparable to the ³He detectors efficiency of about 80%. The DS-MSNDs have micro-trenches that are back filled with …

Mechanical Systems That Function Like Living Organisms, Dallas Rice

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between the human body and technologically advanced mechanical systems or robotics. More specifically, we looked at how robotics plays a part in prosthetics for other living organisms. During the research we looked at the anatomy of the human body, focusing on the nervous system, bone structure and movements, tissue and muscle relationships, and the neurological response of the brain. We also looked at how the human body reacts and responds to artificial limbs as a way to identify the best ways to introduce unnatural mechanical systems to the body. Different …

Green Roofs Provide Heating And Cooling Sustainability Benefits In The Great Plains Environmental Climates, Melina Alferoff

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

This project seeks to improve the design and functionality of a vegetated green roof in the Great Plains area of the U.S. We are learning to manipulate several variables such as different growing media types and irrigation systems in resilient plant communities. By utilizing different types of vegetation, we can determine the proper way to water and care for the plants that are growing on the green roof. To be successful for this research project, we will precisely, in units such as degrees Celsius and milliliters, measure temperature and water usage of the vegetated pods. By observing those two aspects …

Establishment Of 3-D Human Colorectal Cancer Spheroids, India Barnett

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Three-Dimensional (3D) cell culture plays an important role in cancer biology by providing a life-like microenvironment as a model for drug discovery and treatment. Hydrogels, like many other 3D scaffolds, demonstrate a unique property as matrices for 3D cell culture. The goal of this project is to establish a 3D cell culture for colorectal cancer and apply this 3D model to drug testing. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States with an early detection rate of 39%. Previously, 2D cell culture of human colorectal cancer cells, SW480, was used to determine the efficacy of …

Improving The Shortage Of Skilled Workers In The Construction Industry, Brett Moon

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The goal of this project was to research ways the construction industry is improving the shortage of skilled workers. The research objective is to identify through literature search ways by which the construction industry enhances skilled laborers. Skilled construction workers are declining, making it a competition among construction companies to find these workers. The recession, immigration challenges, and the lack of training programs are the main causes for the decline in skilled workers. The research was gathered from literature reviews of the shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry. The literature reviews show the need for skilled workers has …

Extraction Of Recipe Steps From Scientific Papers: The Nanomaterials Synthesis Domain, Richard Carmona-Andrade

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

The overall goal of this research is to effectively extract steps for performing a specified procedure from published text descriptions, producing a recipe listing the materials, operations, and conditions required to perform the procedure. For example, if the procedure is to create a nanomaterial, and relevant source text consists of peer-reviewed scientific publications, a recipe should include raw materials and unit operations, among other specifications of a chemical engineering process. This project focuses on developing performance measures to evaluate recipe steps, by gauging their correctness, completeness, and non-redundancy. This is done by comparing manually annotated documents that conveyed desired results …

Layered Wicks Enable Passive Transport Of Condensation Out Of Cooling Systems, Nhicolas Aponte, Jordan Morrow, Gennifer Riley, Partha P. Chakraborty, Melanie M. Derby

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Layered wicks enable passive transport of condensation out of cooling systems

Nhicolas Aponte, Jordan Morrow, Gennifer Riley, Partha Chakraborty, Melanie M. Derby

Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Kansas State University

Cooling systems, like condensers or cooling towers of a power plant, transfer heat out of a system. The cooling process often occurs through the condensation of water, which forms a liquid film that reduces heat transfer. This problem makes cooling systems larger and more costly. One approach to this problem is drop-wise condensation in which condensed water gathers in the form of droplets which can then run off, preventing …

Expression And Purification Of Hfb1 From The Bacterial Host Escherchia Coli, Jose Cardenas-Perez

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Hydrophobins are a unique class of proteins which grow in fungi which demonstrate unique properties, such as self-assembly into two dimensional arrays at water/air or water/solid interfaces. A specific type of hydrophobins, HFB1, will be closely examined, expressed, and purified within an e. coli host. Most hydrophobins are used within the medical field and are harvested directly from the fungi, with little research done to express the protein within a bacterial host for large scale production. Our research will revolve around developing a method to clone, express, and purify the hydrophobin, HFB1, within the bacterial host, with tweaking of the …

Dqn: Deep Q-Learning For Autonomous Navigation, Leonardo Garrido Alvarez

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

This project deals with autonomous mobile robots trained using reinforcement learning, a branch of machine learning (the science of improving problem-solving performance based on experience) based on choosing actions to maximize rewards from various environments. This is a form of behavioral learning that is observed in nature and thus more biologically plausible than cognitive models based on labeled data provided by a teacher (supervised learning). We developed an experimental test bed by implementing Deep Q-Networks (DQN), a form of reinforcement learning, for goal-oriented navigation and obstacle avoidance tasks using a TurtleBot3 Burger robot and in the gazebo simulation environment for …

Education Research With The Engineering Curriculum, Elshaddai Abamegal

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.