Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Agent Based Terrain Generator: Cruthú, Lawrence L. O'Boyle

Masters Theses

Terrain generation models are applied in different industries and fields of study. Current techniques assist in planning transportation networks, visualizing population migrations, conducting epidemiology research, and training self-driving cars and drones. Many current applications and research models generate complex realistic artifacts, e.g., trees, rivers, coastlines, populations, and even cities. Unfortunately, most of these techniques are described and implemented separately. Techniques do not work together to generate a complete holistic view. This thesis proposes a model, Cruthú (Gaelic for "creation"), that provides a novel platform allowing for complete world generation by integrating existing research and algorithms. The model is inspired by …

Student Engagement: What Is The Best Way To Motivate Students In The Secondary Classroom?, Michiah Arguello

Honors Projects

In the secondary education classroom, the question often arises: How do we engage our students? Often, we are faced with heads down on desks, glassy eyes, and students who don’t remember content taught to them the day before. How can we engage them? How can we motivate them to want to learn?

In this study, I will examine five procedures determined by educators to enhance student engagement. In each section, I will discuss the procedure, discuss what the procedure’s steps are and how to approach it, and share a way I have utilized this procedure and reflect on its effectiveness. …

Evaluating The Extent Of A Large-Scale Transformation In Gateway Science Courses, Rebecca L. Matz, Cori L. Fata-Hartley, Lynmarie A. Posey, James T. Laverty, Sonia M. Underwood, Justin H. Carmel, Deborah Herrington, Ryan L. Stowe, Marcos D. Caballero, Diane Ebert-May, Melanie M. Cooper

Peer Reviewed Articles

We evaluate the impact of an institutional effort to transform undergraduate science courses using an approach based on course assessments. The approach is guided by A Framework for K-12 Science Education and focuses on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas, together called three-dimensional learning. To evaluate the extent of change, we applied the Three-dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol to 4 years of chemistry, physics, and biology course exams. Changes in exams differed by discipline and even by course, apparently depending on an interplay between departmental culture, course organization, and perceived course ownership, demonstrating the complex nature of transformation …

Nascent O2 (A1ΔG, V = 0, 1) Rotational Distributions From The Photodissociation Of Jet‐Cooled O3 In The Hartley Band, Michelle L. Warter, Carolyn E. Gunthardt, Wei Wei, George Mcbane, Simon W. North

Peer Reviewed Articles

We report rotational distributions for the O₂ (a ¹Δ_g) fragment from photodissociation of jet‐cooled O₃ at 248, 266, and 282 nm. The rotational distributions show a population alternation that favors the even states, as previously reported for a 300 K sample by Valentini et al. (J. Chem. Phys. 86, 6745 (1987)). The alternation from the jet‐cooled precursor is much stronger than that observed by Valentini et al., and in contrast to their observations does not depend strongly on O₂ (a ¹Δ_g) vibrational state or photolysis wavelength. The …

Active Calculus 2.1, Matthew Boelkins, David Austin, Steven Schlicker

Open Textbooks

Active Calculus is different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the text is freely readable online in HTML format and is also available for in PDF; in the electronic format, graphics are in full color and there are live links to java applets; there are live WeBWorK exercises in each chapter, which are fully interactive in the HTML format and included in print in the PDF; the text is open source, and interested users can gain access to the original source files on GitHub; the style of the text requires students to be active learners …

Reducing Effects Of Dispersal On The Bias Of 2-Sample Mark-Recapture Estimators Of Stream Fish Abundance, James N. Mcnair, Carl R. Ruetz Iii, Ariana Carlson, Jiyeon Suh

Funded Articles

The 2-sample mark-recapture method with Chapman’s estimator is often used by inland fishery managers to estimate the reach-scale abundance of stream fish. An important assumption of this method is that no dispersal into or out of the study reach occurs between the two samples. Violations of this assumption are probably common in practice, but their effect on bias (systematic error) of abundance estimates is poorly understood, especially in small populations. Estimation methods permitting dispersal exist but, for logistical reasons, often are infeasible for routine assessments in streams. The purpose of this paper is to extend available results regarding effects of …

Evaluation Of Hand-Dug Wells In Rural Haiti, Haley E. Schram, Peter J. Wampler

Funded Articles

Water resources, especially safe, potable water, are limited for many Haitians. In areas where shallow groundwater is available, many household water needs such as laundry, bathing, and cooking are supplied by hand–dug wells. In order to better understand the water quality and prevalence of these household wells, 35 hand–dug wells were surveyed and sampled near the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Deschapelles, Haiti. Water samples were collected and tested for fecal coliform and Escherichia coli using the IDEXX Colilert–18 method. Of the samples collected, 89 percent were determined unsafe to use as a drinking water source based on the World Health …

Deep Reinforcement Learning For Autonomous Search And Rescue, Juan Gonzalo Cárcamo Zuluaga

Masters Theses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more prevalent every day. In addition, advances in battery life and electronic sensors have enabled the development of diverse UAV applications outside their original military domain. For example, Search and Rescue (SAR) operations can benefit greatly from modern UAVs since even the simplest commercial models are equipped with high-resolution cameras and the ability to stream video to a computer or portable device. As a result, autonomous unmanned systems (ground, aquatic, and aerial) have recently been employed for such typical SAR tasks as terrain mapping, task observation, and early supply delivery. However, these systems were …

Barriers To Becoming Lake People: Social Equity And Environmental Justice In Muskegon Lake South Shoreline Access, Kelly A. Parker

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

In Winter 2018, eleven students in the GVSU course ENS 401: Environmental Problem Solv-ing played the role of consultants for community partner Viability Lab, LLC, which had de-veloped a grant application titled ShoreLiveCity. A central feature of the ShoreLiveCity project was to improve social equity and environmental justice in access to the Muskegon Lake south shoreline. Historically, such access has been severely restricted for residents in the nearby Nel-son and Nims neighborhoods. ShoreLiveCity proposed to use the Circles of Sustainability planning and implementation framework (2018) to improve access along approximately 500 yards of publicly owned shoreline adjacent to the neighborhoods. …

Historical Analysis Of Muskegon Lake, Sarah Steffens, Mitch Noworolnik, Claire Mcclees

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

Problem Statement:

There continues to be a portion of residents in the Nelson and Nims neighborhoods that are afraid or feel a disconnection with Muskegon Lake, physically and mentally. What throughout the history of Muskegon has caused this reaction?

Winter Activities, Erik Sermo, Aubryanna Kusper, Elliot Lee, Samantha Riley

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

Tired of being stuck inside during the winter? Need a break from all the homework and studying? Do you love ice skating or wish you had more opportunities to go? Well come on down to the Sustainable Agriculture Project or SAP! Our all new ice skating rink is fun, close, and best of all cheap. This rink is great for experienced skaters or anyone who has never skated a day in their life. Made out of sustainable materials, the rink features a quick check-in kiosk where you can rent skates for only $2 or bring your own to skate for …

Kiosk Welcome Center, Avery Moore, Kristyn Reinecke, Megan Plekker

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

In an effort to increase productivity and student participation at the Sustainable Agriculture Project, We have begun the development of a Kiosk Welcome Center. This Welcome center will be designed to provide affirmation to new volunteers and direct volunteer training. The welcome Kiosk will become the start point for all volentuetters in hopes to better track student participation at the SAP. Better volunteer tracking will provide the SAP with necessary data to prove academic participation to Grand Valley State University. Welcome Kiosk will also introduce web application to students to provide onsite training. Introducing internet access will also allow for …

Workoutbuddy, Bekah Suttner

Honors Projects

WorkoutBuddy is a proof of concept (POC) for an iPhone and Apple Watch application to improve safety during outdoor workouts by providing a virtual buddy system. To use the application, a user first sets their planned route for an outdoor workout using a map on their iPhone. Then, during the workout, the application uses the cell phone and GPS capability of the Apple Watch Series 3 to record location data, share it with the user’s iPhone, and check whether the user has stayed on their planned route. If the user goes off of their route, their phone sends a text …

Spatial Analysis Of The Current And Potential Stormwater Management Practices On Grand Valley State University’S Allendale Campus, Kyle Hart

Honors Projects

Low impact development is an alternative to traditional urban design with the goal of reducing the amount of stormwater runoff generated from impermeable surfaces. Increased stormwater runoff can mobilize surface pollutants such as oil, road salt, and heavy metals, as well as accelerate the erosion and slope destabilization near natural waterways. Green infrastructure such as rain gardens and green roofs have been shown to remediate these pollutants and reduce the peak discharge of stormwater during storm events. This study evaluates the current stormwater management practices on the Allendale Campus of Grand Valley State University as well as provides management suggestions …

Evaluating Reproducibility In Computational Biology Research, Morgan Oneka

Honors Projects

For my Honors Senior Project, I read five research papers in the field of computational biology and attempted to reproduce the results. However, for the most part, this proved a challenge, as many details vital to utilizing relevant software and data had been excluded. Using Geir Kjetil Sandve's paper "Ten Simple Rules for Reproducible Computational Research" as a guide, I discuss how authors of these five papers did and did not obey these rules of reproducibility and how this affected my ability to reproduce their results.

Promoting Healthy Eating And Sustainable Lifestyles, Lauryn Taylor, Jillian Gornick, Noah Lamboley, Nick Proefke, Lainey White

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

The Healthy Eating and Sustainable Lifestyle group focuses on educating students and community members and directing individuals to making healthier dietary choices. We plan to achieve this goal through the Healthy Transition Day that will target this problem, intended to educate and involve students and community members around Grand Valley. This idea involves incorporationing the SAP into GVSU’s transition week. With Healthy Transition Day, students have the ability to tour the farm and learn how to get involved during their time at Grand Valley.

We have conceptualized two additional solutions that would take more time, resources, and planning in order …

Pollinator Awareness Program, Sarrah Adamy, Sarah Daniels, Kailey Keenan-Whittemore, Marissa Visser

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

The Pollinator Awareness Program is an initiative evoked by the Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) of Grand Valley State University to increase student involvement through the lens of pollinator education and habitat creation. The program includes educational components that teach students about what pollinators exist, what they do for us as well as delicate ecosystems, and how we can contribute to their survival. Through this program, students and community members gain the opportunity to plant and maintain the pollinator gardens at the SAP as well as participate in make-and-take events that encourage them to improve pollinator habitats near their own homes.

Active Calculus Multivariable: 2018 Edition, Steven Schlicker, David Austin, Matthew Boelkins

Open Textbooks

Active Calculus Multivariable is the continuation of Active Calculus to multivariable functions. The Active Calculus texts are different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the texts are freely readable online in HTML format (new in this version of Active Calculus Multivariable) and are also available for in PDF; in the electronic format, graphics are in full color; the texts are open source, and interested instructors can gain access to the original source files on GitHub; the style of the texts requires students to be active learners — there are very few worked examples in the …