Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Epa's Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulation For Power Plants: How Does It Work And What Will It Mean For Nevada?, Adele C. Morris

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

In June, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed important new limits on carbon dioxide emissions from existing U.S. power plants. The new regulation is the centerpiece of the Obama Administration’s climate policy. If the controversial rule is finalized as planned next year, it will cover about a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This lecture will explain the legal, environmental, and economic issues posed by the rule and highlight the important role for states in implementing it. The lecture will also review the implications and options for achieving the emissions target the EPA set for Nevada.

Mobilization Of Toxic Elements From An Abandoned Manganese Mine In The Arid Metropolitan Las Vegas (Nv, Usa) Area, Ji Hye Park, Vernon Hodge, Shawn Gerstenberger, Krystyna Stave

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Active and abandoned mines may present health risks, especially to children, from environmental exposure to airborne chemical elements, such as Pb, As, and Mn. X-ray fluorescence analysis of tailings at the Three Kids Mine show they contain high levels of: Pb (15,300 mg/kg), As (3690 mg/kg), and Mn (153,000 mg/kg). Soil was sampled along eight transects, radiating from the dried tailings ponds. Concentrations of Mn and Pb to the NE are at background concentrations at 4.8 km, and, As and Sr at 3.2 km from the mine. Going SW to the City of Henderson, all elements are at background at …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Religion, Partisanship, And Attitudes Toward Science Policy, Ted G. Jelen, Linda A. Lockett

Political Science Faculty Research

We examine issues involving science which have been contested in recent public debate. These “contested science” issues include human evolution, stem-cell research, and climate change. We find that few respondents evince consistently skeptical attitudes toward science issues, and that religious variables are generally strong predictors of attitudes toward individual issues. Furthermore, and contrary to analyses of elite discourse, partisan identification is not generally predictive of attitudes toward contested scientific issues.

Engagement Of Academic Libraries And Information Science Schools In Creating Curriculum For Sustainability: An Exploratory Study, Maria A. Jankowska, Bonnie J. Smith, Marianne A. Buehler

Library Faculty Publications

In 2010, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education released, “Sustainability curriculum in higher education: A call to action,” encouraging infusion of sustainability topics into universities' teaching and research. Since then, academic programs and research related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability have enriched university curricula. An exploratory study was conducted to determine the position and engagements of academic libraries and information science schools in their contributions to scholarly sustainability activities and curricular initiatives. This article presents the results of the study which reveals a number of engagements by library professionals in the areas of sustainability, such …

Cracking The Code On Stem: A People Strategy For Nevada's Economy, Jessica A. Lee, Mark Muro, Jonathan Rothwell, Scott Andes, Siddharth Kulkarni

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Nevada has in place a plausible economic diversification strategy—and it’s beginning to work. Now, the state and its regions need to craft a people strategy. Specifically, the state needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some postsecondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math—the so-called “STEM” disciplines (to which some leaders add arts and design to make it “STEAM”).

The moment is urgent—and only heightened by the projected worker needs of Tesla Motors’ planned “gigafactory” for lithium-ion batteries in Storey County.

Even before the recent Tesla commitment, a number of the more high-tech …

Cracking The Code On Stem: A People Strategy For Nevada's Economy Executive Summary, Jessica A. Lee, Mark Muro, Jonathan Rothwell, Scott Andes, Siddharth Kulkarni

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Nevada has in place a plausible economic diversification strategy—and it’s beginning to work. Now, the state and its regions need to craft a people strategy. Specifically, the state needs to boost the number of Nevadans who possess at least some postsecondary training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math—the so-called “STEM” disciplines (to which some leaders add arts and design to make it “STEAM”).

The moment is urgent—and only heightened by the projected worker needs of Tesla Motors’ planned “gigafactory” for lithium-ion batteries in Storey County.

Even before the recent Tesla commitment, a number of the more high-tech …

A First-Principles Computational Study Of Structural And Elastic Properties Of Zno, Jeevake Attapattu, Changfeng Chen

McNair Poster Presentations

The purpose of this study is to determine structural and mechanical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) using first-principles computational methods. ZnO is a semiconductor widely used in many electronic and optical applications. ZnO is also economically and environmentally desirable – first, both the constituent elements are abundant on Earth and therefore inexpensive for large-scale applications; second, it is non- toxic. The most significant contribution of this study is the simulations of the high-pressure phases. These high-pressure simulations are important because the rock salt phase of ZnO obtained at high pressure can be recovered at ambient pressure, and this new structural …