Physics Commons^™

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, Spring 2024, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 New Faculty and New Club on Campus
Page 3 2024 URSCAD Awards
Page 4 Day of Scholars 2024
Page 5 SDSU's First Representation at the Association for Anatomy's 2024
Annual Conference
Page 6-7 2024 Honor's College Convocation
Page 8 Other Student Activities
Page 9 Faculty Awards
Page 10-11 Other News
Page 12 2024 Drone Day and American Association of Geographers Convention - Hawaii
Page 13 55th Annual Geography Convention
Page 14 2024 Stethoscope Ceremony
Page 15 Open PRAIRIE Data

Dispersion Of Artificial Tracers In Ventilated Caves, Claudio Pastore, Eric Weber, Frédéric Doumenc, Pierre-Yves Jeannin, Marc Lütscher

International Journal of Speleology

Artificial CO₂ was used as a tracer along ventilated karst conduits to infer airflow and investigate tracer dispersion. In the karst vadose zone, cave ventilation is an efficient mode of transport for heat, gases and aerosols and thus drives the spatial distribution of airborne particles. Modelling this airborne transport requires geometrical and physical parameters of the conduit system, including the cross-sectional areas, the airflow and average air speed, as well as the longitudinal dispersion coefficient which describes the spreading of a solute. Four gauging tests were carried out in one mine (artificial conduit) and two ventilated caves (natural conduits). …

Investigation Of Gas Dynamics In Water And Oil-Based Muds Using Das, Dts, And Dss Measurements, Temitayo S. Adeyemi

LSU Master's Theses

Reliable prediction of gas migration velocity, void fraction, and length of gas-affected region in water and oil-based muds is essential for effective planning, control, and optimization of drilling operations. However, there is a gap in our understanding of gas behavior and dynamics in water and oil-based muds. This is a consequence of the use of experimental systems that are not representative of field-scale conditions. This study seeks to bridge the gap via the well-scale deployment of distributed fiber-optic sensors for real-time monitoring of gas behavior and dynamics in water and oil-based mud. The aforementioned parameters were estimated in real-time using …

Comparative Study Between Virgin And Agriculture Soil Radon Activity Concentration And Their Radiological Risks, Hiwa Hamad Azeez Dr., Jahfer Majeed Smail Dr., Hemn Muhammad Salh Dr., Habeeb Hanna Mansour Dr., Saddon Taha Ahmad Prof. Dr., Hawbash H. Hamadamin Karim Dr.

Polytechnic Journal

The present study is to compare the radon activity concentration in agricultural and virgin soils from various locations along the Little Zab River (LZR) in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. We conducted 24 measurements of soil samples using long tube techniques equipped with an electric radon detector called RAD7 in our research. The findings revealed that the radon activity concentrations ranged from 37.3 ± 7.52 Bq m-3 to 298.25 ± 50.09 Bq m-3 in virgin soil, and from 33.03 ± 10.85 Bq m-3 to 320.25 ± 34.62 Bq.m-3 in agriculture soil. The annual effective dose was also calculated to be from …

College Of Natural Sciences 2023 Year-End Publication, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 3 Department Highlights
Page 4 One Day for State
Page 5 Noble Prize Winner Speaks on Campus
Page 6-7 Faculty Excellence
Page 8-9 Student Excellence
Page 10 Outreach Program
Page 10 Events and Traditions
Page 11 Connections Abroad
Page 12 Student Spotlight
Page 13 Alumni Spotlight
Page 14 First Ever Drone Day
Page 15 Grand Opening of POET Bioproducts Center
Page 16 Work Anniversaries

Simulation Of Wave Propagation In Granular Particles Using A Discrete Element Model, Syed Tahmid Hussan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The understanding of Bender Element mechanism and utilization of Particle Flow Code (PFC) to simulate the seismic wave behavior is important to test the dynamic behavior of soil particles. Both discrete and finite element methods can be used to simulate wave behavior. However, Discrete Element Method (DEM) is mostly suitable, as the micro scaled soil particle cannot be fully considered as continuous specimen like a piece of rod or aluminum. Recently DEM has been widely used to study mechanical properties of soils at particle level considering the particles as balls. This study represents a comparative analysis of Voigt and Best …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Studying The Impact Of The Geospace Environment On Solar Lithosphere Coupling And Earthquake Activity, Dimitar Ouzounov, Galina Khachikyan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In solar–terrestrial physics, there is an open question: does a geomagnetic storm affect earthquakes? We expand research in this direction, analyzing the seismic situation after geomagnetic storms (GMs) accompanied by the precipitation of relativistic electrons from the outer radiation belt to form an additional radiation belt (RB) around lower geomagnetic lines. We consider four widely discussed cases in the literature for long-lived (weeks, months) RBs due to GMs and revealed that the 1/GMs 24 March 1991 with a new RB at L~2.6 was followed by an M7.0 earthquake in Alaska, 30 May 1991, near footprint L = 2.69; the 2/GMs …

Investigating The Effects Of A Southward Flow In The Southeastern Florida Shelf Using Robotic Instruments, Alfredo Quezada

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

We deployed a Slocum G3 glider fitted with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth sensor (CTD), optics sensor channels, and a propeller on the Southeastern Florida shelf. The ADCP and CTD provide continuous measurements of Northern and Eastern current velocity components, salinity, temperature, and density, throughout the water column in a high-current environment. The optics sensor channels are able to provide measurements of chlorophyll concentrations, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and backscatter particle counts. Additionally, for one of the glider deployments, we deployed a Wirewalker wave-powered profiling platform system also fitted with an ADCP and a CTD in …

Genealogical Vs Phylogenetic Mutation Rates: Answering A Challenge, Robert Carter

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

There is a discrepancy between the mutation rate we can measure today and the rate at which evolution is supposed to have proceeded. The former is sometimes called the genealogical mutation rate, for it is obtained by comparing individuals whom we know to be related. The latter is sometimes called the phylogenetic mutation rate. It is calculated by counting the fixed differences between two species and dividing by the estimated time since their common ancestor. Genealogical mutation rates are generally several orders of magnitude faster than phylogenetic estimates. This causes problems for the evolutionary model. For example, using the genealogical …

Radiation Exposure Calibration Of The Al2o3:C With Radium-226 And Cesium-137 Using The Osl Method, Selma Tepeli Aydin

All Theses

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimetry was utilized to calibrate Al₂O₃:C powder dosimeters, available commercially as the nanoDot® from Landauer Inc., and compare the dosimeter response to radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) and cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs). The signal from the OSL was quantified using a microSTARii^® OSL reader also produced by Landauer Inc. Dose-response curves were developed for ²²⁶Ra and ¹³⁷Cs experiments (5 dosimeters each) at thirteen absorbed doses. Individual dosimeter response was tracked by serial number. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine if there were significant differences between the intercepts of the …

Wavelet Compression As An Observational Operator In Data Assimilation Systems For Sea Surface Temperature, Bradley J. Sciacca

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The ocean remains severely under-observed, in part due to its sheer size. Containing nearly billion of water with most of the subsurface being invisible because water is extremely difficult to penetrate using electromagnetic radiation, as is typically used by satellite measuring instruments. For this reason, most observations of the ocean have very low spatial-temporal coverage to get a broad capture of the ocean’s features. However, recent “dense but patchy” data have increased the availability of high-resolution – low spatial coverage observations. These novel data sets have motivated research into multi-scale data assimilation methods. Here, we demonstrate a new assimilation approach …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, September - October 2023, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 New Faculty an Staff for the Fall 2023 Semester
Page 3 Awards
Page 4 Student Ambassadors in CNS
Page 5 Meet our Jacks
Page 6-8 Events
Page 9-11 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 12-13 Spring 2023 Dean's List
Page 14 Open PRAIRIE Data

Characterization Of Boreal-Arctic Vegetation Growth Phases And Active Soil Layer Dynamics In The High-Latitudes Of North America: A Study Combining Multi-Year In Situ And Satellite-Based Observations, Michael G. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examined the seasonal freeze/thaw activity in boreal-Arctic soils and vegetation physiology in Alaska, USA and Alberta, Canada, using in situ environmental measurements and passive microwave satellite observations. The boreal-Arctic high-latitudes have been experiencing ecosystem changes more rapidly in comparison to the rest of Earth due to the presently warming climatic conditions having a magnified effect over Polar Regions. Currently, the boreal-Arctic is a carbon sink; however, recent studies indicate a shift over the next century to become a carbon source. High-latitude vegetation and cold soil dynamics are influenced by climatic shifts and are largely responsible for the regions …

Improvements To Isru For Rocket Fuel Generation, Justin Sharp

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The development of efficient in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies is crucial for the establishment of an extraterrestrial, self-sustaining colony. The generation of rocket fuel at potential colony locations is necessary to provide the transportation of people and cargo to and from these locations.Three processes are discussed for the improvement of ISRU methods to generate rocket fuel: electrolysis and electrochemical improvements to the process of crude fuel production, physical and chemical methods for separation of gaseous H2 and O2, and materials and cryogenics engineering for storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX). Storage and transportation of cryogenics …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, March - May 2023, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 4, Issue 2

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-7 Awards and Recognition
Page 8 March 3rd Corothers Seminar
Page 9 54th Geography Convention
Page 10 Spring 2023 Day of Scholars
Page 11 2023 URSCAD Snaps
Page 12-14 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 15 Open PRAIRIE Data

Optimizing Course Offerings In A Science Department, Yu Kay Law

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

We will discuss how enrollment data and faculty/advisor input can be used to maximize schedule efficiency in course offerings and providing for student success. We will also discuss how best to monitor and rearrange course schedules in light of actual enrollment.

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, February 2023, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 4, Issue 1

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards and Recognition
Page 3-4 Nobel Recipient Visits Campus
Page 4 Adopting the Pantry
Page 5 Growing a Recruitment Mindset
Page 6 February Outreach Events
Page 7 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 8 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 9 54th Geography Convention, and Tom Loveland EROS Geography Scholarship
Page 10 Photos of Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi's Visit

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, November 2022 - January 2023, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volme 3, Issue 7

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Sioux Falls Middle School Visit
Page 4 Bio-Micro Day of Scholars
Page 5 GIS Day at USGS EROS
Page 6 Indigenous People's Festival, & Visiting Jack's Imagination Lab
Page 7 Media Coverage of CNS, & Research Highlights from Geography & Geospatial Sciences
Page 8 Media Coverage of CNS. cont.
Page 9 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 10 Recent Publications from CNS
Page 11 Recent Publications from CNS. cont.
Page 12 CNS Holiday Snapshots
Page 13 & 14 Fall 2022 Dean's List
Page 12-14 Fall 2022 Outreach …

An Analysis Of Tidal Mixing Front Dynamics And Frontal Biophysical Interaction In The Harpswell Sound Shelf Sea, Lemona Yingzhuo Niu

Honors Projects

Tidal Mixing Fronts (TMFs) are prominent hydrographic features of tidally energetic shallow shelf seas, representing the transition from mixed to stratified waters. These frontal boundaries often host enhanced phytoplankton primary productivity, as complete vertical mixing exhumes nutrients from depth to the light-lit surface. Existing observational programs for locating TMFs include infra-red satellite imagery of sea surface temperature (SST) and vertical profiling of temperature and density. However, challenges in observationally distinguishing mixed from mixing using only conservatively mixed hydrographic properties persist. A novel approach based on phytoplankton in-situ oxygen production response to light is proposed in this paper to distinguish stable …

College Of Natural Sciences 2022 Year-End Publication, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

This is the 2022 issue of the annual College of Natural Sciences year-end publication.

Contents:
[Page] 2 Dean's message
[Page] 3 Department highlights
[Page] 4 Overview of Bold & Blue Campaign
[Page] 5 Dr. Edward Hogan recognition & endowment
[Page] 6 Career milestones
[Page] 7 Student travel and research
[Page] 8 $11 million COBRE grant
[Page] 9 Professional Science Masters & Research highlights
[Page]10 Outreach highlights throughout the state
[Page] 11 2022 events recap – join us in 2023!
[Page] 12 Updates on our VR initiative
[Page] 14 Overview of awards and recognitions from 2022

Drift Orbit Bifurcation Effects On Earth’S Radiation Belt Electrons, Jinbei Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Energetic charged particles trapped in the Earth’s radiation belt form a hazardous space environment for artificial electronic systems and astronauts. The study of Earth's radiation belt is becoming increasingly important with the development of communication technology, which plays a significant role in modern society. Earth’s radiation belt is highly dynamic, and the electron flux can drop by several orders of magnitude within a few hours which is called radiation belt dropout. The fast dropout of energetic electrons in the radiation belt, despite its significance, has not been thoroughly studied. One of the most compelling outstanding questions in Earth's radiation belt …

Behaviors For Which Deinonychosaurs Used Their Feet, Alexander King

Honors Projects

This paper seeks to show for what purpose deinonychosaurs used their feet. Fowler et al., (2011) showed that D. antirrhopus’s feet were closest in function to accipitrids, as they found it was more built for grasping prey than running.

I answered this question by using 2D images of the feet of three modern birds (Buteo jamaicensis, Phasianus colchicus, and Gallus gallus domesticus), one eudromaeosaur (Deinonychus antirrhopus), and one troodontid (Borogovia gracilicrus). I used ImageJ to apply 73 landmarks to each foot, capturing the variation between species in the metatarsals and pedal phalanges. These data were then uploaded to the software …

(R1978) Heated Laminar Vertical Jet Of Psudoplastic Fluids-Against Gravity, Manisha Patel, M. G. Timol

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A heated laminar jet of Pseudo-plastic fluid flowing vertically upwards from a long narrow slit into a region of the same fluid which is at a rest and at a uniform temperature is considered. The governing non-linear Partial differential equations (PDEs) for the defined flow problem are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations using the effective similarity technique-one parameter deductive group theory method. The obtained non-linear coupled Ordinary differential equations are solved and the results are presented by graphs. The effect of the Prandtl number and Grashof number on the velocity and temperature of the jet flow is discussed. Also, …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, September & October 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 6

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Midwest Regional ACS Meeting
Page 4 North Central ASM Meeting
Page 5 Geography Department Travel
Page 6-7 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 7 REMAST Program at SDState receives national spotlight
Page 8 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 9 Innovative Learning Spaces
Page 10 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 11 2022 CNS Scholarship Brunch
Page 12-14 Fall 2022 Outreach Events

Comparative Photovoltaics Of P3ht:N2200 And P3ht: Small-Gap Fullerene Ethyl-Nipecotate Bulk Heterojunction Structures, Md. Nasir Uddin, Rafiqul Islam, Muhibur Rahman, Nazia Chawdhury

Makara Journal of Science

This work deals with the study on the optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra of a p-type organic semiconducting polymer, regioregular poly 3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl (P3HT) and the absorption spectra of an n-type fullerene-based small-gap fullerene-ethyl nipecotate (Fullerene-EN) and a non-fullerene-based polynaphthalene bithiophene (N2200) semiconducting materials. The band gap of P3HT, N2200, and small-gap fullerene-ethyl nipecotate are 2.42, 1.65, and 1.51 eV, respectively, calculated from experimental results through the Tauc equation. Active layers with blends of P3HT and small-gap fullerene-ethyl nipecotate and P3HT and N2200 have been used to fabricate bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structures. The P3HT:N2200 BHJ structure follows the current density versus …

How Green Lakes State Park Got Its Name: The Optics And Appearance Of Fayetteville Green Lakes, Eric A. Schiff

Physics - All Scholarship

The extraordinary and variable appearance of the Fayetteville Green Lakes in the spring, summer, and fall has been the subject of journalistic and scientific attention for more than 150 years. This article addresses the subject in two sections for differing readerships. The first section is a description of the essential science for a general readership. The second section is an abstract of the science for technically knowledgeable readers. The layout of the article is designed for a folded paper flier suitable for distribution to visitors to the lakes.

The article describes the three key properties of the lakes’ waters that …

The Interaction Of Different Primary Producers And Physical And Chemical Dynamics Of An Urban Shallow Lake, Majid Sahin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An artificial urban shallow lake, Prospect Park Lake (PPL), is situated on a terminal moraine in Brooklyn New York, and supplied with municipal water treated with ortho-phosphates. The constant input of the phosphate nutrient is the primary source of eutrophication in the lake. The numerous pools along the water course houses various aquatic phototrophs, which influence the water quality and the state of the system, driving conditions into favoring the survival of their species. In the first half of the dissertation, the focus of the project is on analyzing how the different primary producers in different regions of PPL affect …

Development Of Deep Shear Wave Velocity Profiles And An Approach To Generate Site Signature Consistent Pseudo Shear Wave Velocity Profiles In The Mississippi Embayment, Ashraf Kamal Himel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation details the development of a surface wave method (SWM) technique to generate deep shear wave velocity profiles (VS profiles), applying this technique at 24 sites across the Mississippi embayment and developing an approach to generate pseudo site signature consistent VS profiles from velocity functions and fundamental frequency. In the presented SWM technique, active and passive source surface wave measurements are inverted along with fundamental frequency to develop a site signature consistent VS profile. Multiple transformation methods, including MSPAC, HRFK and FK are used to resolve experimental dispersion data from surface wave measurements. SWM VS profile at the Central …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, July & August 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 5

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Resources for Student Success
Page 4 Welcome to New Faculty & Staff
Page 5 Summer Activities in CNS
Page 9 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 10 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 12 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 13 Snaps from he start of the semester
Page 14 Science as Art Competition