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Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

Gas Component Transport Across The Soil-Atmosphere Interface For Gases Of Different Density: Experiments And Modeling, L. M. Bahlmann, K. M. Smits, K. Heck, E. Coltman, R. Helmig, I. Neuweiler

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications - Archive

We investigate the influence of near-surface wind conditions on subsurface gas transport and on soil-atmosphere gas exchange for gases of different density. Results of a sand tank experiment are supported by a numerical investigation with a fully coupled porous medium-free flow model, which accounts for wind turbulence. The experiment consists of a two-dimensional bench-scale soil tank containing homogeneous sand and an overlying wind tunnel. A point source was installed at the bottom of the tank. Gas concentrations were measured at multiple horizontal and vertical locations. Tested conditions include four wind velocities (0.2/1.0/2.0/2.7 m/s), three different gases (helium: light, nitrogen: neutral, …

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization Of Targets For Climate Liability, Alexis Pascaris, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Due to market failures that allow uncompensated negative externalities from burning fossil fuels, there has been a growing call for climate change-related litigation targeting polluting companies. To determine the most intensive carbon dioxide (CO₂)-emitting facilities in order prioritize liability for climate lawsuits, and risk mitigation strategies for identified companies as well as their insurers and investors, two methods are compared: (1) the conventional point-source method and (2) the proposed bottleneck method, which considers all emissions that a facility enables rather than only what it emits. Results indicate that the top ten CO₂ emission bottlenecks in the U.S. …

Techno-Economic Comparative Analysis Of Renewable Energy Systems: Case Study In Zimbabwe, Loiy Al-Ghussain, Remember Samu, Onur Taylan, Murat Fahrioglu

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Research

Fluctuations in fossil fuel prices significantly affect the economies of countries, especially oil-importing countries, hence these countries are thoroughly investigating the increase in the utilization of renewable energy resources as it is abundant and locally available in all the countries despite challenges. Renewable energy systems (RES) such as solar and wind systems offer suitable alternatives for fossil fuels and could ensure the energy security of countries in a feasible way. Zimbabwe is one of the African countries that import a significant portion of its energy needs which endanger the energy security of the country. Several studies in the literature discussed …

The Effects Of Surface-Water Flow On The Quality Of Groundwater And Surface-Water Systems, Quanghee Yi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My research has focused on the effects of surface-water flow on the quality of groundwater and surfacewater systems. For the first part of my research (Chapter 2 ), I s tudied the effects of s urface flow system changes in the water-conservation areas and canals in southeast Florida on the quality of groundwater in the surficial aquifer system.

For the second part of my research, by developing analytical models using the superposition method, I investigated the effects of bidirectional surface-water flow on the conservative contaminant concentrations (Chapter 4) and mean residence time (Chapter 5) in streams and rivers as well …

Design Aspects, Energy Consumption Evaluation, And Offset For Drinking Water Treatment Operation, Saria Bukhary, Jacimaria Batista, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, and water distribution are energy-intensive processes. The goal of this study was to design the unit processes of an existing drinking water treatment plant (DWTP), evaluate the associated energy consumption, and then offset it using solar photovoltaics (PVs) to reduce carbon emissions. The selected DWTP, situated in the southwestern United States, utilizes coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination to treat 3.94 m3 of local river water per second. Based on the energy consumption determined for each unit process (validated using the plant’s data) and the plant’s available landholding, the DWTP was sized for solar PV …

Flooding, Landslides, Wildfires, Air Pollution, And Income: Risk In California, Brittany Bondi, Alyssa J. Kaewwilai

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

California is infamously known for its likelihood of environmental hazards such as flooding, landslides, air pollution, and forest fires which can be attributed to the natural climate of the area as well as anthropologically influenced climate change. Air pollution also poses potential threats and dangers to the civilians of California as increasing populations and uses of fossil fuels continue to contribute to the growing issue of climate change. The goal of this study was to examine and analyze the geospatial trends environmental hazards in California such as landslides, air pollution, flooding, and forest fires. A weighted test, zone and slope …

Changes In The Exposure Of California’S Levee-Protected Critical Infrastructure To Flooding Hazard In A Warming Climate, Iman Mallakpour, Mojtaba Sadegh, Amir Aghakouchak

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Levee systems are an important part of California's water infrastructure, engineered to provide resilience against flooding and reduce flood losses. The growth in California is partly associated with costly infrastructure developments that led to population expansion in the levee protected areas. Therefore, potential changes in the flood hazard could have significant socioeconomic consequences over levee protected areas, especially in the face of a changing climate. In this study, we examine the possible impacts of a warming climate on flood hazard over levee protected land in California. We use gridded maximum daily runoff from global circulation models (GCMs) that represent a …

Advancing Ecohydrology In The 21st Century: A Convergence Of Opportunities, Andrew J. Guswa, Doerthe Tetzlaff, John S. Selker, Darryl E. Carlyle-Moses, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Michael Bruen, Carles Cayuela, Irena F. Creed, Nick Van De Giesen, Domenico Grasso, David M. Hannah, Janice E. Hudson, Sean A. Hudson, Shin'ichi Iida, Robert B. Jackson, Gabriel G. Katul, Tomo'omi Kumagai, Pilar Llorens, Flavio Lopes Ribeiro, Beate Michalzik, Kazuki Nanko, Christopher Oster, Diane E. Pataki, Catherine A. Peters, Andrea Rinaldo, Daniel Sanchez Carretero, Branimir Trifunovic, Maciej Zalewski, Marja Haagsma, Delphis F. Levia

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nature-based solutions for water-resource challenges require advances in the science of ecohydrology. Current understanding is limited by a shortage of observations and theories that can further our capability to synthesize complex processes across scales ranging from submillimetres to tens of kilometres. Recent developments in environmental sensing, data, and modelling have the potential to drive rapid improvements in ecohydrological understanding. After briefly reviewing advances in sensor technologies, this paper highlights how improved measurements and modelling can be applied to enhance understanding of the following ecohydrological examples: interception and canopy processes, root uptake and critical zone processes, and up-scaled effects of land …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Groundwater Recharge In The United Arab Emirates, Yuliya Fadlallah Saade

Civil and Environmental Theses

Climate change is impacting ecosystems and the water resources by causing temperature variation. Evapotranspiration rates are increasing when the temperature is high whereas, precipitation amount and intensity are varying based on geographical locations.

This change in precipitation has an inevitable impact on the groundwater recharge. Quantification of groundwater recharge is a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable groundwater resources management in arid regions.

Although, both surface and groundwater resources in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are scarce; the anticipated climate change impacts could make these resources even scarcer. As such, the main aim of this thesis is to assess the potential …

Analysis Of Burning Wood In The Transient State And The Application To Structural Design, Roberta Veliz, Kimberly Guzman

Architectural Engineering

Determining the extent of the contribution of exposed timber on compartment fire dynamics in open floor plans is a complex process. Designers traditionally used compartmentalization design methods which create spaces where flashover is likely, given the fuel load and ventilation conditions. However, due to the large geometric dimensions and spread of fuel, fires in open floor plans are more likely to remain as localized or traveling fires. As such, an understanding of not only ignition potential but also flame spread is critical to characterizing the contribution of exposed timber. An integral step in characterizing the potential contribution is through an …

Space And Depth-Resolved Naturally Occurring Toxic Groundwater Species In Bangladesh And Rwanda: Origination And Risk Analysis, Kenneth Hamilton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Access to safe potable water is a necessity for all. Groundwater is a commonly relied upon drinking water source for many areas around the world. This is especially true for communities in high density, rural settings. Such is the case for populations near Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, and in the Bugesera region of Rwanda. Sediment and groundwater contamination, through toxic dissolved species, represents a significant public health risk to exposed populations. Tropical soils, such as the soil profiles in Bangladesh and Rwanda, often contain higher concentrations of heavy metals (Rieuwerts, 2007). Additionally, nitrate from fertilizers, are widely used on the soils …

Estimation Of Evapotranspiration And Energy Fluxes Using A Deep-Learning-Based High-Resolution Emissivity Model And The Two-Source Energy Balance Model With Suas Information, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Andres Ticlavilca, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Héctor Nieto, Maria Mar Alsina, Alex White, John H. Prueger, Joseph Alfieri, Lawrence Hipps, Lynn Mckee, William Kustas, Calvin Coopmans, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Surface temperature is necessary for the estimation of energy fluxes and evapotranspiration from satellites and airborne data sources. For example, the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model uses thermal information to quantify canopy and soil temperatures as well as their respective energy balance components. While surface (also called kinematic) temperature is desirable for energy balance analysis, obtaining this temperature is not straightforward due to a lack of spatially estimated narrowband (sensor-specific) and broadband emissivities of vegetation and soil, further complicated by spectral characteristics of the UAV thermal camera. This study presents an effort to spatially model narrowband and broadband emissivities for …

Evaluating The Hydrologic And Thermal Performance Of A Green Roof In Syracuse: Measurements And Modeling Of A Full-Scale System, Yige Yang

Dissertations - ALL

Climate change and urbanization have increased the risk of flooding and combined sewer overflows as well as other stormwater related problems. Given the high costs of traditional infrastructure rehabilitation, green infrastructure, which mimics natural systems, has become a popular solution. Green roofs are one prominent example of green infrastructure. These are engineered vegetative systems positioned on the top of roof structures have been widely adopted around the world, owing to an abundance of roof area in urban neighborhoods. However, their hydrologic performance and thermal properties are unclear, due to a lack of qualitative and quantitative analyses on monitored full-scale green …

Discovering Synergies Among Sustainable Rating Systems In Green Roof Analysis, Kanaan Hardaway

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As awareness has grown of the impacts the built environment has on the natural environment and the human psyche, methods to create more sustainable living environment have been developed. Green infrastructure is well-known for its environmental benefits. Emerging literature suggests green infrastructure have aesthetic qualities conducive to mental restoration, as well. To analyze the multi-benefits of green infrastructure, a green roof is studied for its aesthetic qualities and its impact on LEED, SITES, and WELL certification. A questionnaire was administered to individuals on the University of Arkansas campus to quantify human perceptions and attitudes toward a green roof on a …

Decision-Support System For Lid Footprint Planning And Urban Runoff Mitigation In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas, Javier Guerrero, Taufiqul Alam, Ahmed Mahmoud, Kim D. Jones, Andrew Ernest

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

To address regional flooding in the United States, federal and state agencies are adopting strict drainage policies in any large-scale commercial development within the watershed boundary. The conventional approach of implementing a wet detention pond (WP) reduces the land cover and causes operation and maintenance challenges eventually. The present study developed a decision-support system (DSS) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas for optimal selection of Best Management Practices (BMPs) by substituting a portion of the WP footprint with three regionally promising low-impact development practices, namely, porous concrete pavement (PCP), bioretention (BR), and bioswale (BS). Source Load …

Water Quality Improvement And Pollutant Removal By Two Regional Detention Facilities With Constructed Wetlands In South Texas, Javier Guerrero, Ahmed Mahmoud, Taufiqul Alam, Muhammed A. Chowdhury, Adeniyi Adetayo, Andrew Ernest, Kim D. Jones

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Stormwater runoff introduces several pollutants to the receiving water bodies that may cause degradation of the water quality. Stormwater management systems such as detention facilities and wetland can improve the water quality by removing various pollutants associated with the runoff. The objective of this research project is to determine the performance and efficiency of two major regional detention facilities (RDFs) with different designs and structures in reducing pollutants based on various storm events in McAllen, Texas. The two sites are the McAuliffe RDF and the Morris RDF; each site was incorporated with a constructed wetland with a different design and …

La Minería Del Litio En Salinas Grandes: Un Análisis De Diferentes Narrativas En Torno A La Extracción De Litio Desde 2010 Hasta El Presente / Lithium Mining In The Salinas Grandes: An Analysis Of Different Narratives Surrounding The Extraction Of Lithium From 2010 Until The Present, Sofia Perrotto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El litio ha ocupado una posición muy interesante y controvertida dentro del movimiento ambiental desde su descubrimiento en 2010. Entre los muchos usos de este metal precioso está la fabricación de baterías, que es un componente esencial para la transición hacia una "economía verde". Los vehículos eléctricos y las unidades de almacenamiento de energía que funcionan con baterías de litio son dos tecnologías importantes para este movimiento, y como resultado, la demanda de litio está aumentando en el mercado global. En las Salinas Grandes, la cuestión de la extracción de litio involucra a una variedad de actores que tienen diferentes …

The Participatory Approach For Waterfront Development In Mediterranean Countries. A Case Study Of Tripoli, Lebanon Waterfront, Sima El-Cheikh

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

Public waterfronts are considered an important touristic target in coastal cities. The development of these spaces is affected by many social, economic and political issues. Public participation has been an important tool for communities to influence the making of public spaces. This research aims to develop a participatory approach for waterfront development in Mediterranean countries by studying people behavior and activities on public waterfronts and investigating the socio-economic factors that influence the usage of these areas. It is a bottom-up approach that analyzes how activities emerged from people needs. This research is a mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches that …

Probabilistic Hazard Assessment Of Contaminated Sediment In Rivers, Shahab Aldin Shojaeezadeh, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Ali Mirchi, Iman Mallakpour, Amir Aghakouchak, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a probabilistic framework rooted in multivariate and copula theory to assess heavy metal hazard associated with contaminated sediment in freshwater rivers that provide crucial ecosystem services such as municipal water source, eco-tourism, and agricultural irrigation. Exploiting the dependence structure between suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and different heavy metals, we estimate the hazard probability associated with each heavy metal at different SSC levels. We derive these relationships for warm (spring-summer) and cold (fall-winter) seasons, as well as stormflow condition, to unpack their nonlinear associations under different environmental conditions. To demonstrate its efficacy, we apply our proposed generic framework to …

Mitigation Localized Flooding - Development Of A Green Infrastructure Master Plan In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Andrew Ernest, Javier Guerrero, Ahmed Mahmoud, Roxana Tello, Jose Figueroa, Jorge Hernandez

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The City of Mercedes in partnership with the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) proposed to develop a demonstration green infrastructure (GI) master plan to mitigate localized flooding in a high priority region within the city limits of the City. Local governments in the LRGV control localized flooding and stormwater runoff by adopting strict drainage design policies. During the course of this project, participating in local governments and the project team reviewed the city drainage policy. The project team identified those that already incorporate GI language, provided GI related information to the …

Reiterpreting The Territory-Fragmentation Through Creating Cultural Promenadecase Study: Possibility To Reinterpret Zokak El-Blat District, Maged Youssef, Sarah Abou Shahine

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

"This paper focuses on tools and actions of urban planning that help the creation, enhancement, transformation or revitalization of cultural identity and historical meaning of central public spaces that suffer from urban disruption or fragmentation. This work uses the case study of a well-known district, Zokak el Blat, in Beirut, Lebanon, which has undergone noticeable changes in terms of morphology of the urban fabric as well as disparities in functionality. According to these facts, this district has a high potential for defining a strong central dynamic zone, where local character is reinforced, which creates a sort of fragmentation and discontinuity …

Teaching Across Disciplines: A Case Study Of A Project-Based Short Course To Teach Holistic Coastal Adaptation Design, Pamela K. Judge, Jane A. Buxton, Thomas C. Sheahan, Eleanor R. Phetteplace, David L. Kriebel, Elisabeth M. Hamin Infield

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

Climate change has led to the need for innovation in resilient infrastructure and the social policies which will support those. This requires greater interdisciplinary interactions and knowledge building among emerging professionals. This paper presents a case study of a pilot short course intended to immerse graduate students in the design of resilient infrastructure using place-based and interdisciplinary active team learning. This course helps graduate students bridge the gap between research and practice on the social science and engineering of resilient infrastructure for coastal adaptation. The intellectual framework for the course (the Adaptive Gradients Framework) provides a holistic evaluation of adaptation …

Effect Of Rotary Blade Modification On Residue Retention Into Conservation Agriculture Practices, Md Talash Mahmud, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Mosharraf Hossain, Muhammad Ashik-E-Rabbani

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been a promising technique for better crop production. Manual seeding with conventional tillage practice is laborious and time consuming. However, Strip tillage (ST) method incorporating seeding machines minimizes human drudgery and optimizes the crop yield. Many problems associated with ST have been rectified e.g. tiny furrow backfill, inaccuracy of seed and fertilizer placement, leading to poor germination and curtailed outcomes. This article focused on the effects of residue retention for the rotary blades design on a versatile multi-crop planter (VMP). Four types of rotary blades of VMP differed by 15^o increment of tip angles were …

Exploring Low-Carbon Bus Options For Urban Brt Systems: The Case Of Amman, Rana Imam, Seong-Cheol Kang, Diana Quezada

Journal of Public Transportation

Being able to provide high-quality, metro-like transit service at a fraction of the cost of other options, bus rapid transit (BRT) has been viewed as one of the most cost-effective public mass transport systems suitable for urban areas. Considering significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions are attributed to the transport sector, deploying low carbon buses for BRT systems should be of high priority. With a view to promoting low carbon buses instead of diesel buses for a BRT system currently being planned in Amman, Jordan, this paper evaluates several low carbon bus options – hybrid, plug-in …

An Evaluation Of Ground-Freezing Methods In The Zone Of Discontinuous Permafrost, Northwest Territories, Elzbieta Mastej Ms

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northwestern Canada is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. The southern limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone is highly sensitive to small climatic fluctuations and presently experiencing a rapid landscape change due to accelerated permafrost thaw, which is further exacerbated by anthropogenic disturbances such as seismic exploration. Recent research has begun to examine both natural and mechanical approaches to minimize permafrost loss, although the utility of such methods in peatland environments is not well understood. This study explored the efficiency of natural and artificial ground cooling processes in a peatland environment by evaluating snow exclusion and thermosyphon …

Resource Ecologies, Political Economies And The Ethics Of Audio Technologies In The Anthropocene, Eliot Bates

Publications and Research

Understanding how recorded and amplified stage musics contribute towards producing the Anthropocene necessitates attending to complex transnational flows of material, capital and labor, and how they coalesce into technological objects. This is complicated by the wide array of sites, practices and knowledges involved during various stages of the production process, from initial resource extraction, to smelting, component manufacturing, technology assembly, and distribution. To develop a suitable technological ethics, and to understand what happens to environments and to human, animal and plant lifeworlds, requires one to resist abstraction and undertake a global accounting of resource ecologies with recourse to planetary-scale political …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Community Development: Introduction And Overview, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The two-third of the city-dwelling world population by 2050 poses numerous global challenges in the infrastructure and natural resource management domains (e.g., water and food scarcity, increasing global temperatures, and energy issues). The IoT with integrated sensing and communication capabilities has the strong potential for the robust, sustainable, and informed resource management in the urban and rural communities. In this chapter, the vital concepts of sustainable community development are discussed. The IoT and sustainability interactions are explained with emphasis on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and communication technologies. Moreover, IoT opportunities and challenges are discussed in the context of sustainable community …

Arising: Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy’S Impact On Design/Planning Professionals, Maxinne R. Leighton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Standing by my bedroom window, looking out at the ocean, a huge wave comes and swallows up my building. Everything around me is gone, including me. I wake up. I am 13 years old and living in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. With ongoing anthropogenic changes to the natural environment such as sea level rise and intensifying storms, coastal communities, especially ones segregated by class and culture, are particularly vulnerable in this context that challenges a way of life, and in some instances, threatens that life's survival. This dissertation focuses specifically on what one massive …

Regional Sustainable Development Of Renewable Natural Resources Using Net Primary Productivity On A Global Scale, Saket Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Venkatesh Kishor Panchariya, Manish Kumar Goyal, Rao Y. Surampalli, Tian C. Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Ecological Indicators 127 (2021) 107768