Digital Commons Network^™

How To Start A University Business Plan Competition: The Experience Of San Jose State University, Michael Solt, Asbjorn Osland, Anuradha Basu

Faculty Publications

San Jose State University’s Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship has hosted a business plan competition for the last two academic years. The purpose of the Silicon Valley Business Plan Competition (SVBPC) is to stimulate interest in entrepreneurship among students and help to create new start-ups. The winners have typically been MBA students with an engineering background. This paper documents the process of planning and implementing the SVBPC as it has evolved at San Jose State University (SJSU), the resources required, and the key challenges encountered in organizing this annual event and widening participation in the competition. The paper reports on …

San Jose State University Based Incubators: Loosely Coupled Elements In Silicon Valley’S Entrepreneurial System, Asbjorn Osland, Burton Dean

Faculty Publications

The San Jose Redevelopment Agency (RDA) fostered and continues to nurture incubators. In partnership with the RDA, San Jose State University (SJSU), through its Foundation, operates four fairly autonomous loosely coupled university based incubators (UBIs). Their primary mission is to develop start-ups. They also provide excellent learning opportunities for students. What they have not done is commercialize university or faculty intellectual property. The incubator directors are experienced business people who have the business acumen to nurture start-ups successfully, which they have done. The RDA, SJSU, the UBIs, and the incubator directors are all part of the entrepreneurial system that characterizes …

Damage Localization In Ambient Vibration By Constructing Proportional Flexibility Matrix, Zhongdong Duan, Guirong Yan, Jinping Ou, B. F. Spencer

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Damage Localization Approaches based on Changes of Flexibilities Constitute an Important Technique for Damage Detection. However, the Unavailability of Flexibility Matrix with Output-Only Data Makes Flexibility-Based Approaches Not Really Applicable in the Very Important Cases of Ambient Vibrations. an Algorithm is Presented to Construct a Proportional Flexibility Matrix (PFM) from a Set of Arbitrarily Scaled Tested Modal Shapes and Modal Frequencies. the Constructed PFM is Just within a Scalar Multiplier to the Real Flexibility Matrix, and the Scalar Multiplier is Theoretically the First Modal Mass, Which is Undetermined Before the Mode is Properly Scaled. Instead of Real Flexibilities, the PFMs …

Today’S Techniques For Heat Exchanger Protection Via Particle Filtration, Kathy Colby, Caroline Hoffman

Heat Exchanger Fouling and Cleaning - Challenges and Opportunities

No abstract provided.

Heat Treatment Of Dairy Product By A Flat Ohmic Cell: Impact Of The Reynolds Number, Fluid Rheology And Fouling Presence On The Electrode Surface Temperature, M. A. Ayadi, T. Benezech, F. Chopard, M. Berthou, J. C. Leuliet

Heat Exchanger Fouling and Cleaning - Challenges and Opportunities

No abstract provided.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 21, Number 9, June 2005, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

A ten page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 20, Number 8, June 2004, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

A ten page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Computing Best-Possible Bounds For The Distribution Of A Sum Of Several Variables Is Np-Hard, Vladik Kreinovich, Scott Ferson

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many real-life situations, we know the probability distribution of two random variables x1 and x2, but we have no information about the correlation between x1 and x2; what are the possible probability distributions for the sum x1+x2? This question was originally raised by A. N. Kolmogorov. Algorithms exist that provide best-possible bounds for the distribution of x1+x2; these algorithms have been implemented as a part of the efficient software for handling probabilistic uncertainty. A natural question is: what if we have several (n>2) variables with known distribution, we have no information about their correlation, and we are interested …

Why Product Of Probabilities (Masses) For Independent Events? A Remark, Vladik Kreinovich, Scott Ferson

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

For independent events A and B, the probability P(A&B) is equal to the product of the corresponding probabilities: P(A&B)=P(A)*P(B). It is well known that the product f(a,b)=a*b has the following property: once P(A1)+...+P(An)=1 and P(B1)+...+P(Bm)=1, the probabilities P(Ai&Bj)=f(P(Ai),P(Bj)) also add to 1: f(P(A1),P(B1))+...+f(P(An),P(Bm))=1. We prove that the product is the only function that satisfies this property, i.e., that if, vice versa, this property holds for some function f(a,b), then this function f is the product. This result provided an additional explanation of why for independent events, we multiply probabilities (or, in the Dempster-Shafer case, masses).

In this paper, we strengthen …

Evaluation Of A Two Dimensional Analysis Method As A Screening And Evaluation Tool For Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, Scott G. Mclean, K. Walker, K. R. Ford, G. D. Myer, T. E. Hewett, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Increased knee valgus predicts the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, particularly in women. Reducing injury rates thus relies on detecting and continually evaluating people with relatively large valgus motions.

Objectives: To examine the potential of a two dimensional (2D) video analysis method for screening for excessive valgus.

Methods: Ten female and 10 male National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball players had three dimensional (3D) knee valgus and two dimensional (2D) frontal plane knee angle quantified during side step, side jump, and shuttle run tasks. 3D valgus was quantified from external marker coordinates using standard techniques, and 2D data …

Predicting The Cost Per Flying Hour For The F-16 Using Programmatic And Operational Variables, Eric M. Hawkes

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzes operational and programmatic data from all Air National Guard and 13 of 14 active duty F-16C/D Fighter Wings (FW) from 1998 to 2004 in search of explanatory variables that influence a wing's Cost Per Flying Hour (CPFH). Using data from both the Air Force Total Ownership Cost database and from the Air Force Knowledge Systems database, this research evaluates the predictive ability of the following nine explanatory variables: aircraft age, average sortie duration, MajCOM, base location, utilization rate, percent engine type, percent block, percent deployed, and previous year's CPFH, the last four of which were previously untested. …

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv April Through June, 2005, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects, activities and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Internal Damage Detection And Assessment In Beams Using Experimental Natural Frequencies, Frances K. Durham

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the frequency response of a cantilever beam with the intent of establishing a reliable nondestructive method of damage detection. The test specimens were 12 aluminum 2024 T3 beams, each identical except for a unique, eccentrically located notch, and one reference notchless beam. The machined notches varied in length and location to simulate varying degrees of damage. Laser doppler vibrometry enabled the data acquisition. The changes in natural frequencies were correlated to notch length and notch location. A comparison of eccentric and centered notch influence on the natural frequencies also is discussed.

Observations At The Tidal Plume Front Of A High-Volume River Outflow, Philip M. Orton, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present shipboard observations of very strong convergence, vertical velocities and mixing, and near-bed impacts associated with the leading-edge front of the tidally-pulsed Columbia River plume. With upwelling-favorable winds and riverflow of 4900 m³s⁻¹, the plume propagates as a buoyant gravity current with a rotary, bore-like vertical frontal circulation and downwelling as strong as 0.35 m s⁻¹. In waters as deep as 65 m, near-bed currents intensify to as much as 1.0 m s⁻¹ after frontal passage, and are often associated with elevated acoustic backscatter. Mixing is locally strong, with an eddy diffusivity …

Comparing F-16 Maintenance Scheduling Philosophies, Konstantinos Iakovidis

Theses and Dissertations

In the F-16 fighter community it is believed that the flying schedule can make or break a wing's maintenance effort. Nevertheless, there is no published scientific support behind many commonly used maintenance scheduling philosophies. The problem is that a generally accepted overall scheduling philosophy to improve the long term health of the fleet does not exist. The purpose of this research is tri-fold: to identify the most important scheduling philosophies, to identify the most meaningful metrics that capture the long term health of the fleet and maintenance effectiveness, and to compare the various philosophies using the performance measures to help …

Dynamic Matrix Composition In Engineered Cartilage With Stochastic Supplementation Of Growth Factors, Asit K. Saha, J. (Jagannath) Mazumdar, Sean S. Kohles

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis is explored in a hypothesized engineered cartilage construct. Growth (α) and decay (β) rate parameters are developed from a previous engineered cartilage model. The presented mathematical model was constructed from the parameterized experimental data using a deterministic and stochastic examination of ECM synthesis based on a negative feedback control mechanism. A growth factor supplementation is incorporated in a probabilistic mathematical approach. The growth factor component modified an initial deterministic model through a Gaussian white noise fluctuation. As the primary constituents of ECM, the mathematical tool is intended to characterize the probable steady state distribution of …

Development Of Adsorption Filtration Process For Virus Removal For Drinking Water Treatment, Vishal Vijay Gawarikar

Dissertations

Recent monitoring studies have indicated that many ground water (GW) sources would benefit from the development of effective technologies for removing viruses. Although reverse osmosis can achieve high log removal it is not economical. The main objective of this study is to test and validate a novel adsorption filtration (AF) technology for removing viruses from GW sources for drinking water production in New Jersey.

The convective diffusion of viruses to adsorbent particle surfaces in flow packed beds (FPB) enhances their removal efficiency if the adsorbent particle size can be decreased to about 100 microns. The development of effective virus removal …

Fluid-Phase Thermodynamics From Molecular-Level Properties And Interactions Based In Quantum Theory, Steven G. Arturo

Dissertations

A methodology to predict the thermodynamics of macroscopic fluid systems from quantum chemistry and statistical thermodynamics has been developed. This work extends the group-contribution concepts most utilized in chemical engineering. Computational chemistry software is used to define the geometries and electron density profiles of target molecules. Atoms in Molecules theory and associated software packages are used to calculate rigorous properties of the functional groups within molecules of interest. These properties are incorporated into an intermolecular potential energy function which describes interactions between entire molecules as a set of interactions between functional groups. This information is applied to a lattice-fluid model …

Ambulatory Biopotential Measurement, Lakshmi Chitra Penugonda

Theses

Biopotential signals measure the electrical activity of different parts of the body. Conventional bedside monitors only provide information about the body under restricted conditions. Observation and documentation of biopotential signal during daily activities and the relation to patient symptoms may be important factors for clinical decision-making. Ambulatory monitoring helps to monitor the biopotential signal of a patient in the natural environment. The effective ambulatory system can help a physician to diagnose the patient's abnormality.

In this project, a low cost and flexible ambulatory biopotential system, compared to the commercially available systems, was designed and tested. Concurrently a software program was …

Analysis Of Acceleration And Deceleration During Cyclic Exercise, Jeena Vadi

Theses

The Cyclic Exercise Protocol is a novel protocol that is designed to create a series of cyclic waves of exercise and recovery. This exercise protocol involves short bursts of exercise lasting for 60 seconds or less followed by a period of complete cardio recovery. This study involves the analysis of the acceleration and the deceleration regions of the cyclic exercise sessions. The objective of this study was to develop an algorithm to quantitatively analyze the acceleration and the deceleration regions of cyclic exercise sessions. The acceleration and the deceleration regions of cycles were split into three segments and each segment …

Relationship Between The Autonomic Nervous System And The Recovering Heart Post Exercise Using Heart Rate Variability, Pierre Asselin

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to determine if a relationship exists between the activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the speed of heart rate recovery post maximal exercise. The parasympathetic branch of the ANS was assessed during rest by obtaining the high frequency (HF) component of the heart rate variability (HRV) frequency spectrum. The recovery time was estimated by fitting an exponential curve to the heart rate post exercise where the exponent was used to calculate the time constant to indicate recovery time. A regression was then performed on the HF and recovery time in order to …

Non-Linear Digital Control Of A Mckibben Muscle System, Surinkumar Patel

Theses

McKibben muscles are pneumatic actuators that have potential application in the rehabilitation of persons with physical impairments. These actuators have been known to exhibit similarities in human musculoskeletal systems. In order to better understand and improve the closed - loop control of these pneumatic muscles, a physical joint model was constructed with an agonist and an antagonist muscle operating under non-linear control. With the use of LabVIEW software, compliant McKibben air muscles and Flock-of-Birds sensor, the author was able to implement and compare a standard bang-bang controller and experimental non-linear digital Proportional (P) controller. The feedback mechanism is based on …

Is There A Green Chemistry Approach For Leaching Gold?, Jarnes L. Hendrix

Papers in Sustainable Mining

Over the past fifteen years there has been significant interest in the concepts of sustainable development and mining. Many governments, mining con~panies and non-government organizations have embraced the concepts of sustainable development. One concept generated from the ideas stemming from sustainable mining is that of 'green gold'. Similar to sustainable mining, green gold's meaning is defined by the originator.

Using Ems’S To Improve Compliance On Livestock And Poultry Operations, L. Mark Risse, Richard K. Koelsch, Bill Bland, Elizabeth A. Bird, Thomas M. Bass

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Across the United States and abroad, innovative producers, processors, trade organizations and others in the agricultural sector are exploring the promise of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to improve their environmental and business performance. An Environmental Management System or EMS helps farmers develop their own, personal strategies for reducing environmental risk on their operations by integrating environmental management considerations into production management decisions. It is a voluntary, flexible approach and is based on a producer's own sense of how best to manage an operation.

Partnerships for Livestock Environmental Management Systems is a 4-year project to explore the potential of livestock Environmental …

Effects Of Fuel Molecular Structure And Composition On Soot Formation In Direct-Injection Spray Flames, Kenth Ingemar Svensson

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous investigations have been conducted to determine the effect of fuel composition and molecular structure on particulate emissions using exhaust gas analysis, but relatively few measurements have been obtained in-cylinder or under conditions where fuel effects can be isolated from other variables. In this work, dimethoxymethane was used as the base fuel to produce a non-sooting flame in a constant volume combustion vessel at 1000 K, and a density of 16.6 kg/m3. A second fuel was then added incrementally to determine an incipient soot limit. Line-of-sight extinction measurements were used as the primary diagnostic tool to determine if a correlation …

Thermal Efficiency Characteristics Of Indirect Evaporative Cooling Systems, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Conference Papers

Recent developments in enhancing heat transfer in cooling towers, together with the success of chilled ceilings, have prompted a review of the evaporative cooling technique. in temperate maritime climates. The thermal efficiency of such systems is a key parameter, as a measure of the degree to which the system has succeeded in exploiting the cooling potential of the ambient air. This paper presents the results of experimental research into the thermal efficiency of a water-side open indirect evaporative cooling test rig designed to achieve low (1-4 K) approach conditions. Secondary efficiencies in the range 0.24-0.76 have been achieved.

New Algorithms For Statistical Analysis Of Interval Data, Gang Xiang, Scott A. Starks, Vladik Kreinovich, Luc Longpre

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

It is known that in general, statistical analysis of interval data is an NP-hard problem: even computing the variance of interval data is, in general, NP-hard. Until now, only one case was known for which a feasible algorithm can compute the variance of interval data: the case when all the measurements are accurate enough -- so that even after the measurement, we can distinguish between different measured values Xi. In this paper, we describe several new cases in which feasible algorithms are possible -- e.g., the case when all the measurements are done by using the same (not necessarily very …

Modeling Of Immunoglobulin Uptake By N,N,N′,N′-Ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic Acid-Modified Zirconia Particles Under Static And Dynamic Conditions, Sabyasachi Sarkar, Anuradha Subramanian

Papers in Biotechnology

A matrix developed from N,N,N′,N′-ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonic acid-modified zirconia beads (further referred to as r_PEZ); 25–38 μm in diameter and with a pore size of 22 ± 3 nm, was utilized for the separation of immunoglobulins (Igs). r_PEZ has been shown to bind to various Igs originating from a wide variety of species. To understand the mechanisms controlling the uptake of Igs by r_PEZ, static protein uptake experiments were carried out. The protein uptake profiles were further modeled with a kinetic rate constant model. Individual studies were undertaken for human immunoglobulin A, G and M (HIgA, HIgG and HIgM). The kinetic rate …

Gene Delivery Through Cell Culture Substrate Adsorbed Dna Complexes, Zain Bengali, Angela K. Pannier, Tatiana Segura, Brian C. Anderson, Jae-Hyung Jang, Thomas D. Mustoe, Lonnie D Shea

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Efficient gene delivery is a fundamental goal of biotechnology and has numerous applications in both basic and applied science. Substrate-mediated delivery and reverse transfection enhance gene transfer by increasing the concentration of DNA in the cellular microenvironment through immobilizing a plasmid to a cell culture substrate prior to cell seeding. In this report, we examine gene delivery of plasmids that were complexed with cationic polymers (polyplexes) or lipids (lipoplexes) and subsequently immobilized to cell culture or biomaterial substrates by adsorption. Polyplexes and lipoplexes were adsorbed to either tissue culture polystyrene or serum-adsorbed tissue culture polystyrene. The quantity of DNA immobilized …