Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Complexity Of Impact Crater Ejecta, Michael Raymond Zanetti

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The formation of an impact crater ejecta blanket can be viewed as a form of organized chaos. Material that is ejected from a crater is heavily brecciated, but falls back to the surface along ballistic trajectories, generally preserving an inverted sense of the original stratigraphy. As the ejecta re-impacts the area surrounding the crater it forms a thick blanket of ejected material and reworked target surface that gradually thins away from the crater rim. Within the crater, crater modification processes, such as wall terrace formation and impact melt drainage, transform the crater in expectable ways. The approach adopted in this …

Applying Bayesian Machine Learning Methods To Theoretical Surface Science, Shane Carr

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning is a rapidly evolving field in computer science with increasingly many applications to other domains. In this thesis, I present a Bayesian machine learning approach to solving a problem in theoretical surface science: calculating the preferred active site on a catalyst surface for a given adsorbate molecule. I formulate the problem as a low-dimensional objective function. I show how the objective function can be approximated into a certain confidence interval using just one iteration of the self-consistent field (SCF) loop in density functional theory (DFT). I then use Bayesian optimization to perform a global search for the solution. …

Copper And Zinc Oxide Composite Nanostructures For Solar Energy Harvesting, Fei Wu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Solar energy is a clean and sustainable energy source to counter global environmental issues of rising atmospheric CO2 levels and depletion of natural resources. To extract useful work from solar energy, silicon-based photovoltaic devices are extensively used. The technological maturity and the high quality of silicon (Si) make it a material of choice. However limitations in Si exist, ranging from its indirect band gap to low light absorption coefficient and energy and capital intensive crystal growth schemes. Therefore, alternate materials that are earth-abundant, benign and simpler to process are needed for developing new platforms for solar energy harvesting applications.

In …

Optimization Of Looped Airfoil Wind Turbine (Lawt) And Looped Airfoil Hydro-Turbine (Laht) Design Parameters For Maximum Power Generation, Binhe Song

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This focus of this research is on the study of the aerodynamic performance of a Looped Airfoil Wind Turbine (LAWT™) using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. The looped airfoil wind turbine (LAWT™) is a patented new technology by EverLift Wind Technology, Inc. for generating power from wind. It takes advantage of the superior lift force of a linearly traveling wing compared to the rotating blades in conventional wind turbine configurations. Compared to horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines, the LAWT™ can be manufactured with minimal cost because it does not require complex gear systems and its blades have a …

Thermally Evolved & Separated Composition Of Atmospheric Aerosols: Development And Application Of Advanced Data Analysis Techniques For A Thermal Desorption Aerosol Gas Chromatograph (Tag), Yaping Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Atmospheric organic aerosols are composed of thousands of individual compounds, interacting with climate through changes in aerosol optical properties and cloud interactions, and can be detrimental to human health. Aerosol mass spectrometry (MS) and gas chromatography (GC)-separated MS measurements have been utilized to better characterize the chemical composition of this material that comes from a variety of sources and experiences continuous oxidation while in the atmosphere. This dissertation describes the development of a novel rapid data analysis method for grouping of major components within chromatography-separated measurements and first application using thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatograph (TAG) – MS data. Chromatograms …

Dynamic Post Testing Review, Karla A. Lechtenberg, John D. Reid, Ronald K. Faller

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The objective of this research study was to compile a database of existing dynamic post testing conducted globally and located in many different research reports for use internally during future Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) research studies.

Humans Integrate Monetary And Liquid Incentives To Motivate Cognitive Task Performance, Debbie Yee

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

It is unequivocal that a wide variety of incentives can motivate behavior. However, few studies have explicitly examined whether and how different incentives are integrated in terms of their motivational influence. The current study examines the combined effects of monetary and liquid incentives on cognitive processing, and whether appetitive and aversive incentives have distinct influences. We introduce a novel task paradigm, in which participants perform cued task-switching for monetary rewards that vary parametrically across trials, with liquid incentives serving as post-trial performance feedback. Critically, the symbolic meaning of the liquid was held constant (indicating successful reward attainment), while liquid valence …

Structural Evolution, Chemical Order, And Crystallization Of Metallic Liquids And Glasses, Mark Johnson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the last 60 years, bulk metallic glasses have emerged as a new class of materials with highly desirable material properties. Their high strength, high elasticity, and corrosion resistance are attractive properties for viable commercial products. At its core, material properties are directly related to the underlying microstructure. By understanding the structural and chemical order in the liquid and undercooled liquid and their relationship to thermophysical properties such as viscosity, a greater understanding of bulk metallic glass formation can be achieved. In this dissertation, electrostatic levitation techniques are used to study the liquid in a containerless environment using a combination …

The Mechanism And Regulation Of Mammalian Photoreceptor Dark Adaptation, Yunlu Xue

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The visual perception of vertebrates begins in rod and cone photoreceptors. Both photoreceptors require visual pigments to detect light. At the first step of light detection, a chromophore molecule (i.e. 11-cis retinal), which is conjugated to the visual pigment in photoreceptor outer segment, absorbs a photon. Photoisomerization of the chromophore activates the visual pigment, triggers the phototransduction cascade, and produces electrical signals. After photoisomerization, the chromophore is ultimately converted to all-trans retinol, which must be recycled to regenerate the visual pigment. This visual pigment regeneration process is called the visual cycle. It is the rate-limiting step of the photoreceptor dark …

Sparse Representation And Dictionary Learning For Biometrics And Object Tracking, Rahman Khorsandi

Open Access Dissertations

Biometrics attracted the attention of researchers in computer vision and machine learning for its use in many applications. We propose systems for face and ear recognition, gender classification and object tracking. First, we present a fully automated system for recognition from ear images based upon sparse representation. In sparse representation, extracted features from the training data is used to develop a dictionary. Classification is achieved by representing the extracted features of the test data as a linear combination of entries in the dictionary. In fact, there are many solutions for this problem and the goal is to find the sparsest …

A Dynamic Adaptive Simulations Approach For Microgrid Control And Optimization, Aristotelis E. Thanos

Open Access Dissertations

During the past two decades, the power systems witnessed vital changes in terms of centralized paradigm versus more decentralized and market driven approaches; technical advances on communications and computation; and generation technologies which collectively lead to the advancement of microgrids (MGs). In this thesis, a novel dynamic adaptive simulations (DAS) approach is introduced for addressing major challenges in the operation and control of MGs, such as solving the economic and environmental load dispatch problem, achieving a sophisticated autonomous control of microgrids, and promoting the cooperation between individual microgrids to increase the power network reliability and energy surety. Initially, a first …

Comparison Of Beginning Teachers' And Experienced Teachers' Readiness To Integratetechnology As Measured By Tpack Scores, Heather S. Fontanilla

Dissertations

Despite a growing awareness of the importance of technology in education, increased investment and attention to preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom, research shows that technology continues to fail to live up to its potential for transforming education. As schools move from standards based testing to implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an expectation exists that teachers will be using technology to transform their teaching practices. There is also an expectation that schools are providing students with 21st century skills, including the use of technology. In exploring the reasons teachers are not using technology effectively, much …

Volume 51 - Issue 11 - Monday, December 14, 2015, Rose Thorn Staff

The Rose Thorn Archive

The Rose Thorn, Rose-Hulman's independent student newspaper.

Columbia Chronicle (12/14/2015)

Columbia Chronicle

Student newspaper from December 14, 2015 entitled The Columbia Chronicle. This issue is 40 pages and is listed as Volume 51, Issue 15. Cover story: "NFL Draft punts graduation back to The Chicago Theatre" Editor-in-Chief: Kyra Senese

Lrcp Initial Study, Uc Hastings College Of The Law

Long Range Campus Planning Archive

No abstract provided.

Scope Of Work, Trc

Long Range Campus Planning Archive

No abstract provided.

Curricular Affairs Committee Minutes December 14, 2015, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Committee Reports and Appendices

No abstract provided.

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (December 14, 2015), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on December 14, 2015.

A Statistical Approach For Optimizing Parameters For Electrodeposition Of Indium (Iii) Sulfide Films, Potential Low-Hazard Buffer Layers For Photovoltaic Applications, Maqsood Ali Mughal

Student Theses and Dissertations

Clean and environmentally friendly technologies are centralizing industry focus towards obtaining long term solutions to many large-scale problems such as energy demand, pollution, and environmental safety. Thin film solar cell (TFSC) technology has emerged as an impressive photovoltaic (PV) technology to create clean energy from fast production lines with capabilities to reduce material usage and energy required to manufacture large area panels, hence, lowering the costs. Today, cost ($/kWh) and toxicity are the primary challenges for all PV technologies. In that respect, electrodeposited indium sulfide (In2S3) films are proposed as an alternate to hazardous cadmium sulfide (CdS) films, commonly used …

Assessment Of Classifiers For Potential Voice-Enabled Transportation Apps, Md Majbah Uddin

Theses and Dissertations

Transportation apps are playing a positive role for today’s technology-driven users. They provide users with a convenient and flexible tool to access transportation data and services, as well as collect and manage data. In many of these apps, such as Google Maps, their operations rely on the effectiveness of the voice recognition system. For the existing and new apps to be truly effective, the built-in voice recognition system needs to be robust (i.e., being able to recognize words spoken in different pitch and tone). The goal of this study is to assess three post-processing classifiers (i.e., bag-of-sentences, support vector machine, …

Probing Microhydration Effect On The Electronic Structure Of The Gfp Chromophore Anion: Photoelectron Spectroscopy And Theoretical Investigations, Kiran Bhaskaran-Nair, Marat Valiev, S. H.M. Deng, William A. Shelton, Karol Kowalski, Xue Bin Wang

Faculty Publications

The photophysics of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) chromophore is critically dependent on its local structure and on its environment. Despite extensive experimental and computational studies, there remain many open questions regarding the key fundamental variables that govern this process. One outstanding problem is the role of autoionization as a possible relaxation pathway of the excited state under different environmental conditions. This issue is considered in our work through combined experimental and theoretical studies of microsolvated clusters of the deprotonated p-hydroxybenzylidene-2,3-dimethylimidazolinone anion (HBDI^-), an analog of the GFP chromophore. Through selective generation of microsolvated structures of predetermined size …

Drones In Logistics: A Feasible Future Or A Waste Of Effort, Andrew Lotz

Honors Projects

On December 1^st, 2013 news around the world was filled with headlines about E- Commerce website Amazon.com. CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos announced to the world that Amazon was designing a drone delivery program called Amazon Air that could deliver packages to customers in just 30 minutes. Consumers were all too excited for the program to launch while many business and air traffic savvy people were highly skeptical. Now two years later research to look back at the feasibility of drone flight and whether investment into the technology is worth it for small deliveries straight to customers is …

Approaching Aromatic Interactions With Small Molecule Model Systems: Assessing N-Heteroarene In ∏ -Stacking And Ch-∏ Interactions, Crystal Engineering Of Atropisomeric Rotors, And Developing Responsive Organic Charge-Transfer Complex, Ping Li

Theses and Dissertations

Non-covalent interactions involving aromatic species are important in many areas in chemistry, biochemistry, and materials sciences. During the past two decades, small molecule model systems have emerged as a powerful tool to advance our knowledge of the stability trends for aromatic interactions in the condensed phase. Among these, the Cshape N-arylimide molecular balances developed by our laboratory have proven to be one most successful and versatile model systems that can be readily adapted to investigate various types of aromatic interactions. These molecular balances are particularly apt at isolating and accurately measuring the targeted weak aromatic interaction energies for different geometries. …

Development Of Highly Active And Stable Hybrid Cathode Catalyst For Pemfcs, Won Suk Jung

Theses and Dissertations

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are attractive power sources of the future for a variety of applications including portable electronics, stationary power, and automobile application. However, sluggish cathode kinetics, high Pt cost, and durability issues inhibit the commercialization of PEMFCs. To overcome these drawbacks, research has been focused on alloying Pt with transition metals since alloy catalysts show significantly improved catalytic properties like high activity, selectivity, and durability. However, Pt-alloy catalysts synthesized using the conventional impregnation method exhibit uneven particle size and poor particle distribution resulting in poor performance and/or durability in PEMFCs. In this dissertation, a novel catalyst …

Capstar Radio Operating Co. V. Lawrence Respondent's Brief Dckt. 42326

Idaho Supreme Court Records & Briefs, All

No abstract provided.

Quiet On The Set, William M. Hamilton

University of Mississippi News

STUDIOone offers one-stop shop for video recording and editing

Unh Announces New Dean Of Its Manchester Campus, Erika Mantz

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopy And Chemometrics For Cultural Heritage And Forensics: Conservation Of Magnetic Tape By Identifying Degraded Polymer Signatures; And Characterizing The Chemiluminescent Reaction Of Luminol With Blood, Brianna Marie Cassidy

Theses and Dissertations

The first half of this manuscript focuses on the identification of degraded magnetic tape using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and multivariate statistics. For several decades before the digital era, magnetic tape was the dominant audio and visual recording medium. A majority of magnetic tapes contain polyester urethane (PEU) binders, which are known to degrade via hydrolysis, making the retrieval of recorded data difficult and at times impossible. Degraded tapes are currently identified through visual inspection followed by playback on vintage equipment. However, if degraded tapes are played, they are likely to stick and shed onto player …

Effect Of Electrical Stimulation On Muscle Recruitment As It Relates To Maximal Voluntary Contraction, Kelly Stratton

Master's Theses

Regeneration of complex muscle tissue, particularly at the interface between distinct tissue types such as muscle and tendon, remains an intricate and challenging issue. One approach recommended for regeneration is electrical stimulation (ES), which involves delivering an electrical pulse into the body to induce muscle contraction. Despite its well-documented effectiveness in both clinical rehabilitation and tissue engineering, little is known in terms of monitoring direct muscle response to stimulation. The recruitment mechanism for muscular contraction with stimulation is unclear, and to understand the muscle capabilities, it is necessary to filter out the electrical stimulation pulses from electromyographic (EMG) muscle activity, …

Identity, Critical Agency, And Engineering Majors: An Affective Model For Predicting Engineering As A Career Choice., Allison Godwin, Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Robynne Lock

School of Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Prior to college, many students do not have experience with engineering, but some ultimately choose an engineering career. Additionally, women choose engineering at lower rates than men, which results in women’s underrepresentation. The framework of critical engineering agency (CEA) is utilized to understand student attitudes and beliefs for choosing engineering. We investigate the relationships among students’ math and physics identities in high school that predict choice of engineering careers; how students’ beliefs about science and technology predict a choice of engineering careers; whether these beliefs are different by gender; and how well CEA explains students’ engineering choice. The data were …