Digital Commons Network^™

Autoliv Testing Buck, Derek Hatch, Presli Hutchinson, Mckay Ogden

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The purpose of this project is to build a testing buck to test airbags for out-of-position passengers.

Autoliv is the world's largest automotive safety supplier. Their vision as a company is to save more lives and reduce serious injuries. This fixture is helpful in achieving their vision and continuing to make advancements in airbags for everyday vehicles.

The fixture replicates various sized cars and passengers. The testing buck will run airbag tests on mannequins ranging in size from a small child to a small statured woman.

Ease of use is highly emphasized throughout the project. The components of the fixture …

Thermal Battery, Jake Miles, Cody Barrie, Daniel Pratt, Cody Petterborg

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The objective of the Thermal Battery Project was to design an energy storage tank with an energy capture device for a greenhouse. The design would release the captured energy into the greenhouse to warm the greenhouse and extend the growing season of day-neutral strawberries.

These greenhouses often do not receive enough sunlight to maintain optimal interior temperatures for the strawberries during colder and darker months. Farmers must rely on various heating methods to keep their greenhouses warm. Most of these methods require the use of nonrenewable energy to maintain a desired temperature range.

The problems addressed by the thermal battery …

University Rover Competition Manipulation Sub-Team, Merrill Hall, Kyler Hendrickson, Kaden Ledbetter, Rachael Paskett, Nicholas Wallace

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The rover was designed to complete the tasks laid out in the 2019 Mar’s Society University Rover Challenge (URC) competition rules.

1. Science mission- The rover must conduct an in-situ analysis to determine the presence of life, either extinct or extant, at designated sights.
2. Extreme retrieval and delivery- The rover must pick up and deliver objects in the field while traversing a wide variety of terrain no further than 1 km.
3. Equipment servicing- The rover must perform operations on an equipment system after traveling up to 0.25 km.
4. Autonomous traversal mission- The rover must autonomously traverse between …

University Rover Competition Navigation Sub-Team, Seth Horne, Kaden Archibald, Derek Workman

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

University Rover Competition (URC) Navigation Requirements:

1. The rover shall be an off the grid mobile platform that is controlled by operators in a command station.
2. The rover must autonomously navigate between start and end markers, while performing object detection.
3. The rover must be able to recognize a tennis ball end marker and signal when it is within 2 m of the tennis ball.

University Rover Competition Power/Drive Sub-Team, Cleon Horne, Brady Kalt, Mason Moore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The rover was designed to complete the tasks laid out in the 2019 Mar’s Society University Rover Challenge (URC) competition rules.

1. Science mission- The rover must conduct an in-situ analysis to determine the presence of life, either extinct or extant, at designated sights.
2. Extreme retrieval and delivery- The rover must pick up and deliver objects in the field while traversing a wide variety of terrain no further than 1 km.
3. Equipment servicing- The rover must perform operations on an equipment system after traveling up to 0.25 km.
4. Autonomous traversal mission- The rover must autonomously traverse between …

University Rover Competition Science Sub-Team, Samuel Parastino, Tyler Wallentine, Brandon Kenison

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The University Rover Competition is held annually near Hanksville, UT at the Mars Desert Research Station. Each team must design and build a rover compete in four different tasks:

1. Science Mission. The rover is required to conduct an in-situ analysis to determine the presence of extinct or extant life at designated sites
2. Extreme Retrieval and Delivery. The rover is required to pick up and deliver objects in the field while traversing a wide variety of terrain no further than 1 km from the base station.
3. Equipment Servicing. The rover is required to perform operations on an equipment system after traveling …

University Rover Competition, Nicholas Huld

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The Mar’s Society University Rover Challenge (URC) is a robotics competition held annually in the desert of Southern Utah. The competition tasks the engineers with building a remotely operated rover to accomplish four primary missions:

1. Science mission- The rover must conduct an in-situ analysis to determine the presence of life, either extinct or extant, at designated sights.
2. Extreme retrieval and delivery- The rover must pick up and deliver objects in the field while traversing a wide variety of terrain no further than 1 km.
3. Equipment servicing- The rover must perform operations on an equipment system after traveling …

High Intensity Uv Light, Kelsey Payne, Ryan Reid, Travis Smith

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

“Mechanics at Extreme Temperatures” is Dr. Berke’s lab. His experiments involve observing specimens at extreme temperatures (i.e. 1500°C) under various load states to simulate jets in hypersonic flight, reentry of spacecraft, and other aerospace applications.

Study Of The Impact Of The Great Recession On The Relation Between Earnings Surprises And Stock Returns, Benjamin Anderson, Stoyu Ivanov

Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of the Great Recession on the relation between earnings surprises and stock returns and examines the role that informed and uninformed investors play in the formation of the post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD). We use quarterly earnings surprises (SUE), firms' standardized unexpected returns, calculated as actual earnings minus expected earnings, scaled by stock price one day prior to the earnings announcement, and one-year future stock returns, the subsequent twelve-month abnormal stock returns, calculated as the difference between the firm's buy-and-hold return and the value-weighted market buy-and-hold return, to test whether the Great Recession had an impact …

Threats To The Brazilian Environment And Environmental Policy, Thomas J. Trebat, Laura Nora, Inga Caldwell

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Columbia Global Centers | Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University and the Brazil-American Institute for Law and Environment at Pace University, organized a Workshop on November 13, 2019 in New York City. The Workshop was convened to discuss and raise awareness of the scope and severity of the environmental crisis in Brazil with a focus on the severe threats to the Amazon.

The consequences of the Bolsonaro government´s environmental actions are serious for Brazil and for the world. That is one of the reasons why the Columbia Global Center …

Changing The National Flood Insurance Program For A Changing Climate, Dena Adler, Michael Burger, Rob Moore, Joel Scata

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968 to reduce flood damages nationwide and ease the federal government’s financial burden for providing disaster recovery.1 To achieve this goal, the program was designed to perform three primary functions. First, the program provides federally backed insurance to property owners and renters. Second, the program established minimum requirements for building, land use, and floodplain management practices that local communities must adopt in order for their residents to be eligible to purchase NFIP insurance coverage. Third, the program is responsible for mapping high floodrisk areas. These maps inform local land use decisions …

Circuit Split Created Over Enactment Of Section 510(A) Of The Bankruptcy Code And Its Effect On The Rule Of Explicitness, Rossella Scarpa

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Bankruptcy law seeks to equitably distribute a debtor’s remaining assets among creditors. However, prior to bankruptcy, creditors can contract around their pro rata equitable distribution by executing inter-creditor agreements. Inter-creditor agreements are executed to delegate the rights and priorities of creditors as to a common borrower in the event the borrower defaults. Subordination agreements are a type of inter-creditor agreement, where junior creditors consent to senior creditors having their loans repaid in full before junior creditors receive their payment. Bankruptcy courts enforce subordination agreements through section 510(a) of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), which …

Determining When The Granting Of Relief Is Deemed Abuse Of The Bankruptcy Code Under Section 707, Angela Bonica

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

There is no constitutional right for an individual to have their debts discharged. A discharge is a privilege offered to the honest but unfortunate debtor pursuant to title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”). A bankruptcy court considers different standards and/or tests to determine when a debtor may be abusing the relief provided under the Bankruptcy Code. The specific provision that restricts relief because of abuse was originally enacted in 1984, and then amended in 2005 under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”). A main purpose of the BAPCPA was to deter abuses …

Constructive Fraudulent Transfers—Determining Insolvency, Tyler Beach

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

When a debtor files for bankruptcy, all of the debtor's assets and liabilities are automatically transferred into a bankruptcy estate. These assets are then used either to help a debtor reorganize or to repay all of the debtor’s creditors in liquidation. Under the United States Bankruptcy Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), to preserve the estate assets a bankruptcy trustee can avoid certain transfers made by debtors as fraudulent transfers. Without this power to avoid transactions that occur prior to a debtor filing for bankruptcy, debtors could engage in transactions that drain the company of any of its valuable assets and …

Filing A Proof Of Claim In A Bankruptcy Court Subjects The Filing Party To The Court’S Jurisdiction. Anti-Waiver Clauses In The Proof Of Claim Are Not The Same Thing As Objecting To Jurisdiction, Christina Buru

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In the United States, a federal court must have both personal and subject-matter jurisdiction to hear and rule on a case. Subject-matter jurisdiction can be met by satisfying the requirements under §1331 or §1332 of title 28 of the United States Code. These are typically referred to as “federal question” jurisdiction and “diversity” jurisdiction. §1331(a) allows district courts to exercise original jurisdiction over “civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States”. §1332(a) allows district courts to exercise original jurisdiction over civil actions “where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000…and …

Debtor-Tenants Located In Shopping Centers Must Satisfy Heightened Requirements When Assuming And Assigning Their Unexpired Lease In Bankruptcy, Kristin Catalano

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Under title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), a debtor filing for bankruptcy with an executory contract or unexpired lease will be relieved of their obligation under that contract or lease when it is properly assumed and assigned to a third party with court approval. Section 365(b) mandates that the debtor meet certain requirements to assume a contract or lease, which includes providing adequate assurance of future performance.

Section 365(b)(3) governs the assumption and assignment for debtor-tenants located in shopping centers. Section 365(b)(3) enumerates heightened requirements in providing adequate assurance in order for the debtor-tenant in …

Balancing And Protecting Competing Interests Of A Landlord-Tenant Relationship In A Section 363 Sale, Kayla Dimatos

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Section 363(f) of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) gives the trustee or debtor in possession a powerful tool to sell property of the estate “free and clear of any interest in such property.” Before the estate can sell an asset “free and clear of any interest in such property,” the Bankruptcy Code requires that a debtor or trustee satisfy the statutory requirements enumerated in section 363(f). A sale of property of the debtor’s estate is permissible only if:

(1) applicable nonbankruptcy law that permits such a sale, (2) the nondebtor entity consents, (3) the …

Constraints On The Breadth Of A Bankruptcy Trustee’S Power To Demand A Turnover Of Assets, Timothy Diprisco

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) empowers bankruptcy trustees to compel entities to turn over property to the bankruptcy estate. Property subject to the turnover provision includes “all legal and equitable interests of the debtor in property at the commencement of the case.” Although the Bankruptcy Code is federal law, property interests are still defined by state law. Occasionally, bankruptcy trustees claim property as part of the estate that courts later deem is beyond the breadth of their authority.

This memorandum examines the extent of a bankruptcy trustee’s power to compel turnover of assets. Part …

Analyzing A Creditor’S Ability To Exercise Its Shareholder Rights To Prevent A Bankruptcy Filing By A Company, Frank Pecorelli

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) operates as a tool allowing an honest, struggling debtor to gain a fresh start absent of their burdensome debts. Generally, when a company is about to enter bankruptcy, shareholders and creditors of the insolvent company play two distinct roles. Shareholders, those with an ownership stake in the company, have voting rights enumerated in their shareholder agreement, allowing them to vote on certain actions, including the company’s bankruptcy filing. On the other hand, creditors generally have a claim (i.e., a right to payment) against the company, which typically has arisen …

Discharge Under Section 524(A) Does Not Preclude A Suit To Recover From A Debtor’S Insurer, Michael P. Pitre

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Under title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”), a discharge of a debt “operates as an injunction against the commencement or continuation of an action . . . to collect, recover, or offset any debt as a personal liability of the debtor.” This discharge is the “principle advantage bankruptcy offers an individual” because it provides the debtor with a “fresh start” by freeing him from the chains of previous debts.

Even so, a “discharge in bankruptcy does not extinguish the debt itself, but merely releases the debtor from personal liability for the debt.” Therefore, as provided …

Distribution Of Property Overseen By Family Courts Will Not Bar Constructive Fraudulent Transfer Claims, Allyson Rivard

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

In general, a transfer made by a debtor may be avoided under title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) or applicable state law, if the transfer was actually or constructively fraudulent. Actual fraudulent transfer claims require a showing of actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors. Constructive fraudulent transfer claims do not require proof of actual intent. Instead, a transfer will generally be constructively fraudulent if it is shown that (1) the debtor was insolvent at the time of, or rendered insolvent by, the transfer and (2) so long as the debtor received “less than …

Financial Market Risk And Macroeconomic Stability Variables: Dynamic Interactions And Feedback Effects, Agnieszka M. Chomicz-Grabowska

Doctoral Dissertations (DBA)

This study investigates dynamic interactions and feedback effects between financial market risk proxied by VIX and key macroeconomic stability variables that include the rate of unemployment, headline inflation and market-based inflation expectations reflected by the breakeven inflation. I argue that market risk should play a stronger role in macroeconomic modeling and forecasting than it has been recognized thus far in the literature. I employ vector autoregression with impulse response functions, as well as two-state Markov switching tests to examine these interactions on the longest available US monthly data. The empirical tests show that the association between market risk and macroeconomic …

Collective Responsibility By Agreement, David Atenasio

Dissertations

It is often challenging to fairly distribute responsibility for harms that result from collective wrongdoing. Few object to blaming an agent for making a contribution to wrongdoing, but it is far more controversial to attribute fault to one agent for the contributions made by other participants in collective wrongdoing. I argue that we ought to distribute co-responsibility for collective wrongdoing only to those who authorize the offending actions, whether expressly or tacitly. By authorizing another to carry out wrongdoing on one's behalf, one becomes to blame for the unjustified harm caused by one's agent or agents. In this dissertation, I …

Retrieving And Reimagining Sanctuary And Solidarity: Racial Disparities In Infant Mortality, Alyson Capp

Dissertations

In Milwaukee, Black babies die before their first birthday nearly three times as often as White and Hispanic babies. Prematurity is the major cause of infant mortality, and social determinants of health play a large role. Commitments from within Christian bioethical traditions can critique ethical frameworks commonly in use in US bioethics by calling for the incorporation of analysis of social power dynamics that is necessary for addressing this issue. Original ethnographic fieldwork that listens closely to Black mothers and health professionals uncovers key themes related to women's and infant health at the intersection of race, class, and gender. By …

Regulation Of Acetyl Phosphate-Dependent Acetylation And Identification Of Novel Lysine Acetyltransferases In Escherichia Coli, David George Christensen

Dissertations

Over billions of years, organisms have organized chemical reactions into metabolic pathways to sustain life. However, metabolic substrates can undergo many uncatalyzed, extra-metabolic reactions. Acetyl phosphate (AcP), an intermediate of the acetate fermentation pathway in E. coli, is one such metabolite that has been shown to non-enzymatically acetylate hundreds of proteins. This diverse set of targets suggests that acetylation could be a way for the cell to sense its nutritional status and regulate protein activity accordingly. However, how E. coli regulates acetylation, if at all, is unknown.Previous work showed that acetylation becomes pronounced in stationary phase cells. I determined that …

Women's Decision-Making For Subsequent Pregnancy After A Cesarean Delivery, Melinda Dixon

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to generate a theory of the decision making process for women as they choose a birth option after a previous Cesarean delivery. The research method of choice when little is known about the phenomena is qualitative research. A qualitative approach was used to generate a substantive theory of decision making for women deciding subsequent pregnancy birth mode after a previous Cesarean delivery. The classical grounded theory methodology including sampling plan, recruitment, data collection and analysis outlined in Glaser and Strauss (1967) guided this study. Twelve study participants with a history of one previous Cesarean …

Latina College Student Leadership Development At A Historically White College/University, Kristina Garcia

Dissertations

This dissertation study contributes to the dearth of research examining the leadership development of Latina college students. Using critical race feminism (CRF) as a guiding framework, this study centers the experiences of Latina college students, exploring how dominant cultural values, Latinx cultural values, and the context of the collegiate environment influence how this population experiences leadership development. Utilizing a qualitative research design, participants shared stories and insights related to how they conceptualized and experienced leadership development in the context of a historically White college/university. The data indicates that Latina college students experience leadership as a constant negotiation of dominant cultural …

Structure-Guided T Cell Receptor Mutations That Alter Antigen Specificity, Cross-Reactivity, And Polyfunctional Phenotypes In Gene-Modified T Cells, Kendra Foley

Dissertations

Adoptive cell transfer of T cell receptor (TCR) gene-modified T cells targeting specific tumor antigens is currently in clinical trials for patients with advanced malignancies. Despite the clinical responses, there are still hurdles to be overcome in achieving an effective and safe therapy. One of the limitations in the success of this type of therapy is the potential for cross-reactivity and unanticipated off-target reactivity which could lead to autoimmunity. Adverse events encompassing these "off-target, off-tumor" cross-reactivities leading to autoimmunity have been seen in patients in different clinical trials. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach to improve antigen specific reactivity and …

Teacher Preparation And English Language Learners: The Negotiation Of Teaching Identities In Communities Of Practice, Eleni Giatsou

Dissertations

This dissertation unveils the identity formation and negotiation processes of teacher candidates, through their practice with English Language Learners (ELLs) in a field-based teacher preparation program. Identity, like learning, is socially constructed and continuously negotiated by someone's engagement in a community (Wenger, 1998). Thus, sociocultural theory and specifically the theoretical construct of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), guided the exploration of candidates' teaching identities to reveal the processes of becoming a teacher of ELLs. I conducted a qualitative case study to examine candidates' teaching practices with ELLs at a surface level and the (re)construction of their teaching identities at a …

Membrane Microdomains As Platforms For Extra-Cellular Fusions, Michael Hantak

Dissertations

Life requires biological membranes. Membrane-enclosed compartments separate and unite through dynamic fission and fusion reactions. These are catalyzed processes that are central in organismal biogenesis. This dissertation focuses on extracellular membrane fusions, which are central to several processes. (1) Enveloped viruses enter cells through membrane fusions. (2) Extracellular vesicles (EVs) also deliver molecules into cells through membrane fusions. (3) Entire cells also fuse together, generating fertilized zygotes, skeletal muscles, and giant cell macrophages.Mechanisms of extracellular membrane fusion are poorly understood. This dissertation aimed to further define these mechanisms. We focused on regulatory cofactors, including tetraspanins, transmembrane proteins that cluster into …