Engineering Commons^™

Engineering@Nebraska - Fall 2006

Engineering@Nebraska (Alumni Magazine)

Table of Contents:

From the Dean
Faculty Profile—It’s Easy Being Green (and Red): Roger Hoy, new director of the Tractor Test Lab, is making sure the 87-year-old operation still meets the needs of today’s industry.
Front and Center
We’ve Got Your Back: Sixty members of the Class of 2010 begin their college careers at a two-day camp just for engineers.
COVER STORY: Where Are The Rest?: Despite increased recruitment efforts, women still comprise only 12 percent of the college’s student body. What has gone wrong, and how can we improve?
Leading By Example: Engineering and architecture students lobby for environmentally …

A Quantitative Model Of Error Accumulation During Pcr Amplification, Elsje Pienaar, M. Theron, M. Nelson, Hendrik J. Viljoen

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

The amplification of target DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) produces copies which may contain errors. Two sources of errors are associated with the PCR process: (1) editing errors that occur during DNA polymerase-catalyzed enzymatic copying and (2) errors due to DNA thermal damage. In this study a quantitative model of error frequencies is proposed and the role of reaction conditions is investigated. The errors which are ascribed to the polymerase depend on the efficiency of its editing function as well as the reaction conditions; specifically the temperature and the dNTP pool composition. Thermally induced errors stem mostly from …

Changes In Manganese And Lead In The Environment And Young Children Associated With The Introduction Of Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl In Gasoline—Preliminary Results, Brian Gulson, Karen Mizon, Alan Taylor, Michael Korsch, Jennifer Stauber, J. Michael Davis, Honway Louis, Michael Wu, Hilton Swan

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

A 4-year longitudinal study is being conducted to evaluate potential changes to the environment and exposure of young children associated with the introduction of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) into Australia in 2001. The cohort consists of 57 females and 56 males, with an age range of 0.29–3.9 years. Samples are collected every 6 months from children in residences located at varying distances from major traffic thoroughfares in Sydney. Environmental samples include air, house, and daycare center dustfall, soil, dust sweepings, and gasoline; samples from the children include blood, urine, handwipes prior to and after playing outdoors, and a 6-day duplicate …

Towards Monitoring Galileo: The European Gnss Supervisory Authority In Statu Nascendi = Zur Künftigen Überwachungsagentur Des Galileo Systems, Vers Une Autorité De Surveillance Du Système Galileo, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

There is little doubt that one of the most interesting and revolutionary, but also complicated and challenging space projects of today is Galileo, Europe’s own full-fledged second-generation navigation satellite system. Developed jointly by the European Union through the Commission and the European Space Agency, Galileo should by the end of the decade have thirty operational satellites in middle-earth-orbits providing timing, positioning and navigation signals across the globe.

From the very beginning Galileo was envisaged in particular by the Commission as a public-private-partnership (PPP). On the one hand, a private concessionaire should operate the system as of full operational capability (originally …

Perspective On Indicators Of Sustainability For The Gold And Silver Extraction Industry, Jarnes L. Hendrix

Papers in Sustainable Mining

No abstract provided.

Addressing Our Global Water Future, Center For Strategic And International Studies (Csis), Sandia National Laboratories

United States Department of Energy: Publications

This White Paper addresses the growing global challenges of dealing with the devastating effects of increasing water scarcity and declining water quality. Across the planet, in developing and developed regions alike, poor governance and mismanagement of natural resources coupled with rising population growth, increasing urbanization, and economic development have led to a growing imbalance between water supply and demand. This imbalance is reaching crisis proportions in many regions. It will have even more significant consequences for economic development, stability and security unless the there is a more dramatic and urgent international response. Several international forums have arisen to address just …

Potential Of Multivariate Quantitative Methods For Delineation And Visualization Of Ecoregions, William Hargrove, Forrest Hoffman

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Multivariate clustering based on fine spatial resolution maps of elevation, temperature, precipitation, soil characteristics, and solar inputs has been used at several specified levels of division to produce a spectrum of quantitative ecoregion maps for the conterminous United States. The coarse ecoregion divisions accurately capture intuitively-understood regional environmental differences, whereas the finer divisions highlight local condition gradients, ecotones, and clines. Such statistically generated ecoregions can be produced based on user-selected continuous variables, allowing customized regions to be delineated for any specific problem. By creating an objective ecoregion classification, the ecoregion concept is removed from the limitations of human subjectivity, making …

Towards An Rts,S-Based, Multi-Stage, Multi-Antigen Vaccine Against Falciparum Malaria: Progress At The Walter Reed Army Institute Of Research, D. Gray Heppner Jr., Kent E. Kester, Christian F. Ockenhouse, Nadia Tornieporth, Opokua Ofori, Jeffrey A. Lyon, V. Ann Stewart, Patrice Dubois, David E. Lanar, Urszula Krzych, Philippe Moris, Evelina Angov, James F. Cummings, Amanda Leach, B. Ted Hall, Sheetij Dutta, Robert Schwenk, Collette Hillier, Arnoldo Barbosa, Lisa A. Ware, Lalitha Nair, Christian A. Darko, Mark R. Withers, Bernhards Ogutu, Mark E. Polhemus, Mark Fukuda, Sathit Pichyangkul, Montip Gettyacamin, Carter Diggs, Lorraine Soisson, Jessica Milman, Marie-Claude Dubois, Nathalie Garcon, Kathryn Tucker, Janet Wittes, Christopher V. Plowe, Mahamadou A. Thera, Ogobara K. Duombo, Maria G. Pau, Jaap Goudsmit, W. Ripley Ballou, Joe Cohen

United States Army: Publications

The goal of the Malaria Vaccine Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is to develop a licensed multi-antigen, multi-stage vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum able to prevent all symptomatic manifestations of malaria by preventing parasitemia. A secondary goal is to limit disease in vaccinees that do develop malaria. Malaria prevention will be achieved by inducing humoral and cellular immunity against the pre-erythrocytic circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and the liver stage antigen-1 (LSA-1). The strategy to limit disease will target immune responses against one or more blood stage antigens, merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) and apical merozoite antigen-1 (AMA-1). The …

Nebraska Blueprint – Fall 2004

Nebraska Blueprint (Student Publication)

Table of Contents:

A letter from the editor . . .

A Green House Effect: Nebraska Embraces Eco-Friendly Construction

A Crumbly Deal – Tires are piling up in landfills, so researchers are presenting new ways to recycle the rubber

A River Runs Through It – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects on the Missouri River

How Is Ethanol Made? – It takes more than a plant to whip up what fuels our cars and also fills our bellies

How Do Cell Phones Work? – Cell phone networks work with towers, phone companies so you can chat as you go

What …

Making Learning Visible: Peer Review And The Scholarship Of Teaching, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Presentations

This is the conference program from the March 2004 national conference, Making Learning Visible: Peer Review and the Scholarship of Teaching. This conference was hosted by the UNL Peer Review of Teaching project and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Progress In The Development Of A Recombinant Vaccine For Human Hookworm Disease: The Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative, Peter J. Hotez, Bin Zhan, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Alex Loukas, Angela Williamson, Gaddam Narsa Goud, John M. Hawdon, Azra Dobardzic, Reshad Dobardzic, Kashinath Ghosh, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Susana Mendez, Bernard Zook, Yan Wang, Sen Liu, Idong Essiet-Gibson, Sophia Chung-Debose, Shuhua Xiao, David Knox, Michael Meagher, Mehmet Inan, Rodrigo Correa-Oliviera, Paul Vilk, Herman R. Shepherd, Walter Brandt, Philip K. Russell

Michael Meagher Publications

Hookworm infection is one of the most important parasitic infections of humans, possibly outranked only by malaria as a cause of misery and suffering. An estimated 1.2 billion people are infected with hookworm in areas of rural poverty in the tropics and subtropics. Epidemiological data collected in China, Southeast Asia, and Brazil indicate that, unlike other soil-transmitted helminth infections, the highest hookworm burdens typically occur in adult populations, including the elderly. Emerging data on the host cellular immune responses of chronically infected populations suggest that hookworms induce a state of host anergy and immune hyporesponsiveness. These features account for the …

Effective Thermal Conductivity Estimates Of Particulate Mixtures, Christiaan Richter, Hendrik J. Viljoen, N.F.J Van Rensburg

Papers in Reaction Kinetics

Several theories have been advanced to estimate effective thermal conductivities of particulate mixtures, but most theories have focused on the dilute case. A method is proposed to estimate the effective thermal con-ductivity coefficient of mixtures of arbitrary concentration. Earlier the authors developed a theory to deter-mine the expected contact area between different species. This theory is employed to determine the Kapitza resistance of the heterogeneous mixture and forms part of an overall theory to estimate the effective thermal conductivity. Results are compared with other theoretical estimates and with experiments.

Effective Thermal Conductivity Estimates Of Particulate Mixtures, Christiaan Richter, Hendrik J. Viljoen, N.F.J Van Rensburg

Papers in Physical Properties

Several theories have been advanced to estimate effective thermal conductivities of particulate mixtures, but most theories have focused on the dilute case. A method is proposed to estimate the effective thermal conductivity coefficient of mixtures of arbitrary concentration. Earlier the authors developed a theory to determine the expected contact area between different species. This theory is employed to determine the Kapitza resistance of the heterogeneous mixture and forms part of an overall theory to estimate the effective thermal conductivity. Results are compared with other theoretical estimates and with experiments.

History Of Food Acceptance Research In The Us Army, Herbert L. Meiselman, Howard G. Schutz

United States Army: Publications

The history of food acceptance research by the US Army in Chicago and Natick is reviewed. The review covers the staff of the two research centers, the research programs, and the significant accomplishments of the Army laboratories from the 1940s to the present. Accomplishments begin with the development of the nine-point hedonic scale, and the development of the first Food Acceptance Laboratory. Further accomplishments include studies of sensory psychophysics, food preferences, food choice and food intake. The laboratories designed methods and conducted research on the role of consumer variables in the acceptance of food products and food service systems. Recent …

Global Optical Lightning Flash Rates Determined With The Forte Satellite, Tracy E. Light, Sean M. Davis, William Boeck, Abram Jacobson, David Suszcynsky

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Using FORTE photodiode detector (PDD) observations of lightning, we have determined the geographic distribution of nighttime flash rate density. We estimate the PDD flash detection efficiency to be 62% for total lightning through comparison to lightning observations by the TRMM satellite's Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), using cases in which FORTE and TRMM viewed the same storm. We present here both seasonal and total flash rate maps. We examine some characteristics of the optical emissions of lightning in both high and low flash rate environments, and find that while lightning occurs less frequently over ocean, oceanic lightning flashes are somewhat more …

Nebraska Blueprint - Spring 2001

Nebraska Blueprint (Student Publication)

Table of Contents:

From the Editor
Students uncover the secrets of the Magic Kingdom
Student Life on the Sixth Floor
Celebrating National Engineers Week at PKI
NSBE lights its torch at UNL
Undergraduates benefit from conducting research
Postcard from Paris
Out of the starting blocks

System And Process For Producing Biodiesel Fuel With Reduced Viscosity And A Cloud Point Below Thirty-Two (32) Degrees Fahrenheit , Hossein Noureddini

Papers in Biomaterials

Triglycerides are reacted in a liquid phase reaction with a homogeneous basic catalyst and alcohol, such as ethanol or methanol. The reaction yields a spatially separated two phase result with an upper located non-polar phase consisting principally of transesterified triglycerides and a lower located phase consisting principally of crude glycerol and residual transesterified triglycerides. The transesterified triglycerides and/or glycerol phase is/are optionally, each separately passed through strong cationic ion exchanger(s) to remove anions, resulting in neutral product(s). The crude glycerol is then flashed to remove alcohol and is reacted with an etherifying agent, such as isobutylene or isoamylene, in the …

Modeling Of Solid Phase Detonations, C. Richter, Hendrik J. Viljoen, N. F. J. Van Rensburg

Papers in Reaction Kinetics

In contrast to conventional explosives which constitute rapid decomposition of the molecular structure acconlpanied by the release of large volumes of gaseous products, heterogeneous mixtures in the SHS realm react by progression of a thermal wave at velocities far below the speed of sound in such mixtures. Interestingly, ultrafast solid phase reactions can be initiated under the right conditions. A shock wave compresses the solid mixture to densities well beyond the theoretical mean ambient density (TMD) and compression becomes the major form of preheating. In addition, elastic potential energy is pumped into the lattice structure to induce severe distortion and …

Fm 34-54, Technical Intelligence, 30 January 1998, Robert Bolin , Depositor

United States Department of Defense Military Intelligence

This manual defines and describes the technical intelligence mission. It names the key technical intelligence organizations involved at the national level and their interrelationships and responsibilities.

The manual describes in detail the technical intelligence organizations and operations in a US command in the field. It discusses at length the responsibilities on the key staff sections in the command.

It has extensive appendices explaining forms and procedures used by forces in the field. It has an excellent list of acronyms and glossary.

Comment by the depositor

A clear understanding of the evolution of technical intelligence may not be needed by the …

Relationships Among Grain Sorghum Quality Factors, Roberto A. Buffo, Curtis L. Weller, Anne M. Parkhurst

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Correlations among grain sorghum quality factors (proximate composition, physical properties, and water absorption properties) were evaluated. Samples of 46 commercial hybrids (24 and 22 from crop years 1993 and 1994) were analyzed for starch, protein, crude free fat, test weight, absolute density, 1,000 kernel weight, percent kernel abraded, water absorption index, initial water absorption rate, and moisture saturation point. Test weight, absolute density, and percent kernel abraded were positively correlated among themselves (r > 0.5). Protein was negatively correlated with both test weight and absolute density (r < -0.5), while moisture saturation point showed negative correlations with test weight, absolute density, 1,000 kernel weight, and percent kernel abraded (r < -0.4). Principal component factor analysis through the covariance matrix explained 95% of the total variation of quality factors among hybrids (two factors), and, through the correlation matrix, 85% of the total variation (five factors). Water absorption rate decreased with increasing starch content of grain sorghum kernels as water absorption rate increased and amount of water for saturation decreased with softening of kernels.

Production Of Ethers Of Gycerol From Crude Glycerol: The By-Product Of Biodiesel Production, Hossein Noureddini, W. R. Dailey, B. A. Hunt

Papers in Biomaterials

Methyl esters of fatty acids (also known as biodiesel), made from the transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats with methanol, have shown a lot of promise as alternative diesel fuels. Glycerol is the inevitable by-product of the transesterification process. While there are existing markets for glycerol, a significant increase in availability of glycerol, resulting from the expanded use of vegetable oils and animal fats, would destabilize the glycerol market. Direct addition of glycerol to the fuel is not possible, however, derivatives of glycerol such as ethers have potential for use as additives with biodiesel, diesel or biodiesel-diesel blends. In …

Process For Producing Biodiesel Fuel With Reduced Viscosity And A Cloud Point Below Thirty-Two (32) Degrees Fahrenheit , Hossein Noureddini

Papers in Biomaterials

Triglycerides are reacted in a liquid phase reaction with methanol and a homogeneous basic catalyst. The reaction yields a spatially separated two phase result with an upper located non-polar phase consisting principally of non-polar methyl esters and a lower located phase consisting principally of glycerol and residual methyl esters. The glycerol phase is passed through a strong cationic ion exchanger to remove anions, resulting in a neutral product which is flashed to remove methanol and which is reacted with isobutylene in the presence of a strong acid catalyst to produce glycerol ethers. The glycerol ethers are then added back to …

Acuta Enews July 1996, Vol. 25, No. 7

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

New Board of Directors Prepares for 1996-97

ACUTA Announces Quarterly Journal

President's Message

Do You Tax Student Long Distance Bills?

DC at a Glance

University of Washington Fills Service Niche with T1 Channel Banks

How to Subscribe to ACUTA Listserves

Everyone Wants Voice Mail

Campus New Briefs

Welcome New Members

Industry Insights

Experimental And Theoretical Study Of Vibrations Of A Cantilevered Beam Using A Zno Piezoelectric Sensor, B. R. Jooste, Hendrik J. Viljoen, S. L. Rohde, N. F. J. Van Rensburg

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

Piezoelectric sensors can measure vibrations of solid structures very accurately. A model of a cantilevered beam, with a ZnO film on one side is presented. Both viscous and internal damping are considered. The output of the sensor is modeled and matched with experimental results by adjusting the damping parameters. A theoretical formulation for damage is introduced. Experimental results for a damaged beam confirm the shift in frequencies to lower values. The model is used to identify the extent of the damage.

Experimental And Theoretical Study Of Vibrations Of A Cantilevered Beam Using A Zno Piezoelectric Sensor, B. R. Jooste, Hendrik J. Viljoen, S. L. Rohde, N. F. J. Van Rensburg

Hendrik J. Viljoen Publications

Piezoelectric sensors can measure vibrations of solid structures very accurately. A model of a cantilevered beam, with a ZnO film on one side is presented. Both viscous and internal damping are considered. The output of the sensor is modeled and matched with experimental results by adjusting the damping parameters. A theoretical formulation for damage is introduced. Experimental results for a damaged beam confirm the shift in frequencies to lower values. The model is used to identify the extent of the damage.

Acuta Enews February 1996, Vol. 25, No. 2

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From the President

The Michelangelo Virus

DC at a Glance

UCLA Switches on Its 6800

From ACUTA Headquarters

Nest Material As A Delivery Method For Avicides: Preliminary Tests With African Weaver Finches, Stephen A. Shumake, Peter J. Savarie

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

To evaluate the potential of using nesting material as a medium for avicide delivery, five organophosphates (Dasanit^®, Volaton^®, fenthion, parathion, and Cyanophos^®) were tested on small groups of paired male-female quelea (n = 4 to 9). Toxicants were presented to each pair of birds on five 13-cm strands of cotton string after a preliminary screening for male nest weaving behavior. Tested concentrations ranged from 100% technical grade to 0.003 % compound diluted with acetone. Dasanit^® was found to be the most effective candidate with some lethal effects noted at 0.012%. An optimal concentration …

Techniques And Expertise In Wildlife Damage Control: A Survey Among The National Animal Damage Control Association (Nadca) Membership, Dallas R. Virchow, J. Russell Mason

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

The membership of the National Animal Damage Control Association (NADCA) was surveyed during 1995 to collect information about specialty fields, preferred methods and experience. Respondents had broad experience that included 44 species or species groups. Members reported firsthand experience with an average of 17.6 different species and 2.9 vertebrate groups. Forty-three percent indicated that their specialization was among carnivores. In this group, coyotes, Canis latrans (45%), raccoon, Procyon lotor (23%) and skunk (13%) were most frequently mentioned. Members reporting carnivore experience had firsthand experience with an average of five different species. Rural and urban members did not significantly differ in …

Acuta Enews June 1994, Vol. 23, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Board report

President's message

White papers/blue papers

TFS takes aim at toll fraud

ITFS Monograph review

Lost on the Information Highway?

Acuta Enews May 1993, Vol. 22, No. 5

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Call for Nominations page 2

President's Message page 3

MHEC $aves with Virtual Private Network page 4

Board of Directors Meeting page 5

Tireed Dues page 5

Toll Fraud Takes Aim page 6

Infrastructure page 7

Toll Fraud Checklist page 8

Will My Cellular Phone Fry My Brain? page 9

Executive Director's Message page 11