Engineering Commons^™

Effective Integration Of Nasa Stem Curricula Is Allowing Students To Appreciate Earth Science Concepts, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Krishna Mahabir, Newrence Wills, Matthew Khargie

Publications and Research

NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Aerospace Academy - MAA is a national, innovative activity designed to increase participation and retention of historically underserved and underrepresented K-12 youth in the STEM disciplines, particularly earth science and human exploration (HEO). HEO is dedicated to informing and educating the public about NASA's plans for a new era in space exploration. Utilization of NASA satellite images, online climate education, space mathematics and other earth science-related resources is allowing students to conduct basic research and prepare themselves for a New York City-wide science competition. In addition to offering school children a solid …

Balancing Function And Environment Toward Sustainable Design: A Building Insulation Case Study, Celine F. Manoosingh

Civil Engineering & Construction: Faculty Publications

This study utilizes a proposed sustainable design process to investigate the functional and environmental metrics associated with an alternative insulation for use in buildings. A prototype exploring the use of evacuated packets of a silica compound substituting for conventional insulation was assessed. Assessment criteria included experimental comparison of heat transfer characteristics, as compared to a control facility. Additionally, a comprehensive environmental life cycle assessment and disassembly analysis was performed. Pilot study results indicate that in the new insulation design applied to the unit, heat flux decreased by an average of 4%, and improved environmental sustainability, resulting in a savings of …

Map/Ph/1 Queueing Model With Working Vacation And Crowdsourcing, Srinivas R. Chakravarthy, Serife Ozkar

Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Publications

Crowdsourcing has been used in different domains such as healthcare, computer science, environmental sciences, business and marketing. However, only recently, queueing models useful in the context of crowdsourcing have been studied. These studies involve queueing models of the type M/M/c, MAP/PH/1, and MAP/PH/c. In this paper we introduce vacation and working vacation in the context of MAP/PH/1 with crowdsourcing and highlight the qualitative aspects of the model through illustrative examples.

Lennar Ventures Power Purchase Agreement Analysis, Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip W. Fairey

FSEC Energy Research Center®

An analysis was performed to determine the cost-effectiveness of photovoltaic (PV) system Power Purchase Agreements for prototype homes in 13 United States climate locations. EnergyGauge® USA v.5.1 software was used to simulate the energy use of one-story, three-bedroom, 2000 ft² , single-family, frame prototype homes in thirteen representative U.S. climates comprising six IECC climate zones. The same software was used to simulate the power production of PV systems designed to provide approximately 75% of the annual electric energy required by the prototype homes. The net present value (NPV) of the photovoltaic PPA was then calculated as the difference in …

Upel Students And Faculty Present At Ecce 2016 | Utah State University Power Electronics Lab, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

UPEL students, Hongjie Wang, M. Muneeb Ur Rehman and Reza Tavakoli, presented their research papers at the annual IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Exposition (ECCE 2016) sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and the IEEE Industrial Application Society (IAS). The conference was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this year and was well attended by engineers, researchers, students, and professionals from industry and academic world.

Upel Students Present Their Research Work At Ieee Compel 2016 In Trondheim, Norway | Utah State University Power Electronics Lab, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

UPEL students, M. Muneeb Ur Rehman, Hongjie Wang, and Tarak Saha, presented their research papers at the17th annual IEEE conference for Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL 2016) sponsored by the IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS). The conference was held in Trondheim, Norway this year and was well attended by engineers, researchers, students, and professionals from industry and academic world.

Development Of A Transition Between An Energy-Absorbing Concrete Barrier And A Rigid Concrete Butress, Tyler L. Schmidt, Ronald K. Faller, Jennifer D. Schmidt, John D. Reid, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott Rosenbaugh

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

From 2010 to 2015, MwRSF researchers developed the RESTORE barrier, which is a restorable MASH TL-4 median barrier with a steel and concrete rail supported by elastomer posts and steel skids. The research effort reported herein describes the initial development of a transition from the RESTORE barrier to a rigid TL-4 concrete buttress.

The previously-developed RESTORE barrier LS-DYNA model was validated against three full-scale vehicle crash tests. Several design concepts were generated through a series of brainstorming efforts. The primary transition concept consisted of a pin and loop connection between the RESTORE barrier and rigid concrete buttress, which was designed …

Electronic Properties Of Mos2/Moox Interfaces: Implications In Tunnel Field Effect Transistors And Hole Contacts, Santosh Kc, Roberto Longo, Rafik Addou, Robert Wallace, Kyeongjae Cho

Faculty Publications

In an electronic device based on two dimensional (2D) transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), finding a low resistance metal contact is critical in order to achieve the desired performance. However, due to the unusual Fermi level pinning in metal/2D TMD interface, the performance is limited. Here, we investigate the electronic properties of TMDs and transition metal oxide (TMO) interfaces (MoS2/MoO3) using density functional theory (DFT). Our results demonstrate that, due to the large work function of MoO3 and the relative band alignment with MoS2, together with small energy gap, the MoS2/MoO3 interface is a good candidate for a tunnel field effect …

Investigation Of Shadowing Effects In Typical Propagation Scenarios For High Speed Railway At 2350 Mhz, Liu Liu, Cheng Tao, David W. Matolak, Tao Zhou, Houjin Chen

Faculty Publications

Based on realistic measurements in China, shadowing characteristics at the frequency of 2350 MHz were investigated in typical High-Speed Railway environments. After confirming that the measured shadowing satisfies wide-sense stationarity (assessed via the reverse arrangement test method), we quantify the shadowing correlation. Three types of correlation models are compared for the shadowing characterization, and the Normalized Mean Square Error is used to determine the best matching model: a single decaying exponential function. Decorrelation distances were found to be 11.9 m, 17.7 m, and 8.3 m in our three HSR scenarios, respectively. The results should be useful for the evaluation and …

Engineering Empowerment: Science Literacy Through Engineering Design, Jennifer R. Keshwani

SciComm 2016 - Lincoln, Nebraska, September 23-24, 2016

Outcome A scientifically literate society capable of making effective decisions grounded in STEMinformed analyses of complex, real‐world challenges associated with food, fuel, water, landscape, and people issues.

Finding Solutions for Life on a Small Planet

Produce future STEM professionals

Develop a science and technology literate society

K-12 Engineering: Exposure to Engineering Design; K‐12 Engineering Design Curricula; Undergrad Teaching Experience; K‐12 Educator Professional Development

Multiobjective Guided Priors Improve The Accuracy Of Near-Infrared Spectral Tomography For Breast Imaging, Jinchao Feng, Shudong Jiang, Junqing Xu, Yan Zhao, Brian W. Pogue, Keith D. Paulsen

Dartmouth Scholarship

An image reconstruction regularization approach for magnetic resonance imaging-guided near-infrared spectral tomography has been developed to improve quantification of total hemoglobin (HbT) and water. By combining prior information from dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) and diffusion weighted (DW) MR images, the absolute bias errors of HbT and water in the tumor were reduced by 22% and 18%, 21% and 6%, and 10% and 11%, compared to that in the no-prior, DCE- or DW-guided reconstructed images in three-dimensional simulations, respectively. In addition, the apparent contrast values of HbT and water were increased in patient image reconstruction from 1.4 and 1.4 (DCE) or …

Characteristics Of Algan/Gan Hemts For Detection Of Mig, Hasina Huq, Hector Trevino Ii, Jorge Castillo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The aim of this research work is to analyze the surface characteristics of an improved AlGaN/GaN HEMT biosensor. The investigation leads to analyze the transistor performance to detect human MIG with the help of an analytical model and measured data. The surface engineering includes the effects of repeatability, influence of the substrate, threshold shifting, and floating gate configuration. A numerical method is developed using the charge-control model and the results are used to observe the changes in the device channel at the quantum level. A Self-Assembled Monolayer (SAM) is formed at the gate electrode to allow immobilization and reliable crosslinking …

Nonparametric Liquefaction Triggering And Postliquefaction Deformations, J. S. Yazdi, Robb Moss

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This study evaluates granular liquefaction triggering case-history data using a nonparametric approach. This approach assumes no functional form in the relationship between liquefied and nonliquefied cases as measured using cone penetration test (CPT) data. From a statistical perspective, this allows for an estimate of the threshold of liquefaction triggering unbiased by prior functional forms, and also provides a platform for testing existing published methods for accuracy and precision. The resulting threshold exhibits some unique trends, which are then interpreted based on postliquefaction deformation behavior. The range of postliquefaction deformations are differentiated into three zones: (1) large deformations associated with metastable …

New Electrified Transportation Research Center Opens At Usu | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

News Release – LOGAN, UTAH, Sept. 22, 2016 – A first-of-its-kind transportation research center is opening its doors for business on the Utah State University campus. SELECT, the Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center, brings electrified transportation industry members and leading engineering researchers together to develop holistic solutions to global electrified transportation.

A Multiband Ofdma Heterogeneous Network For Millimeter Wave 5g Wireless Applications, Solmaz Niknam, Ali Arshad Nasir, Hani Mehrpouyan, Balasubramaniam Natarajan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emerging fifth generation (5G) wireless networks require massive bandwidth in higher frequency bands, extreme network densities, and flexibility of supporting multiple wireless technologies in order to provide higher data rates and seamless coverage. It is expected that utilization of the large bandwidth in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band and deployment of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) will help address the data rate requirements of 5G networks. However, high pathloss and shadowing in the mmWave frequency band, strong interference in the HetNets due to massive network densification, and coordination of various air interfaces are challenges that must be addressed. In this paper, we consider …

Experimental Study And Performance Characterization Of A Single-Cell Vanadium Redox Flow Battery, Rabiul Islam

Student Theses and Dissertations

Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is a promising technology to store large scale renewable energy. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of various operating parameters of a lab-scale single-cell VRFB test-bed. The single-cell test-bed VRFB was built and tested with variations of multiple parameters including electrolyte concentrations, current densities, electrolyte flowrates, and ratio of electrolyte volume in tank to cell. The measured data from the tests were analyzed in terms of energy storage capacity, and efficiencies of coulombic, voltage, and energy. It was found that both VOSO4 and H2SO4 concentrations in electrolyte have significant roles in …

After The Avalanche: The Post-Snowden Intelligence Politics Between The United States, The United Kingdom, And Germany, Jobel Kyle P. Vecino

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

The revelations of PRISM and XKeyscore by ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden resulted in arguably the largest intelligence leak so far in the 21^st century. The leak revealed that the NSA was working with the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) on surveillance and data collection of individuals throughout Europe. Similarly, the NSA also colluded with the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on similar data collection and surveillance activities. Whereas the British government reacted relatively benignly to the revelations despite cries of government abuse, the German government reacted negatively to the revelations, eventually opening a rift between Washington …

Activist: A New Framework For Dataset Labelling, Jack O'Neill, Sarah Jane Delany, Brian Mac Namee

Conference papers

Acquiring labels for large datasets can be a costly and time-consuming process. This has motivated the development of the semi-supervised learning problem domain, which makes use of unlabelled data — in conjunction with a small amount of labelled data — to infer the correct labels of a partially labelled dataset. Active Learning is one of the most successful approaches to semi-supervised learning, and has been shown to reduce the cost and time taken to produce a fully labelled dataset. In this paper we present Activist; a free, online, state-of-the-art platform which leverages active learning techniques to improve the efficiency of …

Usu Engineering Students Take 2nd Place In Autonomous Vehicle Race | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Sept. 20, 2016 – A student team from Utah State University’s College of Engineering brought home a second place prize from the national Autonomous Vehicle Competition held Sept. 17 in Niwot, Colo.

The USU AVC team, a group organized by the IEEE student branch, took second place in their weight category and sixth place overall. The AVC is an annual event hosted by Sparkfun that brings engineers and makers together in a competition to build the best vehicle capable of navigating an obstacle course autonomously with no human intervention.

A Clear Solution: Electrical Engineering Researcher Prints Transparent Antenna Onto Glass | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

News Release – LOGAN, UTAH, Sept. 20, 2016 – A researcher at Utah State University is one step closer to solving a complex problem that has puzzled the space industry for decades: How do you equip space satellites with high-gain antennas without the added weight and mechanical complexity of a bulky dish?

Reyhan Baktur, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at USU, has developed an innovative solution. She demonstrated how a high-gain antenna can be printed directly onto a satellite’s solar panel. Using a materials printer and conductive ink, she and her team can print a variety of …

College Of Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

College of Engineering & Computing: News & Publications (2010-2023)

• Keith Landry named ASCE Fellow

Mechanical Engineering News, Georgia Southern University

Mechanical Engineering: News & Publications (2013-2023)

• Keith Landry named ASCE Fellow

Empirical Comparative Analysis Of 1-Of-K Coding And K-Prototypes In Categorical Clustering, Fei Wang, Hector Franco, John Pugh, Robert J. Ross

Conference papers

Clustering is a fundamental machine learning application, which partitions data into homogeneous groups. K-means and its variants are the most widely used class of clustering algorithms today. However, the original k-means algorithm can only be applied to numeric data. For categorical data, the data has to be converted into numeric data through 1-of-K coding which itself causes many problems. K-prototypes, another clustering algorithm that originates from the k-means algorithm, can handle categorical data by adopting a different notion of distance. In this paper, we systematically compare these two methods through an experimental analysis. Our analysis shows that K-prototypes is more …

Construction Professional Service Firm Management: A Longitudinal Study Of Strategic Planning In Irish Quantity Surveying Practices, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

This paper reports on the ongoing investigation of strategic planning in Irish Quantity Surveying practices. The construction industry in Ireland has undergone a period of significant change in the last five years fuelling a shift in focus from tactical to strategic planning in professional service firms operating within the sector. A previous paper identified the type, scope and extent of strategic planning within Quantity Surveying (QS) practices in Ireland in the years up to and during the economic downturn. The current paper expands on the previous research by identifying changes in approach to strategic management within these professional service firms …

Control System Research And Development To Support Virtual Prototyping Of Pump And Motors, Rajith Weerasinghe, Monika Ivantysynova, Paul Kalbfleisch

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Virtual prototyping of positive pumps and motors is incredibly useful, increasing speed of development and lowering cost. The calculations of fluids discharge pressure, displaced by a swashplate-type-axial piston pump/motor is dependent on the load impedance driven by the unit. The load impedance is estimated by a variable orifice found downstream of the unit. Similarly, the suction line impedance is also estimated with an orifice. The current project aims to evaluate the various loading architectures in their ability to quickly and accurately create the desired impedance. The robustness of the loading architectures was tested on a wide range of pump sizes, …

Landmark Detection With Surprise Saliency Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Feng Tang, Damian Lyons, Daniel Leeds

Faculty Publications

Abstract—Landmarks can be used as reference to enable people or robots to localize themselves or to navigate in their environment. Automatic definition and extraction of appropriate landmarks from the environment has proven to be a challenging task when pre-defined landmarks are not present. We propose a novel computational model of automatic landmark detection from a single image without any pre-defined landmark database. The hypothesis is that if an object looks abnormal due to its atypical scene context (what we call surprise saliency), it then may be considered as a good landmark because it is unique and easy to spot by …

Support Vector Machines And Artificial Neural Networks: Assessing The Validity Of Using Technical Features For Security Forecasting, James Di Padua

Dissertations

Stock forecasting is an enticing and well studied problem in both finance and machine learning literature with linear based models such as ARIMA and ARCH to nonlinear Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). However, these forecasting techniques also use very different input features, some of which are seen by economists as irrational and theoretically unjustified. In this comparative study using ANNs and SVMs for 12 publicly traded companies, derivative price “technicals” are evaluated against macro and microeconomic fundamentals to evaluate the efficacy of model performance. Despite the efficient market hypothesis positing the ill suitability of technicals as …

Panoramic Stereovision And Scene Reconstruction, Ashish Nair

Computer Science and Engineering Master's Theses

With advancement of research in robotics and computer vision, an increasingly high number of applications require the understanding of a scene in three dimensions. A variety of systems are deployed to do the same. This thesis explores a novel 3D imaging technique. This involves the use of catadioptric cameras in a stereoscopic arrangement. A secondary system aims to stabilize the system in the event that the cameras are misaligned during operation. The system provides a stark advantage due to it being a cost effective alternative to present day standard state-of-the-art systems that achieve the same goal of 3D imaging. The …

Fabrication Of Nano Patterned Arrays And Optical Applications, Aktaruzzaman Al-Hossain

Student Theses and Dissertations

Most of the researches in developing arrayed patterns have utilized the lithography process with pre-patterned structures. However, lithography itself is considerably low efficient in terms of cost and time, especially by the chemical etching process. Furthermore, the chemical etching process is also a potential barrier in three dimensional structures with multi-layered patterns. The limitation of substrate and mask size is also disadvantageous to the larger area in real-time fabrication process. In this study, a new approach using the solid thin-film dewetting process with intense pulsed light annealing and optical study towards wavelength transformation is introduced to overcome the addressed problems. …

A Novel Beam-Steering Nonlinear Nanoantenna With Surface Plasmon Resonance, Xiaoyan Y.Z. Xiong, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Wei E.I. Sha, Yat Hei Lo, Weng Cho Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Plasmonic nanostructures that support surface plasmon (SP) resonance potentially provide a route for the development of nanoengineered nonlinear optical media. In this work, a novel plasmonic particle-in-cavity nanoantenna (PIC-NA) is proposed. The second harmonic generation (SHG) of the PIC-NA under strong localized SP resonance is systematically analyzed by a self-consistent numerical solution based on boundary element method (BEM). The developed method solves the fundamental field and second harmonic (SH) field together iteratively to capture their mutual coupling. Strong enhancement of SHG from PIC-NA is achieved. The SHG enhancement factor is around four orders of magnitude, which is much higher than …