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Selected Projects in Scenic Design and Technical Direction
Get PDFA selection of projects in scenic design and technical direction produced by Utah State Theater involving Ky Trupp and others. Each chapter studies the design process and production process of three individual shows where Ky was the Scenic Designer or Technical Director
Generalized Reference Targeting for Spacecraft
Get PDFFor spaceflight programs to achieve some of the aggressive exploration initiatives such as visiting and landing on other celestial bodies, rendezvousing with other orbiting vehicles, and ultimately returning crew safely to Earth, an assortment of targeting algorithms to compute the necessary burns to strategically maneuver a spacecraft to a variety of destinations are required. Numerous examples exist, but rather than creating and implementing multiple targeting solutions, is it possible to have a general targeting model that can accommodate a variety of applications? Originally motivated for mission design and analysis purposes, this paper outlines a generalized reference targeting algorithm for spaceflight that may also have applications in on-orbit flight software. It accommodates arbitrary flight dynamics and both impulsive and finite burns for either absolute or relative targeting applications. It also allows for an arbitrary number of targeting design parameters such as multiple discrete correction burns or finite thrust parameters to satisfy numerous combinations of targeting constraints that can have fixed or variable time epochs. Given a reference trajectory, this targeting technique provides a general framework to quickly solve an assortment of targeting problems that may be well-defined, over-determined, or under-determined while naturally producing metrics providing insight into the controllability for a given problem formulation. Due to the derivation, speed, and accuracy of the algorithm, it lends to supporting rapid linear covariance analysis and robust trajectory design applications for a variety of flight phases such as rendezvous and docking, cislunar transfer, interplanetary flight, orbit maintenance, de-orbit, and powered descent and landing
Iterative Refinement of Arbitrary Micro-Optical Surfaces
Get PDFWe introduce an adaptive optical refinement method enabling ultra-precise micro-milling of arbitrary surfaces. Through repeated iteration, our method reduces surface error without requiring significant specific surface engineering. This remediates the long sample preparation times and lack of refinement capability that previously reported methods suffer from. The iterative refinement milling method was used to produce spherical mirrors with small radii of curvature and low surface roughness for use in micro Fabry-Perot cavities. We demonstrate the use of this adaptive process to produce a variety of arbitrary surface geometries on both optical fiber tips as well as optical flats. We additionally discuss our capability to apply iterative refinement milling adaptively to various materials, including to construct GRIN lenses
Utah State University Commencement, 2025 – Eastern Campus
Get PDF2025 Commencement Ceremony for the Eastern Campus of Utah State University.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/commencement/1166/thumbnail.jp
Examining the Development of Collective Classroom Efficacy at the Secondary Level
Get PDFHow can educators develop cohesive and productive learning communities at the secondary level? Prior research has investigated how classrooms develop collective classroom efficacy (CCE) or the shared belief that, as a classroom, they can achieve their learning goals together as a community. Previous studies suggest that CCE at the elementary level is developed with a teacher acting in the role of a community organizer. The teacher employs social and academic practices which incorporate the use of relevance, relationship, and responsibility. These help to establish four key elements of developing CCE which include: 1) a positive classroom environment, (2) persistence and effort, (3) risk-taking towards learning goals, and (4) academic content being enacted as disciplinary knowledge. Together, these elements lead to the development of classroom communities characterized by a sense of belonging, personal and academic goal orientation, responsibility for self and others learning, and believing in the individual and collective capabilities of the class. These associated elements synergistically work together in promoting the development of CCE at the elementary level. This study aimed to further extend these findings to the secondary level. To investigate these questions, a case study of one secondary level teacher and her AP Stats class was conducted. The case study was comprised of teacher interviews, classroom observations, and a student focus group. This study substantiates prior findings indicating that classrooms can develop towards CCE in a similar way at the secondary level as the elementary level. Findings also suggest teacher awareness and passion as new elements that promote the development of CCE. Greater insights on the dynamic interrelation between the various elements contributing to the development of CCE emerged. Notably, this study uniquely contributes the inclusion of student voice in describing their experience with CCE while currently enrolled in the class. Educators may feel that time, personal capabilities, or the subject matter they teach prevents the development of CCE or strong learning communities. However, this study not only illustrates the value of establishing CCE and strong learning communities but provides several practical and learnable ways to do so
Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates for Utah
Get PDFThis fact sheet provides suggested planting dates for vegetables in various areas throughout Utah. It also identifies resources for starting seeds at home
Modeling Vulnerability of Juvenile June Sucker to the Piscivore Community in Utah Lake
Get PDFFreshwater fish have experienced the highest extinction among all North American vertebrates, with interactions with introduced species among the leading factors of freshwater fish declines. In Utah Lake, effective hatchery stocking efforts have allowed the spawning abundance of threatened June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) to increase substantially over the past decade. Yet, recruitment of wild-spawned individuals remains very limited. A recent survivorship study of June sucker found individuals \u3c 300mm experienced exceptionally poor survival, indicating a recruitment bottleneck persists despite significant recovery efforts. Current recovery efforts of Utah Lake have broadly targeted habitat improvement; However, prior studies have shown that large predation pressures by nonnatives have achieved recruitment bottlenecks in closely related species, suggesting predation could be limiting recovery efforts. Therefore, failure to address these pressures, if present, would result in overall recovery failure. Furthermore, predator management has focused on targeting Invasive Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) for potential impacts on June sucker. However, the impacts of more abundant nonnative piscivores remain largely unspecified.
Here, we use a simulation approach based on empirical data to examine the relative predation pressure on June sucker of different lengths from individual piscivore species as well as the piscivore community as a whole. We generated a distribution of the lengths of prey consumed by the piscivore community by (1) randomly selecting a piscivore species based on the observed relative abundance in catch data, (2) randomly selecting a piscivore length based on length-at-age from literature-derived estimates and age composition, and (3) randomly selecting prey lengths based on predator-specific quantile regressions of observed fish prey lengths as a function of predator length. We repeated the simulation 10,000 times to achieve a representative model.
We found the overall distribution of prey items consumed was unimodal and right-skewed with a median prey length of 74mm (95% simulation interval: 13 – 238 mm) and a maximum prey length of 535mm. The third quartile (120mm) was roughly the same length as that of June Suckers at their first annulus (111mm), suggesting that most predation on June sucker is occurring during their first year. Abundant mesopredators, Channel catfish, White bass, and Black bullhead drove the vast majority of predation pressure, consuming \u3e 98% of prey items consumed, while high trophic level predators accounted for the remaining \u3c 2%. Together, these results suggest substantial predation pressure on age-0 June sucker, particularly from Channel Catfish and White Bass, may explain the limited recruitment of wild June sucker despite the steadily increasing abundance of spawning adults. Thus, predation on juvenile June Suckers presents a significant barrier to the establishment of a self-sustaining June Sucker population in Utah Lake
Racial-Ethnic Differences in the Associations Between Functional Disabilities and Subsequent Depression Among Community-Dwelling Midlife and Older Adults in the US
No full textBackground: The intersection of race/ethnicity with disability is a critical dimension of mental health outcomes in later ages that remains under-investigated.
Objective: We examined the role of race-ethnicity in moderating the associations between functional disabilities and subsequent depression among Americans 51 and older and stratified into the two age-groups of midlife (51-64) and older adults (≥65).
Methods: Using a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling Americans (≥51; n=7,475) in the 2016-2018 Health and Retirement Study, we conducted bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. Racial-ethnic groups included non-Hispanic (NH) Black, Hispanic, and NH White and a binary (0/1) outcome defined subsequent depression in 2018. The total number of difficulties on the Nagi, Lawton, and Katz disability scales represented baseline (2016) functional disabilities with a secondary four-level (no/mild/severe with assistance/severe without assistance) disability indicator incorporated to examine the role of assistance with daily living.
Results: Across age-groups, subsequent depression was significantly more prevalent among NH Whites with functional disabilities compared to counterparts reporting no disabilities. Compared to NH Black and Hispanic counterparts, midlife NH Whites were three times more likely to report subsequent depression with each unit increase in the functional disability score, after adjusting for covariates. However, we observed no such racial-ethnic differences among older adults. Among the 51+ severe with no assistance group, adjusted odds of subsequent depression among NH Whites was 2.5 times higher than minority counterparts.
Conclusion: Health programs and environmental adaptations supporting functional care needs in later ages could be beneficial for improving mental health of adults with disabilities
A Comprehensive Parcel-Level Dataset on Farmland Assessment: Addressing Grid-Cell Data Bias Estimation
Get PDFGrid-cell data are increasingly used in research due to the growing availability and accessibility of remote sensing products. However, grid-cell data often fails to represent the actual decision-making unit, leading to biased estimates in socio-economic analysis. To this end, this paper presents a comprehensive parcel-level dataset for Salt Lake County, Utah, spanning from 2008 to 2018. This dataset combines detailed spatial and temporal data on land ownership, land use, and preferential farmland tax assessments under the Greenbelt program. Compiled from multiple geospatial sources, the dataset includes nearly 200,000 parcel-year observations, providing valuable insights into landowner decision-making and the impact of tax abatement incentives at the decision-making level. This resource is beneficial for researchers, educators, and practitioners in sustainable development, environmental studies, and farmland conservation
Starting Vegetable Seeds Indoors: II. Materials
Get PDFThis second of four fact sheets in this series explores materials needed to start seeds indoors—specifically, seeds, containers, soilless mix (potting soil), lights, water, fertilizer, a heat source, fans, labels, and a general growing space. Our focus is mainly starting vegetables. However, the principles discussed apply to starting herbs and other ornamental annuals and perennials. Online propagation protocols, books on plant propagation, and other Utah State University (USU) Extension resources discuss how to start other unique and less common plants