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AGED 539 Graduate Internship Report - Buhach Colony High School
No full textThis report documents the implementation and outcomes of a comprehensive agricultural education program at Buhach Colony High School, aligning with California Career Technical Education (CTE) standards. The project focuses on enhancing student engagement through curriculum development, leadership activities, Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), and career readiness initiatives. Key components include expanding pathway offerings in horticulture, mechanics, and agricultural sciences, integrating field experiences, and hosting guest speakers to connect students with industry professionals
Initiative to Increase Student Engagement in Undergraduate Structural Analysis Course
No full textThis report documents the design of physical models, software aids, homework supplements, and industry-related activities to support the Learn by Doing philosophy in an undergraduate structural analysis lecture and laboratory course pairing offered at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in the Architectural Engineering department. The ARCE 302 Structural Analysis and ARCE 352 Structural Computing Analysis courses cover the fundamentals of analyzing indeterminate structures, primarily focusing on theoretical concepts and calculations.
Prior to the development of any new course materials for this project, feedback from students who had previously taken the courses was collected via a survey in the Winter 2024 quarter. The responses were largely positive for the proposed pedagogical interventions. Students felt the courses were primarily theoretical and calculation-based in their current state, such that incorporating physical models as well as tutorial supplements for software tool development and use of structural analysis programs would aid student comprehension of course topics.
Therefore, the efforts described in this report were undertaken to better support an engaging learning environment in the ARCE 302 and 352 courses where students would:
• Observe physical demonstrations that promote their intuition of structural behavior. • Conduct experiments to verify deflections calculated with the Principle of Virtual Work and demonstrate that the theory is valid. • Utilize and create Excel tools to compute deflection using the Force/Flexibility Method and Principle of Virtual Work. • Develop computational models using the commercial structural analysis software SAP2000 to compare results to the theoretical methods mentioned previously.
Specifically, the final two items in the list were accompanied by detailed tutorial supplements to aid students in acquiring fundamental skills for Excel tool development and SAP2000 modeling, useful for future professional applications in structural engineering.
In summary, the intent of this report is to provide engineering educators with a guide on interactive techniques to communicate structural analysis course curricula in a manner that balances structural analysis theory with hands-on learning and industry preparation. Physical model fabrication drawings, sample data analysis, software supplements, class activity and homework handouts are included. Additional materials, such as solutions to class activities and the Excel spreadsheets can be requested via email to the faculty advisor on this report
Exploring Gender Disparities In Collaboration Networks: An Analysis Of H-Indices And Collaborator Proximity
Get PDFResearch is crucial for expanding the boundaries of what is known, driving innovation, and solving problems faced by communities. It is carried out across all sectors of society by all matter of institutions. Academic research is one such sector that contributes to a plethora of disciplines. Research often compels collaboration among researchers, and as with any team, the dynamics and outcomes are affected by the individuals who contribute to the research. For instance, researchers can be from different institutions; therefore research teams can differ in collaboration distance -- the geographic distance between the organizations of authors. In a similar vein, facets of individual researchers may impact their collaboration patterns. Two such known sources of difference are gender and an author\u27s measured impact.
This thesis investigates differences in geographic collaboration distance and correlations between impact and network metrics based on the inferred gender of authors from the California Public University system. In particular, this thesis uses publication data primarily from the area of computing with contributions from authors of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and University of California schools. From this data, two collaboration networks are constructed with one used to calculate two measurements of collaboration distance for each author -- distance of individual collaborations and reach of collaborations over time -- and the other to calculate network metrics by author impact.
This thesis provides evidence suggesting a differences in collaboration distance over time and network metrics of inferred female and male authors. These differences tend to favor male authors
Using Plankton EDNA To Estimate Whale Abundances Off The California Coast: Data Integration And Statistical Modeling
Get PDFUnderstanding marine mammal populations and how they are affected by human activity and ocean conditions is vital, especially in tracking population declines and monitoring endangered species. However, tracking marine mammal populations and their distribution is challenging due to difficulties in observation and costs. Using surrounding plankton environmental DNA (eDNA) has the potential to provide an indirect measure of monitoring cetacean abundances based on ecological associations. This project aims to apply statistical methods to assess the relationship of visual abundances of common species of baleen whales with amplicon sequence variants (ASV) of plankton eDNA samples from the NOAA-CalCOFI Ocean Genomics (NCOG) project. Modeling this relationship of eDNA with marine mammal sightings may greatly aid the ability to predict the abundance of whales in the ocean.
There are several key challenges associated with the analysis of this NCOG data. Plankton eDNA samples are an example of compositional data, where the proportions of each ASV must sum to one; this provides a challenging constraint for statistical analysis and interpretation. High dimensionality (the number of parameters exceeds the observations) and sparsity (many observed zeros) of the genetic sequencing data also pose challenges in estimating parameters. Finally, the model associations should be adjusted for related factors, including seasonality and oceanographic factors, the latter of which goes beyond this project\u27s scope.
This thesis develops and fits models to estimate cetacean abundance from plankton eDNA by leveraging methods of compositional data analysis and high-dimensional regression. This project applies log-ratio data transformations and corresponding log-contrast models to address the compositional aspect of eDNA reads. Regression methods involving high-dimensional data typically rely on dimensionality reduction or regularization. This project implements both reduction and regularization through sparse partial least squares (sPLS) regression. In addition to the data modeling objective of using plankton eDNA to predict baleen whale abundances, this project also identifies ecological correlations between whale abundance and plankton eDNA
A Hybrid Computer To Solve The Selective Harmonic Minimization Problem In Single-Phase Inverters
Get PDFPower electronics possess forms of non-ideality due to the nonlinearity present in physical switches. These switches are driven with pulse width modulation (PWM), which properly down-converts or up-converts based on converter topology. When these switches turn on or off, they introduce the main proponent of efficiency loss: harmonics. This becomes a nonlinear optimization problem with many converters. The solution proposed in this thesis is an analog/digital hybrid computer that utilizes the speed of analog computation and the accuracy of digital computing together. A Plexim RT Box provides the programmability needed for algorithms, while the analog circuit provides low-power, high-speed computation in order to provide the proper switching angle to minimize harmonics. This study explores optimization techniques for PWM harmonic elimination by implementing a hybrid computer that simulates harmonics and calculates solutions to the nonlinear optimization problem. Specifically, the analog computer handles the gradient flow dynamics of harmonic elimination by utilizing nonlinear programming and the KKT conditions. The analog computer is optimized by exploring higher-slew-rate operational amplifiers and observing their effects on convergence. All results are consistently compared to an LTSpice simulation to ensure the accuracy and stability of the physical analog computer
Design And Characterization Of A Broadband RF Switch Utilizing Surface Mount Devices
Get PDFHigh frequency solid-state switches are critical elements in communication systems, radio frequency (RF) systems and instrumentation. Key parameters to an RF switch include insertion loss while on and off-state isolation. Power handling and linearity are important to consider for a cost-effective construction. This becomes a design challenge into K-band frequencies as components required need to be small, dielectric losses and transmission lines need to be physically matched for proper isolative and through states. This thesis presents a novel single pole eight throw (SP8T) hybrid design composed of commercially available surface mount technology solutions to achieve high isolation and low insertion loss from 2-20GHz. A range of PIN diode solutions were surveyed against key design requirements for the SP8T hybrid switch. There were no commercially available solutions for a SP8T switch using surface mount components. A SP2T switch is combined with two SP4T to make the hybrid model. A wide range of RF switch topologies were simulated and designed into a printed circuit board panel that includes 15 test structures. This board is fabricated on a low loss dielectric material with a 4-layer stack that is operational up to 20 GHz and beyond. An onboard calibration structure including STOL standards are tested through a vector network analyzer to determine losses and reflection. Each switch design is on its own board to better determine the performance of the SP8T hybrid. High frequency coplanar waveguide to 2.4mm coaxial connectors are used to evaluate each board. This design is characterized against individual MMIC and PIN diode boards through switched states in decibels (dB). Second harmonic content is also measured at a target frequency at 2.4GHz for all configurations to determine the magnitude of undesirable spectral content with input power no greater than 10dBm. Results display acceptable loss in the lower half of the frequency band and narrow resonance nearer to 20 GHz due to board loss and reflections. This design has been successful in its design and operation at broadband RF frequencies. Performance characteristics are given in the summary section. Details of the design process and measurement methodology are given in the body of this thesis