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An Interactive Ecosystem Simulator
Get PDFThis project is about an ecosystem simulator game that allows players to manipulate the population size of the selected species and observe these species interact with each other. It focuses on reflecting the consequences of human intervention in the ecosystem and the difficulty of maintaining a balanced ecosystem. I’ve been astonished by how human intervention could easily crash the ecosystem and how difficult it could be to make up for our faults. And many people still hold the thought that we control the world and could determine the death or live of all other creatures as we like. However, the balance of the ecosystem is not something that should be played around with. Even to this day, scientists could not precisely predict the impact of species loss. Humans do not possess sufficient power to reverse the crash of the ecosystem and yet the consequences are not easy to bear. Therefore, It’s critical to raise people’s awareness. And I wish this game could draw people’s attention and hopefully help them become more prudent when it comes to making such decisions. Many current ecosystem-related games I’ve seen do not focus on this issue. They provide either limited realism or limited species and player interactions. To achieve the goal of this project, the reflection of users’ operation should be considered and be as realistic as possible. This is what the game aims to improve by allowing users to observe species interactions and change their population sizes to see how their actions impact the ecosystem
Investigation of Natural Pozzolans: Analyzing the Practicality of Natural Pozzolans as a Partial Substitute for Cement in Grout Production
Get PDFThis senior project aims to investigate whether natural pozzolans are more sustainable than fly ash and a sufficient substitute for cement in the production of grout. By following the intent of the ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standards, a conclusion will be made to determine if natural pozzolans can contribute comparable strength in compression. The objective is to prove that natural pozzolans should be utilized in the production of grout rather than alternatives such as fly ash because it can provide similar strength while being more economical and more sustainable
Recor-DIY
Get PDFRecorDIY is an affordable alternative to ordering Vinyl Records from a manufacturer in the form of an at-home record-cutting lathe. This report will cover the record cutting process from audio to physical, at home record lathes that are currently available, and the possible improvements that I plan to implement in order to make these devices a more viable alternative for small artists. Current models can only create low fidelity records, specifically they struggle with lots of “noise”, extra sounds such as static that make it harder to hear the actual audio. Another issue is record size, as current models can only fit about only fit about 4 minutes of music per side on a 5-inch disc. The last issue is price, currently in order to acquire a lathe that can cut records even close to the quality you would expect from a record that is viable to be sold to consumers can cost upwards of $30,000. When considering the possible solutions for these issues there are 2 main components that will serve to best rectify these issues. The design of the lathe cutting head, and the material used for the vinyl records. The Lathe cutting head can be made in either a “monophonic” or a “stereophonic” configuration, the monophonic configuration is a much more straightforward method of engraving the record, which can lead to a superior fidelity as a result, however this method sacrifices some of the dynamics of a track as it removes the “panning” of a song. The Stereo Configuration is a much more complex head, which requires a much more precise construction as well as execution, which often means that lots more tweaking is necessary in order to ensure a quality cut, in exchange for this extra effort and precision, the artist is rewarded with a much more dynamic and full sound. The records themselves can be made from either polyvinyl or polycarbonate. Polyvinyl is the typical medium for batch-pressed records as it is a much softer and malleable material, but it is also a viable option for lathe cutting as well. Due to its malleability polyvinyl must be cut much more precisely to avoid adding excess “noise” to the recordings, but it is also capable of achieving a higher fidelity through these means. Polyvinyl is also more expensive than its polycarbonate counterpart as it is in high demand due to its use in vinyl pressing. Polycarbonate is the cheaper alternative to polyvinyl, a slightly tougher material, but typically the material of choice for lathe cut records, under the right circumstances can achieve a comparable fidelity to its polyvinyl counterpart, however it is not quite the same. To make the device as user-friendly as possible, as well as reduce costs, my research indicates that the best solutions moving forward will be to use polycarbonate discs up to 10 inches in diameter [roughly 9-12minutes per side], in combination with a monophonic head for ease of use and more consistent high-fidelity sound
SAVER: Surface Autonomous Vehicle for Emergency Rescue
Get PDFThe design, fabrication, and testing of an unmanned surface vehicle for the NASA Micro-G NExT SAVER challenge. This device features a radio direction finding phase array to autonomously navigate to an emergency distress beacon to deliver emergency supplies
Wood Diaphragm Deflections. Part I: Generalizing Standard Equations Using MechanicsBased Derivations for Panel Construction
Get PDFHorizontal wood diaphragm systems, whether decked with conventional or mass timber panels, transfer wind and seismic loads to vertical elements of the lateral force-resisting system (LFRS), in flexible, rigid, or semi-rigid fashion. Characterizing and calculating the resulting diaphragm deflections determines the distribution of forces to critically loaded components and a significant portion of lateral building translations and rotations. Deflection equations for sheathed wood structural panel (WSP) diaphragms are well established in U.S. design standards in a 4-term expression that models flexural, shear, and fastener-slip deformations and its full derivation using principles of mechanics is provided herein. Derivations of similar equations for cross-laminated timber (CLT) diaphragms have yet to unfold, despite growing industry consensus that CLT panels make efficient slabs and decks. In this first of two companion papers, the corrected full derivation of the current 4-term WSP diaphragm deflection expression is provided and assessed, and two ways to quantify the cumulative contribution of fastener slip are presented in order to expand its usage to a wider variety of WSP and CLT configurations in current use. Building upon this generalized mechanics-based derivation, the authors are able to propose and assess in the companion paper a unified diaphragm deflection model to compute both WSP and CLT diaphragm deflections as implemented under current practice and guide further development
Agora: App Prototype to Improve the Live Event Experience
Get PDFAgora is a mobile application that aims to connect live event-goers with safety protocol and information about the event’s safety measures and plans. We are targeting live events with many attendees because there is a need for more safety and group planning support. Through initial conversations with friends, family, and peers, we discovered that it is constantly challenging to coordinate schedules, determine meeting points, message group members, and find medical and safety protocols at live events. This app will improve the user experience of live events and benefit attendees and event holders.
Agora’s prototype will feature solutions such as planned activities, location sharing, emergency information and resource system, interactive maps, group meetup, chat, schedule sharing, event information, and meditation guides to solve user needs when attending live events. The scheduling screen will be used so attendees’ friends can see where and when they will be during music festivals. Users can plan meetups and notify their group when they get separated. The emergency information will house where the nearest exits are, an emergency siren, medical attention locations, a meditation guide to decrease stress, and an incident report form. An interactive map in the application will allow users always to see the event’s layout
Parental and Family Leave in the California Construction Industry
Get PDFStruggles between work life balance often result in lower levels of job and life satisfaction, and higher rates of inefficiency and employee turnover, with varying impact on employees based on seniority, gender and parenthood. Policies such as paid parental leave have shown positive effects on work life balance, but there is a lack of information on leave policies within the American construction industry. Focusing on California, this research aimed to determine employee\u27s understanding, use and acceptance of these leave policies. Using a survey, we gain a better understanding of these goals. Rates of confidence in knowledge of paternal and family leave policies were equal among both genders, however women were more confident in their knowledge of their company’s maternity leave policy then men. These confidence rates for all policies rise further among parents. As a trend among all leave policies, individuals see peers take parental and family leave more often than their supervisors. In questions looking at support and acceptability of personal leave policy use, all women who did not have children responded strongly agree to all questions. Mothers responded to these same questions with a greater variety of responses including disagree. This data shows that HR professionals and upper management should focus on employee understanding leave of rights as well as creating a positive and supportive culture around the use of these leave policies
Analysis of Potential Application of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Exemptions to Investor-Owned Utility Wildfire Mitigation Plans to Accelerate Fire Prevention and Mitigation Efforts
Get PDFWildfire poses an existential threat for California. Five of the six largest wildfires in California’s history occurred in 2020 and 2021 including the first fire to ever impact over 1 million acres. Between 2014-2018, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) identified electrical power generation as igniting more fires than lightning strikes. In response to electrical utility assets igniting wildfires, the State of California has mandated that investor-owned utilities (IOU) develop Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMP) that include a spectrum of mitigation and prevention efforts including undergrounding of utilities, hardening of electrical assets (e.g., converting wooden poles to steel or other non-flammable materials) and vegetation management.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provides mechanisms for accelerating regulatory approval in implementation of critical emergency prevention in response to wildfires. Relying on regulatory texts, legislative history and case law, this report reviews the creation and use of the CEQA statutory emergency exemption and several categorical exemptions (existing facilities, replacement and reconstruction, and minor alterations to land use). This report concludes that, depending on the nature and location of the wildfire risk mitigation, all of these exemptions are available to accelerate WMP prevention and mitigation work and should be employed by agencies with jurisdiction to ensure that existing risks posed by utility hardware and lines are promptly addressed to avoid loss or damage from IOU-ignited wildfires. This report further concludes that it would be advisable for the legislature to adopt a new specific CEQA statutory exemption to ensure rapid implementation of existing WMPs where there are identified known IOU ignition risks
Autonomous Attitude Consensus for Nanosatellite Formations in LEO
Get PDFConsensus strategies are examined as a possible approach to achieving attitude alignment for a large, close-proximity formation of nanosatellites in low earth orbit (LEO). An attitude-only distributed consensus approach is selected for further consideration due to its comparatively low data transmission requirements. The convergence of a connected network of satellites to the attitude agreement subspace under this control law is shown using a Lyapunov stability approach with a set of idealizing assumptions. A moderate-fidelity simulation demonstrates the performance of the control law under realistic conditions that violate those assumptions. Particular emphasis is placed on the conditions that arise from the limitations of the nanosatellite form factor, namely the low accuracy of sensors and the limited computational resources. The sensitivity of the pointing performance to these factors is characterized, and the control approach is shown to be viable for use in future nanosatellite missions
AS-960-23 Resolution on Courses with Condensed Time Schedules for Quarter-To-Semester Conversion
Get PDFResolves that any semester-system course or group of courses that in its new condensed format averages less than 4 days (including weekends) per unit must be approved by the appropriate College Curriculum Committee(s) and the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee at least 60 days before they are offered in a compressed time scale