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AGED 539 Graduate Internship Report-Golden Valley High School
Get PDFThis internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Golden Valley High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Golden Valley High School, the agriculture program and the community
Hypoxic Incubation Chamber
Get PDFThis paper describes the design, manufacturing, and testing of a novel controllable hypoxic incubator with fully functional oxygen gas control and temperature control in a humid environment. On the current market, a majority of the few hypoxic incubators use pre-mixed gas that does not offer precise control over gas concentration. The objective for this project was to create a chamber that allows the user to set the O2 concentration to varying set points of % O2 while maintaining the chamber at a constant body temperature, CO2 level, humidity, and sterility. To start the project, multiple concepts were developed for the chamber design and the control system. These concepts were compared against developed engineering specs and were evaluated amongst the team and sponsor. From there, a detailed CAD model was developed and utilized to design the structure and was used as a guide for manufacturing. The control system was prototyped on breadboards via Arduino. This breadboard testing served as the map to solder perf boards, which are utilized as the final structure for the control system. Once all parts were sourced, machined, and assembled for the final chamber and the control system, these subassemblies were integrated together with a regulated gas system via various tubing. The integrated final design underwent a variety of testing to validate the incubator design and control system. Testing was performed throughout the course of this project: material testing, gas leak testing, cell test, temperature control test, and gas control system optimization; however, the most important of these tests were those relating to the environmental control of the incubator. These tests confirmed whether the incubator design was functional as a practical incubator. Testing confirmed that O2 and temperature control maintained in spec over a short and long period of time while maintaining a humid environment. CO2 control optimization had more complications than the O2 hypoxia system. During testing CO2 concentration would typically overshoot the set point, likely due to a lack of precise control over the gas flow. CO2 variability was reduced due to optimization in the code, but not fully mitigated. Future iterations of this chamber could improve upon the CO2 control and streamline the user interface
PhotograVR: Interactive Photography Education in Virtual Reality
Get PDFThe augmented, virtual, and mixed reality industry has grown significantly in recent years as technological advances improve user experiences. Together with an increasingly remote-work-enabled world, virtual reality (VR) presents an opportunity to provide immersive and interactive experiences no matter time nor place. In this project, we seek to evaluate the VR technology’s ability to match the educational outcomes of traditional in-person hands-on learning. Additionally, we seek to compare the effect of social presence on learning outcomes of students in educational VR simulations with a human-like instructor versus an abstract non-human instructor. To meet these research goals, we develop a VR application that emulates a photography studio teaching lighting fundamentals. This paper covers the results of the first pilot test session and future considerations for refinement of the application
Citric or Acetic Acid Effects on the Crosslinking of PVOH
Get PDFTransportation and shipping processes are the most dangerous times for food due to harsh handling and frequent temperature changes. Plain corrugated boxes cannot withstand the damp environment caused by melting ice that is used to keep foods cold and fresh. To minimize damage, a protective polymer film coating can be applied. These coatings can be unsafe when used with food and will lead to excess waste by limiting the recyclability of the boxes. The purpose of this project was to produce nontoxic crosslinked PVOH films to determine suitability for a cost effective, biodegradable, and repulpable corrugated box coating. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) was blended with two different organic acid solvents - citric acid and acetic acid – at various concentrations to be cast into thin polymer films and characterized for barrier properties. Intermolecular interactions were investigated using FTIR, TGA, and DSC analysis. Successful crosslinking with the citric acid at different concentrations resulted in property changes that suggest certain PVOH/citric acid blends are suitable for corrugated box coatings. Property changes with PVOH/acetic acid films did not indicate successful crosslinking. Elucidation of the results and further sample production by the Industrial Technology and Packaging graduate program will seek to field test and confirm these experimental outcomes in practice. Overall, the research and testing showed that this solution is possible
Farm Stand Build and Service Days for The Ranch
Get PDFThis paper outlines the building of a farm stand and service days done for The Ranch which works with the United Cerebral Palsy of Central California. The construction of a farm stand was requested by the client because they did not have one and would like to start selling the vegetables and fruits that they grow on their property. Additionally, there was an opportunity to do other improvements around the farm and simultaneously help brothers in the fraternity get service hours. To do this set up service days were set up where miscellaneous tasks around the farm such as spreading mulch, weeding, planting vegetables, picking up and disposing of trash, and other repairs to equipment and structures. This paper will cover the phases of building the farm stand which include, planning, material procurement, and the building phase, as well as the service days. This paper will also cover some the challenges that were come across during the process, as well as lessons learned, and how this project relates to the curriculum of Construction Management. The purpose of this project was to give back to an organization that holds a lot of significance and meaning to the builder
The Effect of Inflation and the Pandemic on a Southern California Solar Company: A Case Study
Get PDFSupply chain issues are causing panic in certain sectors of the economy particularly the solar sector. Solar energy already has problems that can affect its growth in the long term such as lack of government incentives, high cost, and energy curtailment. These problems are becoming more pronounced as the pandemic is prolonged. California is a state that has been encouraging the use of solar energy and has introduced incentives for its citizens to install solar. Because of this, solar companies in California may be able to more adequately circumvent issues and better excel economically than companies in other states. In interviews with a solar company in southern California, a discussion was had to see why they seem to be doing so well while other industries struggle to keep up with the changing economy. Using their perspectives, a conclusion was drawn that the solar industry will see immense growth in the future despite the problems they now face. However, looking further into the future, solar will have to change drastically in order to fix the lack of profits energy companies will have when solar becomes used everywhere. This company’s responses were limited to residential and commercial solar installation in southern California
Sustainable Concrete and Its Current Stance in the Construction Industry
Get PDFConcrete is currently the second most consumed resource used in the world and the production of this material, mainly the production of cement, contributes to a little over 8% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. The concept of sustainable concrete is rapidly surfacing within the construction industry as environmental issues and concerns like global warming and climate change continue to worsen. Scientists have been and continue to consistently conduct studies to test if sustainable concrete is a possible solution to reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions that come straight from the construction industry. But some construction companies have concerns that changing the composition of the standard concrete could potentially pose risks to the integrity of such an already structurally sound building material. This report will get a gauge on where sustainable concrete stands within the construction industry and attempt to analyze the reasoning as to why this product hasn’t been implemented on more projects. Ultimately, sustainable concrete still has a long way to go, but continuing to conduct research and slowly implementing more sustainable methods and kinds of concretes on projects will greatly help to reduce global CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions
Mini Bio: Mini Bioreactor
Get PDFCell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is a growing field of study that involves the production of proteins without the need for living cells to be a part of the reaction. When conducting CFPS reactions, bioreactors are commonly used to control and optimize environmental factors such that high yields can be obtained. Most commercially available bioreactors are not suited for use in research and development or in smaller laboratories as they are expensive and typically require 100s of milliliters of fluid volume. Additionally, many of these systems are complex to interface with and require hours of training to use properly. In this report, we will detail our design, manufacturing, and testing of a small-scale, low-cost bioreactor capable of oxygenating CFPS reactions. The results of this testing indicate that we were successful in developing such a device that consistently and accurately maintains the dissolved oxygen levels in the fluid. This achievement indicates that our bioreactor might be the optimal tool for conducting additional research into CFPS in typical lab settings
Case Study Analysis of the Sequencing of Asphalt Paving for the San Luis Obispo Airport Runway Rehabilitation Project
Get PDFThe following analysis of the San Luis Obispo Runway Rehabilitation Project is an examination of the asphalt paving sequence used to pave the 11-29 Runway and associated taxiways. The primary objective of this case study analysis is to gain insight as to how the pavement sequencing could have been done differently to decrease the potential for joint compaction issues between paving areas while still maintaining high efficiency and adhering to work limitations. To address issues encountered with the original paving sequence related to joint compaction, there are two alternative paving plans that this analysis will apply: wider paving areas with less longitudinal jointing and longer work closures. In contrasting the alternative pavement sequencing methods to the original paving sequence of the project, it will be possible to determine if a more efficient method could have been used and overall look at how the knowledge gained throughout this analysis could be applicable in future asphalt paving operations. The research methodology used will combine the development of quantitative data as related to asphalt placement rates and work segments compared across different sequencing phases, and the collection of qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with members of the project team and industry members
Dual-Axis Precision Imager
Get PDFThe Dual-Axis Precision Imager (DAPI) is a drawing robot that processes images and draws them on a whiteboard. The system has two modes: a Sobel filter mode that finds the edges of the input image with a Sobel filter, and a tri-tone grayscale mode that approximates the shading of the input image with the colors white, gray, and black. The DAPI consists of an Arduino-controlled XY gantry system with a pen mounted on the gantry head, and a Processing IDE program that processes the original image, converts the processed image into gantry instructions, and sends them to the Arduino for execution. The maximum input/output resolution of the DAPI is 400x400 pixels