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Urban Forestry as a Carbon Offset Method at ASU West Campus
No full textabstract: As part of Arizona State University’s net-zero carbon initiative, 1000 mesquite trees were planted on a vacant plot of land at West Campus to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Urban forestry is typically a method of carbon capture in temperate areas, but it is hypothesized that the same principle can be employed in arid regions as well. To test this hypothesis a carbon model was constructed using the pools and fluxes measured at the Carbon sink and learning forest at West Campus. As an ideal, another carbon model was constructed for the mature mesquite forest at the Hassayampa River Preserve to project how the carbon cycle at West Campus could change over time as the forest matures. The results indicate that the West Campus plot currently functions as a carbon source while the site at the Hassayampa river preserve currently functions as a carbon sink. Soil composition at both sites differ with inorganic carbon contributing to the largest percentage at West Campus, and organic carbon at Hassayampa. Predictive modeling using biomass accumulation estimates and photosynthesis rates for the Carbon Sink Forest at West Campus both predict approximately 290 metric tons of carbon sequestration after 30 years. Modeling net ecosystem exchange predicts that the West Campus plot will begin to act as a carbon sink after 33 years. (abstract
Learning Scalable Dynamical Models for Predicting Atomic Structures of High-Entropy Alloys
No full textabstract: High-entropy alloys possessing mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties that far exceed those of conventional alloys have the potential to make a significant impact on many areas of engineering. Identifying element combinations and configurations to form these alloys, however, is a difficult, time-consuming, computationally intensive task. Machine learning has revolutionized many different fields due to its ability to generalize well to different problems and produce computationally efficient, accurate predictions regarding the system of interest. In this thesis, we demonstrate the effectiveness of machine learning models applied to toy cases representative of simplified physics that are relevant to high-entropy alloy simulation. We show these models are effective at learning nonlinear dynamics for single and multi-particle cases and that more work is needed to accurately represent complex cases in which the system dynamics are chaotic. This thesis serves as a demonstration of the potential benefits of machine learning applied to high-entropy alloy simulations to generate fast, accurate predictions of nonlinear dynamics. (abstract
Isotopic Analysis of Nova Stardust Grains
No full textabstract: Stardust grains can provide useful information about the Solar System environment before the Sun was born. Stardust grains show distinct isotopic compositions that indicate their origins, like the atmospheres of red giant stars, asymptotic giant branch stars, and supernovae (e.g., Bose et al. 2010). It has been argued that some stardust grains likely condensed in classical nova outbursts (e.g., Amari et al. 2001). These nova candidate grains contain 13C, 15N and 17O-rich nuclides which are produced by proton burning. However, these nuclides alone cannot constrain the stellar source of nova candidate grains. Nova ejecta is rich in 7Be that decays to 7Li (which has a half-life of ~53 days). I want to measure 6,7Li isotopes in nova candidate grains using the NanoSIMS 50L (nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry) to establish their nova origins without ambiguity. Several stardust grains that are nova candidate grains were identified in meteorite Acfer 094 on the basis of their oxygen isotopes. The identified silicate and oxide stardust grains are <500 nm in size and exist in the meteorite surrounded by meteoritic silicates. Therefore, 6,7Li isotopic measurements on these grains are hindered because of the large 300-500 nm oxygen ion beam in the NanoSIMS. I devised a methodology to isolate stardust grains by performing Focused Ion Beam milling with the FIB – Nova 200 NanoLab (FEI) instrument. We proved that the current FIB instrument cannot be used to prepare stardust grains smaller than 1 �m due to lacking capabilities of the FIB. For future analyses, we could either use the same milling technique with the new and improved FIB – Helios 5 UX or use the recently constructed duoplasmatron on the NanoSIMS that can achieve a size of ~75 nm oxygen ion beam. (abstract
Corporate segment has the highest sales
No full textabstract: In 2020, the world was swept by a global pandemic. It disrupted the lives of millions; many lost their jobs, students were forced to leave schools, and children were left with little to do while quarantined at their houses. Although the media outlets covered very little of how children were being affected by COVID-19, it was obvious that their group was not immune to the issues the world was facing. Being stuck at home with little to do took a mental and physical toll on many kids. That is when EVOLVE Academy became an idea; our team wanted to create a fully online platform for children to help them practice and evolve their athletics skills, or simply spend part of their day performing a physical and health activity. Our team designed a solution that would benefit children, as well as parents that were struggling to find engaging activities for their kids while out of school. We quickly encountered issues that made it difficult for us to reach our target audience and make them believe and trust our platform. However, we persisted and tried to solve and answer the questions and problems that came along the way. Sadly, the same pandemic that opened the widow for EVOLVE Academy to exist, is now the reason people are walking away from it. Children want real interaction. They want to connect with other kids through more than just a screen. Although the priority of parents remains the safety and security of their kids, parents are also searching and opting for more “human� interactions, leaving EVOLVE Academy with little room to grow and succeed. (abstract
Accuracy of Error Correction Code and Regression Analysis within a Python Software
No full textabstract: In collaboration with Moog Broad Reach and Arizona State University, a team of five undergraduate students designed a hardware design solution for protecting flash memory data in a spaced-based radioactive environment. Team Aegis have been working on the research, design, and implementation of a Verilog- and Python-based error correction code using a Reed-Solomon method to identify bit changes of error code. For an additional senior design project, a Python code was implemented that runs statistical analysis to identify whether the error correction code is more effective than a triple-redundancy check as well as determining if the presence of errors can be modeled by a regression model. (abstract
Development of a HaloTag® Linker for Applications in Photobiocatalysis
No full textabstract: The use of enzyme-catalyst interfaces is underexplored in the field of biocatalysis, particularly in studies on enabling novel reactivity of enzymes. For this thesis, the HaloTag® protein tagging platform was proposed as a bioconjugation method for a pinacol coupling reaction using lipases, as a model for novel reactivities proceeding via ketyl radical intermediates and hydrogen-bonding-facilitated redox attenuation. After an initial lipase screening of 9 lipases, one lipase (Candida rugosa) was found to perform the pinacol coupling of p-anisaldehyde under standard conditions (fluorescein and 530nm light, 3% yield). Based on a retrosynthetic analysis for the photocatalyst-incorporated HaloTag® linker, the intermediates haloamine 1 and aldehyde 6 were synthesized. Further experiments are underway or planned to complete linker synthesis and conduct pinacol coupling experiments with a bioconjugated system. This project underscores the promising biocatalytic promiscuity of lipases for performing reactions proceeding through ketyl radical intermediates, as well as the underdeveloped potential of incorporating bioengineering principles like bioconjugation into biocatalysis to overcome kinetic barriers to electron transfer and optimize biocatalytic reactions. (abstract
Examining Gender, Race, & Class Depictions in Neoliberal Feminist Media
No full textabstract: Neoliberal feminism has gained significant popularity in fourth-wave feminist media. In this paper, I analyze the 2017 limited television series "Big Little Lies" to uncover the intricacies of neoliberal feminist theory in practice, particularly how it speaks to gender, race, and class relations. (abstract
Towards an Understanding of Digital UX Design Evaluation Best Practices
No full textabstract: This project examines methods of evaluating the quality of digital UI/UX design including the McKinsey Design Index, heuristics, and design principles. (abstract
Color and the Beautiful Game: an in Depth Analysis of the History of Racism and its Effects on Association Football
No full textabstract: Soccer is bar none, the most popular sport in the entire world. It is played, followed, and loved by virtually every single country on Earth. Despite this massive support for the sport which houses some of the world’s biggest names in the world, its shortcomings when dealing with issues of racial injustice and incidents of racist behavior have become more pronounced in recent years. Although this open discussion regarding racism within the sport has recently begun to sprout, its roots can be tied back to decades ago while continuing to the present day, with players, referees, coaches, fans, commentators, and more all involved on both sides of the issue. We found this topic to be most prevalent in today’s society after witnessing multiple shameful racist incidents that have occurred to some of the world’s biggest players throughout European football in 2019, as well as the recent ongoing fight for racial reform and increased awareness regarding racial injustice in the United States. By doing comprehensive research and analysis on such incidents that have occurred throughout the years we hope to raise more awareness regarding this subject that has plagued the beautiful game. In addition, we hope to offer ways to remedy the problem one step at a time, all while answering the tough, but necessary questions regarding what specifically should be done in the sport, that others have been afraid to talk about for far too long. Specifically, we wanted to mainly highlight the experience of black players, with a further discussion on other minority groups, in English and Italian football as these two leagues have been a part of the largest debate between how club traditions, player-fan interactions, league policies, and staff management have all affected the way we view the game as the endemic of racism within the sport is exacerbated. (abstract
Variance in Response to Heat Treatment in Perkinsville Jasper
No full textabstract: The heat treatment of lithic raw material is a globally dispersed technology that improves the flaking quality of toolstone. While not all types of stone respond to heat treatment, many forms of microcrystalline silicates do, including jasper. Here, we aim to better understand how Perkinsville jasper responds to heat treatment. Perkinsville jasper occurs in the Perkinsville Valley of Yavapai County, Arizona, and was utilized prehistorically by the Prescott, Sinagua, and Hohokam cultures. For our study, we collected seven boulders of jasper from private land (with permission) in Yavapai County. These boulders were flintknapped into 74 spalls which were subsequently heated in an electric kiln using 20 treatment protocols with systematically varying combinations of maximum temperature and maximum heating times. Afterward, we compared multiple quantitative and qualitative characteristics of unheated and heated flakes taken from the same nodule pre- and post-heat treatment. Our heating protocol allows us to determine an ‘optimal heating context’ for Perkinsville jasper and to better understand how variation in time and temperature influences flaking quality of the stone. Lastly, this research develops an experimental reference dataset that can be used by other researchers studying raw material use and heat treatment in the Southwest United States. (abstract