Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Look Into Graphics Engines And Non-Photorealistic Rendering, Margaux Leblanc

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Throughout the year I have created a graphics pipeline that can render both photorealistic and non-photorealistic images. It all starts with defining what a pixel is and building from there. For instance, an image is a collection of pixels, a color is just three numbers (red, green, and blue values), a line is coloring certain pixels with such a color based on Bresenham's line algorithm and so on. My graphics engine can draw and shade points, lines, polylines, and polygons according to different algorithms. Using these basic shapes I can create photorealistic images of L-systems and non-photorealistic images of paintbrush …

Computer Graphics Presentation, Itrat Akhter

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The aim of this poster presentation is to display the works that I did over two semester of computer graphics classes. As such, I will give a brief glimpse of the methods and images involving fractals, bezier curves and surfaces, hierarchical modeling, shading and lighting, particle systems and others.

Investigations Of Synthetic Fuels: S8 And Sasol Ipk To Determine The Possibility Of Alternate Fuels In The Aerospace Industry, Scott M. Dyke

GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium

Investigations of Synthetic Fuels: S8 and Sasol IPK to Determine the Possibility of Operation as Alternate Fuels in the Aerospace Industry

Name: Scott Dyke

Co-Authors: Martin Muinos, Julia Heimberger, Dr. Valentin Soloiu,

An ever-growing society that becomes more and more dependent on a finite energy source will eventually exceed its supply. Fossil fuel quantities are continuously decreasing and new solutions are needed. According to the United States Department of Transportation, over 10 billion gallons of airline fuels have been consumed in each of the past 15 years with some years over 13 billion gallons. In the meantime, fuel costs have …

Modeling Traffic At An Intersection, Kaleigh L. Mulkey, Saniita K. Fasenntao

Symposium of Student Scholars

The main purpose of this project is to build a mathematical model for traffic at a busy intersection. We use elements of Queueing Theory to build our model: the vehicles driving into the intersection are the “arrival process” and the stop light in the intersection is the “server.”

We collected traffic data on the number of vehicles arriving to the intersection, the duration of green and red lights, and the number of vehicles going through the intersection during a green light. We built a SAS macro code to simulate traffic based on parameters derived from the data.

In our program …

Assembly, Alignment, And Maintenance Of An Automated Laser Cutter, Zhenghao Ding, Lunjun Liu, Gabriel C. Spalding, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

We have assembled a kit for an automated laser cutter system, intended to play an important role in a wide variety of student-led design projects on our campus. We began by electrically soldering the wiring for a powerful (60 Watt), pulsed infrared (10.6µm wavelength) CO₂ laser beam, which can thermally induce shock waves that locally ablate a wide range of (non-reflective) materials. The laser tube itself generates significant heat when operating, so we also assembled the required water-cooling system. Given the high powers involved, careful alignment this invisible laser was required, to ensure that the beam is safely contained …

Microfluidic Generator Of Sub-10-Micron Hydrosomes, Zhenghao Ding, Lunjun Liu, Gabriel C. Spalding, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Known as the fundamental “lab on a chip” technology, microfluidics is a thriving young research area that first took off in the 1990s. It is commonly used for reducing the amount of material required for biochemical analysis, such DNA sequencing. Its narrow tunnels can annihilate turbulence even in high-speed fluid flow, facilitating controlled, systematic processing. Also, by leveraging lithographic techniques developed for the semiconductor industry, enormous capability can be integrated into a single microfluidic chip. We have thus far utilized templates designed and fabricated by previous students in our lab, for fabrication of a series of microfluidic chips, made of …

A New Laboratory For Mm-/Sub-Mm-Wave Characterization Of Cosmic Dust Analogs, Lunjun Liu, Thushara Perera, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

At visible wavelengths, cosmic dust obscures many interesting astronomical environments such as stellar nurseries and new planetary systems. Studying how light interacts with cosmic dust would help reveal the nature of the objects and environments that are obscured by dust. In order to study the optical properties of cosmic dust analogs in the lab, we constructed a custom apparatus, which consists of a vacuum chamber, a cooling mechanism to vary the temperature of dusts in an astronomically interesting range (7-50 Kelvin), and a long-wavelength spectrometer. Since completing the construction of the custom apparatus, we are currently assembling and testing the …

How The University Of California Runs One Repository For Ten Campuses, Katie Fortney

Inaugural CSU IR Conference, 2015

Katie Fortney, JD, MLIS, Copyright Policy & Education Officer, Office of Scholarly Communication, University of California http://osc.universityofcalifornia.edu/

Implementing Metaarchive And Lockss At Digital Commons @Cal Poly, Michele Wyngard

Inaugural CSU IR Conference, 2015

Michele Wyngard, Digital Repository Coordinator, CSU Cal Poly

Reconsidering The Impact Of Cs1 On Novice Attitudes, Amber Settle, John Lalor, Theresa Steinbach

Amber Settle

The Effects Of Silicon Applications On Wear And Drought Stress Of Cool Season Turfgrass, Mike J. Badzmierowski, W. Michael Sullivan

Senior Honors Projects

The ability of turfgrass to maintain quality and functionality during use and drought stress are fundamental to almost all turfgrass environments. A possible mechanism to increase wear and drought tolerance is through the use of supplemental silicon (Si) application. Until recently, Si has received little attention for its role in crop physiology or performance.

While it is recoverable within the plant it is not recognized as an “essential” plant growth component. Si is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust; however the majority of soil-Si is bio-geochemically inert. Plants absorb Si exclusively as monosillicic acid, H₂SiO …

The Critical Role Of Cubesat Spacecraft In A Multi-Tier Mission For Mars Exploration, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

A multi-tier architecture is under development (with similar craft heterogeneity to Fink's work on ‘tier scalable’ missions) which will facilitate autonomous local control of multiple heterogeneous craft. This mission architecture has been developed with a Mars mission in mind and has included CubeSats in a variety of critical mission roles.

Two concepts will be presented: the addition of CubeSats to a larger-scale multi-tier mission, where the CubeSats serve a supporting role and a mission driven by CubeSat orbital capabilities. In the first, CubeSats are utilized to augment the area of spatial coverage that can be obtained and the temporal coverage …

Making The Journey From A Traditional Model To An Online Model, Jenny Shrensker, Nazire Koc

Jenny Shrensker

Challenges Associated With Space Weather Analysis And Prediction, John Lanicci

Space Traffic Management Conference

The term “space weather” is typically used to describe environmental conditions in the region extending from the sun’s surface, through the interplanetary medium, to the earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere, with a focus on those conditions that can affect the earth, its technological systems, and population. Space weather conditions are monitored continuously by a number of agencies around the world. These agencies use both satellite- and ground-based measurements to build analyses and employ predictive models that form the basis for impacts-based products dealing with myriad users in satellite operations, the utility industry, aviation, and satellite-based communications, to name a …

Challenges Associated With Space Weather Analysis And Prediction, John Lanicci

John M Lanicci

The term “space weather” is typically used to describe environmental conditions in the region extending from the sun’s surface, through the interplanetary medium, to the earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere, with a focus on those conditions that can affect the earth, its technological systems, and population. Space weather conditions are monitored continuously by a number of agencies around the world. These agencies use both satellite- and ground-based measurements to build analyses and employ predictive models that form the basis for impacts-based products dealing with myriad users in satellite operations, the utility industry, aviation, and satellite-based communications, to name a …

Estuarine Sediment Dynamics, C. T. Friedrichs

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Estimating Mineral Weathering Rates In Catskills Watersheds, Chris E. Johnson

Chris E Johnson

No abstract provided.

Estimating Mineral Weathering Rates In Catskills Watersheds, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Sound And The Moving Image:Critical Characteristics For Spectator Response, Kara Rader, Rafeeq I. Roberts, Matt Egizii, Jeffery Allen

Rafeeq I Roberts

The prevailing wisdom in the film and video production industries is that audio information outweighs visual information when it comes to spectator responses, but there are few empirical studies to support this claim. In previous research, four critical characteristics of sound have been identified: (1) Music, (2) visual/sound contradictions (defined as sound that is inconsistent with audience expectations based on visual information), (3) multi-channel sound, and (4) sound quality. Building on our previous research into music and film, we have found that many researchers have looked into the question of how music affects emotions (Eschrich et al., 2008; Have, 2008; …

Two-Dimensional Electron Gases At The Surface Of Potassium Tantalate, Ben Pound

Ben Pound

No abstract provided.

The 21st Century Library For Geoscientists, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

No abstract provided.

Two-Dimensional Electron Gases At The Surface Of Potassium Tantalate, Ben Pound

Browse All Undergraduate research

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Chemical Information Literacy: Is It "Scholarly?", Barbara C. Harvey

Barbara C. Harvey

This symposium illustrates a collaborative classroom activity that incorporates information literacy into an introductory chemistry course. The primary learning outcomes of the activity are to understand the peer-review process, knowing how to locate original research articles based on “clues” in a general news article, and how to differentiate between popular and scholarly periodicals. Students work in small groups in a highly-collaborative classroom setting. Each group is given a recent chemistry-related news item, and must determine how and where to find the original research article the news item is based on. Emphasis is placed on identifying original, peer-reviewed research publications. Each …

Open Source Electronics For Laboratory Physics, Zengqiang John Liu

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Presentations

Open-source electronics are electrical circuits and devices whose designs are released to the public by the designers, so others may modify and improve them. Using open-source data acquisition electronics in laboratory physics will dramatically reduce the cost of laboratory electronics and empower instructors to develop new laboratory activities, demonstrations and exploratory projects with students. This workshop will improve participants' understanding of open-source electronics and their applications in laboratory physics. Many laboratory physics sensors and open-source devices will be introduces and demonstrated. The workshop provides hands-on experiences in projects using laboratory physics sensors with an award-winning, low-cost, open-source electronic data acquisition …

Mass And Nutrient Loss In Decaying Hardwood Boles At Hubbard Brook, Chris E. Johnson

Chris E Johnson

No abstract provided.

Mass And Nutrient Loss In Decaying Hardwood Boles At Hubbard Brook, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Three Views On Motivation And Programming, Amber Settle, Arto Vihavainen, Juha Sorva

Amber Settle

The Effects Of The Melting Arctic Ice Cap On Florida's Coast, Anthony Atkinson, Nicholas Joseph, Louw Scheepers

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

We've set out to determine the effect of arctic ice melt on the coastline of Florida, more specifically its major cities and tourist attractions. To do this, we created multiple mathematical models on different bases to ensure that our models are behaving in an appropriate manner. We constructed one statistical model based on past sea level rise data, and one theoretical model based on our interpretations of different components that add to the total sea level rise. Our data and analysis showed firm indications of extreme effects on the coastline of Florida and some of its major tourist attractions by …

Modeling The Optimization Of A Toll Booth Plaza, Liam Connell, Zachary Schutzman, Erin Hoover

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

When designing a toll plaza, many factors have to be considered, especially the number of toll booths to build. In this paper, we try to determine the optimal number of toll booths by creating a model for car movement at a toll plaza. We define optimal as the number of toll booths that minimizes the waiting time, particularly at a high congestion time (i.e. rush hour). To model the movement of cars through a toll booth plaza, we break the problem into two parts: time spent waiting in line and then time spent merging back into traffic. Because each of …

From The Depths Of Great Pond (Maine): Anthropogenic And Natural Influences On Bottom Sediments And The Implications For Local Sustainability, Sara George, Clara Bicher

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

As part of a Maine EPSCoR grant focusing on sustainability in the Belgrade Lakes watershed of central Maine, current research consists of collecting bottom sediment samples from Great Pond. Samples were analyzed to create a sediment map of the lake basin in regards to depth, grain-size distribution, organic content (%C), C:N ratios and phosphorus concentration. Results will aid in the understanding of the glacial formation of the lake, distribution of sediment within, and human impact on the lake. Additionally, knowing the distribution of phosphorus within the sediments may allow development of a strategy to avoid accelerated eutrophication. This research will …