Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Urban Scale Modeling Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide And Validation Of Emission Inventories, James E. Powell, Christopher L. Butenhoff, Andrew L. Rice

Student Research Symposium

There exists a pressing need for high resolution emissions inventories for cities. For greenhouse gases, cities and regions need a careful analysis of their carbon footprint to design effective policies to control and mitigate emissions. High resolution emissions inventories can be used in conjunction with meteorology models and atmospheric measurements to place top-down constraints on emissions. High resolution emissions inventories for criteria pollutants like NO_x, CO, and O₃ enable urban-scale air pollution modeling down to the neighborhood level. For example, the Vulcan project estimates CO₂ using county-scale vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from the National Mobile Inventory …

Bicrystallography In Two Dimensions: A Graphical Procedure And Comparison Of Its Results To Experiments, Andrew M. Maas, Peter Moeck

Student Research Symposium

Three dimensional (3D) bicrystallography describes ideal structures of grain boundaries comprehensively at the atomic level as a function of the five macroscopic and two of the four microscopic parameters [1,2]. Free energy minimization of these structures leads to the real structure of these topologically distinct regions within crystals. These minimizations may either reduce the symmetries of ideal bicrystals or leave them intact. Since the symmetries of physical properties need to be compatible (by the Shubnikov-Curie and Curie-Minnigerode-Neumann principles [3]) with the symmetries of the atomic arrangements from which they arise, bicrystallography allows for predictions about which phenomena can occur in …

Water Quality, Chemistry, And Hydrology Of Salt Creek In Northeastern Illinois, Luke Lampo

Celebration of Learning

Salt Creek flows through the metropolitan area of Chicago and into the Des Plaines River. Its urban environment provides multiple sources of contamination, including storm runoff, combined sewer overflow, and wastewater treatment plant discharge. The purpose of this study is to determine how water chemistry changes downstream, whether the presence and levels of metals meet IPCB (Illinois Pollution Control Board) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) water quality standards, and how water chemistry changes during periods of storm flow and base flow. The study area consists of 10 sites along a 37 km stretch of Salt Creek. Water samples were taken …

Geochemical Analysis Of Surface Materials Surrounding The Bautsch-Gray Mine Superfund Site Near Galena, Illinois, Ryan Plath

Celebration of Learning

The Bautsch-Gray zinc and lead mine, near Galena, Ill., was in operation from the early 1900s until closing in 1975. The mine’s tailings pile has documented elevated lead and zinc concentrations in the surface materials surrounding the site. Numerous floods have caused contaminated sediment to migrate off the mine tailings pile, across Blackjack Road and into an outwash basin, and towards Smallpox Creek. Since this site was designated an EPA priority list superfund site in 2010, there have been numerous remediation efforts.

This study attempts to develop a better understanding of the contamination within the soils of the outwash basin …

On The Sum Of The Reciprocals Of Squares, Hussam Ibrahim

Celebration of Learning

The Fourier Series has always been a great tool by turning the most complicated functions into a simple approximation by several sine and cosine terms. However, given the fact that its called an approximation arouses the question of how accurate is this approximation, especially with functions that have a corner at x values. In this project, we will show how the series that is the sum of the reciprocals of squares arises in the study of Fourier series. We will discuss the convergence and the rate of convergence of this series. This result arose during exploration on mathematical software Sage. …

Org Or Inorg? Atmospheric Carbon Controls That Initiated The Late Paleozoic Ice Age 326mya, Paco Defrancis

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

The Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) was a major global icehouse that initiated in the Mississippian (326 million years ago; ma) and lasted through the Early Permian (267ma). An ice sheet nucleated in southern Gondwana near the South Pole, which either paleogeography (positioning of paleocontinents) or atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas CO2 controlled. In this paper I accept recent findings that prove atmospheric pCO2 and not paleogeography forced global cooling that resulted in the nucleation of Gondwanan ice sheets that defined the LPIA. There remains no broad consensus of what caused pCO2 lowering in the Mississippian. Organic carbon found …

An Exploration Into Computer Graphics: L-Systems And A Non-Photorealistic Filter, Victoria Edwards

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

This past fall I worked on developing a graphics pipeline. I implemented a handful of graphics algorithms that allowed me to render creative scenes. This semester we explored the world of computer graphics by doing an in-depth study of different areas in the field. To do this we read critical SIGGRAPH papers on the subjects. SIGGRAPH is the publication forum for computer graphics and it maps the last forty years of research in the computer graphics world. This semester I have decided to focused on the photorealistic method of creating L-Systems and a non-photo realistic image filter.

Exploring Computer Graphics: Photorealistic And Non-Photorealistic Rendering, Brittany Chin

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Over the course of the year, the Advanced Computer Graphics course has explored a variety of image rendering techniques starting with the basic filling of polygons, and working all the way up to non-photorealistic rendering techniques. I have implemented a variety of these techniques in projects which demonstrate the growth and advancements of graphics over time. The implementations that are featured are an interactive tile game, a curve editor, a ray-tracer, and a non-photorealistic project. The capabilities of computer graphics are seemingly endless, and it is getting easier and easier to model the real world in synthetic systems. Where will …

Graphics, Beatrice Liang

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Here I show images generating using computer graphics methods ranging from green screen images to 3D models

Photorealistic Computer Rendering, William Kearney

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Sample portfolio demonstrating photorealistic and non-photorealistic computer graphic techniques such as ray tracing and edge detection.

3d Model Generation From Flat Images And Other Pretty Pictures, Matthew Levine

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

We present a novel method of generating 3D models from 2D images using neural network techniques. We also show a custom implementation of a global illumination model natively integrated into Python's standard 2D image library (with a fast C backend).

Trees And Non-Photorealistic Images, Christopher Burnham

CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Showing of a graphics system with some trees and non-photorealistic images.

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.

A Photometric Study Of The Eclipsing Binary Star Uv Lyncis, Edward J. Michaels

Bright Ideas Conference

UV Lyncis is a short period, over contact eclipsing binary star. These stars are physically in contact with each other, sharing a common atmosphere. Photometric observations were made on 10 nights in February and March 2014 using the 0.3 meter robotic telescope and a CCD science imager at the Waffelow Creek Observatory. 3051 images were acquired, calibrated and then reduced to record the changing brightness as the two stars orbited and eclipsed each other. Data collected resulted in complete light curves in 5 band passes and several times of minima. A period analysis confirmed previous studies that the orbital period …

A Fixed-Inverse Binary Misclassification Model Under Possible False-Positive Misclassification, Asmerom Tesfamichael, Kent Riggs

Bright Ideas Conference

In this project, we develop a particular statistical model for binary data that allows for the possibility of false-positive misclassification. To account for the misclassification, the model incorporates a two-stage sampling scheme.

• Next, we apply maximum likelihood methods to find estimators of the primary prevalence parameter p as well as the false-positive misclassification rate parameter ϕ. In addition, we derive confidence intervals for p based on inverting Wald, score and likelihood ratio statistics.

• Also, we graphically compare coverage and width properties of the Wald-based, score-based, and likelihood ratio-based confidence intervals for p through a Monte Carlo simulation. The …

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 …

Packing Densities Of Colored And Non-Colored Patterns, Matthew R. Just

GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium

Pattern packing concerns finding an optimal permutation that contains the maximum number of occurrences of a given pattern and computing the corresponding packing density. In many instances such an optimal permutation can be characterized directly and the number of occurrences of the pattern in interest may be enumerated explicitly. In more complicated patterns a direct characterization may be more challenging, however computational results for long permutations can help provide an indirect characterization of the general form of an optimal permutation. Much work has been done on the study of pattern packing in layered patterns, as the optimal permutation of a …

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 …

Crystal Nucleation Of Palladium-Doped Lithium Disilicate Glass, Gregory Humble

Symposium of Student Scholars

The effect of concentration of palladium particles on crystal nucleation was investigated for lithium disilicate glass. The heterogeneous nucleation rate for 470°C and 480°C were calculated for a concentration of 0.001% palladium by weight. The DTA method of measuring nucleation and crystallization was used in this calculation.

Model Of Cost-Effectiveness Of Mri For Women Of Average Lifetime Risk Of Breast Cancer, Mckenna L. Kimball

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Background: Mammography is the current standard for breast cancer detection however magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a more sensitive method of breast imaging. Despite MRI’s increased sensitivity, MRI has more false positives and higher costs. The purpose of this study was to determine if MRI or MRI in conjunction with mammography was a cost-effective solution for breast cancer detection in women with average lifetime risk of breast cancer.

Methods: A mathematical model was used to compare annual mammography, annual MRI, and mammography and MRI on alternate years. The model included the natural history of breast cancer, screening by mammography …

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 …

Contact Angle Measurement, Wenting Zhao, Mark Liffiton, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

The Contact angle, where a liquid/vapor interface meets a solid surface[wiki], has been widely used to measure the wettability of a surface in physics and chemistry. Scientists place a drop on a surface of interest, take an image of the drop in profile, and measure the angle the drop makes with the surface. We have developed a Contact Angle Measurement plugin for the ImageJ image analysis framework, which provides researchers a easier way to access experiment data. The major goal of our algorithm is to automatically detect drops and surfaces via image analysis, so that we can calculate the contact …

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 …

Multidecompositions Of Complete Graphs Into A Graph Pair Of Order 6, Yizhe Gao, Mark Daniel Roberts, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

A graph is a mathematical structure consisting of a set of objects called vertices and a set of 2-element subsets of vertices, called edges. The complete graph on n vertices is the graph with n vertices and an edge between any pair of distinct vertices. Let C₆ denote the cycle on 6 vertices. We are interested in partitioning the edges of the complete graph on n vertices into copies of C₆ and its complement with at least one copy of each graph. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions on n for the existence such a structure.

Vanadium Substituted Polyoxometalates, Jennifer Bjorklund, Samuel Kim, Rebecca Roesner, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Detection And Quantification Of Lead And Copper In Firearm Harvested Ground Venison Intended For Human Consumption, Chris Crown, Manori Perera Faculty Advisor, Given Harper Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Most White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Illinois are harvested with firearms that use lead or copper shotgun slugs or muzzleloader bullets, which may fragment when they strike bone. Lead is a neurotoxin to both humans and animals that scavenge deer that have escaped from hunters, and excess amounts of copper ingestion can impair lipid and DNA function. In a preliminary study in 2014, packets of ground venison from firearm and bow hunters in Illinois were x-rayed, and six out of ten firearm-harvested packets contained possible metal fragments. The purpose of this study is to utilize Anodic Stripping Voltammetry …

Quantification And Scavenging Ability Of Antioxidants In Bottled Tea, Jennifer Prochotsky, Manori Perera Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Bottled tea is made from brewed leaves of the Camelia sinensis plant. These leaves contain molecules called polyphenols that have aromatic rings with many alcohol groups. Different fermentation processes of the leaves lead to different types of tea, including black, oolong, green, and white tea. The polyphenols present in bottled tea have antioxidant properties, which have been seen to prevent certain types of diseases. Antioxidants work by stabilizing highly unstable free radicals, which are missing an electron in their orbital. Different studies have concluded contradictory results about which type of tea contains the highest quantity of antioxidants. There has been …

Demonstration Of Ion Trap Principles, Zhenghao Ding, Lunjun Liu, Gabriel C. Spalding, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Particle trapping is a state-of-the-art technology, which already a powerful tool for scientists working with micro- and nano-components. Much interest now revolves around length scales where quantum mechanical effects become pronounced. Quantum mechanics forms our only framework for understanding many problems in solid-state physics (e.g., magnetism), and is playing an ever more important role in applied chemistry, biochemistry and many other areas. Trapping technologies provide a test bed for systematic exploration of fundamental paradigms, offering enhancements to our understanding of key mechanisms and, perhaps, opportunities for quantum information technology. We have assembled a Newtonian Lab demonstration trap, demonstrating …