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Functionalizing Titanium with Fluorosilane can make it Water-Repellent
Jared Schlosser
The purpose of this project was to determine if titanium can be made hydrophobic via treatment with perfluorooctyltrimethoxysilane (PFTMS) solution. The reaction proceeds by attachment of the silane to a surface hydroxyl. Because of this, the samples were pre-treated with a hydroxylating agent H2O2 as part of the sample preparation process. The experiment consisted of four samples groups: clean, hydroxylated, silanized (1 h), and silanized (24 h). The results indicate that only one hour is needed to silanize the samples effectively.
2023 -
First Nations' Environmental Protests
Cooper Smitherman
Beginning with an environmental impact report resulting from Nazko and Kluskus First Nations’ environmental protests in the 1970s, I engaged in a critical study of the archival history of this literacy event under the direction of Dr. Alanna Frost. I joined this project because of my interest in the intersections between writing and history, but my interest expanded into investigating the instances of what I call here “injustices in writing.” The report reveals that the writing surrounding this literacy event, regardless of intent, perpetuates the further colonizing of First Nations communities. We considered the particularly colonizing literary practices of the settler colonizers who wrote and/or contributed to these environmental protests to record First Nations’ land-use practices without establishing their communities as a cog in the machine of the dominant culture and economy. In my work, I constructed an environmental- and character-centered timeline and analyzed existing literacy sponsorship and decolonization scholarship to collaboratively consider a foundation for analyzing the history of this First Nations protest as an extended colonizing literacy event. We have found it necessary to center the protest’s literacy sponsors in our criticism, to emphasize the environmental transgression against First Nations communities, and to address potential intentions behind the incomplete archival history created and distributed by these sponsors. This work is crucial to reconsidering “well meaning” technical documents of the past as blueprints for the perpetuation of further injustices against marginalized communities.
2023 -
Scintillator probes for X-ray and neutron measurements of a pulsed plasma source
Joseph Thaggard
Time-of-flight scintillation detection systems are an effective and popular tool for measuring the radiation output for high-energy experiments. These scintillation systems are oftentimes expensive and technically complex, which result in costly and time-consuming repairs. The Charger Advanced Propulsion and Power (CAPP) Lab developed a time-of-flight scintillator system using two BC-408 scintillator crystals and two custom Hamamatsu head-on photomultiplier tubes. The scintillation system was designed to operate in counter mode placed in close proximity to a 40,000MW pulsed power machine to measure results from experiments with x-ray and neutron outputs.
2023 -
Do Cover Letters Increase the Number of Call Backs Received? A Pilot Experiment
Alexis Underwood
This article reports on the experimentation of the effectiveness of using cover letters when applying for jobs. It can often be difficult to navigate the job market, especially for people who are looking for entry level positions after obtaining their undergraduate degree. Through applying to jobs using resumes from students from the recent graduates of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), we applied to jobs in some of the major metropolitan areas in the United States: Huntsville, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Seattle, Washington; and Washington D.C. The resumes and cover letters were edited to include false names, email addresses, and phone numbers. Once this process was completed, we applied to several jobs in the corresponding areas half with no cover letter and half with a cover letter, applying to the same jobs with different applicants. Effectiveness of the cover letters was judged based on how many responses were received from potential employers, and whether they wanted to schedule an interview with the applicant. The experiment has not yet yielded results, but based on the literature review, we expect that the applicants who used cover letters will receive more responses than those who did not.
2023 -
I Thought I Was Just a Late Bloomer: Exploring Asexual People's Experiences of Identity & Community
Jessica Walter
While research into asexuality has expanded - albeit slowly - in the last few decades, its focus remains largely on the experiences of white asexual women. To counter that trend and explore how race might influence a person’s experience of asexuality, this case study investigates the experiences of a mixed-race asexual woman. The project was conducted using existing interview data, which was thematically coded into nine categories, covering the participant’s experiences with education, dating, coming out, interactions with strangers, and other life events. The results were counter to expectation at every turn. The entirely separate formation of her racial and sexual identities, their differing salience in her life, and overall positive responses from others regarding her asexuality all set this woman’s experiences apart from prior research. The present study reveals much about the ways racism and classism may influence the life course of an asexual person, and about the ways ‘colorblindness’ in asexuality research is holding back our understanding of this intriguing identity.
2023 -
Validation of the Kinematic Knee Sleeve for Measuring Joint Angle Changes in Active Young Adults
MaryAnn Wiethop
Electric goniometers (EG) are a valid and reliable method of measuring joint angle changes during human movement. However, EG can be costly and impractical for use outside of laboratory settings. Therefore, an advanced textile sensor, the Kinematic Knee Sleeve (KiTT), was developed to track exercises and human movements. However, the KiTT has not been previously validated against a standard criterion. Purpose: To validate the KiTT against an EG during a series of lower body exercises in active college-aged adults. Methods: Following a five-minute warm-up on a stationary bike, participants (n = 13, age = 21 ± 1.8 yrs, body mass = 61.5 ± 3.4 kg) were fitted with the KiTT on their left leg and an EG on the lateral joint line of their right knee. Participants then completed 6 exercises (squat jump, countermovement jump, broad jump, box jump, box drop, lateral hop) in a randomized order. A total of 3 sets of 8 repetitions was completed per exercise, with the exception of lateral hops, which consisted of 3 sets of 5 repetitions performed. Paired sample t tests were used to analyze differences in knee flexion values between the EG and KiTT during the lower body exercises. Results: No significant differences were found in knee flexion values between the EG and KiTT in squat jumps, countermovement jumps, broad jumps, box jumps, and box drop exercises (p ≥ 0.05). Lateral hop knee flexion was significantly higher in the Kitt compared to the EG (p ＜ .001). Conclusion: The KiTT is an accurate device for measuring knee joint angle changes during lower body exercises and is effective for use outside of a laboratory. The Kitt can be utilized during rehabilitation, practice, or game settings for measuring and monitoring knee angle range of motion.
2023 -
Anisotropic Spiky Colloids for Antifouling Surfaces
Mackenzie Williams
Fouling is the accumulation of contaminants on a surface. Fouling reduces surface efficiency and can cause contamination, impacting several industries such as medical, maritime, and space. Our approach uses the assembly of anisotropic spiky colloids to fabricate antifouling surfaces to repel fouling materials. The main objective of the project is to characterize the adsorption of anisotropic spiky colloids of differing spike size and distribution over a planar surface to generate rough antifouling surfaces. We simulate the irreversible particle deposition using the Random Sequential Adsorption (RSA) algorithm, in which particles are randomly adsorbed onto the surface. The algorithm accepts the randomly positioned and oriented particle over the surface if the particle does not overlap with previous ones; after that, the particle remains fixed for the duration of the simulation. Simulation results show that the maximum number of adsorbed particles decreases as the particle aspect ratio increases, while the number of adsorbed particles decreases as the shape parameter of superellipsoids increases. Furthermore, the average roughness increases as the spike shape parameter increases, but the particle-particle separation decreases. Our investigation of these structures will allow the future development of anti-fouling surfaces for multi-scale inserts.
2023 -
Development of a Waveguide to Investigate Acoustically-Forced Droplet Combustion
Hunter Wilson
Project Problem To understand the fundamental flame-acoustic coupling phenomena of a single burning droplet, a test facility is needed to study the effects in a prescribed acoustic field. Acoustic waveguides are commonly used devices to generate these acoustic wave conditions. These devices are sized based upon the desired frequency range in mind, which is 500 – 2000 Hz for this application. With this information, the expected acoustic field for both standing and traveling wave forcing can be determined. Approach The geometry of the waveguide is rectangular with an internal length of Lx = 915 mm and a volume of V = .016 m3, which has two sets of speakers on each end to create the desired acoustic conditions, as well as an optical viewing port for high-speed combustion diagnostics of the burning droplet. Under this summer RCEU program, these parts were manufactured using UAH’s CNC machine out of ¼” stainless steel plates. The end plates have threaded holes for the speakers and a series of pressure ports to measure the oscillatory pressure local to the test section. The waveguide’s modular design allows it to be scaled, enabling other forcing conditions to be explored in future studies. For example, the end plates may have a variation to add another speaker, or alternative length sections can be installed to alter the resonant characteristics of the waveguide. Additionally, a signal conditioning system is needed to process the pressure readings from a pair of Kulite XCE-IC-093-5G pressure transducers. The pressure transducers produce an output signal in the range of millivolts. However, the data acquisition unit requires the input to be in volts. Therefore, an amplifier circuit was designed and prototyped using an AD620ANZ operational amplifier accompanied by a voltage inverter. Open-source software for the development and design of printed circuit boards (PCB’s) was utilized for circuit design and integrated-circuit footprint layout. Results Using acoustic theory to determine the resonant condition for a container closed at both ends (i.e., f = nc/2Lx), the waveguide was designed to produce the resonant conditions withing the desired range for the experiments (i.e., f = 866 Hz for n = 1, f = 1732 Hz for n = 2, etc.). Subsequently, the acoustic field for both standing and travelling wave forcing was characterized at the fundamental resonant frequency of the device using acoustic theory. Conclusion With the newly built acoustic waveguide, experiments for acoustically-coupled droplet combustion can be conducted. The next steps are to modify the waveguide to include the needed features/hardware for this experiment. This includes a syringe-pump fuel injection system and implementing high-speed combustion diagnostics (e.g., OH* chemiluminescence). The results will be analyzed using advanced image processing at frame-rating on the order of ~100 kfps. Through these methods, further understanding of condensed phase combustion will be achieved.
2023 -
Benchmarking the flagship Alabama HPC system
Kishan Yerubandi
perfSONAR is middle-ware between network monitoring tools and higher level services such as visualizations and workflow managers. Using perfSONAR APIs, it is possible to unlock data gathered from 1000s of networks, and design more intelligent “above the network” services. Developers of lower level measurement and monitoring tools can use similar APIs to facilitate the deployment, sharing, and location of new products.
2023 -
TEMPO Spectrometer Satellite Validation using TOLNet Mobile RO3QET Lidar
Avery Cantrell and Todd McKinney
2022 -
Investigating the Effects of Kidney Stones on our Microbiome: Lactobacilli Growth in the Presence of Oxalate
Rayan Haque and Layla Jeries
2022 -
Design and Implementation of an Airborne Particulate-Matter Sensor
Leonard Hochmuth and Todd McKinney
2022
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