Theses and Dissertations
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ArticleSustainable Design: Postcards for Learning Delivered( 2024-05)Universities embrace the principles of sustainability, but often the enthusiasm for supporting the teaching of sustainability lags behind the willingness to embrace at a facilities level (Christie et al., 2013). Sustainability education is strongest in the environmental sciences (Cortese & Hattan, 2010) although the pedagogy of design is recognized as having high potential for meaningful sustainability education (Geitz & de Geus, 2019; Seatter & Ceulemans, 2017). Support for educators, in terms of time, resources allocation and organization, are all critical for sustainability education to succeed (Christie et al., 2013). This study finds that undergraduate students in the design and related disciplines care about the idea of sustainability but lack a clear understanding of what Sustainable Design could entail. Instructors also recognize the importance of their students learning sustainability principles but are forced to rely heavily on their personal knowledge of the concepts, with varying levels of proficiency and confidence in this knowledge. The design and creation of a toolset, in the form of a box of cards with prompts for sustainability related learning activities on them, was tested to determine if such a toolset could positively impact student understanding of Sustainable Design. Post-test surveys suggested that the instructors were enthusiastic about the potential for a usable toolset for introducing Sustainable Design to their students. For students using the tools, the post-test survey responses suggest they gained fluency in the concept of Sustainable Design with stronger definitions of sustainability post-test than pretest. They also expressed increased confidence in their ability to apply Sustainable Design principles to their own work as Industrial Designers.
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ArticleThe applications of Chemically Accurate Contact Response Analysis (ChACRA) to the study of protein dynamics and allostery( 2024-05)Protein dynamics are central to their function. Enzymes must sample a range of conformations that preferentially bind substrate, order reactive groups for catalysis, and release products. The same fundamental principle applies to proteins which regulate their substrate affinity to maintain cellular conditions and communicate signals. Understanding how a protein’s sequence and structure influence dynamics remains a fundamental challenge in biophysics with major implications for de novo protein design and therapeutic development. This dissertation details a novel computational method that reveals an underlying feature of proteins connecting sequence, structure, and dynamics. After sampling a protein’s conformations at many reduced Hamiltonians (effective temperatures), all of the inter-residue contact probabilities are obtained as a function of energy. Principal component analysis is applied to reveal energy-dependent contact patterns. Correlated and highly energy-sensitive interactions are revealed by large magnitude loading scores on the principal components. This Chemically Accurate Contact Response Analysis (ChACRA) and its application to investigations of enzymatic activity tuning, heat sensing, and allostery in several protein systems is discussed.
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ArticleThe Capability Approach: Addressing learners' ability to pursue STEM interests and careers.( 2024-05)Technology and innovation are reshaping our societies and economies at an accelerated pace, requiring new skills for individuals to thrive in economy and society and new educational models to support these changes. In response, world organizations seek solutions rooted in sustainable human development to ensure that future educational models are just and provide individuals with real opportunity to in their pursuit of a meaningful life. The United States is not an exception and has also put forth educational goals aimed at addressing 21st century skill needs most relevant for success in today’s technology driven, global society through STEM educational initiatives. However, efforts to attain these goals in the United States through traditional education have encountered substantial challenges and remains low, particularly among women, and historically underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. The purpose of this study was to understand why learners sought additional education following their traditional education, to switch careers and enter STEM fields, rather than enter STEM fields directly following their traditional educational journeys including elementary, high school and through university. This research aims to explore the application of the Capability Approaches to educational technology design, and how it may be used as a lens to detect vulnerabilities in our educational infrastructure that hinder individuals from actualizing their capabilities. It seeks to also explore a bootcamp educational model as a potential educational design approach to STEM education. Many individuals aspire to have careers that are both fulfilling and long-lasting. However, they often face challenges in pursuing careers that truly resonate with their personal values and contribute to their overall happiness. This is a growing concern as the rapid pace of technology may require that individuals possess skills that enable them to reskill and upskill more frequently in one's lifetime. Failure to address barriers that hinder an individual’s ability to actualize one’s capabilities may have a widening effect on skills gaps that perpetuate economic disadvantage as we move to a reliance on technology in this effort. These studies utilized narrative case studies to examine the experiences of learners to illustrate their individuals' perspectives on the process of self-discovery throughout their traditional educational journeys, concluding in their participation in a UX boot camp. The study found that while most individuals had interests and desire to enter STEM fields, they were challenged by lack of opportunity to develop skill, knowledge, and confidence, necessary for them to self-actualize their academic and career pursuits in STEM fields. Additionally, from a capability perspective, the structure, pedagogy, support, and curriculum of the bootcamp was able to meet human development needs of learners in a condensed time frame, and impart 21st century skills of active learning, communication, collaboration, problem solving, analytics, creativity, and innovation. Thus, it holds potential for improved skill development and STEM learning, providing a valuable perspective that allows educators, researchers, educational technology designers, and policy makers to more effectively create educational strategies that align with the goals of 21st century education and sustainable human development.
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ArticleIntegrating industry-defined non-technical skills into the curriculum( 2024-05)With the ever-evolving and advancing industrial sectors and job markets, engineers now face demands that require technical expertise and solid non-technical skills to succeed and stay on par with the competition. While academic curricula have traditionally emphasized technical prowess, the global marketplace is placing increasing importance on communication and other non-technical skills among engineers. However, academia has historically underemphasized the development of these skills, leading to a misalignment between industry expectations and academic preparation. This gap has left many engineers needing more proficiency in essential non-technical skills. Recognizing the need, universities are now integrating non-technical skills into engineering curricula, with accreditation bodies such as ABET emphasizing their importance. This study addresses the deficiency by developing and implementing prerecorded online modules for developing communication skills among students within construction engineering (ConE) courses at two class levels, 200 and 300, aiming to enhance students' non-technical skill sets. Through confidence-based surveys, the effectiveness of these modules was evaluated using a statistical tool—ordered logistic regression models—shedding light on the impact of instructional interventions, differences in skill acquisition among students of different class standings, and the reasons for these differences. This approach aids in understanding the optimal timing for skill implementation and development. The results show that the intervention significantly helped students improve their confidence in targeted communication skills in some aspects, which were presented to them as questions, and to some extent in others. While overall positive change was observed, this facilitated the acquisition of communication and other non-technical skills. Moreover, analyzing the demographic factors of the students in the study highlighted how internships, age, class standing, gender, and other factors influence confidence. These findings underscore the necessity of considering such factors when developing and delivering content on non-technical skills to ensure students benefit to the greatest extent possible. Overall, the study's efforts to introduce concepts related to non-technical skills, particularly communication skills, not only increased student awareness of their importance but also helped assess their current proficiency levels and fostered an understanding of the potential for further development.
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ArticleAssessing the evolution of nitrate removal and hydraulic performances of woodchip bioreactors( 2024-05)Widespread agricultural activity, poor crop nitrogen-use efficiency, and extensive agricultural subsurface drainage systems in the Upper Mississippi River Basin combine to create an accelerated flux of nitrate to aquatic environments. High concentrations of nitrate in aquatic systems can create areas known as hypoxic zones, or dead zones, where dissolved oxygen levels become too depleted to support life. Woodchip bioreactors are an effective edge-of-field conservation practice that are designed to remove nitrate from agricultural water before it is released into the environment. Although their estimated lifespan is about 10 years, little is known about the performance of bioreactors as they age. The first study (chapter two) assesses the nitrate removal and hydraulic performance changes over time in two bioreactors. Performance monitoring methods included routine water sampling during the drainage year and tracer testing. Original performance monitoring was completed when the bioreactors were two years old. Later, when the bioreactors were a decade old, the same performance monitoring was repeated to evaluate changes over time. The nitrate data showed no significant changes in median annual nitrate removal efficiency for both bioreactors (p-value > 0.05), meaning their effectiveness at removing nitrate has not changed over time. Tracer test results varied with time for both sites. The first bioreactor (DV) showed unideal increases in short circuiting and mixing over time, but remained effective at utilizing its entire pore volume and had a satisfactory hydraulic efficiency. The concerning element of this bioreactor is its poor ability to remove nitrate (median removal efficiency of 13.94%), though this isn’t suspected to be due to its age or hydraulic performance since historical data also showed poor nitrate removal. The second bioreactor (SC) showed improvements in its hydraulic performance over time with decreasing mixing and short circuiting. The use of the entire pore volume and hydraulic efficiency were observed to be satisfactory as well. A unique hydraulic complication at the SC bioreactor is its extended hydraulic residence time (which contributes to the high nitrate removal) and sedimentation. Active stoplog management and vigilance for sediment build-up can mitigate these issues and extend the longevity of the bioreactor. Regardless of the individual complications, the overall performances of these decade-old conservation practices did not significantly change over time. These findings suggest that bioreactors can exceed their estimated lifespans with good management practices. The next study (chapter three) investigates a bioreactor (NERF) that has been operating for 14 years. Routine water sampling has occurred at this site since 2012, and tracer tests were attempted in 2011, 2018, and 2023. A significant increase in the median annual nitrate removal efficiency was observed at the NERF bioreactor (p-value < 0.05). Nitrate removal efficiencies had natural variations from 2012 to 2019 as environmental factors fluctuated, but removal efficiencies became consistently near 100% after 2019. Tracer results at this site reported strong increases in short circuiting from 2011 to 2018, but overall performances remained satisfactory. A failed tracer test in 2023 prevented further hydraulic comparisons, but still provided insight on the current conditions. The 2023 failed tracer test is suspected to be from extreme clogging at the site which prevented the bromide plug from eluding the bioreactor. Clogging is apparent as bypass flow simultaneously occurs with minimal effluent flow, contradicting the expected gravitational flow pattern. Moreover, the consistently high nitrate removal efficiency throughout the year suggests a sustained high hydraulic residence time, likely from the clogging restricting the flow. This prolonged residence time implies that the limited water passing through the clogged chamber remains in the chamber for an extended amount of time. Together, these characteristics suggest that the NERF bioreactor struggles to effectively conduct flow through the chamber, minimizing its effectiveness at treating agricultural subsurface drainage. After 14 years of operation, the overall performance of the NERF bioreactor is considered to be failing, not due to declines in nitrate removal, but rather due to declines in flow conduction. All three bioreactors in this study showed varying performances at extended ages with unique complications. This implies that generally estimating a lifespan for all bioreactors is difficult as it will vary with individual design, environmental factors, and management strategies. Further investigation into aged woodchip bioreactor could identify complications that decrease lifespans and could uncover solutions or management strategies that could extend the longevity of bioreactors.