NASA MUST Paper: Infrared Thermography of Graphite/Epoxy

The focus of this project is to use Infrared Thermography, a non-destructive test, to detect detrimental cracks and voids beneath the surface of materials used in the space program. This project will consist of developing a simulation model of the Infrared Thermography inspection of the Graphite/Epoxy specimen. The simulation entails finding the correct physical properties for this specimen as well as programming the model for thick voids or flat bottom holes. After the simulation is completed, an Infrared Thermography inspection of the actual specimen will be made. Upon acquiring the experimental test data, an analysis of the data for the actual experiment will occur, which includes analyzing images, graphical analysis, and analyzing numerical data received from the infrared camera. The simulation will then be corrected for any discrepancies between it and the actual experiment. The optimized simulation material property inputs can then be used for new simulation for thin voids. The comparison of the two simulations, the simulation for the thick void and the simulation for the thin void, provides a correlation between the peak contrast ratio and peak time ratio. This correlation is used in the evaluation of flash thermography data during the evaluation of delaminations

Unmasking Athlete Microaggressions: Division I Student-Athletes’ Engagement With Members of the Campus Community

The purpose of this study was to explore student-athletes’ (n = 122) perceptions of discriminatory acts by professors and other students at a large Division I university in the western United States. The majority of respondents reported either positive or neutral experiences with other campus community members, but a small number described instances where professors and other students questioned their intellectual abilities, academic motivation, or treatment by the university. The author introduces the label “athlete microaggressions” to classify and validate the existence of insensitive and demeaning behaviors directed at student-athletes. The author identifies new directions for future work that builds on this research

NCAA Division I Athlete STEM Graduates: Stereotypes, Microaggressions, Race, and Gender

The purpose of this study was to explore how NCAA Division I athlete STEM graduates viewed their undergraduate experiences with members of the campus community such as academic advisors, other athletes, faculty, nonathlete students, and coaches. Using several interpretive frameworks, this study found that stereotypical assumptions, whether positive or negative, were conditional upon the athlete’s gender. Moreover, male athletes reported feeling a level of acceptance from campus members, although this same experience was eventually interpreted as token or conditional acceptance, largely because they were subjected to salient athlete microaggressions and considered exceptional but not entirely accepted by the academic community. The study also discovered that athletes who pursued degrees in STEM fields engaged in in-group stereotyping of other athletes, and some were aware of the social significance of race and intersectional identities in shaping the quality of their college experiences. These findings have implications for faculty, student affairs professionals, and others who frequently interact with college athletes and are committed to creating more equitable educational environments

Compact Infrasonic Windscreen

A compact windscreen has been conceived for a microphone of a type used outdoors to detect atmospheric infrasound from a variety of natural and manmade sources. Wind at the microphone site contaminates received infrasonic signals (defined here as sounds having frequencies <20 Hz), because a microphone cannot distinguish between infrasonic pressures (which propagate at the speed of sound) and convective pressure fluctuations generated by wind turbulence. Hence, success in measurement of outdoor infrasound depends on effective screening of the microphone from the wind. The present compact windscreen is based on a principle: that infrasound at sufficiently large wavelength can penetrate any barrier of practical thickness. Thus, a windscreen having solid, non-porous walls can block convected pressure fluctuations from the wind while transmitting infrasonic acoustic waves. The transmission coefficient depends strongly upon the ratio between the acoustic impedance of the windscreen and that of air. Several materials have been found to have impedance ratios that render them suitable for use in constructing walls that have practical thicknesses and are capable of high transmission of infrasound. These materials (with their impedance ratios in parentheses) are polyurethane foam (222), space shuttle tile material (332), balsa (323), cedar (3,151), and pine (4,713)

Sub-Surface Windscreen for the Measurement of Outdoor Infrasound

A windscreen has been developed that features two advantages favorable for the measurement of outdoor infrasound. First, the sub-surface location, with the top of the windscreen flush with the ground surface, minimizes the mean velocity of the impinging wind. Secondly, the windscreen material (closed cell polyurethane foam) has a sufficiently low acoustic impedance (222 times that of air) and wall thickness (0.0127 m) to provide a transmission coefficient of nearly unity over the infrasonic frequency range (0-20 Hz). The windscreen, a tightly-sealed box having internal dimensions of 0.3048 x 0.3048 x 0.3556 m, contains a microphone, preamplifier, and a cable feed thru to an external power supply. Provisions are made for rain drainage and seismic isolation. A three-element array, configured as an equilateral triangle with 30.48 m spacing and operating continuously in the field, periodically receives highly coherent signals attributed to emissions from atmospheric turbulence. The time delays between infrasonic signals received at the microphones permit determination of the bearing and elevation of the sources, which correlate well with locations of pilot reports (PIREPS) within a 320 km radius about the array. The test results are interpreted to yield spectral information on infrasonic emissions from clear air turbulence

Analysis of the thermomechanical inconsistency of some extended hydrodynamic models at high Knudsen number

There are some hydrodynamic equations that, while their parent kinetic equation satisfies fundamental mechanical properties, appear themselves to violate mechanical or thermodynamic properties. This article aims to shed some light on the source of this problem. Starting with diffusive volume hydrodynamic models, the microscopic temporal and spatial scales are first separated at the kinetic level from the macroscopic scales at the hydrodynamic level. Then we consider Klimontovich’s spatial stochastic version of the Boltzmann kinetic equation, and show that, for small local Knudsen numbers, the stochastic term vanishes and the kinetic equation becomes the Boltzmann equation. The collision integral dominates in the small local Knudsen number regime, which is associated with the exact traditional continuum limit. We find a sub-domain of the continuum range which the conventional Knudsen number classification does not account for appropriately. In this sub-domain, it is possible to obtain a fully mechanically-consistent volume (or mass) diffusion model that satisfies the second law of thermodynamics on the grounds of extended non-local-equilibrium thermodynamics

The Juris Master: A Proposal for Reducing Excessive Public Defender Caseloads

The US public defense system is underfunded, understaffed, and underdelivering on the Constitutional promises of the 6th Amendment, the right to a fair and speedy trial. This state of our public defense system results in monstrous impacts for indigent defendants nationwide. Through indefinite delays in litigation, being abandoned in jail while sitting on waiting lists for public defenders, and being outright denied representation, indigent defendants are deprived of their rights. Beyond just defendant neglect, our current system puts immense strain on public defenders, prosecutors, and state budgets. In an attempt to combat this current state of affairs, this paper details a possible provision to assist our public defense system. This provision is the idea of a Juris Master\u27s degree as an alternative to the Juris Doctor (JD) that is largely required to practice law. The Juris Master would allow its holder to handle misdemeanor criminal cases in lieu of a JD-holding attorney. This provision would be useful as the large majority of public defender dockets are indeed misdemeanor cases. The lift of this paper is both describing this proposal and explaining how it would harmonize with the ethical ideas backing the Constitution and the mandated standards of the legal profession. Proving this harmonization requires looking at documents such as the Magna Carta, regulations such as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC), and analogical relationships in other professions

Joint optimization of process improvement investments for supplier-buyer cooperative commerce

This research focuses on supporting the formation of strategic alliances through the concept of cooperative commerce, where suppliers and buyers work together to jointly optimize their businesses. The general goal of this research is to examine existing cooperative commerce models for obstacles that would hinder their successful implementation into modern industrial applications and to address those shortcomings. Total annual cost equations are formulated to capture the joint total relevant cost of cooperative commerce business relationships. These total joint relevant cost models will include terms that capture the ordering cost, holding cost, and cost of quality, as well as any applicable investment cost for process improvements, consistent with traditional economic order quantity and economic production quantity theory. This research corrects a modeling error of Affisco, et al. (2002) that led to underestimating the effectiveness of process improvements in joint economic lot size models. In addition, the models are expanded to accommodate a full range of product quality inspection policies, from zero to one hundred percent product inspections. Furthermore, the models are modified to account for the cost of scrap generation, as well as the effects of accepting non-conforming product and rejecting conforming product during quality inspections. Once the total cost models are expanded to account for these neglected costs, the joint total relevant cost equations are minimized to find the optimal batch sizes, and the effects of each model extension on the model solution are studied. Results indicate that these extensions do have a significant impact on the model results, such as reduced optimal batch sizes and increased optimal fraction conforming product

Remedying Unequal Access: The Role of Outreach in Shaping College Opportunities for Underserved Students

The discourse regarding affirmative action in California, stemming in recent years from the passing of SB 1 in 1995 and Proposition 209 in 1996, has major implications for African Americans’ struggle for higher education in California. This legislation signals a need to understand where African Americans are now and how to identify strategies and practices that are efficacious in improving access as well as preparing these students for competitive college eligibility. In an attempt to illuminate the current status of African American students in California, this article analyzes patterns and trends of academic preparation at the secondary level and undergraduate enrollment to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Intervention programs and policies and a range of strategies necessary to create a pipeline to college for students who are both disadvantaged and academically qualified are also discussed. Such efforts and continued research have become critically important due to recent reductions in outreach funding, which have forced California institutions to do more with fewer resources

The Geographic Society and Gamma Theta Upsilon at Arizona State University

Throughout most of the history of Arizona State University (founded in 1885) there has been a strong student organization devoted to the study of geography and the state of Arizona . This organization was established early, and once established, it always existed. A club such as this one is particularly important to students, since belonging to a small group leads to comraderie and lifelong friendships, and it can be a valuable learning experience. One of the main goals of the geography student organization was always the taking offield trips, and such field trips are fondly remembered by ex-members. Prof. Fred Irish took geography students on field trips between 1900 and 1914, as he loved to camp out, travel the state, and comment on the physical environment. However, no geography club was established atthis time