Panel on the ASCE/EWRI Standards Practice Documents on Water Resources Alternatives in the Southwest

The EWRI of ASCE has developed numerous standards practice documents or model water codes for water resources alternatives. These include documents on regulated riparian model water, artificial recharge of ground water, atmospheric water management of fog & precipitation & hail suppression, and water infrastructure security enhancements. Others in the development process are on management of the control of erosion and sediment, aquifer storage and recovery, coefficent of conductivity, and concentrate management of desalination. The panel will briefly cover the ASCE standards development process, the ways of obtaining funding for the efforts, the joint effort with other organizations, and some brief details about each document mentioned above

Autonomous rendezvous and docking: A commercial approach to on-orbit technology validation

The Space Automation and Robotics Center (SpARC), a NASA-sponsored Center for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS), in conjunction with its corporate affiliates, is planning an on-orbit validation of autonomous rendezvous and docking (ARD) technology. The emphasis in this program is to utilize existing technology and commercially available components whenever possible. The primary subsystems that will be validated by this demonstration include GPS receivers for navigation, a video-based sensor for proximity operations, a fluid connector mechanism to demonstrate fluid resupply capability, and a compliant, single-point docking mechanism. The focus for this initial experiment will be expendable launch vehicle (ELV) based and will make use of two residual Commercial Experiment Transporter (COMET) service modules. The first COMET spacecraft will be launched in late 1992 and will serve as the target vehicle. The ARD demonstration will take place in late 1994, after the second COMET spacecraft has been launched. The service module from the second COMET will serve as the chase vehicle

Satellites of the largest Kuiper Belt objects

We have searched the four brightest objects in the Kuiper Belt for the presence of satellites using the newly commissioned Keck Observatory Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system. Satellites are seen around three of the four objects: Pluto (whose satellite Charon is well-known and whose recently discovered smaller satellites are too faint to be detected), 2003 EL61 (where a second satellite is seen in addition to the previously known satellite), and 2003 UB313 (where a satellite is seen for the first time). The object 2005 FY9, the brightest Kuiper Belt object (KBO) after Pluto, does not have a satellite detectable within 0".4 with a brightness of more than 1% of the primary. The presence of satellites around three of the four brightest KBOs is inconsistent with the fraction of satellites in the Kuiper Belt at large at the 99.2% confidence level, suggesting a different formation mechanism for these largest KBO satellites. The two satellites of 2003 EL61, and the one satellite of 2003 UB313, with fractional brightnesses of 5% and 1.5%, and 2%, of their primaries, respectively, are significantly fainter relative to their primaries than other known KBO satellites, again pointing to possible differences in their origin

Wolters, Edward J Oral History Interview: Retired Faculty and Administrators of Hope College I and II

These records include the transcripts of oral histories conducted with retired faculty members of Hope College

VerBeek, John J Oral History Interview: Retired Faculty and Administrators of Hope College

These records include the transcripts of oral histories conducted with retired faculty members of Hope College

The Deconvolution Analysis of the Radiohippurate Renogram

The evaluation of kidney function is a necessary procedure in assessing the extent of renal disease in today\u27s population. In particular, this assessment should include measurements of the patient\u27s plasma flow into and urine flow from each kidney. Changes in either measurement from accepted normal ranges indicate the presence of a disease process. The combination of radioactive tracer methods with data analysis using models describing biological kinetics has demonstrated the potential of large computers in the assessment of renal function. However, the requirement for sophiticated computer resources has limited the widespread application these techniques might otherwise receive. This work investigates the application of minicomputers for performing this data analysis using digital filtering (deconvolution) methods. A multiparameter compartmental model describing the distribution of 131I-orthoiodohippurate in the renal-vascular system is presented. Differential equations are developed which, when solved, describe the time behavior of this tracer material following its intravenous injection into the body. Analysis of this modeled system shows that only a few parameter values need be identified to characterize the functional vistate of thP renal system in terms of plasma flow and urine flow. The values for these parameter values can be obtained from the renal impulse responses, if these responses are available. Since the renogram can be modeled by a convolution of the renal impulse response with an appropriate renal input function, it follows that isolation of the renal impulse response can be accomplished by deconvolution. The development of this digital filter for performing these deconvolutions is developed in detail. Following the deconvolution of the renogram, the resulting sequence can be analyzed and values assigned to the parameters requiring estimation. These parameter values, in turn, are used to provide measures of plasma flow to and urine flow from each kidney. Computer simulation demonstrated the proper behavior of the deconvolution filter. Clinical application demonstrated the ability to estimate unilateral plasma flow but urine flow could not be computed confidently. In conclusion, it is felt the model does represent an adequate description of hippurate kinetics but does warrant further investigation. Although deconvolution techniques present an economical and efficient means for renal data analysis, the clinical utility cannot be fully realized until the signal-to-noise ratio of the data is improved