Ava Kerzic: capstone

2023 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works,The artist's statement: I am passionate about using visual communication to bring my ideas to life. My goal is to tell captivating stories with visually appealing designs. My process as an artist is simple. I start every project by sketching out my ideas after doing research and planning and then turn my ideas digital. Once I have made my idea digital, I experiment with different color options and compositions. I believe it is important to experiment with my ideas as much as possible before reaching my final piece, whether an illustration, a logo, a package design, etc. No matter the project, experimentation is key to my design process. Through this process of trial and error, I can develop creative solutions that are functional and well thought out. I draw inspiration from multiple sources and I am constantly seeking new ways to keep my work fresh and innovative. My work is driven by a desire to create favorable designs and effectively communicate the intended message to my audience. I work closely with clients to understand their needs and end goals and am always open to feedback and suggestions. By working together, we can collaboratively create designs that exceed your expectations

Innovative tools for maize water use assessment

Includes bibliographical references.2023 Spring.Modern agriculture is facing a scenario of decreased water availability and sustainability concerns. Accurate estimation of crop transpiration is crucial to improve agricultural water management. However, transpiration estimation is challenging due to the difficulty in modeling canopy conductance (gc). There is currently no standardized approach for the calculation of gc. Additionally, direct measurements of gc and transpiration at the field scale are difficult. There are few commercially available sensors that measure transpiration, and those available are expensive. For gc, most of the equipment available use manual or indirect approaches. Meanwhile, during the past years there has been a dramatic development of sensor technology and communications. The expansion of low-cost circuit boards and 3D printing development and the Internet of Things (IoT) has led to a decrease in the cost of sensors and facilitated data acquisition and fabrication of research-grade instruments. The purpose of this study was to develop low-cost tools to measure actual crop transpiration and gc and contribute to the improvement of water use estimation in irrigated fields. We developed two types of IoT plant-based devices using 3D-printing and low-cost electronics and sensors: a sap flow gauge (SFG) and an artificial reference surface (ARS) system. We developed a new theory for a heat pulse method for calculation of transpiration rate that was coupled with a new type of sap flow gauge. The gauge is easy to build and adaptable to a range of stem sizes. We calibrated and validated the sensors in maize (Zea mays L.) plants in the greenhouse and tested them in a well-watered maize field in two locations in northern Colorado, for two years. The sap flow sensors calibration coefficient and standard deviation (SD) was 1.28 g/h ± 0.2, used to convert heat velocity to transpiration flow. A higher calibration coefficient was found in 2019 when a longer heating time was applied, confirming that the coefficient takes into account wounding effects on the plant. The data collected allowed the calculation of the maize transpiration every 15 minutes and showed that they were in good agreement with estimated transpiration from plants on weighing scales from greenhouse studies, from field measurements with commercially available sap flow gauges and with estimations with the Penman-Monteith (PM) approach in field conditions. Daily transpiration from SFGs compared with measured values in the greenhouse had a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 15.4% and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 12.1% of the mean T value in 2020. In 2019 the RMSE was 12.4% and the MAE was 10.2% from the mean T value. In field conditions, when SFGs were compared to daily transpiration estimates using the PM approach, the RMSE and MAE were 0.70 mm and 0.56 mm, a 13.2% and 11% error, respectively. When compared to commercially available SFGs, the RMSE and MAE were 0.66 mm and 0.54 mm (12.4% and 10.2% from the mean T value), respectively. In 2020, daily transpiration estimation in the field with the developed SFGs had a precision of ±1.04 mm SD and when compared to the PM approach had an RMSE and MAE of 0.62 mm and 0.48 mm, respectively (both were within 10% of mean transpiration). Results also showed that error in estimations decrease with additional sensors deployed in the field. More than 4 sensors should be deployed in the field to obtain estimations of corn transpiration with less than 20% error. The required number of gauges varies according to the accuracy desired for transpiration measurements. The ability of the sap flow sensors to measure plant transpiration directly make them powerful tools for multiple applications. They can capture the effects of the environment and characteristics of the plant. Therefore, they are valuable for assessing the partitioning of total crop evapotranspiration (ETc) into plant transpiration and soil evaporation. They can be used for local basal crop coefficient estimations and for fine-tuning local irrigation applications. They can also provide valuable information for ground-truthing complex multi-layer models and simulations that aim to estimate actual transpiration from the field. The use of the sap flow sensors for site-specific basal crop coefficients (Kcb) derivation was tested. Locally derived Kcb values from Trout and DeJonge (2018) for maize was verified using our low-cost sap flow sensors for a period of 22 days in 2020 and for a period of 17 days in 2019. The period was divided into mid-season, beginning of late-season and end late-season. Mean Kcb values from SFGs for mid-season and beginning of late season agreed with those from Trout and DeJonge (2018). Locally derived Kcb was 1.05 and 0.82, while Kcb from SFGs were 1.08 and 1.06 for mid-season during 2019 and 2020 and 0.82 for beginning of late season in 2020. However, end of late-period Kcb from sap flow data in 2020 was higher than the tabulated value (0.62 vs 0.4). This was probably due to the fixed end-of-cycle-date for the maize growing season in contrast to variable growing degree days. This approach is especially useful for low budget and rapid evaluations. We described the advantages of using Kcb curves for estimation of crop water requirements and highlight the benefits of using sap flow gauges for its derivation. The second device was an ARS that consisted of a plastic hemispherical surface that allowed monitoring of dry leaf temperature. This temperature was used to estimate actual maize transpiration, gc and to detect and monitor water stress in field conditions. The hemispherical ARS closely mimicked the temperature of non-transpiring leaves (R2=0.99) in a field study conducted in 2020 at Fort Collins, CO. Actual maize transpiration was adequately estimated for a 14-day period using the thermal approach with the ARS temperature. Comparisons with transpiration calculated from SFGs and the ASCE standardized tall reference ET (ASCE, 2005) with local basal crop coefficient (Kcb) values for maize showed a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.61 mm and margin of error (ME) of 0.53 mm, representing a 12% and a 10% error of the method in relation to the Penman-Monteith approach and a RMSE and ME of 0.78 mm and 0.73 mm in relation to actual maize transpiration from SFGs. Differences from the total transpiration were within 7.5%. Absolute hourly values of gc were also calculated with this approach during the daytime, showing a pattern and values similar to the conductance derived from the SFGs for a 6-day period. However, underestimations were observed at the beginning and end of the day. When mean mid-day values of gc were compared to sap flow measurements, the MAE and RMSE were 0.51 mm/s. and 0.72 mm/s, representing 8.1% and 11.6% error, respectively. The method was also tested in a deficit-irrigated maize field, showing a reduction in transpiration and in gc due to soil water depletion and demonstrating the sensitivity of the method to detect water stress in the field. However, transpiration values were severely underestimated due to the similarity of the temperatures from the ARS and canopy. Changing the color of the ARS might reduce these errors. Results suggest that a darker color should be used. A simple thermal method for water stress detection was also tested. Its strong correlation with gc (R2=0.7) demonstrated that it could be a method to detect the onset and development of plant water stress in the field. The use of the dry ARS could be a practical approach for maize transpiration, gc and water stress estimation since it requires less weather data. Its simplicity of fabrication, implementation, and low requirements for maintenance during the season are also valuable advantages of the method. We were able to develop versatile low-cost IoT tools for real time monitoring of crop transpiration and gc. These tools can be used for multiple purposes and have the potential to improve our ability to estimate maize crop water requirements

Erik Reynolds: capstone

2023 Spring.Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.The artist's statement: In general, my art is a visual expression of change in my world. These changes are often highlighted through the process I take to get from concept to completion. I do very little sketching or planning for my projects, instead that process part of the work and is integral to the final piece. This dynamic way of creating has led me to mostly work in series because a series allows me to explore how one idea can morph and change over time. I start with a conceptual phrase that I try to keep each piece aligned with. As that concept becomes more fleshed out, the image gets more and more refined. Most of the time, by the end of the process I have moved so far away from the original concept that the original concept has evolved into a different idea all together. However, this new idea contains the same roots as the previous image, and thus is contained in the same conceptual idea. It's a type of narrative; not a narrative for the viewer to be absorbed in, but one that allows the viewer to consider the different possibilities of a single event. The majority of my work is done with pen and ink, though it may be many different iterations of that tool. Technical pens, brush pens, calligraphy pens, dip pens, fountain pens, all are contenders for the different kinds of marks they are capable of making. In many ways my work relies on the exploration into these different marks and how they interact and support the other materials. The interplay between marks is where a lot of the change I search for is found, out of the rough and chaotic nature of a single mark blooms an endless number of collective ideas

Public archaeology and geophysics: searching for unmarked human burials in rural Colorado

2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Rural communities in Colorado are often left in control of lands that potentially contain unmarked burials. Two such communities in Colorado, Gould and Wray, are interested in examining the possible existence of unmarked burials on public lands. The land near the Gould Community Center was used to house prisoners of war during the final year of World War 2 and the community believes mostly fallen concrete markers (one still stands) found at the site may be related to burials from that time. Wray, CO in Yuma County is home of the East Yuma County Cemetery Board (EYCCB), which manages the Kingston and Evangelical Lutheran Cemeteries. The EYCCB took over management of these properties after periods of abandonment and the burial records are lost, this has the left them with potential unmarked burials at each of these sites. The expense and ethical concerns related to accidental disinterment provide rural communities an incentive to locate any unmarked burials on land they manage. I combined four geophysical methods with historical information provided by community partners to determine what areas at the respective sites were most likely to contain unmarked burials. The four methods I employed include: ground-penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), electromagnetic induction (EMI), and magnetometry. Using these methods, I was able to locate numerous geophysical anomalies and geolocate them in the mapping software of ArcGIS Pro. In Gould I was unable to determine the source of the geophysical anomalies found due to the wide variety of uses the site has had in the past as well as the lack of historical evidence for burials. Historical evidence of previous burials at the Kingston and Evangelical Lutheran Cemeteries allowed me to make the argument that these anomalies were potentially related to burials. At Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery I concluded the cemetery is likely to contain unmarked burials throughout the southern half of the site. However, the lack of geophysical markers suggests that the soil in the northern quarter of the site is largely undisturbed and likely does not have burials. I concluded that Kingston Cemetery is expected to contain burials in the south and west of the site. Additionally, the part of Kingston Cemetery that is least likely to contain unmarked burials is the northeastern corner of the site, with a strip along the northern boundary that possibly contains burials

Pillars of stone or pillars of sand? An analysis of sustainability discourse in U.S. cities

Includes bibliographical references.2023 Spring.Sustainability has emerged as a common governance paradigm in the United States, supplanting traditional top-down command-and-control regulations with a policy approach characterized by decentralization, municipal innovation, and the goal of ensuring that economic, environmental, and social systems function symbiotically. With institutional gridlock preventing comprehensive policy change at the national level coupled with state-by-state disparities in addressing environmental concerns, cities currently operate at the forefront of the sustainability movement. City governments have taken up the task of translating the broad precepts of sustainability into concrete policy decisions and planning trajectories. Despite its widespread adoption, the sustainability concept is as elusive as it is pervasive. While numerous cities throughout the United States have embraced sustainability as a guiding paradigm, the concept lacks an agreed-upon meaning and clear standards for practice. The recent rise of cities at the center of sustainability governance opens up numerous questions about how city officials navigate the definitional ambiguity of sustainability and integrate the core tenets of the concept into their planning frameworks. This dissertation contributes to a broader understanding of sustainable cities in the United States by analyzing three distinct, yet interrelated, aspects of municipal sustainability governance. First, through a content analysis of 200 U.S. cities, Chapter Two paints a picture of how cities conceptualize sustainability and the various factors (such as municipal demographics, structure of government, etc.) that correlate with a city's tendency to prioritize certain aspects of sustainability while deemphasizing others. Chapter Three builds upon this analysis by exploring the meaning of sustainability in disaster-vulnerable cities. Through both quantitative analysis and qualitative interview data, the chapter analyzes the nuances of policy change, issue definition, and the focal power of natural disasters in the sustainability domain. Chapter Four uses data from interviews conducted with city officials to examine the role of citizen participation in structuring the meaning of sustainability and the policy goals that cities incorporate under the sustainability umbrella. The core ideas from each of these chapters are discussed holistically in Chapter Five, which identifies how the findings from this dissertation provide empirical support for certain theories and assumptions related to sustainable cities, while challenging others. Taken as a whole, this dissertation finds significant variance in how cities conceptualize sustainability, shedding light on the contested meaning of the term. While the sustainability paradigm is often touted for its capacity to reduce tradeoffs between environmental protection, economic development, and social equity and to bring these three systems into a productive balance, this research shows that the meaning of sustainability is constructed situationally and that cities often prioritize only one or two pillars of the concept. Each chapter also sheds light on the nuances of issue definition and policy change in sustainable cities, including the catalytic impacts of natural disasters and the role that citizen participation plays in shaping cities' unique conceptualization of sustainability

Artificial intelligence powered personalized agriculture

Includes bibliographical references.2023 Spring.The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in agriculture has shown the potential to improve crop selection and enhance sustainability practices. In this study, we aim to investigate the benefits and feasibility of using AI-powered personalized recommendations for crop selection and sustainability practices in the context of agroecology. We propose to lay the foundation for an agricultural recommendation engine that considers several parameters that influence yield and presents the best crop(s) to sow based on the model's output. We aim to examine this recommendation engine's impact on agriculture's sustainability and to evaluate its effectiveness and accuracy. Our ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential benefits and challenges of using AI-powered recommendations in agriculture and to lay the foundation for the development of a practical, effective, and user-friendly recommendation engine that can help farmers make informed decisions about their crops and improve the long-term sustainability of agriculture

The experiences of college students in counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic

2023 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on communities around the globe. This created additional stressors on college students, a population known to already have significant stressors and mental health concerns. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews and arts-based submissions to explore the mental health counseling experiences of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six participants volunteered via responses to fliers posted throughout the Colorado State University main campus. Several themes emerged following transcription and explorative-reflexive thematic analysis. Participants endorsed feelings of isolation, loss, and fear related to the pandemic. Participants also endorsed that trauma- or stressor-related concerns as well as anxiety and depression as primary reasons for seeking mental health counseling. Participants found talk therapy and aspects of the therapeutic relationship to be helpful components in their experience. Participants also stated that tangible items such as skills, frameworks, and diagnoses as important components to their experience. Participants generally had a negative view of telehealth due to feelings of disconnectedness and a lack of privacy. Overall, participants viewed mental health counseling as helpful even if some of their experiences were negative. Some implications for the counseling field and counselors include directly and clearly communicating needs and plans, incorporating activities and frameworks as a means of understanding, utilizing arts-based communication, viewing the pandemic as a clinician may view past trauma, and implementing psychoeducation and psychodrama as possible treatment methods