Another School of the Prophets

This article was originally published in The Prophet -- a journal created by and for the students at the Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) to amplify the voices of STH students by promoting and sharing a range of perspectives on matters of concern including, but not limited to, spiritual practices, faith communities and society, the nature of theology, and current affairs. It serves as a platform for STH students to share their academic work, theological reflections, and life experiences with one another and the wider community

Indo-Pacific offshore oil and gas safety and security: managing regional risks

Key Points: Indo-Pacific offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation activity is expanding massively in economically and strategically important, environmentally sensitive areas. The risks of offshore oil and gas safety and security incidents that could have regional economic, environmental, human, food, and energy consequences are rising.In addition to man-­‐induced incidents, the often crowded waters of the Indo-­‐Pacific are particularly prone to natural hazards like extreme weather events and seismic activity. The possibility of armed conflict at sea, law and order issues, increasing maritime user intensity, decommissioned installations, and jurisdictional uncertainty add to concerns. Measures to deal with large scale offshore oil and gas safety and security events are often not well developed. Vulnerabilities arise from the lack of capacity and the lack of regional coordination regimes to prevent, respond to and recover from incidents. Some regional states are not parties to relevant international regimes; collective and cooperative maritime safety and security arrangements are lacking. Collaboration between states and other actors: regional entities and industry, is necessary and presents mutually beneficial opportunities; progress should be a high priority. Realistic and uncomfortable expectations must be faced. Sovereignty issues combined with greed for energy resources and commercial benefit may well continue to dominate. The likelihood of offshore oil and gas safety and security disasters in the Indo-Pacific, with major regional consequences, will continue to rise

Study of Material Densification of In718 in the Higher Throughput Parameter Regime

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process used increasingly in the aerospace industry to reduce the cost, weight, and fabrication time for complex propulsion components. Previous optimization studies for SLM using the Concept Laser M1 and M2 machines at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have centered on machine default parameters. The objective of this project is to characterize how heat treatment affects density and porosity from a microscopic point of view. This is performs using higher throughput parameters (a previously unexplored region of the manufacturing operating envelope for this application) on material consolidation. Density blocks were analyzed to explore the relationship between build parameters (laser power, scan speed, and hatch spacing) and material consolidation (assessed in terms of density and porosity). The study also considers the impact of post-processing, specifically hot isostatic pressing and heat treatment, as well as deposition pattern on material consolidation in the higher energy parameter regime. Metallurgical evaluation of specimens will also be presented. This work will contribute to creating a knowledge base (understanding material behavior in all ranges of the AM equipment operating envelope) that is critical to transitioning AM from the custom low rate production sphere it currently occupies to the world of mass high rate production, where parts are fabricated at a rapid rate with confidence that they will meet or exceed all stringent functional requirements for spaceflight hardware. These studies will also provide important data on the sensitivity of material consolidation to process parameters that will inform the design and development of future flight articles using SLM

Design of a spherical vehicle with flywheel momentum storage for high torque capabilities

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 26).A novel method for supplementing the propulsion of a spherical ground vehicle was conceived and developed. The addition of angular momentum storage via counter-rotating control moment gyroscopes is proposed in order to overcome significant limitations in the performance of earlier designs of spherical vehicles. Analysis and design of a fully functioning spherical vehicle incorporating such a mechanism is completed and indicates significantly increased torque capabilities for ascending steep inclines and stairs. A fully functional prototype is built and testing is ongoing to verify its capabilities.by Gregory C. Schroll.S.B

Information Sharing: Exploring the Intersection of Policing with National and Military Intelligence

This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (January 2010), v.6 no.1Policing and police intelligence rarely overlapped or intersected with national and military intelligence before September 11, 2001. Since then, a great amount of emphasis has been placed on improving intelligence and information sharing. This article explores the details of information sharing between (1) police and (2) national and military intelligence using fourteen police/intelligence experts who responded to six hypothetical scenarios. Results indicate that the complexity of the inter-organizational setting and the newness of information-sharing protocols create uncertainty about what information should be shared in different situations, and inconsistency about how it should be shared. Additionally, customs, traditions, and tensions between agencies and levels of government still seem to interfere with the amount of information that actually would be shared in various situations.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited