Next Generation Orientation Systems: Cell phone tours at the Undergraduate and Main Libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This poster describes the implementation of a self guided cell-phone tour within the Undergraduate and Main Libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The most compelling use of mobile technology features immediacy and personalization as the primary goals. Signage throughout the libraries provoke patron curiosity with such questions as Where am I? and What has the Career Cluster done for me lately? A call to a local phone number provides patrons with the answer, along with an invitation to listen to any of the fifteen pre-recorded messages describing library services, popular resources, or building history and art. As an alternative to the traditional tour and library orientation session, this cell phone tour responds to trends in, and preferences for mobile technology while engaging a broader audience. This poster discusses the implementation and assessment of the cell phone tour, and provides strategies for libraries seeking to incorporate similar technology

Prediction of the Cu Oxidation State from EELS and XAS Spectra Using Supervised Machine Learning

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) provide detailed information about bonding, distributions and locations of atoms, and their coordination numbers and oxidation states. However, analysis of XAS/EELS data often relies on matching an unknown experimental sample to a series of simulated or experimental standard samples. This limits analysis throughput and the ability to extract quantitative information from a sample. In this work, we have trained a random forest model capable of predicting the oxidation state of copper based on its L-edge spectrum. Our model attains an $R^2$ score of 0.89 and a root mean square valence error of 0.21 on simulated data. It has also successfully predicted experimental L-edge EELS spectra taken in this work and XAS spectra extracted from the literature. We further demonstrate the utility of this model by predicting simulated and experimental spectra of mixed valence samples generated by this work. This model can be integrated into a real time EELS/XAS analysis pipeline on mixtures of copper containing materials of unknown composition and oxidation state. By expanding the training data, this methodology can be extended to data-driven spectral analysis of a broad range of materials

Design and implementation of wire tension measurement system for MWPCs used in the STAR iTPC upgrade

The STAR experiment at RHIC is planning to upgrade the Time Projection Chamber which lies at the heart of the detector. We have designed an instrument to measure the tension of the wires in the multi-wire proportional chambers (MWPCs) which will be used in the TPC upgrade. The wire tension measurement system causes the wires to vibrate and then it measures the fundamental frequency of the oscillation via a laser based optical platform. The platform can scan the entire wire plane, automatically, in a single run and obtain the wire tension on each wire with high precision. In this paper, the details about the measurement method and the system setup will be described. In addition, the test results for a prototype MWPC to be used in the STAR-iTPC upgrade will be presented.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figues, to appear in NIM

ADJUSTING NETWORK PARAMETERS DYNAMICALLY TO ACCELERATE MESH NETWORK CONVERGENCE

Techniques are described to adaptively adjust network parameters by adjusting the network scale. On one side, a smooth Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) mechanism may adaptively adjust the network scale to take precautions for collision. On the other side, a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) mechanism may also automatically adjust the network scale to detect the collision. This may speed up network formation and convergence significantly, and maintain the network effectively

On rapid binary mass transfer -- I. Physical model

In some semi-detached binary systems, the donor star may transfer mass to the companion at a very high rate. We propose that, at sufficiently high mass transfer rates such that the accretion disk around the companion becomes geometrically thick (or advection-dominated) near the disk outer radius, a large fraction of the transferred mass will be lost through the outer Lagrangian (L2) point. A physical model is constructed where the L2 mass loss fraction is given by the requirement that the remaining material in the disk has Bernoulli number equal to the L2 potential energy. Our model predicts significant L2 mass loss at mass transfer rates exceeding a few times 10^{-4} Msun/yr -- an equatorial circum-binary outflow (CBO) is formed in these systems. Implications for the orbital evolution and the observational appearance are discussed. In particular, (1) rapid angular momentum loss from the system tends to shrink the orbital separation and hence may increase the formation rate of mergers and gravitational-wave sources; (2) photons from the hot disk wind are reprocessed by the CBO into longer wavelength emission in the infrared bands, consistent with Spitzer observations of some ultra-luminous X-ray sources.Comment: MNRAS submitted, 14 pages, 7 figures, and appendix. Comments welcome

Our Environment in Hot Water: Comparing Water Heaters, A Life Cycle Approach Comparing Tank and Tankless Water Heaters in California

Residential water heating is a large source of energy use in California homes. This project took a life cycle approach to comparing tank and tankless water heaters in Northern and Southern California. Information about the life cycle phases was calculated using the European Union�s Methodology study for EcoDesign of Energy-using Products (MEEUP) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory�s Life Cycle Inventory (NREL LCI) database. In a unit-to-unit comparison, it was found that tankless water heaters would lessen impacts of water heating by reducing annual energy use by 2800 MJ/year (16% compared to tank), and reducing global warming emissions by 175 kg CO2 eqv./year (18% reduction). Overall, the production and combustion of natural gas in the use phase had the largest impact. Total waste, VOCs, PAHs, particulate matter, and heavy-metals-to-air categories were also affected relatively strongly by manufacturing processes. It was estimated that tankless water heater users would have to use 10 more gallons of hot water a day (an increased usage of approximately 20%) to have the same impact as tank water heaters. The project results suggest that if a higher percentage of Californians used tankless water heaters, environmental impacts caused by water heating would be smaller

DYNAMICAL LINK METRIC ADJUSTMENT USING CLASSIFICATION AND REGRESSION TREE (CART) AND SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKING (SDN) TECHNOLOGIES

Presented herein are techniques to dynamically switch between different link metric algorithms based on Classification And Regression Tree (CART) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) technologies