Challenges and solutions for autism in academic geosciences

Researcher diversity promotes research excellence. But academia is widely perceived as inaccessible to those who work in non-stereotypical ways, and disabled researchers are consequently chronically under-represented within higher education. The barriers that academia presents to the inclusion and success of disabled individuals must therefore be understood and removed in order to enhance researcher diversity and improve the quality and quantity of research. Autism is a disability that is particularly under-represented within higher education, despite many autistic individuals having attributes that are conducive to research excellence. With a focus on geosciences, we use the experiences of an autistic PhD student to evaluate why academia can be inaccessible, and propose simple strategies that can reduce and remove barriers to academic success. We suggest that minor changes to communication, the academic environment and better disability awareness can make significant differences to the inclusion of disabled researchers, particularly those with autism. These changes would also benefit the wider scientific community and promote research and teaching excellence

Hand-held self-maneuvering unit Patent

Hand-held maneuvering unit for propulsion and attitude control of astronauts in zero or reduced gravity environmen

Early stages of the oxidation of metal surfaces

Photoemission cross sections were calculated for the ZnO4(-6) cluster using the self consistent-chi alpha- scattered wave theory to display the main features of the ultraviolet and X-ray photoemission data from ZnO. A solid model is suggested for an absolute photoemission intensity comparison resulting in chi alpha intensities which are roughly 70% of the experimental values. Together with the experimental data, the calculations allow a complete determination of the electronic structure of a ZnO surface

Design analysis of ductile failure in dovetail connections

The static plastic collapse of ductile dovetail structures is investigated by three analysis methods: slip-line field (SLF) theory based on a sheet drawing model, finite element limit analysis, and linear elastic finite element analysis with adapted pressure vessel design stress linearization and categorization methods. A range of angles and heights are considered in the investigation. Three experimental test cases are also presented. The limit analysis results are found to give the best comparison with the limited experimental results, indicating similar collapse loads and modes of ductile collapse. The SLF solution is found to give conservative but useful failure loads for small dovetail angles but, at angles greater than 30°, the solution is not generally conservative. The pressure vessel design by the analysis stress categorization procedure was adapted for dovetail analysis and was found to give reasonably conservative collapse loads in most cases. However, the procedure requires the designer to consider a number of different stress classification lines to ensure that a conservative collapse load is identified. It is concluded that the finite element limit analysis approach provides the best and most direct route to calculating the allowable load for the joint and is the preferred method when appropriate finite element analysis facilities are available

Narrow 87Rb and 133Cs hyperfine transitions in evacuated wall-coated cells

An extension of work on wall-coated cells was made to include observation by a triple resonance technique of the 0-0 hyperfine transitions in 87Rb and 133Cs. Conventional RF excited lamps were used. Interest in such cells is for possible application in atomic clocks. The Rb cell would appear to remain especially promising in this respect

The Yang-Mills Vacuum in Coulomb Gauge in D=2+1 Dimensions

The variational approach to the Hamilton formulation of Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge developed by the present authors previously is applied to Yang-Mills theory in 2+1 dimensions and is confronted with the existing lattice data. We show that the resulting Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSE) yield consistent solutions in 2+1 dimensions only for infrared divergent ghost form factor and gluon energy. The obtained numerical solutions of the DSE reproduce the analytic infrared results and are in satisfactory agreement with the existing lattice date in the whole momentum range.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Strain buildup and release, earthquake prediction and selection of VLB sites for the margins of the North Pacific

Projects studying different aspects of crustal deformation are discussed. The rifting process at the plate boundary in northern Iceland was investigated using combined seismic, tilt, and displacement measurements. Stresses acting on the Alpine fault, New Zealand, were modeled based on observations of regional variation in metamorphism and argon loss. The relationship between the stress pattern shown by intraplate seismicity and possible stresses on plates arising from litohspheric motion over the asthenosphere was investigated. Small earthquakes in Southern California were studied to determine if subregions of uniform strain release exist and if interaction occurs between faults

Suspension Design, Modeling, and Testing of a Thermo-Acoustic-Driven Linear Alternator

The Score-Stove™ generates electricity from a wood-burning cooking stove using a thermo-acoustic engine (TAE) that converts heat to sound through a linear alternator (LA). This paper introduces a prototype hemitoroidal suspension that was refined into a segmented trapezoidal shape that gave a higher cyclic life for the LA and includes a critical evaluation that compares a theoretical analysis with experimental results. The results show an improvement from the 40% efficiency of a standard loudspeaker used in reverse as an LA to 70–80% efficiency with the new suspension and a double Halbach array magnetic topology