Exploring Algorithmic Musical Key Recognition

The following thesis outlines the goal and process of algorithmic musical key detection as well as the underlying music theory. This includes a discussion of signal-processing techniques intended to most accurately detect musical pitch, as well as a detailed description of the Krumhansl-Shmuckler (KS) key-finding algorithm. It also describes the Java based implementation and testing process of a musical key-finding program based on the KS algorithm. This thesis provides an analysis of the results and a comparison with the original algorithm, ending with a discussion of the recommended direction of further development

Determining Resilient Watersheds for Long-Term Conservation in a Changing Climate

Streams and riparian areas are highly productive habitats for wildlife and fish. To maintain these critical habitats, rigorous prioritization of conservation and restoration efforts is necessary to make the best use of limited resources. In a changing climate, identifying sites with the ability to buffer change is essential for managing Rocky Mountain water resources. Watersheds in the northern Rockies require persistent snowpack for late-season stream flows and cool water temperatures, yet snowpacks are declining and climate models forecast that this trend will continue. We hypothesize that in the US Northern Rocky Mountains, high-elevation watersheds that receive less solar radiation due to slope, aspect, and shading by steep slopes will have significantly greater ability to maintain cooler water temperatures and higher late summer discharges under warming climate conditions. We also hypothesize that the magnitude of the aspect-shading effect will override other controlling variables. A GIS model of southwest Montana was developed to select sites for preliminary testing of our framework. Discharge data was collected for six paired watersheds with opposing aspects, similar high elevation area, and similar geology. Preliminary results show that basins dominated by steep north and northeast slopes (> 50 %) produce baseflow discharges that are 2 to 4 times larger than baseflows in basins dominated by steep southerly aspects. The project is ongoing, but our framework based on topographic attributes may be successfully used to inform land managers and restoration efforts about which watersheds are most likely to support stream and riparian habitats under changing climate conditions

Process Design for the Production of Ethylene from Ethanol

This project considers using ethanol dehydration as a means to mass-produce ethylene. 2.3MM tonnes of a 95% ethanol / 5% water feed will be converted into 1MM tonnes of 99.96% pure ethylene per year using a series of adiabatic, fixed-bed catalytic reactors operating at 750°F and 600psi. The catalyst is gamma-alumina in the form of 1cm diameter spherical pellets. After the dehydration process, the product will be purified using two flash separation units, an adsorption unit with zeolite 13X sorbent, and finally a cryogenic distillation unit. The plant will be located in São Paulo, Brazil. Because ethanol production in Brazil is seasonal, the plant will operate only 280 days per year at a very high capacity. This includes 30 days worth of on-site feed storage. After conducting an analysis of the sensitivity of the plant’s Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return to ethylene and ethanol prices, it was determined that while profitability is not attainable in the current market (which prices ethanol at $0.34/lb and ethylene at$0.60/lb), profitability is attainable should ethylene prices rise to $0.64/lb and ethanol prices fall to$0.305/lb

Materials for engine applications above 3000 deg F: An overview

Materials for future generations of aeropropulsion systems will be required to perform at ever-increasing temperatures and have properties superior to the current state of the art. Improved engine efficiency can reduce specific fuel consumption and thus increase range and reduce operating costs. The ultimate payoff gain is expected to come when materials are developed which can perform without cooling at gas temperatures to 2200 C (4000 F). An overview is presented of materials for applications above 1650 C (3000 F), some pertinent physical property data, and the rationale used: (1) to arrive at recommendations of material systems that qualify for further investigation, and (2) to develop a proposed plan of research. From an analysis of available thermochemical data it was included that such materials systems must be composed of oxide ceramics. The required structural integrity will be achieved by developing these materials into fiber-reinforced ceramic composites

A high-throughput assay for quantifying phenotypic traits of microalgae

High-throughput methods for phenotyping microalgae are in demand across a variety of research and commercial purposes. Many microalgae can be readily cultivated in multi-well plates for experimental studies which can reduce overall costs, while measuring traits from low volume samples can reduce handling. Here we develop a high-throughput quantitative phenotypic assay (QPA) that can be used to phenotype microalgae grown in multi-well plates. The QPA integrates 10 low-volume, relatively high-throughput trait measurements (growth rate, cell size, granularity, chlorophyll a, neutral lipid content, silicification, reactive oxygen species accumulation, and photophysiology parameters: ETRmax, Ik, and alpha) into one workflow. We demonstrate the utility of the QPA on Thalassiosira spp., a cosmopolitan marine diatom, phenotyping six strains in a standard nutrient rich environment (f/2 media) using the full 10-trait assay. The multivariate phenotypes of strains can be simplified into two dimensions using principal component analysis, generating a trait-scape. We determine that traits show a consistent pattern when grown in small volume compared to more typical large volumes. The QPA can thus be used for quantifying traits across different growth environments without requiring exhaustive large-scale culturing experiments, which facilitates experiments on trait plasticity. We confirm that this assay can be used to phenotype newly isolated diatom strains within 4 weeks of isolation. The QPA described here is highly amenable to customisation for other traits or unicellular taxa and provides a framework for designing high-throughput experiments. This method will have applications in experimental evolution, modelling, and for commercial applications where screening of phytoplankton traits is of high importance

Multitrait diversification in marine diatoms in constant and warmed environments

Phytoplankton are photosynthetic marine microbes that affect food webs, nutrient cycles and climate regulation. Their roles are determined by correlated phytoplankton functional traits including cell size, chlorophyll content and cellular composition. Here, we explore patterns of evolution in interrelated trait values and correlations. Because both chance events and natural selection contribute to phytoplankton trait evolution, we used population bottlenecks to diversify six genotypes of Thalassiosirid diatoms. We then evolved them as large populations in two environments. Interspecific variation and within-species evolution were visualized for nine traits and their correlations using reduced axes (a trait-scape). Our main findings are that shifts in trait values resulted in movement of evolving populations within the trait-scape in both environments, but were more frequent when large populations evolved in a novel environment. Which trait relationships evolved was population-specific, but greater departures from ancestral trait correlations were associated with lower population growth rates. There was no single master trait that could be used to understand multi-trait evolution. Instead, repeatable multi-trait evolution occurred along a major axis of variation defined by several diatom traits and trait relationships. Because trait-scapes capture changes in trait relation-ships and values together, they offer an insightful way to study multi-trait variatio