Biography

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Boston Universit

Upper atmosphere dynamics

The spatial distribution of stratospheric ozone is useful in diagnosis of some features of the large scale atmospheric circulation, and the ozone may also interact with the atmospheric general circulation. Local maxima in the column ozone distribution are often associated with disturbances in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere, which may herald cyclone development in the troposphere. One research objective is to explore these issues by means of time series analysis of a zonal index of total column ozone, to suggest the existence or nonexistence of relationships between column ozone and dynamical processes which are known to occur on various time scales. Another objective is to investigate the correlation between the ozone mixing ratio on the 350 K isentropic surface and the column integrated ozone, and to investigate the use of an easily derived parameter as a proxy for ozone mixing ratio, which is conserved in the stratosphere for time scales shorter than the photochemical time scale. The source of data for these studies is the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data set

Computational complexity of diagram satisfaction in Euclidean geometry

AbstractIn this paper, it is shown that the problem of deciding whether or not a geometric diagram in Euclidean Geometry is satisfiable is NP-hard and in PSPACE, and in fact has the same complexity as the satisfaction problem for a fragment of the existential theory of the real numbers. The related problem of finding all of the possible (satisfiable) diagrams that can result when a segment of a diagram is extended is also shown to be NP-hard

Exploration of Nanoscale Electromechanical Couplings

This dissertation explores the electromechanical properties of organic piezoelectric materials and the measurement systems used to determine their unique properties. The project focus was to gain experimental insight into previously predicted piezoelectric molecules and develop new methods to accurately determine the electromechanical properties of their self-assembled monolayers. Using atomic force microscopy, the nanoscale properties of organic self-assembled monolayers were studied to compare previous computational predictions with experiment. Piezo force microscopy (PFM), was used to quantify the magnitude of sample deformation by an applied electric field across monolayers of a set of macromolecules (peptides and peptoids) to determine their effective piezo coefficient (deff). This resulted in small but differentiable responses been the peptides and peptoids. Through the study of these macromolecular monolayers, conventional PFM methods were found to be lacking sensitivity for these soft-flexible SAMs. These insights lead to the development of a new method leveraging the physics of dual AC resonance tracking PFM (DART-PFM) to simultaneously increase the sensitivity of the measurement system and reduce the sources of error. A new DC-sweep DART-PFM methodology allowed for the accurate determination of piezo response in soft macromolecular monolayers, plus several small molecule and crystalline reference materials. The method adds an additional DC field sweep to the classical AC field sweep DART-PFM to determine the in-situ point where the electrostatic component of the tip response is minimized. This new method should provide accurate determination of the vast library of “soft” piezoactive materials, as well as those with negative piezo coefficients, in which the material compresses under an applied field instead of expanding. The newly developed DC-sweep DART-PFM method was implemented to study piezoactive “buckybowl” organic ferroelectric materials, in which the net polarization of the film can be flipped with a coercive field. The deff of a corannulene derivative was determined and hysteresis loops were observed via scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy, suggesting ferroelectric behavior near room temperature

Yemeni Inscriptions, Iraqi Chronicles, Hijazi Poetry: A Reconstruction of the Meaning of Isrāʾ in Qur’an 17:1

The article argues for the Sabaic sryt, cognate with Arabic sariyya (war expedition) as the basis for the verb asra (أسرى) in Quran 17. It examines three sources: South Arabian inscriptions, early chronicles (al-Waqidi, Khalifa, and al-Tabari), and a poetic exchange between Hijazi and Yemeni poets (this last serving as evidence for military interaction between the Hijaz and Yemen in the pre-Islamic period, the basis on which military terminology would have been exchanged)

New Aspects of Optical Coherence and their Potential for Quantum Technologies

Currently, optical technology impacts most of our lives, from light used in scientific measurement to the fiber optic cables that makeup the backbone of the internet. However, as our current optical infrastructure grows, we discover that these technologies are not limitless. However, our current optical technology functions on classical principles, and can be easily improved by incorporating our knowledge of quantum optics. In order to implement quantum technologies, our understanding of quantum coherence must improve. Through this knowledge we can maintain quantum states, and therefore their information, longer. In this dissertation, I will demonstrate that with sufficient knowledge of coherent properties, a simple algebra can be derived which can provide rules for graph reductions on a quantum network graph. Using this knowledge, I then provide a rudimentary algorithm which can find the optimal subgraph for communication on a quantum network. Next, I demonstrate that by measuring the photon statistics and second-order quantum coherence of a field, one can create a neural network capable of distinguishing the light sources on a pixel. Which is then applied to develop an imaging scheme capable of surpassing the Abbe-Rayleigh Criterion. Lastly, I present a multiphoton quantum version of the van Cittert-Zernike theorem. This provides formalism capable of determining the propagation of quantum coherence throughout a system. I then demonstrate the usefulness of the theorem by demonstrating sub-Poissonian statistics created by a linear system with an incident thermal beam, obtainable only by post-selection. Altogether, this provides incite into new applications of coherence to quantum technologies and the formalism to extending our knowledge even further.Comment: PhD thesis, 86 pages, 10 figure

Finite-frequency wave propagation through outer rise fault zones and seismic measurements of upper mantle hydration

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 43 (2016): 7982–7990, doi:10.1002/2016GL070083.Effects of serpentine-filled fault zones on seismic wave propagation in the upper mantle at the outer rise of subduction zones are evaluated using acoustic wave propagation models. Modeled wave speeds depend on azimuth, with slowest speeds in the fault-normal direction. Propagation is fastest along faults, but, for fault widths on the order of the seismic wavelength, apparent wave speeds in this direction depend on frequency. For the 5–12 Hz Pn arrivals used in tomographic studies, joint-parallel wavefronts are slowed by joints. This delay can account for the slowing seen in tomographic images of the outer rise upper mantle. At the Middle America Trench, confining serpentine to fault zones, as opposed to a uniform distribution, reduces estimates of bulk upper mantle hydration from ~3.5 wt % to as low as 0.33 wt % H2O.NSF Grant Number: OCE-08410632017-02-1

Sketches at Home and Abroad: A Critical Edition of Selections from the Writings of Nathaniel Parker Willis

Critics and general readers highly regarded the poetry and prose of Nathaniel Parker Willis (18061867) during the American Renaissance of creative literature in the decades before the Civil War. As an editor and frequent contributor to one of the young nation\u27s most successful and elegant literary magazines, The New-York Mirror, Willis achieved an international reputation for his witty and worldly tales and letters. This new edition collects outstanding examples of Willis\u27s short fiction written at the peak of his abilities. These tales of adventure embellish and improve Willis\u27s own experience as a bachelor adventurer during the 1830s, relating, for example, the comical to harrowing experience of American stagecoach and international sea travel of the era. Several tales of courtship and romance, set at Saratoga and other resort towns, show the charm and wit that made Willis so popular with nineteenth-century readers. Good examples of Willis\u27s horror stories, written in a style that we associate today with Edgar Allan Poe, can also be found in this essential collection. This scholarly edition of important short fiction by N. P. Willis includes a general introduction as well as many short essays describing literary and historical contexts that provide information for the contemporary reader.https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/uapress_publications/1132/thumbnail.jp

The Economic Contribution of Marine Science and Education Institutions in the Monterey Bay Crescent

Ocean and coastal areas of the United States contribute significantly to our nation’s overall economy. The extent to which our economy benefits from the wide range of marine and coastal activities is not completely understood. The National Ocean Economics Program (NOEP) has attempted to track and value the ocean and coastal- related economic activities in the United States. To date six sectors are included in its information system (www.oceaneconomics.org). The economic contribution of marine research and education institutions is a sector of activity that lies outside of the normal federal government datasets, but one which seemed to have growing importance and yet was not considered part of the economy. Thus, the NOEP decided to add marine science and education institutions to its sector studies. The goal of this project was to create a prototype strategy at a local level, which could then be adapted for collecting national level data on a state by state basis. This economic sector of institutions and their activities would be comparable to other economic sectors for which the federal government already collects data. The purposes of this project were (1) to select the key indicators that could demonstrate the value of these institutions, and (2) to determine the economic contribution of these institutions to the local, state, and national economies. In order to achieve these purposes, we constructed a survey, tested it at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and then distributed it to the marine research and education institutions of Monterey Bay Crescent. The results of the survey are presented as aggregate information that detail important economic contributions to the region such as: annual budgets, employment figures, annual earned wages, number of students, sources of funding, and distribution of research spending. A summary of the results shows that the combined annual budgets of the marine research and education institutions in Monterey Bay Crescent for 2006 were over $209 million. There were over 1,700 employees within those institutions with wages totaling nearly$78 million. The four institutions of higher education included in the survey served 861 students studying ocean sciences and ocean policy. Distribution of funding sources among all institutions surveyed, according to the survey was Federal Government funds at 46% and foundation funds at 35% of the overall research budgets that support these institutions. Research activities focused on coastal processes and on biodiversity had the largest amount of funding, while climate change and marine policy research had the least funding. These results are a window into a growing sector of activities with increasing importance, and begin to fill the void of economic data on the contribution of marine research and education institutions

The Value of Marine Institutions: An Economic Survey of Marine Research and Education Institutions in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties

It is recognized that ocean and coastal areas of the United States contribute significantly to our nation’s overall economy. What is not completely understood is the extent to and manner in which our economy benefits from the wide range of marine and coastal activities. One area of the ocean economy that has not been collectively measured or examined is the contribution of marine research and education institutions. The goal of the project was to create a prototype strategy at a local level for collecting data at a national level, in order to create an economic sector of these institutions and activities that would be equivalent to other economic sectors for which the federal government already collects data such as tourism and agriculture. The purposes of this project were (1) to select the key indicators that could demonstrate the value of these institutions, and (2) to determine the economic contribution of these institutions to the local, state and national economies. In order to achieve these purposes, I constructed a survey tested it at MBARI, and then distributed it to the marine research and education institutions of Monterey Bay Crescent as a beta test for the entire state and possibly the nation. The results of the survey are presented as aggregate information that detail important economic contributions to the region such as: employment figures, annual earned wages, annual budgets, sources of funding, and distribution of research spending. A summary of the results shows that the combined annual budgets of the marine research and education institutions in Monterey Bay Crescent is $209,496,619. There are 1,726 employees within those institutions with wages totaling more than$77,703,833. There are also 861 students. I also discovered that the federal government funds 46% and foundations 35% of the overall monies that support these institutions. Furthermore the results of this project indicate that projects with a primary focus on coastal processes and on biodiversity research have the greatest amount of funding, while climate change and marine policy have the least. The implications of these results are of great importance in filling the void of economic data and contribution of marine research and education institutions to our economy. This project, conducted in Monterey Bay Crescent, serves as a beta-test in order to improve upon a survey that may be used throughout the U.S. In order to achieve this, broader application, I considered problems and limitations that lead to possible changes in the survey