INDOT Prequalification & Compliance

Doing business with INDOT on construction contracts involves complying with numerous state and federal laws and INDOT specifications and contract requirements. As part of the INDOT Legal Department’s 2023 strategic plan, the agency is reviewing all areas of compliance and working to produce administrative policy directives that explain the requirements of each rule and regulation. This presentation will provide an overview of INDOT construction compliance, including a review of the specific requirements of the most commonly used regulations. Discussion time will be available so that vendors and government stakeholders can ask questions and express their opinion on INDOT construction compliance

Self-confined light waves in nematic liquid crystals

The study of light beams propagating in the nonlinear, dispersive, birefringent and nonlocal medium of nematic liquid crystals has attracted widespread interest in the last twenty years or so. We review hereby the underlying physics, theoretical modelling and numerical approximations for nonlinear beam propagation in planar cells filled with nematic liquid crystals, including bright and dark solitary waves, as well as optical vortices. The pertinent governing equations consist of a nonlinear Schrödinger-type equation for the light beam and an elliptic equation for the medium response. Since the nonlinear and coupled nature of this system presents difficulties in terms of finding exact solutions, we outline the various approaches used to resolve them, pinpointing the good agreement obtained with numerical solutions and experimental results. Measurement and material details complement the theoretical narration to underline the power of the modelling

Curved optical solitons subject to transverse acceleration in reorientational soft matter

We demonstrate that optical spatial solitons with non-rectilinear trajectories can be made to propagate in a uniaxial dielectric with a transversely modulated orientation of the optic axis. Exploiting the reorientational nonlinearity of nematic liquid crystals and imposing a linear variation of the background alignment of the molecular director, we observe solitons whose trajectories have either a monotonic or a non-monotonic curvature in the observation plane of propagation, depending on either the synergistic or counteracting roles of wavefront distortion and birefringent walk-off, respectively. The observed effect is well modelled in the weakly nonlinear regime using momentum conservation of the self-collimated beams in the presence of the spatial nonlocality of the medium response. Since reorientational solitons can act as passive waveguides for other weak optical signals, these results introduce a wealth of possibilities for all-optical signal routing and light-induced photonic interconnects

Morphing in nature and beyond: a review of natural and synthetic shape-changing materials and mechanisms

Shape-changing materials open an entirely new solution space for a wide range of disciplines: from architecture that responds to the environment and medical devices that unpack inside the body, to passive sensors and novel robotic actuators. While synthetic shape-changing materials are still in their infancy, studies of biological morphing materials have revealed key paradigms and features which underlie efficient natural shape-change. Here, we review some of these insights and how they have been, or may be, translated to artificial solutions. We focus on soft matter due to its prevalence in nature, compatibility with users and potential for novel design. Initially, we review examples of natural shape-changing materials—skeletal muscle, tendons and plant tissues—and compare with synthetic examples with similar methods of operation. Stimuli to motion are outlined in general principle, with examples of their use and potential in manufactured systems. Anisotropy is identified as a crucial element in directing shape-change to fulfil designed tasks, and some manufacturing routes to its achievement are highlighted. We conclude with potential directions for future work, including the simultaneous development of materials and manufacturing techniques and the hierarchical combination of effects at multiple length scales.</p

Putting capital punishment to rest : A qualitative study of capital punishment and human rights in China and the Philippines

The situation of the influence of human rights issues related to capital punishment has for long been a matter of debate, especially regarding the retention and abolition of the death penalty. Various countries have, during the 20th century, changed their laws and approach on capital punishment with the implementation and adoption of human rights conventions. Opinions and actions taken from international actors like the United Nations and Amnesty International will be analyzed in this thesis as these could contribute in the understanding of the human rights movement which, during the last century, has changed many countries strict retentionist approach on capital punishment to an abolitionist view.   The People’s Republic of China and the Philippines will be implemented as case studies in this thesis which aims to investigate if and how human rights issues are influencing capital punishment in these two countries. The concept of legitimacy will be used as theoretical framework in order to identify changes within three sub-concepts of legitimacy namely morality, legality, and constitutionality. These concepts will, with the help of legitimacy, offer an explanation of how the case studies have handled human rights issues in relation to the death penalty. The arguments behind the decision making of laws, regulations and policies in China and the Philippines will also be of interest in the answering of the research question as these arguments could act as changes within legality and constitutionality. Regarding the moral stand behind the practice of capital punishment, the concept of morality will assist this thesis in the explaining and understanding of the ethics behind the choice of the death penalty.   The findings of this thesis demonstrate that social structures such as history, culture, politics, and norms are important aspects in the decision- and law making of capital punishment in China and the Philippines. Obstacles identified are linked to the approach on the death penalty from the governments which, in both case studies, have a history of neglecting human rights issues. However, as China has started to reconsider their stand on capital punishment, the Philippine regime has implemented an even stricter approach on the death penalty which demonstrates that the matter of human rights issues regarding capital punishment, in the two case studies, is a complicated battle between retention and abolition and the contest of legitimacy