Changing students' attitudes towards statistics through project-based learning in aerospace engineering

[EN] The application of project-based learning (PBL) in a course of statistics in the BSc. Degree in Aerospace Engineering at the Higher Technical School of Design Engineering at Universitat Politècnica de València has led to a significant and positive change in students¿ attitude towards learning and acquisition of statistical concepts. More specifically, PBL has provided the opportunity for students to overcome the limitations and preconceived barriers of classic learning methodologies and lectures, by applying statistical tools to improve the design of a cardboard glider. The PBL strategy is implemented by means of a long-term project that is carried out in teams ranging from three to four students. The project is closely supervised by the laboratory lecturers, who act as mentors to the students throughout the whole term. At the initial stage, all the teams are given the same initial design of a cardboard glider, and students apply descriptive statistics to characterize and describe the flight of the original design. Then, students are given a flight benchmark that they should improve with their final designs. By applying inference, regression, and design of experiment tools, students modify the original design to beat the benchmark. The results of a survey that has been conducted suggest that, through this methodology, students not only apply and experiment with the concepts that they learn, but their motivation, engagement, and interest in statistics is also increased.The authors would like to thank the UPV and their support by funding this article with Education Improvement and Innovation Project (PIME-185).Trull, O.; Sempere-Ferre, F.; Martínez Alzamora, MN.; Sanchez-Anguix, V. (2021). Changing students' attitudes towards statistics through project-based learning in aerospace engineering. IATED Academy. 11540-11545. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2021.2416S115401154

Spontaneously generated X-shaped light bullets

We observe the formation of an intense optical wavepacket fully localized in all dimensions, i.e. both longitudinally (in time) and in the transverse plane, with an extension of a few tens of fsec and microns, respectively. Our measurements show that the self-trapped wave is a X-shaped light bullet spontaneously generated from a standard laser wavepacket via the nonlinear material response (i.e., second-harmonic generation), which extend the soliton concept to a new realm, where the main hump coexists with conical tails which reflect the symmetry of linear dispersion relationship.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio

Adaptation of a project of teaching innovation in the subject of statistics in the degree of aerospace engineering in times of COVID-19

[EN] The rapid spread of the SARSCoV-2 virus (COVID-19) in Spain caused a general lockdown of the population at home for 44 days. Due to this, lecturers had to design new learning strategies, adapted to the general lockdown, to deliver content and learning materials. The goal of this work is to describe and analyze the adaptation carried out in a teaching innovation project at the Statistics course at BSc. in Aerospace Engineering. The project involves students participating in project-based learning. The adaptation of the project-based learning activity aimed to tackle the obstacles and particularities of the lockdown period. A total of 118 students participated in the activities, with all of them positively evaluating the experience and adaptation carried out. 92.6% of the students considered that, after participating in the project, they improved their critical thinking and creativity. In addition, 88.8% suggested that their innovation skills improved. Overall, the students showed a high degree of engagement and motivation.The authors would like to thank the Universitat Politècnica de València and their support by funding this article with Education Improvement and Innovation Project (PIME-185).Sempere-Ferre, F.; Trull, O.; Soler Torro, JM.; Conchado Peiró, A. (2021). Adaptation of a project of teaching innovation in the subject of statistics in the degree of aerospace engineering in times of COVID-19. IATED Academy. 11553-11557. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2021.2418S115531155

Noise-seeded spatiotemporal modulation instability in normal dispersion

6In optical second-harmonic generation with normal dispersion, the virtually infinite bandwidth of the unbounded, hyperbolic, modulational instability leads to quenching of spatial multisoliton formation and to the occurrence of a catastrophic spatiotemporal breakup when an extended beam is left to interact with an extremely weak external noise with a coherence time much shorter than that of the pump.openD. Salerno; O. Jedrkiewicz; J. Trull; G. Valiulis; A. Picozzi; P. Di TrapaniSalerno, Domenico; Jedrkiewicz, Ottavia; J., Trull; G., Valiulis; A., Picozzi; DI TRAPANI, Paol

Thorium-234 as a tracer of spatial, temporal and vertical variability in particle flux in the North Pacific

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 56 (2009):1143-1167, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2009.04.001.An extensive 234Th data set was collected at two sites in the North Pacific: ALOHA, an oligotrophic site near Hawaii, and K2, a mesotrophic HNLC site in the NW Pacific as part of the VERTIGO (VERtical Transport in the Global Ocean) study. Total 234Th:238U activity ratios near 1.0 indicated low particle fluxes at ALOHA, while 234Th:238U ~0.6 in the euphotic zone at K2 indicated higher particle export. However, spatial variability was large at both sites- even greater than seasonal variability as reported in prior studies. This variability in space and time confounds the use of single profiles of 234Th for sediment trap calibration purposes. At K2, there was a decrease in export flux and increase in 234Th activities over time associated with the declining phase of a summer diatom bloom, which required the use of non-steady state models for flux predictions. This variability in space and time confounds the use of single profiles of 234Th for sediment trap calibration purposes. High vertical resolution profiles show narrow layers (20-30 m) of excess 234Th below the deep chlorophyll maximum at K2 associated with particle remineralization resulting in a decrease in flux at depth that may be missed with standard sampling for 234Th and/or with sediment traps. Also, the application of 234Th as POC flux tracer relies on accurate sampling of particulate POC/234Th ratios and here the ratio is similar on sinking particles and mid-sized particles collected by in-situ filtration (>10-50 μm at ALOHA and >5–350 μm at K2). To further address variability in particle fluxes at K2, a simple model of the drawdown of 234Th and nutrients is used to demonstrate that while coupled during export, their ratios in the water column will vary with time and depth after export. Overall these 234Th data provide a detailed view into particle flux and remineralization in the North Pacific over time and space scales that are varying over days to weeks, and 10’s to 100’s km at a resolution that is difficult to obtain with other methods.Funding for VERTIGO in the US was provided primarily by research grants from the US National Science Foundation Programs in Chemical and Biological Oceanography with additional support by the US Department of Energy (DAS). For TWT, support came from the Australian Cooperative Research Centres program

Parametric localized modes in quadratic nonlinear photonic structures

We analyze two-color spatially localized modes formed by parametrically coupled fundamental and second-harmonic fields excited at quadratic (or chi-2) nonlinear interfaces embedded into a linear layered structure --- a quasi-one-dimensional quadratic nonlinear photonic crystal. For a periodic lattice of nonlinear interfaces, we derive an effective discrete model for the amplitudes of the fundamental and second-harmonic waves at the interfaces (the so-called discrete chi-2 equations), and find, numerically and analytically, the spatially localized solutions --- discrete gap solitons. For a single nonlinear interface in a linear superlattice, we study the properties of two-color localized modes, and describe both similarities and differences with quadratic solitons in homogeneous media.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

KSU Chamber Singers and Men\u27s Ensemble

KSU School of Music presents KSU Chamber Singers and Men\u27s Ensemble.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1294/thumbnail.jp

KSU Chamber Singers, A Litany for Courage and the Seasons

Kennesaw State University Chamber Singers present David Maslanka\u27s A Litany for Courage and the Seasons, six songs for chorus, clarinet and vibraphone on poems of Richard Beale at the 2013 National Collegiate Choral Organization 5th National Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, October 31 - November 2.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1268/thumbnail.jp

An assessment of the use of sediment traps for estimating upper ocean particle fluxes

Author Posting. © Sears Foundation for Marine Research, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Sears Foundation for Marine Research for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Marine Research 65 (2007): 345–416, doi: 10.1357/002224007781567621This review provides an assessment of sediment trap accuracy issues by gathering data to address trap hydrodynamics, the problem of zooplankton "swimmers," and the solubilization of material after collection. For each topic, the problem is identified, its magnitude and causes reviewed using selected examples, and an update on methods to correct for the potential bias or minimize the problem using new technologies is presented. To minimize hydrodynamic biases due to flow over the trap mouth, the use of neutrally buoyant sediment traps is encouraged. The influence of swimmers is best minimized using traps that limit zooplankton access to the sample collection chamber. New data on the impact of different swimmer removal protocols at the US time-series sites HOT and BATS are compared and shown to be important. Recent data on solubilization are compiled and assessed suggesting selective losses from sinking particles to the trap supernatant after collection, which may alter both fluxes and ratios of elements in long term and typically deeper trap deployments. Different methods are needed to assess shallow and short- term trap solubilization effects, but thus far new incubation experiments suggest these impacts to be small for most elements. A discussion of trap calibration methods reviews independent assessments of flux, including elemental budgets, particle abundance and flux modeling, and emphasizes the utility of U-Th radionuclide calibration methods.WG meetings and production of this report was partially supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation via grants to the SCOR. Individuals and science efforts discussed herein were supported by many national science programs, including the U.S. National Science Foundation, Swedish Research Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency through its support of the Marine Environmental Laboratory that also receives support from the Government of the Principality of Monaco, and the Australian Antarctic Science Program. K.B. was supported in part by a WHOI Ocean Life Institute Fellowship