IMPACT OF STOCHASTIC DEPTH ON DETERMINISTIC AND PROBABILISTIC RESNET MODELS FOR WEATHER MODELING

This thesis builds on the research that uses Bayesian neural networks to generate Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager data collected by LEO satellites from Advanced Baseline Imager data collected by GEO satellites for the purposes of weather modeling. Specifically, this thesis investigates the efficacy of a stochastic depth (SD) implementation in residual networks (ResNet), both deterministic and probabilistic, to reduce long training times associated with Bayesian neural networks while maintaining model accuracy. We show that overall, ResNets fail to perform better with the implementation of SD with the exception of SD ResNet56 S25, utilizing a survivability probability of 0.25. This resulted in an RMSE of 2.863, a 6.83% increase in performance. In our evaluations, SD models did not train faster, with the fastest average time per epoch of 973.69 seconds compared to 960.42 seconds for the base ResNet56. We conclude that SD was unable to provide the expected performance benefits on realistic large-scale satellite data as found in research on smaller datasets.Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

A proposed 'ladder of learning' for academics' professional development in teaching

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Developing a research framework for understanding the social realities, with special reference to Sri Lankan entrepreneurs

This paper identifies and examines issues of relevance for increasing effectiveness of entrepreneurial management research. These issues emerged from research into entrepreneurial behaviour and underlying motivations in Sri Lanka. Understanding of socially- and culturally-bound social actors, social actions and social outputs in entrepreneurial activity requires context-sensitivity, expressed through cognisance of institutional characteristics, the interface between cultural values and business, and historical and cultural forces which impact on entrepreneurship. We suggest that this requires exploration through bottom-up translations of actions consistent with the beliefs and values of the actors involved, employing qualitative methodology to ground the reality of human behaviour in deep-rooted cultural and social contexts. Thorough interpretation of holistic case studies that are capable of capturing the actors' viewpoints brings appropriate insights to the field of entrepreneurship

Five years of SGR 1900+14 observations with BeppoSAX

We present a systematic analysis of all the BeppoSAX data of the soft gamma-ray repeater SGR 1900+14: these observations allowed us to study the long term properties of the source quiescent emission. In the observation carried out before the 1998 giant flare the spectrum in the 0.8-10 keV energy range was harder and there was evidence for a 20-150 keV emission, possibly associated with SGR 1900+14. This possible hard tail, if compared with the recent INTEGRAL detection of SGR 1900+14, has a harder spectrum (power-law photon index ~1.6 versus ~3) and a 20-100 keV flux ~4 times larger. In the last BeppoSAX observation (April 2002), while the source was entering the long quiescent period that lasted until 2006, the 2-10 keV flux was ~25% below the historical level. We also studied in detail the spectral evolution during the 2001 flare afterglow. This was characterized by a softening that can be interpreted in terms of a cooling blackbody-like component.Comment: Accepted for publication on Astronomy and Astrophysics on August 31, 200

Written expression

We are in the midst of not one, but two, revolutions in education. The first exemplified by the present OECD project, concerns the impact of New Information Technologies on teaching and on our understanding of the learning process. The second, one which seems at first to be far removed from the realm of NIT, is a radical reconception of the role of writing [by which we mean "written expression", not handwriting] in education and of how it should be taught. This report, one of four on NIT and Education, focuses on the confluence of these two revolutions. Despite initial impressions to the contrary, we suspect that NIT may have a great, if not their greatest, impact in the area of writing.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Synthesis and Properties of Bio-based 3D Printable Resins

A photopolymer resin is a monomer that, when introduced to light of a certain wavelength, starts to polymerize into a solid. This has become a growing part of the 3D printing industry. There have been many advancements in the field of 3D printing, however, a lot of these resins are not environmentally friendly and even harmful if not handled in the correct manner. Plant based resins are becoming more and more popular because of their biodegradability and for the possibility of using renewable resources. Glycerol is a plant-based compound that is produced in excess in industry. Glycerol obtained from bioethanol production as waste and can be used for value-added chemicals. Also, changing the wavelength of light required to polymerize means that researchers are trying to move away from using UV light because it is very harmful to human skin and can even damage a person’s vision. Also, UV light creates ozone as a by-product which can be harmful to the environment. This combination can have multiple real-world applications, not limited to 3D printing. It can possibly be used for gas separation and even polymer batteries. In this presentation, we converted glycerol based secondary alcohol into photopolymerizable resins. For preliminary studies, we varied the alkyl groups of the secondary alcohol containing ether and photopolymerized with different amounts of crosslinkers. We also used plant-based resin to get 3D printed polymers to see their properties. Finally, our synthesized resins mixed with commercial plant-based resins will be used to get 3D printed structures. Synthesis and characterization of these resins will be shown in the presentation

Dual Anion-Cation Ionic Liquid Crystal for Battery Applications

Ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) are a special class of compounds that not only contains mesogens group but also have cationic and/or anionic components. ILCs can self-organize into assemblies with varying degrees of orientational order resulting into formation of unique liquid crystal phases. Thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are special subclass of liquid crystal containing ionic liquid moiety that self- assemble with application of heat to form liquid crystal phases. Thermotropic ionic liquid crystal materials may exhibit several mesogenic phases at differing temperatures, distinguishable by the degree of order. This work mainly focuses on synthesis and characterization of Ionic liquid Crystals containing imidazolium and sulfonimide functional group attached to phenyl ring containing long chain alkyl group. In this presentation we will focus on how change in alkyl tail, change in ionic component (sulfonimide vs imidazolium) , and counter ion (i.e., triethyl ammonium vs Lithium cation) present in the compound, affect the liquid crystal properties. The synthesized ILCs was characterized by TGA, DSC and SAXS data. Keywords: Ionic liquids, Liquid crystals, Dual Cation-Anion, Batterie