306 research outputs found
Rapid Delivery of Massive Geospatial Data Over Internet2
We study the feasibility of the on-demand delivery of a massive geospatial dataset over Internet2 for educational use. The dataset (20TB uncompressed, 2.5TB compressed), generously made available for this study by AirphotoUSA, provides a seamless, one-meter resolution aerial orthophotograph covering over three million square miles of the continental United States. We identify factors that limit the scalability, availability and user-perceived performance of serving such a dataset. To do this, we conduct experiments that measure response times for various levels of network congestion, bandwidth, and load. We also provide a proof-of-concept experiment by serving the dataset over Internet2 to students at Oklahoma State University. Given this information, we determine the server-side architecture and resource requirements sufficient to serve this dataset from Cal Poly. We discuss the funding for wide distribution of high-resolution datasets to universities and the student response to use of this data for education
AS-852-18 Resolution on Change of Degree Designation from B.A. to B.S. for Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies (LAES)
That the Academic Senate of the California State University of San Luis Obispo approve the request to change the designation of the B.A. for Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies to a B.S
Centering Meaning-Filled Design Within Engineering Education: Recommendations On How To Integrate Interdisciplinary Architectural Design Charrettes, Community Engagement, Sustainability Principles, And Adapted Agile Methodologies Into A Student-Centered, Project-Based Engineering Program
The Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies program (LAES) is a hybrid engineering and humanities degree housed in both the engineering and liberal arts colleges. LAES requires the same required math and science courses of standard engineering degrees, adding upper-level concentrations split equally between advanced engineering and humanities courses.
LAES was designed for retaining and recruiting a diversity of students in engineering, and to address recent innovations in industrial practice, technology design, and community-centered education. Through fifteen years of trial and error, the LAES program has developed a set of meaning-filled design guidelines for project work, combining engineering and humanistic problem solving with sustainable environmental practice integrated throughout every aspect of design, production, and use. In partnership with many departments across campus, especially Cal Poly’s architecture program, LAES has worked on many projects that exist within the complex economic, political, social, spatial, and cultural needs of local communities.
LAES projects in collaboration with architecture students, have ranged from community housing construction with re-purposed shipping containers, to re-designing pedestrian neighborhood corridors, to the use of narrative-driven STEM education modules with underserved middle school students, to the design of immersive-reality explorations of artificial coral ecologies off the coast of California.
In this paper, we review what we have learned from our project work, with a focus on student learning assessment, leadership training, working across disciplines, and teamwork management, demonstrating how those practical academic concerns interact with the instruction of our design principles. We conclude by offering practical recommendations for how other programs may use some of our design guidelines and project ideas within their own curriculums
Characterization of Hamamatsu 64-channel TSV SiPMs
The Hamamatsu UV-light enhanced 64-channel SiPM array of the newest
generation (S13361-3050AS-08) has been examined for the purpose of being used
for the Silicon Elementary Cell Add-on (SiECA) of the EUSO-SPB balloon
experiment. Characterization measurements have been performed with the newly
installed Single Photon Calibration Stand at KIT (SPOCK). The results of the
characterization measurements including the breakdown voltage, the gain, the
PDE, the dark-count rate and the crosstalk probability of all 64 SiPM channels
are presented. Additional measurements of the SiPM sensitivity to photons with
wavelengths lower than 400nm show an improved PDE for small wavelengths
compared to the SiPM array S12642-0808PA-50, which was also investigated for
comparison. The response dynamics have been investigated for low numbers of
incoming photons. Temperature dependent measurements of the gain, the PDE, the
dark-count rate and the crosstalk probability have been performed for one
channel of the SiPM array.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods
Improving First-year Success and Retention through Interest-Based CS0 Courses
Many computer science programs suffer from low student retention rates. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, academic performance and retention rates among first year computer science students are among the lowest on campus.
In order to remedy this, we have developed a new CS0 course featuring different tracks that students can choose from (e.g. robotics, gaming, music, mobile apps). This allows students to learn the basics of programming, teamwork, and college-level study in a domain that is of personal interest. In addition, the course relies on classic Project-based Learning (PBL) approaches as well as a focus on both academic and non-academic factors shown to increase student retention.
Initial assessment demonstrates positive results in the form of increased academic performance in post CS0 courses and student retention
Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory
A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding
eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers
with zenith angles greater than detected with the Pierre Auger
Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum
confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above
eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law with
index followed by
a smooth suppression region. For the energy () at which the
spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence
of suppression, we find
eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger
Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers.
These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of
the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray
energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30
to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of
the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is
determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated
using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due
to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components.
The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of
the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the
AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air
shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy
-- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy
estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the
surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator
scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent
emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for
the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at
least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio
emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate
energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of
15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV
arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling
quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from
state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our
measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric
energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with
our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector
against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI.
Supplemental material in the ancillary file
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