Effect of Graphite/Graphene Addition to PMMA Liquid Crystal

We are familiar with matter existing in three phases, solid, liquid, and gas. However, there is an intermediate phase called the mesomorphic phase which is intermediate between solid and liquid. Certain organic materials do not exhibit a single transition from solid to liquid but have different phases of transitions. These materials are called liquid crystals. They have long-chain molecules that are rod-like or disk-like. There is some order in the direction of the molecules; they tend to be parallel to some common axis. Because of these interesting orientation properties, liquid crystals have been used in display panels in televisions and computer monitors extensively. One of the phases of liquid crystals is called the Nematic phase in which molecules have no positional order, but tend to point in the same direction. Creating order in molecules may be achieved with external controls such as temperature and electric field. However, is it possible to achieve order without these external controls? This is the question this study investigates. In this study, Graphite/Graphene addition to liquid crystal MBBA is studied. If it is not possible to order molecules, what new phase transition temperature and an applied electric field are needed to achieve order? Results will be reported

Determining the Location of Packaging Operations at Company X

As a leader in electronic devices, Company X works diligently to design and manufacture products that enrich their customers’ lives. To provide innovative yet affordable products, Company X continually searches for methods to improve upon its processes and eliminate waste. In adherence to this mentality, this project analyzes a method to reduce Company X’s costs as it relates to its supply chain and packaging practices. Many large retailers in the electronics industry require products to be sold in clamshell packaging due to its anti-theft properties. This clamshell adds additional material and transportation cost to Company X products. To reduce this cost, the same product can be sold without the clamshell for other customers. If retailers request more clamshelled product than what is available, non-clamshelled product can be converted to the clamshelled version. This project develops an analysis and implementation plan to organize consistent and reliable information for the supply chain team to make quick and accurate decisions as to the economical location of clamshell packaging rework. Additional research is performed to determine if a leaner process may result by moving the clamshell packaging process to be completed just-in-time for the customer who requests it

Dario Castello's Music for Sackbut: the Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno (1629)

Dario Castello's Sonate concertate in stil moderno is a collection of 29 trio sonatas in two volumes, with 10 of them employing the sackbut. These works represent a significant repertoire for the sackbut in an era where specific instrumentation was only starting to become a convention. While these pieces are often studied, performed and recorded in Europe, most American trombonists are not aware of their existence. This study seeks to acquaint the American trombonist with the sonatas of Castello and to provide performance suggestions for those less familiar with this genre. Chapter 1 presents a survey of the current literature on Castello. Chapter 2 provides an historical background for music in Venice in the early 17th century, while Chpater 3 focuses on the composer and his music for sackbut. Chapter 4 investigages the sonata in early 17th century Venice. Chapter 5 provides an insight into early baroque performance practice by discussing principles such as affect, tempo, ornamentation, diminution and articulation. Examples from the ten sonatas are used to illustrate these principles, providing the modern trombonist with a framework in which to study Castello's music. The final chapter discusses the implications of this study on the American trombone curriculum

Do microplates in subduction zones leave a geological record?

Active microplate boundaries in ocean-continent subduction zones may induce deformation of the overlying plate and spatial or geochemical variations in the volcanic arc. We discuss two modern cases. The first is the South Gorda-Juan de Fuca plate boundary in the Cascadia subduction zone, where there is little or no effect on the overriding plate and the oceanic plate takes up much of the deformation. The second case is the Cocos-Rivera plate boundary in the Middle America trench, where the overlying Colima graben contains substantial deformation in a zone extending from the trench to the volcanic arc and the sub-duction-related volcanism is spatially and geochemically complex. We apply these observations to boundaries of the Arguello, Monterey, Guadalupe, and Magdalena microplates, which existed in the subduction zone west of Baja California at various times from 20 to 12.5 Ma. The past positions of these boundaries relative to Baja California are constrained by global plate reconstructions, closure of the Gulf of California, and an estimate of extension in the Mexican Basin and Range province. Existing regional mapping and our additional reconnaissance mapping show that Paleocene to Eocene fluvial and marine sedimentary rocks south of Ensenada along the western Baja California peninsula and eastward to the mid-Miocene volcanic arc are undeformed. Limited available data reveal no major spatial or geochemical variations in the mid-Miocene volcanic arc that might correlate with the past positions of the microplate boundaries. Thus these microplate boundaries had little to no effect on the overriding continental plate. The nature of Guadalupe and Magdalena interactions with North America may have been closer to the South Gorda-Juan de Fuca example, with possible internal deformation of the microplates. The Monterey and Arguello microplates may have behaved like the modern Explorer plate, with largely strike-slip motion relative to North America during their last stages of existence. Tectonic patterns similar to these examples may be expected from other plate boundaries where a plate is fragmenting as it enters a subduction zone (e.g., the Aluk plate in the trench beneath West Antarctica in early Tertiary time). Whether these microplates subsequently become attached to the overriding continental plate or to a larger oceanic plate and whether this causes deformation in the region of the former subduction zone may depend on the velocities of the nearby major plates and the relative orientations of the microplate boundaries

Doctoral Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree

Doctoral Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree

Doctoral Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Concert Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree

Dario Castello's Music for Sackbut: The Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno

Lecture presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree