Using mass media to bring engineering principles to young audiences to inspire interest and pursuit of future engineering or technologically based careers

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 22).In the progression of this thesis document, an idea for an episode of an educational and interactive television show has been explored and developed. The direction of this episode will fit into the aforementioned educational television show format (which will be further described and discussed in subsequent sections of this document). For our particular episode, the focus audience and main target demographic of the theme are young, middle-school aged girls. The theme of the show, which has to do with cooking a familiar and typically well-liked (by children) food by using an alternative energy source and engineering design principles. In this show, it is our goal that both the players and the viewing audience learn about the engineering concepts involved with basic optics and solar energy. In our investigation, a theme for the episode has been developed, and a sample solution has been worked out and tested. Based on the results of this trial run, suggestions and conclusions have been made regarding the future directions for this project.by Kimberly M. Straub and Deanna M. Lentz.S.B

Inner-shelf response to cross-chelf wind stress : the importance of the cross-shelf density gradient in an idealized numerical model and field observations

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 44 (2014): 86–103, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-13-075.1.This study investigates the effects of horizontal and vertical density gradients on the inner-shelf response to cross-shelf wind stress by using an idealized numerical model and observations from a moored array deployed south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. In two-dimensional (no along-shelf variation) numerical model runs of an initially stratified shelf, a cross-shelf wind stress drives vertical mixing that results in a nearly well-mixed inner shelf with a cross-shelf density gradient because of the sloping bottom. The cross-shelf density gradient causes an asymmetric response to on- and offshore wind stresses. For density increasing offshore, an offshore wind stress drives a near-surface offshore flow and near-bottom onshore flow that slightly enhances the vertical stratification and the cross-shelf circulation. An onshore wind stress drives the reverse cross-shelf circulation reducing the vertical stratification and the cross-shelf circulation. A horizontal Richardson number is shown to be the nondimensional parameter that controls the dependence of the wind-driven nondimensional cross-shelf transport on the cross-shelf density gradient. Field observations show the same empirical relationship between the horizontal Richardson number and transport fraction as the model predicts. These results show that it is the cross-shelf rather than vertical density gradient that is critical to predicting the inner-shelf cross-shelf transport driven by a cross-shelf wind stress.This work was funded by Ocean Sciences Division of the National Science Foundation Grant OCE-0548961 and by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution through the Academic Programs Office and the Coastal Ocean Institute. Data central to this study were provided by the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory, which is funded by WHOI and the Jewett/EDUC/Harrison Foundation.2014-07-0

Floquet Perturbation Theory: Formalism and Application to Low-Frequency Limit

We develop a low-frequency perturbation theory in the extended Floquet Hilbert space of a periodically driven quantum systems, which puts the high- and low-frequency approximations to the Floquet theory on the same footing. It captures adiabatic perturbation theories recently discussed in the literature as well as diabatic deviation due to Floquet resonances. For illustration, we apply our Floquet perturbation theory to a driven two-level system as in the Schwinger-Rabi and the Landau-Zener-St\"uckelberg-Majorana models. We reproduce some known expressions for transition probabilities in a simple and systematic way and clarify and extend their regime of applicability. We then apply the theory to a periodically-driven system of fermions on the lattice and obtain the spectral properties and the low-frequency dynamics of the system.Comment: v2: 28 single-column pages, 5 figures; various typos fixed; some notation and connection to other perturbation schemes clarified; new, more descriptive title and abstract. Published versio

Perspective as a Threshold Concept in Business Communication

In this article, the authors present the notion of perspective as a threshold concept in business communication. Using an SoTL framework, the researchers explore the effect of teaching threshold concepts in a summary writing assignment in a foundational business communication class. Working with a close reading methodology, the authors examine the context of perspective as a threshold concept by analyzing students’ summary samples for gender bias and explore how close reading can support further research into threshold concepts in business communication

Modular House Restoration

The aim of this senior project is to help restore the vitality of Poly Canyon by continuing the renovation of the Modular House. The Modular house was originally built in 1969 as living quarters for caretakers of Poly Canyon. The two-story structure was built as a series of 8 foot (ft.) by 8 ft. wall, floor and ceiling frames in a 2x3 bay floor plan. The 8 ft squares were filled with 2 standard sized 4 ft. by 8 ft. plywood sheets. Since its original construction, triangular expansions have been added to the floor plan of the original layout. Also, in the early 2000’s, street signs were added as cladding for weatherproofing. Soon after the College of Architecture and Environmental Design could no longer afford to have caretakers living in the structures, the Modular House fell into disrepair from disuse and vandalism, forcing the structure to be closed off to public access. A senior project group in Spring 2017 did a sizable amount of work to renovate the structure and reopen the Modular House to the public. The 2017 group removed the walls and floors. The ground floor was replaced with concrete on metal decking, and the ground floor walls were replaced with a perimeter guardrail. The guardrail reused the old street-sign cladding as infill to help maintain the architectural integrity of the structure. Two critical issues were needed to be addressed after the work by the 2017 group. The first issue is that the new concrete floor contained a 2 ft. by 8 ft. opening in the transition to a bay set 2 ft below the main ground floor elevation and a similar 2 ft.-7 in. by 2 ft. opening in the transition to a bay set 2 ft. above the main ground floor elevation. Plans for staircases to bridge these gaps were made by the 2017 group, but were not carried out. The openings allow a fall over 3 ft. and the public was allowed to enter the structure after the completion of the 2017 renovations, so the openings in the floor posed a safety hazard. The second issue was the weathering of the existing ceiling. Because the walls were removed, the existing acoustical tile ceiling began to degrade from the elements. The exposure caused the tiles to start to fall. This posed another risk to occupants, since the tiles could strike the occupant from above. The main focus of this senior project was to mitigate the immediate risks that afflicted the Modular House. Specific ways the problems were addressed include: Fabrication and installation of main floor stairs. Fabrication and Installation of an additional railings. Demolition of the existing roof and replacement with corrugated metal decking. This construction will help increase the safety of the structure by covering existing openings in the floor with stairs to transition between floor levels and alleviate fall hazards. A handrail accompanies the larger staircase and an additional guardrail acts as a barrier between lines of elevation change. The demolition of the existing roof structure directly removes the tile ceiling hazard

The effect of wind direction on cross-shelf transport on an initially stratified inner shelf

Cross-shelf and along-shelf wind stresses both independently have been shown to drive transport across the inner shelf. We investigate how the circulation and density fields respond to simultaneous cross- and along-shelf wind forcing using a set of model experiments on an initially stratified inner shelf. For all wind directions with a downwelling along-shelf component, the inner shelf is unstratified and the cross-shelf wind dominates transport. For wind directions with an upwelling along-shelf component, the inner shelf can be stratified and the transition from inner to midshelf occurs over a wide swath of shelf. In this transition region, the effects of the cross- and along-shelf wind stresses are not separable, because the response to each component is tied to the other by the density field on which they both act. A consequence of this asymmetry is that offshore transport occurs for more compass directions, and more strongly than onshore transport, making offshore transport more likely under variable wind conditions in the field, even if the average wind stress were near zero. These model results demonstrate a strongly asymmetric directional dependence of wind-driven, cross-shelf transport on the inner shelf. Field observations from the inner shelf of Martha\u27s Vineyard, Massachusetts, substantiate both the directional dependence and magnitude of the transport predicted by the model

Synthetic Spectra for Type Ia Supernovae at Early Epochs

We present the current status of our construction of synthetic spectra for type Ia supernovae. These properly take into account the effects of NLTE and an adequate representation of line blocking and blanketing. The models are based on a sophisticated atomic database. We show that the synthetic spectrum reproduces the observed spectrum of 'normal' SN-Ia near maximum light from the UV to the near-IR. However, further improvements are necessary before truly quantitative analyses of observed SN-Ia spectra can be performed. In particular, the inner boundary condition has to be fundamentally modified. This is due to the dominance of electron scattering over true absorption processes coupled with the flat density structure in these objectsComment: To appear in "Proceedings of the IAU Colloquium 192 - Supernovae (10 Years of SN1993J)", eds. J.M. Marcaide and K.W. Weile

Needs-based family support – Perception, structures and challenges in practical implementation

such as low-threshold access to services. Beside structural framework conditions in context of family support, the question arises as to what extent the subjective perception of preventive family support is one more aspect of utilisation and to what extent preventive family support actually matches the needs of families. This Study asks as well what connotations and attitudes do families have regarding family support services? How important do families consider these offers and what are their needs? Based on a mixed-methods design, the Citizens’ Survey on Family Support was conducted by means of a standardised questionnaire in combination with interviews of family support users and non-users in order to elaborate deeper meaning structures through the qualitative analysis method of grounded theory. Summary survey results point out that family support in Germany includes a wide range of offers, which can promote a broad array of familial interests and competences, but not all families, diverse as they are, feel consciously addressed – or else they see obstacles to using family services. Our qualitative results point out that ‘family support’ as a term is neither clearly identified nor properly understood by many citizens – or else it has different connotations. However, those families who do use the services – within the framework of transitioning to parenthood – feel supported in their psychosocial adaptations and regulatory processes. In relation to results and as compared to other EU countries, practical implications for further developments in family support approaches are discussed

Assessment of Functional Fitness Measures Among Community-Dwelling Older and Younger Adults

Please view abstract in the attached PDF fil