Miniature satellites called cubesats have been gaining increasing popularity in
both academic and private spaceflight ventures. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
has recently been accepting design proposals for a cubesat mission to Europa, where
solar and battery power would be inadequate power sources. In this thesis, a
radioisotope powered cubesat was...
Innovative nanoelectromechanical switches (NEMS) have the prospects to reduce device actuation voltages as compared to traditional semiconductor devices. Current research on NEMS seeks to avoid irreversible adhesion at the nanoscopic level, which results in device failure. Minimizing leakage currents and increasing device longevity are additional goals of this approach. The...
The purpose of this project is to assist the OSU Baja Racing vehicle in turning more sharply. This is done using a turning brake, which locks one rear wheel to facilitate turning on a smaller radius. This project focuses on the development of a custom cylinder housing for the turning...
Low-Income urban African American (LIU-AA) youth are at high risk for HIV/STIs and adolescent pregnancy. Sexual health websites (SHWs) offer an inexpensive, easy-to-disseminate, and potentially highly-accessible method of improving sexual health knowledge, awareness, and help-seeking. The present study examined engagement regarding sexual health websites for at-risk, LIU-AA youth. We conducted...
Rhizopogon salebrosus is an abundant ectomycorrhizal fungus common throughout Western North America that forms mutualistic partnerships with Pinus species. Studied for its systematics, use in sapling nurseries, post-fire seedling establishment, and unique evolutionary history, R. salebrosus holds many secrets within its genome. This thesis aims to characterize the mating system,...
This thesis examines whether and how interest groups concerned with capital punishment change how they frame the issue when advocating before the Supreme Court via amicus curiae briefs over time. I measured the frequency of frames used throughout amicus briefs submitted in cases pertaining to how the death penalty could...
The ever-increasing global population presents looming problems for the field of agriculture. Global food demand will, at some point, increase to the point where there is not enough crop-ready land to keep up. This creates an additional incentive, other than economics, for growers to increase their yield-per-acre and make sure...
Perdeutero-spiropentane (C₅D₈) has been synthesized and infrared and Raman spectra are reported for the first time. Wavenumber assignments are made for most of the fundamental vibrational modes. Gas phase infrared spectra were recorded at a resolution (0.002 cm⁻¹) sufficient to resolve individual rovibrational lines and show evidence of strong Coriolis...
The strained carbon ring, bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane, was synthesized by a reaction between
1-(phenylsulfanyl)bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane, prepared from propellane, and Raney nickel.
Infrared spectra were recorded at a resolution of 0.0015 cm-1, a resolution significantly
better than previous measurements, 0.06 cm-1. A single fundamental band was analyzed
to determine the ground state and excited...