CALTRANS does not currently allow Portland-Limestone Cements (PLC) to replace Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in concrete. PLC has been proposed for consideration in CALTRANS specifications due to potential benefits in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This report outlines a comprehensive plan to provide both experimental and computational analysis results to...
The continuous development of higher performing battery materials has emerged in parallel with the development of new manufacturing processes. Nanomaterials are one solution to addressing the cycling and performance challenges that limit existing battery cells. However, many of the methods used today for nanomaterial synthesis are high temperature batch methods...
My work has focused on using density functional theory to elucidate mechanisms of organocatalytic and transition metal catalyzed reactions by considering competing mechanisms. In each of the three presented studies computational investigation complemented experimental work by predicting stereoselectivity or revealing origins of stereo, regio, or chemoselectivity.
A study on the...
Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions are causing ocean acidification (OA) and ocean warming, which have negative effects on the larvae of many marine invertebrates. Oregon pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani) currently encounter upwelling events that can result in pH values as low as 7.6, and, more recently, marine heat waves that raise...
The grand plan of carbon neutralization and COP26 in Glasgow require a quick shift of energy sources from conventional fossil fuel to a more renewable substitute such as wind, or solar energy. However, the intermittency of those renewable energy sources does not meet the demand of the energy, which requires...
The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to describe the lived experiences of librarians and how they provided support and innovation for community college OER programs. Examining the experiences of librarians as innovators sought to understanding how best practices developed for OER programs. It further sought to examine how...
Community births are defined as a planned home or birth center birth. Today, the majority of births in the U.S. occur in the hospital, but the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rates of any developed country. Although community births have comparable outcomes, there is an extreme preference for hospital...
Despite climate change requiring the cutback of fossil fuel consumption, the world continues to increase its energy demands each year. To meet the ambitious goals outlined during the Paris Agreement in 2015, which set a goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C [1], changes in energy production methods are necessary....
Heavily acceptor doped Pb1.02Dx(Zr0.5Ti0.5)1-xO3 ceramics, where A is the dopant, were investigated in this research. Dopants studied included iron, magnesium and manganese at mole concentrations x ≤ 0.20. X-ray diffraction data along with scanning electron microscopy images revealed the solubility limits of these ceramics. All doped compositions exhibited a shift...
Disaster response and surveillance operations will increasingly incorporate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)s due to their cost-effectiveness and maneuverability. This trend has driven the research on small-sized quadcopters for varying indoor applications. Small-sized quadcopters' payload and computational capacity limit the usage of complex vision-based collision avoidance algorithms that are employed by...