Large-hydrocarbon fuels are used for ground and air transportation because of their high energy-density and will be for the foreseeable future. However, combustion of large-hydrocarbon fuels in a turbulent environment is poorly understood and difficult to predict. The turbulent flame speed, which is the velocity at which a flame front...
The chlamydospore is a survival spore produced by 35 of the 75 described species of Phytophthora. Phytophthora ramorum Werres, de Cock & Man in't Veld, the causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD), produces abundant chlamydospores in artificial culture and plant tissue. The chlamydospore is likely the most important survival...
Silvicultural canopy gaps are emerging as an alternative management tool to accelerate development of complex forest structure in young, even-aged forests of the Pacific Northwest. I investigated patterns of nitrogen (N) availability along transects through 0.1 and 0.4 ha silvicultural gaps in three 50-70 year old Douglas-fir forests of western...
This thesis focuses on the fundamental behavior of CLT floor-to-wall connections during a fire.
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panelized structures rely on floor-to-wall connections for the load path and stability of the structure. Additionally, the fire performance of these connections is critical to prevent horizontal or vertical fire spread within these...
Adjoint-derived weight windowing is a hybrid deterministic/Monte Carlo method to simulate radiation transport. In adjoint-derived weight windowing, a deterministic adjoint solution is used to create weight windows for a Monte Carlo simulation. The intent of this work is to identify factors that reduce the Figure of Merit (FOM) of Monte...
I studied small-mammal communities and their response to grazing in mixed-conifer forests and oak woodlands in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon. My objectives were to (1) compare small-mammal communities among forest types and grazing intensities, (2) identify riparian affiliated species, and (3) describe microhabitat associations. Over two years,...
In consideration of the potential use of minor actinides in nuclear fuel, the fission products of several minor actinides (²³⁷Np, ²⁴¹Am, ²⁴²[superscript m]Am, ²⁴³Cm, ²⁴⁴Cm, ²⁴⁵Cm, and ²⁴⁶Cm) were evaluated and compared to the fission products of ²³⁵U. Available data from the Evaluated Nuclear Data File and the Nuclear Database...
Phagotrophic protists are major consumers of microbial biomass in aquatic ecosystems. However, biochemical mechanisms underlying prey recognition and phagocytosis by protists are not well understood. We investigated the potential roles of cell signaling mechanisms in chemosensory response to prey, and in capture of prey cells, by a marine ciliate (Uronema...