Field experiments were conducted in 2002 and 2003 in the Willamette Valley of Oregon to investigate the effects of two plant growth regulators on the growth and reproduction of the weed annual bluegrass. Previous research suggested that the plant growth regulator prohexadione-calcium hastened senescence of annual bluegrass. Another plant growth...
Microfluidics is an evolving field that focuses on the manipulation of small fluid volumes. Because of its micron-sized features, it is the basis for many lab-on-chip and point-of-care diagnostic devices. The devices are predominantly molded from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS); however, production is a multi-hour or multi-day process that typically requires clean...
Salt-encrusted flats, or Sabkha, are common in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide, including coastal and inland areas. Due to their low shear strength and high compressibility, these soils are often unsuitable for supporting infrastructure or structures. The unique salt content of sabkha formations sets them apart from other soil types....
Looking to the natural world for insight into medical innovations is currently understudied and possibly underappreciated in the field of medicine. Natural environmental adaptations seen in wild animals can provide both inspiration and scientific realization for the future of human medicine. As humanity faces a global organ shortage crisis, research...
Bio-cementation is a promising method for the liquefiable mitigation of loose saturated sands. In the improvement process a bacterium that can be found naturally in soil deposits is fed urea. The bacterium consumes and breaks down the urea to form ammonium and carbonate. In the presence of calcium, calcium carbonate...
Nearly all soils are comprised of mixtures of coarse and fine particles. Behavior under mechanical and thermal loading of soil is strongly influenced (and in some cases, governed) by the ratio of coarse to fine particles. A better understanding of the fundamental behavior of soil mixtures will provide insight to...
Anchoring systems are used to hold floating offshore devices (e.g., energy devices, oil platforms) to keep them on their stations. Anchors are embedded into the seabed soils. In some cases, the interface shear between anchor and seabed soils together with anchor self-weight provide the holding capacity of the anchoring systems....
This study presents the theoretical background necessary to model the bearing capacity of shallow and deep foundations in partially saturated soils. The conventional bearing capacity equations for shallow and deep foundations and the 𝛽-method for deep foundation side resistance have been modified to include the effects of matric suction and...
Diatomaceous soils are a geological material whose engineering properties do not readily conform to the widely accepted and used mechanical and behavioral frameworks. This ambiguity results in design difficulties and geotechnical failures which can be costly. Diatomaceous soils have diatoms in their matrix. Diatoms are unicellular algae with an inert...
The goal of this project is to create a lightweight radioactive isotope identification program for an embedded system using the C programming language to perform isotope matching on a subset of isotopes. First, the physics behind radioactive spectra and their key features are explained. Next, the characteristics of the spectra...