Uneven-aged management has been suggested as a method for balancing biodiversity conservation and wood production goals from managed forests in a variety of regions. In coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of the Pacific Northwest, implementation of uneven-aged management is hindered by a lack of experience with uneven-aged silvicultural systems, including...
Hydraulic power take-off (PTO) systems have been implemented in several wave energy converter (WEC) designs in recent years. Two popular hydraulic PTO configurations coupled to a point absorber hydrodynamic model are simulated in waves representative of an energetic sea state likely to be found in deep waters off the coast...
“Making Connections” is about helping students see the “big picture”; to understand the web of overlapping causes and effects of attitudes, beliefs, actions, behaviors, and habits that connect people and the natural world in community. With these exercises, we hope students will become more aware of how their decisions affect...
As a way to improve safety and economics, one area of research and commercialization of new nuclear power plants has focused on the development of small modular reactors (SMRs). NuScale Power has developed a 50 MWe natural convection cooling SMR coupled with a regenerative Rankine cycle. Current estimates place the...
Gold nanostars are a relative newcomer to the nanoparticle scene, and their unique properties make them very desirable for spectroscopic applications. These nanoparticles, with their sharp tips, create electric field enhancements that interact with light in an advantageous way. This Thesis outlines our in-depth study of gold nanostar synthesis, the...
One post-transcriptional mechanism that regulates the progression of cancer and other diseases involves small 22-23 nucleotide sequences called microRNA (miR). Early detection of small changes in concentration of these biomarkers holds potential to diagnose diseases at their earliest stages. Use of current nucleic-acid based biosensors, like molecular beacons, for in...
Stephen Biko was a black leader in South Africa who
died in police custody on September 12, 1977. Biko's death
echoed within the Republic of South Africa and around the
world, showing that racial tensions in that country were
severe. At his death he was a hero to the black...
A 1 kW series hybrid powertrain was developed at Oregon State University for use in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This powertrain was designed to give mission flexibility and increased flight time to fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing UAVs and multirotor UAVs. The powertrain components, an internal combustion engine and a...