ASU Scholarship Showcase

In-process laser heating technique delivers a cost-efficient way to improve mechanical and geometrical properties to nearly isotropic and extremely smooth, respectively. The technique involves the incorperation of a solid-state laser into a commercial off-the-shelf 3D printer, mechanical system to allow controllable laser allumination on desired surfaces, and a gcode postprocesser to proper control of the mechanical system. This process uses laser for local heating, to enhance mass transfer between boundaries or to enhance surface reflow to smooth surface irregularity, to improve mechanical and geometrical properties. Only less than 3 W of laser power (CO2 laser) was used for high temperature material like PEEK and Ultem; less than 1 W (808nm laser) was found to be sufficient for achieving optimal properties for PLA. This technique has the potential for after-market integration into most commercial FFF 3D printers to achieved nearly isotropic and smooth 3D printed objects with various thermoplastic polymers.

Students in Organic Chemistry for Majors were required to write a paper as the culminating course assignment. Prior to completing this assignment, students could attend a library instruction session covering relevant databases and resources. Upon submission of their papers, bibliographies from 53 students were collected. Calculations were made to attempt a holistic account of costs associated with completing the assignment. Factors such as the cost of journals, databases, and librarian time were all included in the overall cost estimate, totalling $7,189.22 for this single assignment.

Jane Austen’s beloved naval brother, Charles Austen (1779–1852), had a significant impact on her literary career.We find probable traces of him in the male characters appearing in Mansfield Park (1814) and Persuasion (1818), and he is said to have offered naval vocabulary to help his sister revise the second edition of Mansfield Park (1816). In addition to his impact during Jane’s lifetime (1775–1817), Charles played a role in sustaining her posthumous celebrity, modest as it was at first. Two previously unpublished brief letters by him—and references to him in other correspondence—offer an opportunity to speculate about his role in supporting his late sister’s literary reputation.