Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 59
Description
The process of producing enormous amounts of ephemeral clothing at accelerated rates, known as fast fashion, creates significant environmental and societal issues. The phenomenon of fast fashion rose due to globalization, economic factors, lack of legislation, and the advancement of technology. Governments, companies, and consumers must work together to create more sustainable retail supply chains. I have gathered information from interviews with individuals in the sustainable fashion industry, books, case studies, online reports, and newspaper articles. Based on my research, I recommend that companies should target wealthier consumers, develop a common language concerning sustainability, invest in sustainable fibers, and listen to factory employees for solutions to improve their working conditions. I also advise that the U.S governments should revise fashion copyright laws and international governments should emphasize regulations concerning the fashion industry. Lastly, consumers should adopt a price-per-wear mindset and utilize resale options. Overall, while perfect sustainability is improbable, consumers, governments, and companies should not use this as an excuse to avoid responsibility.
ContributorsWillner, Allison (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Moore, James (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Generally, increasing the electrical size of an antenna will increase the directivity of the antenna. In the case of an array of identical antennas with uniform spacing, the electrical size can be increased by increasing the number of elements. However, directivity can be further increased by performing signal processing on the signals received by elements of an antenna array. This thesis focuses primarily on reproducing and expanding upon a method to increase the directivity of a two-element array using non-linear transmission lines periodically loaded with varactor diodes, which act as harmonic multipliers. Simulation and circuit design is performed using Keysight Advanced Design System, a microwave circuit simulation software package. Furthermore, a hardware implementation is discussed and recommendations are made for construction of the hardware array. Finally, possible expansion of the two-element array to a four or more element array is discussed, and preliminary simulations are examined.
ContributorsHanson, Elliot (Author) / Diaz, Rudolfo (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The team has designed and built a golf swing analyzer that informs the user of his mistakes while putting with a golf club. The team also interfaced a Linux program with the analyzer that allows the user to review the flaws in his golf swing. In addition, the application is more personalized than existing devices and tailored to the individual based on his level of experience. The analyzer consists of an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, vibration motor, and microcontroller that are connected on a board that attaches to the top of the shaft of a golf club, fitting inside a 3D printed case. The team has assembled all of the necessary hardware, and is able to successfully display critical parameters of a golf putt, as well as send instant feedback to the user. The final budget for this project was $378.24
ContributorsKaur, Hansneet (Co-author) / Cox, Jeremy (Co-author) / Farnsworth, Chad (Co-author) / Zorob, Nabil (Co-author) / Chae, Junseok (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The purpose of the solar powered quadcopter is to join together the growing technologies of photovoltaics and quadcopters, creating a single unified device where the technologies harmonize to produce a new product with abilities beyond those of a traditional battery powered drone. Specifically, the goal is to take the battery-only flight time of a quadcopter loaded with a solar array and increase that flight time by 33% with additional power provided by solar cells. The major concepts explored throughout this project are quadcopter functionality and capability and solar cell power production. In order to combine these technologies, the solar power and quadcopter components were developed and analyzed individually before connecting the solar array to the quadcopter circuit and testing the design as a whole. Several solar copter models were initially developed, resulting in multiple unique quadcopter and solar cell array designs which underwent preliminary testing before settling on a finalized design which proved to be the most effective and underwent final timed flight tests. Results of these tests are showing that the technologies complement each other as anticipated and highlight promising results for future development in this area, in particular the development of a drone running on solar power alone. Applications for a product such as this are very promising in many fields, including the industries of power, defense, consumer goods and services, entertainment, marketing, and medical. Also, becoming a more popular device for UAV hobbyists, such developments would be very appealing for leisure flying and personal photography purposes as well.
ContributorsMartin, Heather Catrina (Author) / Bowden, Stuart (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
A hybrid PV/T module was built, consisting of a thermal liquid heating system and a photovoltaic module system that combine in a hybrid format. This report will discuss the work on the project from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 and the extended section on the economics for the Honors Thesis. Three stages of experiments were completed. Stage 1 showed our project was functional as we were able to verify our panel produced electricity and increased the temperature of water flowing in the system by 0.65°C. Stage 2 testing included “gluing” the flow system to the back of the panel resulting in an average increase of 4.76°C in the temperature of the water in the system. Stage 3 testing included adding insulating foam to the module which resulted in increasing the average temperature of the water in our flow system by 6.95°C. The economic calculations show the expected energy cost savings for Arizona residents.
ContributorsHaines, Brent Robert (Author) / Roedel, Ronald (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Rauch, Dawson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
A hybrid PV/T module was built, consisting of a thermal liquid heating system and a photovoltaic module system that combine in a hybrid format. This report will discuss the work on the project from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013. Three stages of experiments were completed. Stage 1 showed our project was functional as we were able to verify our panel produced electricity and increased the temperature of water flowing in the system by 0.65°C. Stage 2 testing included “gluing” the flow system to the back of the panel resulting in an average increase of 4.76°C in the temperature of the water in the system. Stage 3 testing included adding insulating foam to the module which resulted in increasing the average temperature of the water in our flow system by 6.95°C.
ContributorsDenke, Steven Michael (Author) / Roedel, Ron (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Rauch, Dawson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Pacemakers in the early 1970s were powered by betavoltaic devices which provided long lasting battery life. The betavoltaic devices also emitted gamma radiation due to inadvertent radioisotope contamination, which could not be completely shielded. The betavoltaic devices were quickly replaced by lithium batteries after their invention, and betavoltaics were abandoned. Modern technological advancements made it possible to isolate beta emitting radioisotopes properly and achieve better energy conversion efficiencies which revived the topic of betavoltaics. This research project has studied state-of-the-art pacemakers and modern radioactive power sources in order to determine if modern pacemakers can be safely nuclear powered and if that is a reasonable combination.
ContributorsAwad, Al-Homam Abdualrahman (Author) / Holbert, Keith (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This thesis covers the continued development of an automatic water shutoff product developed as a capstone project by students in the college of engineering. The continued development covers the process of setting up a publicly accessible web server along with required server components and creating an Alexa skill for smart home integration.
ContributorsEthington, Timothy (Author) / Hartin, Olin (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
The world of business has become increasingly globalized over the years. Companies are seeking business internationally and it has become common to work with people from different parts of the world. It is imperative that those who work in business understand and recognize the differences between their home country and culture, and the country and culture of those with whom they are doing business. With that being said, students who intend on going into business post graduation must keep in mind this globalized mindset when applying for jobs. As a student in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, I learned how important this is after receiving my International Business certificate while studying abroad for a semester in Spain. I found that the skills that I gained and what I learned about myself, and the European culture helped shape the way I view the world of business. I also believe that this helped differentiate me from other applicants when applying for internships. I believe that every business student, if willing and financially able, should study abroad not only to gain an insightful experience, but because it helps place them above other applicants when applying for jobs or internships.This project included research to find evidence that supports this belief through surveys and interviews with business students who have studied abroad in the past, and through interviews with employers and recruiters from all over the country. The creative portion of this thesis includes a promotional video, using the student interviews, as well as my own personal experience, to further promote studying abroad for business students.
ContributorsStebbings, Lauren Ashley (Author) / Koretz, Lora (Thesis director) / Moore, James (Committee member) / Laws, Michelle (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
This Creative Project was carried out in coordination with the capstone project, Around the Corner Imaging with Terahertz Waves. This capstone project deals with a system designed to implement Around the Corner, or Non Line-of-Sight (NLoS) Imaging. This document discusses the creation of a GUI using MATLAB to control the Terahertz Imaging system. The GUI was developed in response to a need for synchronization, ease of operation, easy parameter modification, and data management. Along the way, many design decisions were made ranging from choosing a software platform to determining how variables should be passed. These decisions and considerations are discussed in this document. The resulting GUI has measured up to the design criteria and will be able to be used by anyone wishing to use the Terahertz Imaging System for further research in the field of Around the Corner or NLoS Imaging.
ContributorsWood, Jacob Cannon (Author) / Trichopoulos, Georgios (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05