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.
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- Creators: Adams, James
Description
This research examines the presentation of ASD in fictional children's literature. The goal is to use the research collected to determine what symptoms of ASD are receiving coverage versus what is not being covered but needs to be in a children's book about ASD. This was accomplished by first consulting background literature on ASD before examining 40 children's books about characters on the spectrum. It was found that girls on the spectrum received less coverage than boys did, and that most books conformed to one of two types: looking at ASD through the eyes of a neurotypical child and looking at it through the eyes of a child who has it. This led to the proposed idea of a book about a girl on the spectrum that would alternate between her point of view and the point of view of her neurotypical friend, and the subsequent draft of said book.
ContributorsAnderson, Sarah (Contributor) / Baldini, Cajsa (Contributor) / Adams, James (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Although wind turbine bearings are designed to operate 18-20 years, in the recent years premature failure among these bearings has caused this life to reduce to as low as a few months to a year. One of the leading causes of premature failure called white structure flaking is a mechanism that was first cited in literature decades ago but not much is understood about it even today. The cause of this mode of failure results from the initiation of white etched cracks (WECs). In this report, different failure mechanisms, especially premature failure mechanisms that were tested and analyzed are demonstrated as a pathway to understanding this phenomenon. Through the use of various tribometers, samples were tested in diverse and extreme conditions in order to study the effect of these different operational conditions on the specimen. Analysis of the tested samples allowed for a comparison of the microstructure alterations in the tested samples to the field bearings affected by WSF.
ContributorsSharma, Aman (Author) / Foy, Joseph (Thesis director) / Adams, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The transition to lead-free solder in the electronics industry has benefitted the environment in many ways. However, with new materials systems comes new materials issues. During the processing of copper pads, a protective surface treatment is needed to prevent the copper from oxidizing. Characterizing the copper oxidation underneath the surface treatment is challenging but necessary for product reliability and failure analysis. Currently, FIB-SEM, which is time-consuming and expensive, is what is used to understand and analyze the surface treatment-copper oxide(s)-copper system. This project's goals were to determine a characterization methodology that cuts both characterization time and cost in half for characterizing copper oxidation beneath a surface treatment and to determine which protective surface treatment is the best as defined by multiple criterion such as cost, sustainability, and reliability. Two protective surface treatments, organic solderability preservative (OSP) and chromium zincate, were investigated, and multiple characterization techniques were researched. Six techniques were tested, and three were deemed promising. Through our studies, it was determined that the best surface treatment was organic solderability preservative (OSP) and the ideal characterization methodology would be using FIB-SEM to calibrate a QCM model, along with using SERA to confirm the QCM model results. The methodology we propose would result in a 91% reduction in characterization cost and a 92% reduction in characterization time. Future work includes further calibration of the QCM model using more FIB/SEM data points and eventually creating a model for oxide layer thickness as a function of exposure time and processing temperature using QCM as the primary data source. In doing my Capstone project for Intel, a large electronics manufacturing company, I feel it is important to remember the effects of our tools and industry on the environment and to consider the product life cycle in terms other than monetary gain and raw material recycling. To this end I will be discussing how lead is and was used in manufacturing, how it is disposed of, and how this effects the environment including plant, animal, and insect life, as well as ground water contamination. Since the ban was enacted several years ago, I will compare how lead-free alternatives currently in use compare in environmental impact and possibly raise the question of whether we have simply traded one evil for another.
ContributorsBranch Kelly, Marion Zoe (Author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The financial feasibility of NextPotential's X-doped photocatalyst is uncertain, the outcome depends on how much the material cost becomes reduced due to mass production techniques. If carbon taxes continue on the current trend the photocatalyst is highly likely to become financially feasible. Without carbon taxes, it is still likely the photocatalyst will achieve economical feasibility. The land area required by the photocatalyst is a feasible size. The minimal environmental downsides are that more land will be used and water will be used, but both of these are minimal compared to the benefit of eliminating carbon emissions.
ContributorsMcmullan, Kyle Jonathan (Co-author) / Lahpai, Mun (Co-author) / Donnelly, Connor (Co-author) / Puzhaev, Boris (Co-author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The transition to lead-free solder in the electronics industry has benefited the environment in many ways. However, with new materials systems comes new materials issues. During the processing of copper pads, a protective surface treatment is needed to prevent the copper from oxidizing. Characterizing the copper oxidation underneath the surface treatment is challenging but necessary for product reliability and failure analysis. Currently, FIB-SEM, which is time-consuming and expensive, is what is used to understand and analyze the surface treatment-copper oxide(s)-copper system. This project's goals were to determine a characterization methodology that cuts both characterization time and cost in half for characterizing copper oxidation beneath a surface treatment and to determine which protective surface treatment is the best as defined by multiple criterion such as cost, sustainability, and reliability. Two protective surface treatments, organic solderability preservative (OSP) and chromium zincate, were investigated, and multiple characterization techniques were researched. Six techniques were tested, and three were deemed promising. Through our studies, it was determined that the best surface treatment was organic solderability preservative (OSP) and the ideal characterization methodology would be using FIB-SEM to calibrate a QCM model, along with using SERA to confirm the QCM model results. The methodology we propose would result in a 91% reduction in characterization cost and a 92% reduction in characterization time. Future work includes further calibration of the QCM model using more FIB/SEM data points and eventually creating a model for oxide layer thickness as a function of exposure time and processing temperature using QCM as the primary data source. An additional short essay on the role of SEM on the continuing miniaturization of integrated circuits is included at the end. This paper explores the intertwined histories of the scanning electron microscope and the integrated circuit, highlighting how advances in SEM influence integrated circuit advances.
ContributorsSmith, Bethany Blair (Co-author) / Marion, Branch Kelly (Co-author) / Cruz, Hernandez (Co-author) / Kimberly, McGuiness (Co-author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05