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.
The ASU COVID-19 testing lab process was developed to operate as the primary testing site for all ASU staff, students, and specified external individuals. Tests are collected at various collection sites, including a walk-in site at the SDFC and various drive-up sites on campus; analysis is conducted on ASU campus and results are distributed virtually to all patients via the Health Services patient portal. The following is a literature review on past implementations of various process improvement techniques and how they can be applied to the ABCTL testing process to achieve laboratory goals. (abstract)
For our project, we explored the growth of the ASU BioDesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) from a standard university research lab to a COVID-19 testing facility through a business lens. The lab has pioneered the saliva-test in the Western United States. This thesis analyzes the laboratory from various business concepts and aspects. The business agility of the lab and it’s quickness to innovation has allowed the lab to enjoy great success. Looking into the future, the laboratory has a promising future and will need to answer many questions to remain the premier COVID-19 testing institution in Arizona.
For our project, we explored the growth of the ASU BioDesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) from a standard university research lab to a COVID-19 testing facility through a business lens. The lab has pioneered the saliva-test in the Western United States. This thesis analyzes the laboratory from various business concepts and aspects. The business agility of the lab and it’s quickness to innovation has allowed the lab to enjoy great success. Looking into the future, the laboratory has a promising future and will need to answer many questions to remain the premier COVID-19 testing institution in Arizona.
For our project, we explored the growth of the ASU BioDesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) from a standard university research lab to a COVID-19 testing facility through a business lens. The lab has pioneered the saliva-test in the Western United States. This thesis analyzes the laboratory from various business concepts and aspects. The business agility of the lab and it’s quickness to innovation has allowed the lab to enjoy great success. Looking into the future, the laboratory has a promising future and will need to answer many questions to remain the premier COVID-19 testing institution in Arizona.
For our project, we explored the growth of the ASU BioDesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) from a standard university research lab to a COVID-19 testing facility through a business lens. The lab has pioneered the saliva-test in the Western United States. This thesis analyzes the laboratory from various business concepts and aspects. The business agility of the lab and it’s quickness to innovation has allowed the lab to enjoy great success. Looking into the future, the laboratory has a promising future and will need to answer many questions to remain the premier COVID-19 testing institution in Arizona.
The scope of this project is a combination of material science engineering and mechanical engineering. Overall, the main goal of this project is to develop a lightweight concrete that maintains its original strength profile. Initial research has shown that a plastic-concrete composite could create a more lightweight concrete than that made using the typical gravel aggregate for concrete, while still maintaining the physical strength that concrete is known for. This will be accomplished by varying the amount of plastic in the aggregate. If successful, this project would allow concrete to be used in applications it would typically not be suitable for.<br/>After testing the strength of the concrete specimens with varying fills of plastic aggregate it was determined that the control group experienced an average peak stress of 2089 psi, the 16.67% plastic group experienced an average peak stress of 2649 psi, the 33.3% plastic group experienced an average peak stress of 1852 psi, and the 50% plastic group experienced an average stress of 924.5 psi. The average time to reach the peak stress was found to be 12 minutes and 24 seconds in the control group, 15 minutes and 34 seconds in the 16.7% plastic group, 9 minutes and 45 seconds in the 33.3% plastic group, and 10 minutes and 58 seconds in the 50% plastic group. Taking the average of the normalized weights of the cylindrical samples it was determined that the control group weighed 14.773 oz/in, the 16.7% plastic group weighed 15 oz/in, the 33.3% plastic group weighed 14.573 oz/in, and the 50% plastic group weighed 12.959 oz/in. Based on these results it can be concluded that a small addition of plastic aggregate can be beneficial in creating a lighter, stronger concrete. The results show that a 16.7% fill ratio of plastic to rock aggregate can increase the failure time and the peak strength of a composite concrete. Overall, the experiment was successful in analyzing the effects of recycled plastic aggregate in composite concrete. <br/>Some possible future studies related to this subject material are adding aluminum to the concrete, having better molds, looking for the right consistency in each mixture, mixing for each mold individually, and performing other tests on the samples.
The scope of this project is a combination of material science engineering and<br/>mechanical engineering. Overall, the main goal of this project is to develop a lightweight<br/>concrete that maintains its original strength profile. Initial research has shown that a<br/>plastic-concrete composite could create a more lightweight concrete than that made using the<br/>typical gravel aggregate for concrete, while still maintaining the physical strength that concrete is<br/>known for. This will be accomplished by varying the amount of plastic in the aggregate. If<br/>successful, this project would allow concrete to be used in applications it would typically not be<br/>suitable for.<br/>After testing the strength of the concrete specimens with varying fills of plastic aggregate<br/>it was determined that the control group experienced an average peak stress of 2089 psi, the<br/>16.67% plastic group experienced an average peak stress of 2649 psi, the 33.3% plastic group<br/>experienced an average peak stress of 1852 psi, and the 50% plastic group experienced an<br/>average stress of 924.5 psi. The average time to reach the peak stress was found to be 12 minutes<br/>and 24 seconds in the control group, 15 minutes and 34 seconds in the 16.7% plastic group, 9<br/>minutes and 45 seconds in the 33.3% plastic group, and 10 minutes and 58 seconds in the 50%<br/>plastic group. Taking the average of the normalized weights of the cylindrical samples it was<br/>determined that the control group weighed 14.773 oz/in, the 16.7% plastic group weighed 15<br/>oz/in, the 33.3% plastic group weighed 14.573 oz/in, and the 50% plastic group weighed 12.959<br/>oz/in. Based on these results it can be concluded that a small addition of plastic aggregate can be<br/>beneficial in creating a lighter, stronger concrete. The results show that a 16.7% fill ratio of<br/>plastic to rock aggregate can increase the failure time and the peak strength of a composite<br/>concrete. Overall, the experiment was successful in analyzing the effects of recycled plastic<br/>aggregate in composite concrete.<br/>Some possible future studies related to this subject material are adding aluminum to the<br/>concrete, having better molds, looking for the right consistency in each mixture, mixing for each<br/>mold individually, and performing other tests on the samples.
In the United States, clinical testing is monitored by the federal and state governments, held to standards to ensure the safety and efficacy of these tests, as well as maintaining privacy for patients receiving a test. In order for the ABCTL to lawfully operate in the state of Arizona, it had to meet various legal criteria. These major legal considerations, in no particular order, are: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments compliance; FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance; state licensure; patient, state, and federal result reporting; and liability. <br/>In this paper, the EUA pathway will be examined and contextualized in relation to the ABCTL. This will include an examination of the FDA regulations and policies that affect the laboratory during its operations, as well as a look at the different authorization pathways for diagnostic tests present during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This thesis project is the result of close collaboration with the Arizona State University Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) to document the characteristics of saliva as a test sample, preanalytical considerations, and how the ABCTL utilized saliva testing to develop swift COVID-19 diagnostic tests for the Arizona community. As of April 2021, there have been over 130 million recorded cases of COVID-19 globally, with the United States taking the lead with approximately 31.5 million cases. Developing highly accurate and timely diagnostics has been an important need of our country that the ABCTL has had tremendous success in delivering. Near the start of the pandemic, the ABCTL utilized saliva as a testing sample rather than nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs that were limited in supply, required highly trained medical personnel, and were generally uncomfortable for participants. Results from literature across the globe showed how saliva performed just as well as the NP swabs (the golden standard) while being an easier test to collect and analyze. Going forward, the ABCTL will continue to develop high quality diagnostic tools and adapt to the ever-evolving needs our communities face regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.