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 29
Description
After freelancing on my own for the past year and a half, I have realized that one of the biggest obstacles to college entrepreneurs is a fear or apprehension to sales. As a computer science major trying to sell my services, I discovered very quickly that I had not been prepared for the difficulty of learning sales. Sales get a bad rap and very often is the last thing that young entrepreneurs want to try, but the reality is that sales is oxygen to a company and a required skill for an entrepreneur. Due to this, I compiled all of my knowledge into an e-book for young entrepreneurs starting out to learn how to open up a conversation with a prospect all the way to closing them on the phone. Instead of starting from scratch like I did, college entrepreneurs can learn the bare basics of selling their own services, even if they are terrified of sales and what it entails. In this e-book, there are tips that I have learned to deal with my anxiety about sales such as taking the pressure off of yourself and prioritizing listening more than pitching. Instead of trying to teach sales expecting people to be natural sales people, this e-book takes the approach of helping entrepreneurs that are terrified of sales and show them how they can cope with this fear and still close a client. In the future, I hope young entrepreneurs will have access to more resources that handle this fear and make it much easier for them to learn it by themselves. This e-book is the first step.
ContributorsMead, Kevin Tyler (Author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Kruse, Gabriel (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Due to the environmental problems caused by global warming, it has become necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the planet. Biofuels, such as ethanol, have proven to release cleaner emissions when combusted. However, large scale production of these alcohols is uneconomical and inefficient due to limitations in standard separation processes, the most common being distillation. Pervaporation is a novel separation technique that utilizes a specialized membrane to separate multicomponent solutions. In this research project, pervaporation utilizing ZIF-71/PDMS mixed matrix membranes are investigated to see their ability to recover ethanol from an ethanol/aqueous separation. Membranes with varying nanoparticle concentrations were created and their performances were analyzed. While the final results indicate that no correlation exists between nanoparticle weight percentage and selectivity, this technology is still a promising avenue for biofuel production. Future work will be conducted to improve this existing process and enhance membrane selectivity.
ContributorsHoward, Chelsea Elizabeth (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Nielsen, David (Committee member) / Greenlee, Lauren (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The goal of this research project is to create a mixed matrix membrane that can withstand very acidic environments but still be used to purify water. The ultimate goal of this membrane is to be used to purify urine both here on Earth and in space. The membrane would be able to withstand these harsh conditions due the incorporation of a resilient impermeable polymer layer that will be cast above the lower hydrophilic layer. Nanoparticles called zeolites will act as a water selective pathway through this impermeable layer and allow water to flow through the membrane. This membrane will be made using a variety of methods and polymers to determine both the cheapest and most effective way of creating this chemical resistant membrane. If this research is successful, many more water sources can be tapped since the membranes will be able to withstand hard conditions. This document is primarily focused on our progress on the development of a highly permeable polymer-zeolite film that makes up the bottom layer of the membrane. Multiple types of casting methods were investigated and it was determined that spin coating at 4000 rpm was the most effective. Based on a literature review, we selected silicalite-1 zeolites as the water-selective nanoparticle component dispersed in a casting solution of polyacrylonitrile in N-methylpyrrolidinone to comprise this hydrophilic layer. We varied the casting conditions of several simple solution-casting methods to produce thin films on the porous substrate with optimal film properties for our membrane design. We then cast this solution on other types of support materials that are more flexible and inexpensive to determine which combination resulted in the thinnest and most permeable film.
ContributorsHerrera, Sofia Carolina (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Khosravi, Afsaneh (Committee member) / Hestekin, Jamie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The scarcity of fresh water worldwide has necessitated improved technology for desalinating sea water. Reverse osmosis membranes are currently limited by their inclination for fouling, in which a layer forms on the surface of the membrane and impedes water flux. This yields shortened membrane lifespan and increased energy costs. Current technology uses interfacially polymerized polyamide thin film composite membranes, which form nodules, leaves, and other structures that lead to rough film surfaces and may contribute to fouling propensity. In this study, polyamide latex was designed in order to cast a smoother membrane with comparable performance. Polyamide latex particles were formed using a modified procedure based on Lind et. al [10] and characterized for sphericity using scanning electromagnetic microscopy (SEM).
ContributorsMccloskey, Cailen Marie (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Jamieson, Heather (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The recovery of biofuels permits renewable alternatives to present day fossil fuels that cause devastating effects on the planet. Pervaporation is a separation process that shows promise for the separation of ethanol from biologically fermentation broths. The performance of thin film composite membranes of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-71) dip coated onto a porous substrate are analyzed. Pervaporation performance factors of flux, separation factor and selectivity are measured for varying ZIF-71 loadings of pure PDMS, 5 wt%, 12.5 wt% and 25 wt% at 60 oC with a 2 wt% ethanol/water feed. The increase in ZIF-71 loadings increased the performance of PDMS to produce higher flux, higher separation factor and high selectivity than pure polymeric films.
ContributorsLau, Ching Yan (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Durgun, Pinar Cay (Committee member) / Lively, Ryan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In this research, construction of a model membrane system using Polyvinylidene Chloride-Co Acrylonitrile and Linde Type A zeolites is described. The systems aims to separate out flow through zeolite pores and flow through interfaces between zeolites and polymers through the use of pore filled and pore open zeolites. Permeation tests and salt rejection tests were performed, and the data analyzed to yield approximation of separated flow through zeolites and interfaces. This work concludes the more work is required to bring the model system into a functioning state. New polymer selections and new techniques to produce the membrane system are described for future work.
ContributorsShabilla, Andrew Daniel (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Lin, Jerry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis aims to evaluate how in classroom demonstrations compare to regular education techniques, and how student learning styles affect interest in science and engineering as future fields of study. Science education varies between classrooms, but usually is geared towards lecture and preparation for standardized exams without concern for student interest or enjoyment.5 To discover the effectiveness of demonstrations in these concerns, an in classroom demonstration with a water filtration experiment was accompanied by several modules and followed by a short survey. Hypotheses tested included that students would enjoy the demonstration more than a typical class session, and that of these students, those with more visual or tactile learning styles would identify with science or engineering as a possible major in college. The survey results affirmed the first hypothesis, but disproved the second hypothesis; thus illustrating that demonstrations are enjoyable, and beneficial for sparking or maintaining student interest in science across all types of students.
ContributorsPiper, Jessica Marie (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Montoya-Gonzales, Roxanna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Smartphones have become an integral component of lifestyles worldwide, acting as mobile computers capable of life organization. They remain the most quickly cycled consumer electronic, owned for no more than 3 years on average. Individuals continue to upgrade their smartphones quickly, stemming from the desire for more power and better features. In 2016, there were 1.15 billion smartphone upgrades, resulting in a growing used smartphone market valued at \$18 billion. Individuals continue to invest time and effort to sell their smartphone, receiving payment of less than market value. In regards to value-minded users with solidified schedules, I created Trusted Trade-in. This startup provides the bustling middle class with the ability to upgrade their smartphone in an efficient and valuable manner. Compared to current solutions, Trusted Trade-in offers an all-in-one upgrade system. The creation of this startup involved the complete creation of a business model in addition to the coding of a responsive website. An online-based business, customers will be able to visit the Trusted Trade-in website and be given the options to trade-in or trade-up. Competing against Craigslist, eBay and Verizon, Trusted Trade-in features a combined smartphone resale and upgrade process. If the decision is made to trade-in, the customer will be quoted for their current smartphone according to specific physical criteria. The trade-up option will request the same information from the customer and allow them to select a new model for their upgrade. This exciting and innovative marketplace will completely transform the way people upgrade their smartphones through financial and time-based savings.
ContributorsWoods, Quintin Delane (Author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Lin, Elva S. Y. (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) may be detected through biomarkers in urine. This research is being done to develop a membrane for use in separating urine biomarkers to monitor their level. A hydrophobic membrane was treated to improve separation of the desired biomarker for colorimetric sensing. This method was tested with model solutions containing the biomarker. Future work will extend to testing with real urine.
ContributorsBrown, Stephanie Ann (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Yin, Huidan (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The overall goal of this project is to use metallic nanoparticles to develop a thin, ductile amorphous film at room temperature. Currently bulk metallic glasses are mainly formed via quenching, which requires very high cooling rates to achieve an amorphous molecular structure. These formations often fail in a brittle manner. The advantages of using a bottom-up approach with amorphous nanoparticles at ambient conditions is that the ductility of the metal can be improved, and the process will be less energy intensive. The nanoparticles used are iron precursors with ATMP and DTPMP ligand stabilizers and dispersed in methanol. Three forms of experimentation were applied over the course of this project. The first was a simple, preliminary data collection approach where the particles were dispersed onto a glass slide and left to dry under various conditions. The second method was hypersonic particle deposition, which accelerated the particles to high speeds and bombarded onto a glass or silicon substrate. The third method used Langmuir-Blodgett concepts and equipment to make a film. Qualitative analyses were used to determine the efficacy of each approach, including SEM imaging. In the end, none of the approaches proved successful. The first approach showed inconsistencies in the film formation and aggregation of the particles. The results from the hypersonic particle deposition technique showed that not enough particles were deposited to make a consistent film, and many of the particles that were able to be deposited were aggregated. The Langmuir-Blodgett method showed potential, but aggregation of the particles and uneven film formation were challenges here as well. Although there are ways the three discussed experimental approaches could be optimized, the next best step is to try completely new approaches, such as convective assembly and 3D printing to form the ideal nanoparticle film.
ContributorsKline, Katelyn Ann (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Cay, Pinar (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12