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Engineering of Arson Forensics and Fire Debris Investigation: The Scientific, Social, and Curricular Impact

Description
Arson and intentional fires account for significant property losses and over 400 civilian deaths yearly in the United States. However, clearance rates for arson offenses remain low relative to other crimes. This issue can be attributed in part to the challenges associated with performing an arson investigation, in particular the…

Arson and intentional fires account for significant property losses and over 400 civilian deaths yearly in the United States. However, clearance rates for arson offenses remain low relative to other crimes. This issue can be attributed in part to the challenges associated with performing an arson investigation, in particular the collection and interpretation of reliable data. PLOT-cryoadsorption, a dynamic headspace sampling technique developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, was proposed as an alternate technique for extracting ignitable liquid residues for analysis. The method was generally shown to be robust, flexible, precise, and accurate for a variety of applications. The possibility of using a real-time in situ monitor for screening samples was also discussed. This work, conducted by an undergraduate researcher, has implications in educational curricula as well as in the field of forensic science.
ContributorsNichols, Jessica Ellen (Author) / Forzani, Erica (Thesis director) / Nielsen, David (Committee member) / Tsow, Francis (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
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Augmenting Protocols for In-situ Separation of Biocompounds.

Description
In our modern world the source of for many chemicals is to acquire and refine oil. This process is becoming an expensive to the environment and to human health. Alternative processes for acquiring the final product have been developed but still need work. One product that is valuable is butanol.…

In our modern world the source of for many chemicals is to acquire and refine oil. This process is becoming an expensive to the environment and to human health. Alternative processes for acquiring the final product have been developed but still need work. One product that is valuable is butanol. The normal process for butanol production is very intensive but there is a method to produce butanol from bacteria. This process is better because it is more environmentally safe than using oil. One problem however is that when the bacteria produce too much butanol it reaches the toxicity limit and stops the production of butanol. In order to keep butanol from reaching the toxicity limit an adsorbent is used to remove the butanol without harming the bacteria. The adsorbent is a mesoporous carbon powder that allows the butanol to be adsorbed on it. This thesis explores different designs for a magnetic separation process to extract the carbon powder from the culture.
ContributorsChabra, Rohin (Author) / Nielsen, David (Thesis director) / Torres, Cesar (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Non-Invasive Colorimetric Breath Acetone Sensor for Metabolic Rate Analysis

Description

Realtime understanding of one’s complete metabolic state is crucial to controlling weight and managing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. This project represents the development of a novel breath acetone sensor within the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors. The purpose is to determine if a sensor can be manufactured…

Realtime understanding of one’s complete metabolic state is crucial to controlling weight and managing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. This project represents the development of a novel breath acetone sensor within the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors. The purpose is to determine if a sensor can be manufactured with the capacity to measure breath acetone concentrations typical of various levels of metabolic activity. For this purpose, a solution that selectively interacts with acetone was embedded in a sensor cartridge that is permeable to volatile organic compounds. After 30 minutes of exposure to a range of acetone concentrations, a color change response was observed in the sensors. Requiring only exposure to a breath, these novel sensor configurations may offer non-trivial improvements to clinical and at-home measurement of lipid metabolic rate.
ContributorsDenham, Landon (Author) / Forzani, Erica (Thesis director) / Mora, Sabrina Jimena (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2022-05