Women’s roles in society have changed significantly throughout the years. The movement to support the rights of women has been ongoing throughout the evolution of society but has been especially prevalent in the last century. The 1960s are when women began to enter the workforce instead of being limited to presuming roles as homemakers. Since that point in time, women have continued to thrive in the workforce and have pursued a larger variety of positions in various fields. Even though the opportunities for women continue to grow, there still seems to be an underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. The underrepresentation of women pursuing physician and entrepreneurship roles in STEM will be analyzed and the challenges this group of people specifically encounter will be examined. Our first proposal to encourage women to enter STEM focuses on middle-school initiatives and incubator programs. The second proposal, based on commonalities females face within the workforce, is finding a better work/home life balance with the development of new maternity/paternity leave policies. Through these initiatives, we believe that the gender gap in STEM can be bridged.

The Micro-g NExT 2019 challenge set out to find a new device to replace the Apollo mission lunar contingency sampler in preparation for the 2024 Artemis mission. The 2019 challenge set a series of requirements that would enable compatibility with the new xEMU suit and enable astronauts to effectively collect and secure an initial sample upon landing. The final prototype developed by the team features a sliding plate design with each plate slightly shorter than the previous. The device utilizes the majority of the xEMU suit’s front pocket volume while still allowing space for the astronaut’s hand and the bag for the sample. Considering safety concerns, the device satisfies NASA’s requirements for manual handheld devices and poses no threat to the astronaut under standard operation. In operation, the final design experiences an acceptable level stress in the primary use direction, and an even less in the lateral direction. Using assumptions such as the depth and density of lunar soil to be sampled, the working factor of safety is about 2 for elastic deformation, but the tool can still be operated and even collapsed at roughly double that stress. Unfortunately, the scope of this thesis only covers the effectiveness of resin prototypes and simulations of aluminum models, but properly manufactured aluminum prototypes are the next step for validating this design as a successor to the design used on the Apollo missions.

In the preface to On War, Clausewitz describes his work as a series of loosely connected pure nuggets of knowledge. He then states his hope that his nuggets would eventually be connected and consolidated into what he calls a “final casting without dross”. It is the goal of this work to begin that consolidation and take steps towards a final casting and a more comprehensive understanding of war, combining Clausewitz’s models with modern findings not available at the time of On War’s conception. Using Clausewitz’s combat equation as a foundation for a framework on the nature of war, this work will synthesize many of On War’s central concepts, while also expanding upon the terms and mechanics presented in Book One. It is hoped that the resulting model will combine the best of Clausewitz’s findings in a way that makes the sum of the parts greater than the whole, and allows previous findings which were isolated to a particular silo of study to be cross examined for exponential application to the study of war. This may in due time, with additional contributions, result in the ever desired revolution in military affairs and enhance the military sciences for years to come.

Human beings have long sought to conquer the unconquerable and to push the boundaries of human endurance. There are few such endeavors more challenging than venturing into the coldest and harshest environments on the planet. The challenges these adventurers face are nearly countless, but one that is often underestimated is the massive risk of dehydration in high mountains and the lack of sufficient technology to meet this important need. Astronauts and mountaineers of NASA's Johnson Space Center have created a technology that solves this problem: a freeze-resistant hydration system that helps stop water from freezing at sub-zero temperatures by using cutting-edge technology and materials science to insulate and heat enough water to prevent dehydration over the course of the day, so that adventurers no longer need to worry about their equipment stopping them. This patented technology is the basis of the founding of Aeropak, an advanced outdoor hydration brand developed by three ASU students (Kendall Robinson, Derek Stein, and Thomas Goers) in collaboration with W.P. Carey’s Founder’s Lab. The primary goal was to develop traction among winter sport enthusiasts to create a robust customer base and evaluate the potential for partnership with hydration solution companies as well as direct sales through online and brick-and-mortar retail avenues. To this end, the Aeropak team performed market research to determine the usefulness and need for the product through a survey sent out to a number of outdoor sporting clubs on Arizona State University’s campus. After determining an interest in a potential product, the team developed a marketing strategy and business model which was executed through Instagram as well as a standalone website, with the goal of garnering interest and traction for a future product. Future goals of the project will be to bring a product to market and expand Aeropak’s reach into a variety of winter sport subcommunities, as well as evaluate the potential for further expansion into large-scale retailers and collaboration with established companies.