Many nanotechnology-related principles can be demonstrated in a way that is understandable for elementary school-aged children through at-home activity videos. As a part of a National Science Foundation funded grant, Dr. Qing Hua Wang’s research group at Arizona State University developed a nanotechnology-related activity website, Nano@Home, for students. In conjunction with ASU’s virtual Open Door 2021, this creative project aimed to create activity videos based on the Nano@Home website to make the activities more interactive for students.
Supported catalytic nanoparticles undergo rapid structural transformations faster than many transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) can track. This is the case with platinum nanoparticles supported on cerium oxide (Pt/CeO2) in a CO and O2 gaseous environment. By furthering our understanding of the structural dynamics of the Pt/CeO2 system, improved catalyst design principles may be derived to enhance the efficiency of this catalyst. Developing static models of a 2 nm Pt nanoparticle supported on CeO2 and simulating TEM images of the models was found to create similar images to those seen in experimental TEM time-resolved series of the system. Rotations of static models on a ceria support provides a way to understand the experimental samples in three dimensions, which is difficult in two dimensional TEM images. This project expands the possibilities of interpreting TEM images of catalytic systems.
There is surprisingly little scientific literature describing whether a hockey slap shot positively or negatively transfers to a driving golf swing. Golf and hockey use a similar kinematic sequence to send the ball / puck towards a target, but does that directly translate to positive skill transfer between the two sports, or are there other important factors that could result in a negative skill transfer? The aim of this study is to look further into the two kinematic sequences and determine their intertask skill transfer type. A field experiment was conducted, following a specific research design, in order to compare performance between two groups, one being familiar with the skill that may transfer (hockey slapshot) and the other group being unfamiliar. Both groups had no experience in the skill being tested (driving golf swing) and various data was collected as all of the subjects performed 10 golf swings. The results of the data analysis showed that the group with experience in hockey had a higher variability of ball distance and ball speed. There are many factors of a hockey slapshot that are likely to develop a negative intertask skill transfer, resulting in this group's high inconsistency when performing a golf swing. On the other hand, the group with hockey experience also had higher mean club speed, showing that some aspects of the hockey slapshot resulted in a positive skill transfer, aiding their ability to perform a golf swing.
Soiled: An Environmental Podcast is a six episode series that addresses common environmental topics and debunks myths that surround those topics.
The objective of this experiment was to investigate the correlation between the starting pitch angle of a Dragon Boat paddle and the ensuing total stress and force on the paddle during the first stroke. During the first stroke (i.e., starting at rest) the stress on the paddle can be equated with the force output. To do this, a paddle was modified with a strain gauge and other equipment, and tests were run varying the pitch angle. The results showed that while the most positive starting angle yielded the highest stress and force on the paddle, there was no discernible trend correlating the angle to the stress. Further experimentation must be run to determine which other factors influence the stress.
Stress for college students is nothing new and as more kids go to college the number of cases are on the rise. This issue is apparent at colleges across the nation including Arizona State University. StreetWise aims to help students prevent or appropriately deal with stress through interactive lessons teaching students life skills, social skills, and emotional intelligence.<br/>In order to prove the value of our service, StreetWise conducted a survey that asked students about their habits, thoughts on stress, and their future. Students from Arizona State University were surveyed with questions on respondent background, employment, number one stressor, preferred learning method, and topics that students were interested in learning. We found that students’ number one stressor was school but was interested in learning skills that would prepare them for their future after graduation. We used the results to make final decisions so that StreetWise could offer lessons that students would get the most value out of. This led to us conducting a second survey which included mock ups of the website, examples of interactive lesson plans, and an overview of the app. Students from the first survey were surveyed in addition to new respondents. This survey was intended for us to ensure that our service would maintain its value to students with the aesthetic and interface that we envisioned.
