Energy independence requires that the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil imports. This can be achieved through electrification of transportation vehicles if proper battery technology can be developed. In addition, the renewable energy...
In this dissertation, standardized methods for measuring electron emission (EE) from nanostructured materials are established. Design of an emitter array platform, synthesis and nanomanipulation of different types of are successfully conducted....
Fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites (PMCs) using high-temperature thermoplastics as the matrix material represent a lightweight design solution for applications above 250°F. This is often required for aircraft structures subjected to...
Rising environmental concerns due to our rising population ad energy demand along with our excessive dependence on fossil fuels has created an urgent need to find clean, renewable and carbon free source of energy. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water...
Characterization of the optical and electrical properties of organic solar cell materials is of prime importance to organic solar cell design. This thesis describes the use of capacitive photocurrent measurements to study the exciton generation and...
Iron oxide, Fe2O3, is a promising material for water splitting reaction using solar
energy due to its stability and optimal bandgap of 2 eV. Even the recent efforts, however,
using Fe2O3 thin film materials reported low efficiencies due to poor...
Emergency management--Kentucky; Assistance in emergencies--Kentucky; Disaster relief--Kentucky; Transportation--Planning
Large-scale emergencies caused by earthquake, tornado, pandemic flu, terrorism attacks and so on can wreak havoc to communities. In order to mitigate the impact of the events, emergency stockpiles of food, water, medicine and other materials have...
Short-term memory; Memory--Effect of sound on; Memory--Effect of noise on; Speech
The Irrelevant Speech Effect (ISE) is a phenomenon in which the presentation of
auditory materials (typically speech) impairs the serial recall of visually presented
materials, either digits or letters. Although this effect has been replicated in a...
III-nitrides (InN, GaN, AlN) are some of the most promising materials for making blue light emitting diodes (LED), blue laser diodes (LD) and high power, high temperature field effect transistors (FET). Current techniques produce GaN films with...
The separation of C02 from light gases is a very important environmental and energy issue. The state-of-the-art process for the purification of C02 uses amine adsorption, which is a complex, and costly. Membrane technology is far less expensive...
Mixed media textiles--Kentucky--Louisville--Exhibitions; Mixed media painting--Kentucky--Louisville--Exhibitions
My work focuses on repurposing historic images and feminine objects to create a contemporary dialogue about the traditions of courtship, marriage and divorce. The use of textiles and feminine objects such as doilies, lace, slips and wallpaper serve...
The trucking industry is the largest freight sector, making up about 70 percent of all domestic shipment in the United States and contributes greatly the American economy. About 10 billion tons of goods are shipped annually and of that, about...
Mixing machinery; Production engineering--Case studies
A processing facility in Trenton, Ky owned by HydroSolutions is in need of modernization in order to increase efficiency in the mixing process, improve the safety of the facility, and give the facility the ability to expand in the future. The main...
Computer-assisted instruction--Planning; Universities and colleges--Technological innovations; Distance education
This study focused on the development and validation of a web-based survey instrument designed to measure faculty perceptions on the importance of 24 variables that contribute to the facilitation of online postsecondary course development. It...
Conducting polymers; Polymers in medicine; Myocardium
Hydrophilic and conductive characteristics in polymers are mutually exclusive of each other. Hydrophilic polymer properties allow absorption of water up to several magnitudes above their dry weight. However, due to their molecular structure, they...
An investigation was made into the relative costs of excavation retention by two systems: conventional soldier pile-wale-tieback support, and support by soil nailing. The investigation included design of excavation supports by the two...
More than 50% of the total energy produced is typically rejected in the form of waste heat from various processes. The grand challenge is that most of this waste heat is released at temperatures much lower than 1000 C, which makes it difficult to...
The use of fiber reinforced polymer materials (composite FRP materials) to
strengthen existing concrete structures continues to expand as our current infrastructure
ages. However, one of the concerns when using FRP systems in this manner is...
Residential buildings account for a large portion of total energy consumption in the United States. Residential energy usage can be dramatically reduced by improving the efficiency of building envelope systems. One such method is to incorporate...
Elastomer degradation when exposed to chloraminated potable water is dependent on a number of poorly understood factors. Temperature and chloramine concentration are both believed to play roles, however, they have not been adequately defined. In...
