Changing Places: Remaking Institutional Buildings

In the face of massive cultural, technological, and economic changes, the profession of architecture, not unlike many other professions, will be forced to reconceptualize and transform itself. Architectural education, as the entry point for future generations of architects, will of necessity have to be at the forefront of such a transformation. The thesis of this article is that faculty women in architecture occupy a special position to advance this agenda for change, both in terms of the substantive scope of the field and in terms of the pedagogical principles by which it is taught. Evidence to support these arguments is drawn primarily from our in-depth interviews with a sample of more than forty faculty women, a previously unpublished study funded by the Graham Foundation. Seven specific facets of transformation are discussed with reference both to the recently released Carnegie study and to other work on the implications of global change on higher education. The seven facets of transformation are the ideals of a liberal education; interdisciplinary connections; the integration of different modes of thought; connections to other disciplines through beginning studios; the reformation of pedagogical practices; collaboration; and caring for students.     

Does the higher citation of collaborative research differ from region to region? A case study of Economics

Many studies have found that collaborative research is, in general, more highly cited than non-collaborative research. This paper describes an investigation into the extent to which the association between high citation and collaboration for Economics articles published in 2000 varies from region to region and depends on the choice of indicator of citation level. Using data from the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) for 18 countries, 17 American states and four indicators of citation level the citation levels of the collaborative articles are compared with the citation levels of the non-collaborative articles. The main findings are that: (a) for every country and every indicator the mean citation level of the collaborative articles was at least as high as that for the non-collaborative articles, but for five US states and for at least one other indicator the citation level of collaborative articles was lower than that of non-collaborative articles, and (b) the extent to which collaborative articles were more highly cited varied considerably from country to country, from state to state, and from indicator to indicator. This indicates the importance of using multiple indicators when investigating citation advantage since the choice of indicator can change the results.     

Beneficial use of CFB ash in pavement construction applications

The disposal of ash produced from the combustion of solid fuels has been a major subject of research and product development for many years. An innovative application has recently been employed by JEA to recycle both the bottom ash and fly ash from two new circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers as a stabilizer for local sandy soils and pavement base course material. The results of laboratory testing and field applications in the north Florida market area illustrate how this by-product is adding value in pavement and roadway construction applications.     

Fulfilling the Vision of Autonomic Computing

Efforts since 2001 to design self-managing systems have yielded many impressive achievements, yet the original vision of autonomic computing remains unfulfilled. Researchers must develop a comprehensive systems engineering approach to create effective solutions for next-generation enterprise and sensor systems.     

Repairing unstructured triangular mesh intersections

Computational analysis and design has become a fundamental part of product research, development, and manufacturing in aerospace, automotive, and other industries. In general, the success of the specific application depends heavily on the accuracy and consistency of the computational model used. The aim of this work is to reduce the time needed to prepare geometry for volume grid generation. This will be accomplished by developing tools that semi‐automatically repair discrete data. Providing another level of automation to the process of repairing large, complex problems in discrete data will significantly accelerate the grid generation process. The developed algorithms are meant to offer a semi‐automated solution to a complicated geometrical problem — specifically discrete mesh intersection. The intersection‐repair strategy presented here focuses on repairing the intersection in‐place as opposed to rediscretizing the intersecting geometries. Combining robust, efficient methods of detecting intersections and then repairing intersecting geometries in‐place produces a significant improvement over techniques used in current literature. The result of this intersection process is a nonintersecting geometry that is free of duplicate and degenerate geometry. Results are presented showing the accuracy and consistency of the intersection repair tool. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lowering post-construction yield assessment uncertainty through better wind plant power curves

Many operational analyses of wind power plants require a statistical relationship, which can be called the wind plant power curve, to be developed between wind plant energy production and concurrent atmospheric variables. Currently, a univariate linear regression at monthly resolution is the industry standard for post-construction yield assessments. Here, we evaluate the benefits in augmenting this conventional approach by testing alternative regressions performed with multiple inputs, at a finer time resolution, and using nonlinear machine-learning algorithms. We utilize the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's open-source software package OpenOA to assess wind plant power curves for 10 wind plants. When a univariate generalized additive model at daily or hourly resolution is used, regression uncertainty is reduced, in absolute terms, by up to 1.0% and 1.2% (corresponding to a ?59% and ?80% relative change), respectively, compared to a univariate linear regression at monthly resolution; also, a more accurate assessment of the mean long-term wind plant production is achieved. Additional input variables also reduce the regression uncertainty: when temperature is added as an input to the conventional monthly linear regression, the operational analysis uncertainty connected to regression is reduced, in absolute terms, by up to 0.5% (?43% relative change) for wind power plants with strong seasonal variability. Adding input variables to the machine-learning model at daily resolution can further reduce regression uncertainty, with up to a ?10% relative change. Based on these results, we conclude that a multivariate nonlinear regression at daily or hourly resolution should be recommended for assessing wind plant power curves.     

Aquatics Centre,London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games

The Aquatics Centre is a centrepiece of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Already now before the opening of the Games it is regarded as an iconic legacy building. The building comprises a 50 m competition pool and 25 m dive pool under the wave‐form roof of the main pool hall. A 50 m training pool is situated beneath the Olympic Park entrance plaza structure which is built integrally with the rest of the building. The engineering strategy has been developed around two basic configurations; the Games mode and Legacy Mode. In the Games mode the facility has a maximum gross spectator capacity of 17 500 for use for the London 2012 Games as well as housing facilities for the running of these events. In that mode temporary stands to the east and west of the competition and diving pools will seat approx. 15 000 spectators. In the legacy mode the building temporary seating will be dismantled and the building will be a permanent pool facility for the local community as well as national and international swimming events beyond the Games. Each pool tank is provided with a combination of floating floors and movable sub‐division boom bulkheads to allow multiple legacy and community use. Schwimm‐Arena der Olympischen und der Paralympischen Spiele London 2012 Die Schwimm‐Arena ist eines der Hauptgebäude der Olympischen wie auch der Paralympischen Spiele in London 2012. Schon vor Beginn der Spiele wurde es zu einer baulichen Ikone. Unter einem wellenförmigen Dach befinden sich ein 50‐m‐Schwimmbecken sowie ein 25‐m‐Becken mit Sprungtürmen. Das 50‐m‐Aufwärmbecken liegt unter einem der Eingänge zum Olympia Park, der so genannten Plaza. Die ingenieurtechnischen Planungen erfolgten gemäß den unterschiedlichen Anforderungen der “Games Mode” und der “Legacy Mode” nach den Spielen. Während der Spiele bestehen Tribünenplätze für 17 500 Zuschauer sowie alle damit verbundenen sonstigen räumlichen Anforderungen. Die westlich und östlich der Becken gelegenen temporären Tribünen nehmen 15 000 Zuschauer auf. Für die “Legacy Mode” werden diese wieder abgebaut und die Schwimmhalle wird dann von der breiten Öffentlichkeit und für nationale wie internationale Schwimmwettbewerben genutzt. Alle Schwimmbecken verfügen über höhenverstellbare Böden und Unterteilungen.