Barriers to Increased Engineering Graduate Enrollments: Counterforces and Their Implementation

This paper highlights the role of the faculty member in recruiting students currently enrolled in B.S. programs in engineering and the sciences into full-time pursuit of a graduate-level engineering degree. The faculty member is demonstrated to be in a unique position to influence such students, providing strong counterforces to a confluence of attitudes and pressures experienced during the B.S. experience which effectively create a barrier to full-time engineering graduate study. We analyze this barrier via the method of force field analysis, and demonstrate that effective recruitment into full-time graduate study must be based on a four-fold strategy of education, expectations, improved B.S. experience and better control of the B.S. environment. Approaches to implement these strategies are discussed.     

Thermally and plastically induced residual strains in textured Zircaloy-2 plate

The residual intergranular strains in textured Zircaloy-2 plate samples induced by cooling from 823 K to ambient temperatures, by cold-rolling by 1.5% and 25% and by deforming in tension by 1.5% were measured by neutron diffraction. The strong rolling texture, which gives rise to two ideal orientations, permitted the interpretation of much of the data in terms of strain tensors for the two orientations. The experimental results were compared with calculations based on the elasto-plastic self-consistent model with no adjustable parameters. Close agreement was obtained for samples in the as-cooled state and deformation in tension by 1.5% but the agreement is less satisfactory for cold-rolling.     

Preliminary report on the nutritional significance of bound gossypol in cottonseed meal

Summary A procedure is described by which bound or inactivated gossypol can be removed from cottonseed meal without the application of heat which might damage the protein. The removal of bound gossypol increased the nutritional value of the protein as determined by chick feeding tests, rat protein-repletion tests, and lysine availability tests. A procedure is described for the preparation of a gossypol-cottonseed protein complex without heating the materials. As a result of the combination of the protein with gossypol, marked reduction in nutritional value occurred. The nitrogen solubility of the complex was only about half that of the original protein. The results are in accord with the concept that the inactivation of gossypol during the processing of cottonseed meal is accomplished through the formation of an insoluble, inert gossypol-protein complex which results not only in rendering the gossypol harmless but also in the loss of part of the nutritional value of the protein.     

Spin-resolved magnetic studies of focused ion beam etched nano-sized magnetic structures

Scanning ion microscopy with polarization analysis (SIMPA) is used to study the spin-resolved surface magnetic structure of nano-sized magnetic systems. SIMPA is utilized for in situ topographic and spin-resolved magnetic domain imaging as well as for focused ion beam (FIB) etching of desired structures in magnetic or non-magnetic systems. Ultra-thin Co films are deposited on surfaces of Si(1 0 0) substrates, and ultra-thin, tri-layered, bct Fe(1 0 0)/Mn/bct Fe(1 0 0) wedged magnetic structures are deposited on fcc Pd(1 0 0) substrates. SIMPA experiments clearly show that ion-induced electrons emitted from magnetic surfaces exhibit non-zero electron spin polarization (ESP), whereas electrons emitted from non-magnetic surfaces such as Si and Pd exhibit zero ESP, which can be used to calibrate sputtering rates in situ. We report on new, spin-resolved magnetic microstructures, such as magnetic “C” states and magnetic vortices, found at surfaces of FIB patterned magnetic elements. It is found that FIB milling has a negligible effect on surface magnetic domain and domain wall structures. It is demonstrated that SIMPA can evolve into an important and efficient tool to study magnetic domain, domain wall and other structures as well as to perform magnetic depth profiling of magnetic nano-systems to be used in ultra-high density magnetic recording and in magnetic sensors.     

Preferred Orientations in Iodide Titanium

The wire textures for cold rolled and recrystallized iodide titanium and the sheet textures for this material produced by cold and hot rolling, and recrystallization at a series of temperatures were determined. The effect of the α → β transformation on the sheet texture was noted.     

A Microwave Method for Measuring Changes in Lung Water Content: Numerical Simulation

A numerical procedure to simulate several physiological and geometrical changes occurring during development of edema and to study their effects on the sensitivity of the microwave detection method is presented. The method of solution utilizes a model which consists of a two-dimensional cross section of a thorax. The model is based on an X-ray CAT scan taken with the microwave applicators in place. The electromagnetic boundary value problem is then solved numerically using the method of moments. Numerical results are presented to show the effects of several parameters, such as the uneven water distribution in the lung, the field distribution in the aperture of the microwave transmitter, and the location of the receiver on the sensitivity of the microwave detection method. Based on these results, several suggestions are made to help optimize the sensitivity of the microwave method of measuring changes in lung water content.     

Verifying Global Minima for L 2 Minimization Problems in Multiple View Geometry

We consider the least-squares (L2) minimization problems in multiple view geometry for triangulation, homography, camera resectioning and structure-and-motion with known rotation, or known plane. Although optimal algorithms have been given for these problems under an L-infinity cost function, finding optimal least-squares solutions to these problems is difficult, since the cost functions are not convex, and in the worst case may have multiple minima. Iterative methods can be used to find a good solution, but this may be a local minimum. This paper provides a method for verifying whether a local-minimum solution is globally optimal, by providing a simple and rapid test involving the Hessian of the cost function. The basic idea is that by showing that the cost function is convex in a restricted but large enough neighbourhood, a sufficient condition for global optimality is obtained. The method is tested on numerous problem instances of real data sets. In the vast majority of cases we are able to verify that the solutions are optimal, in particular, for small to medium-scale problems.     

射频晶圆测试:半导体生产的紧急需要

主要半导体生产商最近承认,开发和生产先进IC卡迫切需要晶片级射频测量。在某种程度上,这一直是 ITRS建模与仿真技术工作组所倡导的:射频紧凑型模型的参数提取更适合将射频测量降到最少。如有必要,