Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is one of the most common sports injuries in the United States with over 100,000 cases per year.. In order to return functionality to the knee, ACL reconstruction surgery is performed using grafts such as hamstring tendon, patellar tendon, and allograft tissue grafts. Due to a high post-surgical failure rate of 10-15%, there is a need for alternatives to existing surgical tools and practices. The DePuy Mitek-Olin SCOPE team was tasked with designing and developing such alternatives. The goals of this project were to understand the surgical processes of ACL reconstruction, identify areas of opportunity, delineate critical product requirements, and prototype a functionalproduct concept. Using a surgeon-oriented design process, the team built and demonstrated the use of a fully functional prototype of a new surgical tool for ACLR.

The Parietal Systems-Olin SCOPE team developed a shared, location-based, to-do list application for iOS which uses "The Reality Miners" platform as a service. The idea was selected from over 800 location-based app ideas generated through the innovation tournament process. While developing the app, the team evaluated and provided feedback on Parietal's Geo Toolkit, which provides a database for developers that stores location data associated with specific users.

This SCOPE team was tasked with building a lawnmower which would sense the state of the mower and its surroundings, allow the driver to have an informed view of the surroundings, record driving dynamics for future analysis and increase safety and driving performance. They implemented sensors to detect a variety of mower dynamics for research as well as a slope limiting mechanism and a drive-by-wire system for improved safety.

The Hutchinson/Barry Controls-Olin SCOPE team worked to develop an active vibration control system for hand-held construction equipment. Workers who use this equipment for extended periods of time are in danger of developing hand-arm vibration syndrome, a condition that can result in severe nerve damage. Decreasing construction equipment vibration will not only protect workers’ health but also save companies time, cost, and resources. Every current active vibration control system Barry Controls creates is highly specialized and time-consuming to develop and install. Barry Controls would like to move toward developing solutions that are more widely applicable, and therefore challenged the SCOPE team to create an active control system that is less specialized and more efficient to implement than previous Barry Controls systems. During the fall semester, the team identified market areas that could benefit from simple active control systems. After deciding to focus on construction equipment, the team devoted the spring semester to designing, prototyping, and testing their active control system on an electric breaker.

The FAA has indicated plans to allow commercial use of UAVs beginning September 30, 2015. Agriculture is a prime potential application, and AGCO would like to be prepared to take advantage of such an opportunity. As a part of the AGCO R&D team, the AGCO SCOPE team had 5 main goals: explore potential uses for an agricultural UAV and develop a compelling use model, Design a preliminary system architecture, create a demonstration prototype, documenting the process for AGCO’s future use, evaluate the potential financial benefits to farmers to determine whether a commercial agricultural UAV is a worthwhile pursuit for AGCO, and identify problems that must be solved in order to create a fully functional, commercial product.

The Boston Scientific SCOPE Team researched bronchoscopy tools and procedures and worked with physicians to develop areas of opportunity for Boston Scientific’s pulmonary development team. Boston Scientific asked the team to investigate the problem space of pulmonary lesion identification and diagnosis and develop a solution space. The team researched 5 tissue properties that could be measured and came up with 5 requirements to ensure successful tissue differentiation. The team selected the tissue property that best met the requirements to distinguish between healthy and lesion tissue.

Optimizing airplane components for mass while ensuring the part will still be strong enough to stand up to the heavy loads experienced during flight requires the use of powerful computational optimization software. This software must have the capabilities of modeling a part’s behavior when various changes are made to the geometric design that would affect the part’s final mass. Although this specialized software is very powerful, it can be complicated and difficult to use. After exploring the optimization process, the Boeing-Olin SCOPE team identified areas of opportunities within the method, and decided to focus on the learning process.

Autodesk has developed a collection of five simple 3D modeling applications aimed for prominence in the consumer computer-aided design software market. They are interoperable and all can post content to a shared 123D online community. The mission of this project is to design a solution that enhances the experience of students using the 123D software.

The Facebook-Olin SCOPE team built a platform that catalyzes the growth of an ecosystem around devices that document and share everyday interactions in the physical world. Facebook’s Open Graph allows people to record and share their online activities and interactions to their timeline through third-party apps such as Spotify and social newsreaders like the HuffPost Social Reader. However, the majority of a person’s interactions occur in the physical world, a domain that currently lacks a comprehensive means of seamless social-sharing. The Facebook-Olin SCOPE team imagined, prototyped, and fostered excitement around a compelling hardware device that integrates with Facebook’s Open Graph API (Application Programming Interface). The team then designed a hardware platform that developers and other third-parties were excited to build upon. The final stage of the process involved the release and marketing of this platform in order to inspire and spur interest of hardware applications connected to the Open Graph.

The goal of the Raytheon-Olin SCOPE team was to identify pairs of communication and radar waveforms that could be superimposed through a single nonlinear amplifier while still fulfilling primary communications and radar functions. The team investigated candidate performance using hardware experimentation and industry-standard simulation. The results of this study begin to define the conditions for successful simultaneous communications and radar transmission through a single non-linear amplifier.

This SCOPE team worked in collaboration with the Army Research Lab to design and fabricate a small, man-portable, autonomous ground vehicle to support ARL's research work in advanced autonomy algorithms. The goal of the project was to develop a platform that provides the necessary functionality for research robotics at a significantly lower cost than those currently on the market. The system supports modular payloads to allow sensors to be easily swapped in and out for different research and testing needs.

Orica is a multinational supplier of mining chemicals and services. The Orica-Olin SCOPE team investigated opportunities for automation of dirty and dangerous tasks associated with the surface mining process, for example the blasting of existing boreholes. Our project is the first step: building an automated proof-of-principle which uses stereo vision to identify holes and moves a laser pointer over the center of each hole.

Innovation in CT scanners lies in improving the quality of the images and decreasing scan times; thus as the number of elements in 2-D CT detector arrays and rotation speed both increase newer scanners will produce more data at higher rates, and demand a higher throughput on the wireless data link. The solution proposed by the Analogic SCOPE team takes better advantage of the properties of the available wireless link to obtain a significant increase in data capacity. This approach can be the basis for meeting the expected increase in data transfer requirements for future products.

Microfluidics is rapidly becoming a large field in research, especially for medical applications. Two of its most attractive attributes are the ability to perform high-throughput experiments and the ability to use extremely low volumes of limited samples. Different microfluidics systems can be optimized for either of these properties. The Fraden Research Group at Brandeis University has created a prototype of a system that manually produces a few drops on demand, using extremely low volumes of rare, expensive samples. However, this system’s current hardware and software setup is not optimized, is expensive and operator-dependent. The Brandeis-Olin SCOPE team worked to automate this process by designing a portable platform for drop-on-demand technology using electrical controllers, pneumatic systems, and image processing algorithms.

This thesis describes the development of two segmented ion trap systems for quantum information experiments and investigations of novel quantum measurements. We report successful loading of 40Ca+ ions in one of the trap systems and the successful demonstration of the partial collapse and revival of the wavefunction of an ion qubit using the system. We describe the operation of ion trap systems with segmented electrodes and develop a practical strategy for choosing the voltages to apply to the electrode segments to obtain desired trapping potentials and correct for stray fields. The linearity of the Laplace equation results in a linear map from the configuration space of electrode voltages to the function space of electric potentials in the trap. We decompose the electrode configuration space into basis vectors whose corresponding potentials have intuitive meaning. We describe attempts at loading Ca+ ions in a micro-scale segmented ion trap built at Lucent Technologies. The Lucent Trap is a planar ion trap fabricated using lithographic techniques on a silicon substrate. We experienced several problems with this trap and were unable to successfully load ions in it. A second ion trap, built at the University of Liverpool, is described. The Liverpool trap has miniature segmented electrodes constructed using conventional machining. We describe loading of Ca+ ions, and the demonstration of stable trapping with long ion lifetimes and stable electric and magnetic fields. The Liverpool trap is used to demonstrate non-projective “partial” measurements of a qubit wavefunction, which result in non-unitary, non-projective evolution of the wavefunction dubbed partial collapse. This effect can be reversed by performing another partial measurement, but only if the second measurement results in a particular outcome. When this outcome is observed, the qubit wavefunction is restored to the original state. An exact restoration occurs when both measurements are ideal, and we quantify the success of our demonstration by quantum process tomography. We obtain process fidelity >0:65 for a wide variation in strength of the partial collapse from 0

Wetlands offer a variety of services, such as pollutant removal from point and nonpoint sources, flood attenuation, and habitat for biodiversity. Constructed wetlands can be used in agricultural watersheds to protect surface waters from pollution by agricultural activities. A particular concern for the agricultural Midwest is the high nitrate export from agricultural fields that affects water quality at local and regional scales, including hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrogen export primarily originates in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Basins. Tiledrained lands, characteristic of west central Indiana, have greater nitrate losses than un-tiled lands. Constructed wetlands have been proposed as a partial solution to intercept nitrate between agricultural lands and downstream waters. In order to most efficiently use constructed wetlands to treat nitrate exported from tile-drained lands, these wetlands should be carefully placed in the landscape to intercept high nitrate loads and sized according to their contributing areas. In this thesis a methodology is presented for strategically placing constructed wetlands in the landscape, and this methodology is applied to an 8-digit hydrologic unit (HUC) in west central Indiana. Results showed 19 sites that are suitable for wetland placement, requiring conversion of 0.1% of the entire 8-digit watershed. These wetlands would intercept approximately 3% of nitrate-rich waters from tiledrained lands, removing approximately 1% of all nitrate exported. To better estimate nitrate removal in these headwater wetlands, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to a watershed within the 8-digit HUC where three potential wetland sites were found. Simulated wetlands removed nitrate in every month having flow. These three modeled wetlands consistently removed 17-36% of annual incoming nitrate, culminating in a 5% decrease in average nitrate loads at the watershed outlet. If placed strategically, wetlands can efficiently remove nitrate from tile-drained flow, but the extent of their impact in the landscape is dependent on the suitability of local conditions for wetland placement, as well as the specific criteria used for siting wetlands.

We develop an aircraft and control system that is capable of repeatedly performing a high speed (7m/s or 16 MPH) "knife-edge" maneuver through a gap that is smaller than the aircraft's wingspan. The maneuver consists of flying towards a gap, rolling to a significant angle, accurately navigating between the obstacles, and rolling back to horizontal. The speed and roll-rate required demand a control system capable of highly precise, repeatable maneuvers. We address the necessary control theory, path planning, and hardware requirements for such a maneuver, and give a proposal for a new system that may improve upon the existing techniques.

Due to variations in donations and volunteer support, maximizing effectiveness is crucial to the survival of nonprofit organizations. This project evaluates the ability of Six Sigma, TQM, ISO 9000 and Malcolm Baldrige criteria to help a small nonprofit in the healthcare industry better manage its processes. Six Sigma is the framework selected as it is straightforward, small-organization friendly, exhibits timely results, and is quick to implement. The Six Sigma DMAIC methodology is applied to the nonprofit to define the organizational stakeholders, processes and goals, and then FMEA is used to determine appropriate areas to target for initial corrective actions. Corrective actions are successfully implemented on the area of highest impact, the volunteer feedback form. The DMAIC process used for this nonprofit may be adapted and applied to other nonprofits seeking to begin use of quality approaches.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA’s) are characterized by a permanent and irreversible enlargement of the abdominal aorta to at least 150 percent its expected normal size. Endovascular treatment of AAA’s with endografts has gained tremendous popularity in the last decade, largely due to decreased perioperative mortality and faster recovery times, when compared to open surgical repair. Although endografts are an appealing treatment option for many patients, some device design and safety issues have yet to be addressed. One of the biggest problems with endografts is their tendency to shift their position in the patient anatomy over time. The forces that cause this shift and their relation to endograft design are not well understood. In addition, the degree of blood damage due to the insertion of an endograft into the abdominal aorta has not been quantified. The following studies were completed in order to investigate the issues described above. 1. Calculation of endograft displacement force in patient-specific device models. This study used electron-beam computed tomography (CT) image data to generate patient-specific anatomical models using novel segmentation techniques. The patient models were then virtually modeled to represent three different endograft designs, based on aortic stent-graft devices already available in the U.S. or currently in clinical trials. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were run to characterize the hemodynamic factors for each patient and a total displacement force was calculated for each model. Results show that the location of the device bifurcation impacts the overall displacement force, with proximal bifurcation endograft designs generating a lesser force than distal bifurcation designs. 2. Characterization of blood damage due to endograft placement. Patient-specific computational models were created to represent endograft features that partially obstruct blood flow to the renal arteries, which is sometimes necessary to attain complete exclusion of the aneurysm after deploying the device. Findings show that the insertion of an endograft causes a two-fold increase in blood damage. However, the magnitude of blood damage is within acceptable safety standards. 3. Benchtop testing of red blood cell damage. A benchtop experimental setup was created to measure the damage to red blood cells under various flow conditions and flow obstructions. Samples were characterized at different time points using light scatter methods to determine cell volume and hemoglobin concentration. Results indicate that significant damage to red blood cells occurs only after prolonged exposure (>103 seconds) to high shear (>4000 dynes/cm2) conditions. In addition, the presence of flow obstructions creates red blood cell fragments, instead of destroying the cells entirely. Future directions for this work include additional CFD modeling of devices in more patients treated with different aortic stent graft designs to derive statistical significance relative to various design and anatomical features and extend the analysis to the evaluation of devices used for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA’s). Follow-up studies on device migration studies can also be completed in the cohort of patients where the endograft displacement forces were calculated. Further, blood damage models that incorporate the fragmentation of red blood cells can be developed.

Oceanographic applications of robotics are as varied as the undersea environment itself. As underwater robotics moves toward the study of dynamic processes with multiple vehicles, there is an increasing need to distill large volumes of data from underwater vehicles and deliver it quickly to human operators. While tethered robots are able to communicate data to surface observers instantly, communicating discoveries is more difficult for untethered vehicles. The ocean imposes severe limitations on wireless communications; light is quickly absorbed by seawater, and tradeoffs between frequency, bitrate and environmental effects result in data rates for acoustic modems that are routinely as low as tens of bits per second. These data rates usually limit telemetry to state and health information, to the exclusion of mission-specific science data. In this thesis, I present a system designed for communicating and presenting science telemetry from untethered underwater vehicles to surface observers. The system's goals are threefold: to aid human operators in understanding oceanographic processes, to enable human operators to play a role in adaptively responding to mission-specific data, and to accelerate mission planning from one vehicle dive to the next. The system uses standard lossy compression techniques to lower required data rates to those supported by commercially available acoustic modems (O(10)-O(100) bits per second). As part of the system, a method for compressing time-series science data based upon the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is explained, a number of low-bitrate image com- pression techniques are compared, and a novel user interface for reviewing transmitted telemetry is presented. Each component is motivated by science data from a variety of actual Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) missions performed in the last year.

Synopsis: Inspired by my love of sailing and history, I sculpted my AHS Capstone project into an investigation based in these subjects. The resultant paper is a discussion of the relationships between engineering and design, and their influence on fabrication techniques in sailboat design. To this end, I discuss the designer Nathanael Herreshoff, the America’s Cup, and the influence of the US Navy.

I examined media and textbooks aimed at children and analyzed what assumptions and lessons they contain about human rights in historical and colonial contexts. I then gave a presentation on my findings and on why these issues matter.

Over the last five hundred years, the North American landscape has been shaped by human expansion. In that time, the attitude toward nature has shifted from respect to attempts at domination. Urbanization and sprawl have worn away at the human-nature bond and living spaces once sculpted out of forests are now deposited on bulldozed lots. This semester, I created this series of photographs to tell a story of how our connection to the surrounding natural environment is realized through the homes we build. This story is spatial rather than temporal and is not intended as a criticism of city life or suburban sprawl. While preparing this collection, I was struck by small modernist villas encompassed by towering oak trees and by old farm houses framed by perfectly manicured lawns. The following images aim to remind of the ways in which we can design human environments to harmonize with those already present.

As someone who has been in and around the theater his entire life, I knew that my AHS Capstone project would involve some sort of production. Luckily for me, Claire Barnes was already planning on putting on a production of one of my favorite musicals, Next to Normal, for her capstone project. I hopped on board and now we are playing Diana and Dan, the wife and husband leads of the show. My project has a major section and a minor section. The major section is the actual acting. As someone who has never formally taken an acting class, I am embracing this opportunity as a great chance to learn in a private, personal matter. In addition, this show is giving me an acting opportunity that will extend my range as an actor. Actors have types - the typical sort of character they play. For me, that means the young, optimistic, tenor love interest lead. Playing Dan is a challenge for me because it is essentially the opposite of my type: older, tired, and fatherly. The very intense dramatic nature of this show also provides me an interesting opportunity because I rarely am involved in very dramatic scenes. I am excited at the opportunity to portray this role to the best of my abilities. The minor section, but by no means less important section, is research into mental illness. As part of developing my character, I am looking into how mental illness can affect social life, especially amongst family members. I will also be writing a note that will be in the playbill, discussing the role of mental illness in a family environment. I hope that this research will assist in my character development to create a deeper, more believable persona.

I am attracted to working in metal because it is a medium of many contradictions. The heft of the metal grounds it to the earth, yet it still manages to dance in curves and valleys. Through its malleability and ductility, metal is able to be moved atom by atom, and shaped by a hand which gifts it the qualities of movement. From this movement, the piece can come to an equilibrium and arrive at the final form. This final form is a suspension—a balance of forces compressive and in tension. It’s seemingly static—but in reality, very much alive.