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: Development of an Sae Baja Racecar; The Senior Seminar project is to design, model, fabricate, analyze, test, and manufacture a Baja racecar that will represent Fort Lewis College in a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja Collegiate Design Series competition. The competition gathers students from universities all around the world to challenge their cars through a series of static and dynamic testing, such as overall weight, endurance racing, etc. The team objective was to produce a racecar that was safe, lightweight, cost effective, and abide by the SAE Baja 2016 Series Rulebook. The chassis was designed and fabricated to be safe, lightweight, and ergonomic. The front suspension was selected and developed to have double A-arms as an independent suspension, while the rear was selected to have no suspension. In competition, the lightest Baja car was recorded to weighed 296 [lb.] and heaviest weighed 931 [lb.]; our Baja car weighed approximately 325 [lb.]. In addition, the total cost to design and fabricate our Baja car was approximately $4,200, well under many competitors whose costs ranged from $7,000 to $30,000.

: Differences in Concussion Symptoms in Males and Females; Concussions have received significant attention in the past few years as research has brought to light the seriousness of mild traumatic brain injuries in sports. Differences in symptom presentation between males and females have been shown in other serious medical conditions such as heart attacks, PTSD, depression, and migraines. The aim of this study was to examine whether or not females and males reported different symptomology after sustaining a concussion. Data was collected from 87 (M = 43, F = 44) Fort Lewis College athlete medical files from the years 2006 - 2015. All subjects were NCAA Division II athletes between the ages of 18 - 27. They all suffered from one or more concussions at Fort Lewis College and had proper medical documentation of these concussions. Data was only gathered from the first documented concussion at Fort Lewis College. Numbers were obtained from concussion symptom checklists within these medical files and recorded in Excel. The symptoms included in the study: headache, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, feeling like "in a fog," difficulty concentrating, difficultly remembering, drowsiness, neck pain and other pain. All data was analyzed using an independent samples t-test for each symptom. Overall significant difference found for dizziness (p = 0.028, M=1.16, F=1.93) and "Feeling in a fog" (p = 0.037, M=1.37, F=2.11) both mean scores were higher for females. No other symptoms presented with significant differences. Difficulty remembering and neck pain were the only two symptoms that males reported a higher mean score, but not at a significant level. All other symptoms observed: headache, nausea, tinnitus, difficulty concentrating, drowsiness, and other pain were higher for females but not at a statistically significant level. Nine out of the 11 total symptoms reported had higher mean scores for females. These findings were not statistically significant, but may be clinically relevant for athletic trainers to be aware of. However, given the current results, the current, non-gender specific concussion checklist is adequate for both genders.

: Digital Cartography and a Preliminary Assessment of Morphology and Safety: Gallina Cave, Northern New Mexico; Gallina Cave is a 479m (1570ft) long cave developed in the Middle to Late (~300 Ma), Pennsylvanian Madera Limestone. The cave is adjacent to a fault that juxtaposed the Pennsylvanian limestone with Precambrian granite. Locally, the Madera Limestone is a fossiliferous limestone with minor interbedded siliciclastics. Gallina Cave is a high elevation cave (2720m or 8920ft) with a perennial stream that follows the NW/SE trend of the cave (broadly correlative with the regional dip of the limestone) and emerges at the cave entrance. Reconnaissance cave surveys (from 1963 & 1993) were spot checked for accuracy and digitally reproduced along with previously unmapped cave passages discovered in the far reaches of the cave. The cave is located in the San Pedro Mountains (San Pedro Parks Wilderness Area, Santa Fe National Forest) of north-central New Mexico (UTM: 334,536 mE; 4,002,010 mN; Zone 13). Data collected from this study will be included in the National Forest Service Cave Management Plan for this area. Cave temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels were obtained as part of an initial safety assessment. Cave temperatures ranged from 7-11°C (45-52°F); CO2 values ranged from (1800-2600ppm or 0.18-0.26%). The CO2 values were obtained from upper and lower cave passageways, are within levels considered safe for cave exploration, and suggest that the cave has sufficient airflow to maintain relatively low CO2 levels. Water samples, collected from surface streams, cave springs, and the cave stream, were analyzed for dominant cations to gain a basic understanding of the cave hydrology. Water samples were analyzed for Al, Ca, Mg, K, Si, and Na using Inductively Coupled Plasma, Optical Emission Spectroscopy. Ca was the dominant cation for all water sources (Mg was a minor constituent). Ca concentrations in the cave waters were elevated relative to surface waters (averaging 37ppm & 10ppm, respectively). Na and K were analyzed to test for hydraulic conductivity between the cave waters and the granite. No significant Na or K anomalies were observed; concentrations in all waters were low (averaging 2.7ppm & below 1.0ppm, respectively). The geochemistry reflects the limestone host bedrock, suggests that cave springs are not hydraulically connected to the granite, and the overall water chemistry can be explained by invoking typical carbonate dissolution processes associated with the development of smaller limestone caves. Fracture trends in the limestone were measured on the surface and compared to cave passage trends; the observed trends defined a conjugate pattern that aligned well with the main and tributary cave passages (mostly perpendicular to main passage). The fracture data suggest that the cave passages are mostly joint controlled. The morphology of the cave is noteworthy and distinctive. Northeast-trending tributary passages are filled with inactive and active speleothems and a few large flowstones; tributary passages entering from the opposing side of the cave are characterized by an absence of speleothems and the presence of unconsolidated siliciclastic material which is likely the result of active infiltration of surface water and old, currently inactive channels and paleo-infiltration sites.

: Digital Control Systems for Analog Audio Networks; Musicians and audio professionals are constantly confronted with an abundance of signal processing devices to alter or improve the quality of both recordings and performances. The last few decades have brought digital signal processing forward as a viable alternative to traditional equipment. Despite this, analog systems still represent a large part of the market. While digital systems provide us with the convenience and flexibility of modern technology, they present their own unique constraints on sonic quality and signal latency. For this reason, a more attractive solution would be to implement analog components which can be controlled with digital systems. Such a scheme would ideally give analog systems the flexibility of modern technology. Introducing new components to an electronic system can alter a signal by adding distortion and frequency attenuation. Analysis was done on an Analog Devices AD5282 Resistive Analog to Digital Converter to evaluate its viability for use as a replacement for potentiometers in analog audio circuits. The device was fed a sinusoidal signal at various frequencies and amplitudes, and the resulting distortion and signal attenuation was measured. The device was shown to introduce distortion below the threshold of human detection, but attenuated signals at frequencies half the upper limit of human detection. For this reason, the AD5282 would be useful for any signals that don't contain significant amounts of high frequency information. This would include guitars, basses, and vocals. It would not be useful for general audio purposes such as stereos, or microphone preamplifiers.

: Digraphs of Rings; The digraph of a finite field, Zp, denoted ψ(Zp), has p2 vertices. Of these, ((p^2−2)/2) are sources and ((p^2+2)/2) are non-sources, where p is the order of the finite field Zp. If we expand each vertex in ψ(Zp) to a set of q^2 vertices in ψ(Zpq) we can generate all of the vertices in ψ(Zpq). We show that we can count the number of source vertices in any directed graph of Zpq through the expansion of source and non-source vertices in Zp.

: Dilemma or Delight?: The Role of Dioramas in Colorado History Interpretation 1930 - Present; "In 1933 the Great Depression was raging in the United States. Unemployment in Colorado had soared to a staggering 50 percent, and businesses across the state were failing. Fortunately, relief for the desperate situation had come into view with the recent presidential election, in which Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated the incumbent Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt had promised to the American people that his administration would take decisive action to end the economic crisis. After taking office, programs that Roosevelt created to assist the unemployed, including the Civilian Conservation Corps and later the Works Progress Administration, were implemented across the nation. In Colorado the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) funded and conducted enhancements at Mesa Verde National Park, among other locations, and at the State Museum of Colorado the Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded similar improvements beginning in 1935. What both locations had in common was the construction by WPA and CCC employees of more than 50 total dioramas, miniature models that depict scenes and moments in Colorado History. Dioramas were used at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum of Mesa Verde National Park and the various iterations of the Colorado State Historical Society's flagship museum for more than 75 years. Yet presently, both institutions have adopted significantly different approaches to their use and handling of the dioramas. There is debate as to whether or not the historic dioramas should be treated and handled as artifacts, or whether they are able to continue to effectively serve as tools of education and interpretation. I examine the use of dioramas based on the history of the models, the methods of their use adopted by museum professionals, and their continued popularity among museum visitors. I argue that a public history dilemma arises when institutions that house historic dioramas chose to handle them as artifacts and lock them away from the public view. Without the use of the historic dioramas at Mesa Verde National Park, and the present day History Colorado Center, it is impossible to tell the complete history of those institutions, and indeed the very history of the State of Colorado.

: Directed Graphs of Commutative Rings with Identity: Expanding Graphs to Understand the Structure of Larger Rings.; Commutative rings' additive and multiplicative structure can be represented with a directed graph in which a, b ϵ Zn (the finite ring being examined) and (a, b) → (a + b, ab). We researched results pertaining to commutative rings of the form Zp (the 'p' is a subscript) and introduce an expansion concept to understand the behavior of the directed graph of Zp2 (this is subscript 'p' to the second power) to better prepare us to find results about the directed graph for any Zn (subscript 'n').

: Discerning Which Video Game Genre Utilized as a Therapeutic Tool for Treating Patients With Alzheimer's Disease is the Most Effective; While video games have been studied with much negative scrutiny for years, they have actually been proven to have positive effects on patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. However, due to the nature of the studies it has been difficult to suggest why they are so helpful. To fully understand why it does help patients regain some cognitive functionality I am proposing a study that examines how exposure to 10 hours of game play a week for five genres of video games (action-FPS, action-platformer, strategy, RPG, and puzzle) will help patients perform on a set of four cognitive tests (memory, reasoning, visuospatial skills, and motor response skills). According to the research it appears that the strategy group will perform the best overall on the four cognitive skills with other certain groups performing individually better in a specific cognitive task.

: Discovering Dido: Creating a Character Through Research; "My plays are broken, jagged, filled with sharp edges, filled with things that take sudden turns, careen into each other, smash up, veer off in sickening turns. That feels good to me. It feels like my life. It feels like the world." This is how Charles L. Mee, the playwright who created Trojan Women: A Love Story, describes his plays. Mee's plays are grandiose collages of texts from many sources with no concern for "originality," including but not limited to interviews from Hiroshima survivors, poetry from Sei Shonagon, and passages from the Kama Sutra. His style alone is unlike any other American playwright, but to add yet another layer of complexity, Mee also urges the artists who take on his work to cut, change, and add to his scripts as much as they choose. As a performer, his plays create endless opportunities for the actor to showcase a diversity of acting styles and stage skills. This project entailed four months of extensive research on Mee's original sources, in addition to over 200 hours of group rehearsals, physical work, and one-on-one meetings with my director and acting partners. Also, research included examining countless other related sources in order to obtain an informed perspective as an actor to then play actions and make choices on stage that did justice to the complexity of Mee's script and all of the history and themes within it.

: Discworld; Artwork from Sophia Hampton from Fall 2013 - Winter 2014 issue of Images

: Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentrations in Alpine Water Samples Collected Near Silverton, Colorado: Implication for Natural Terrestrial Sequestration of Carbon; With atmospheric CO2 concentration projected to double within the next 50 to 100 years, attention has been directed towards remediation practices to decrease CO2 concentrations, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One remediation possibility involves natural terrestrial sequestration (NTS) of carbon by soils. Soils with high NTS potential are able to function as carbon sinks, and assist in decreasing atmospheric CO2. The NTS potential of soils is directly related to the soil's total organic carbon (TOC) concentration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in water. Soils in the study area are derived from the weathering of propylitically-altered, mid-Tertiary, intermediate volcanic rocks. Minerals associated with the propylitic alteration assemblage, such as chlorite and epidote, weather to form Mg-Fe-Ca clays, which have large specific surface areas, and high adsorption potentials. These clays are able to naturally sequester and store atmospheric CO2, which is demonstrated by the regionally high TOC concentration in soils, and comparatively low DOC concentration in water samples. To further test this hypothesis, 60 water samples (from groundwater, springs and surface flow) were collected and analyzed for DOC concentration. The average DOC concentration through peak and base flow conditions was 1.2 parts per million (ppm) compared to the national average of 1.5 to 40 ppm. The DOC data collected near Silverton supports the hypothesis of Yager and others (2007), indicating the ability of regional soils to naturally sequester and store atmospheric CO2. High TOC concentration in soils is indicative of the ability of Mg-Fe-CA clays to interact with and sequester CO2. The comparatively low DOC concentration found in water samples signifies the soil's ability to bond and store carbon, as it is not readily flushed though the system during precipitation events and snowmelt. These data provide important insight into the NTS potential of soils, and how it can possibly assist in the remediation of atmospheric CO2 concentration.

: Does Natural Disturbance Impact Zoonotic Disease Prevalence: A Test of The Dilution Effect Hypothesis in the Deer Mouse - Sin Nombre Virus System; Loss of species diversity resulting from habitat disturbance is a commonly cited mechanism that has contributed to increased prevalence of infectious disease. In directly transmitted disease systems, biodiversity acts to reduce disease prevalence by reducing the number of potential disease-transmitting encounters between individuals, a phenomenon referred to as the Dilution Effect. We chose to evaluate the Dilution Effect hypothesis by examining changes in vegetation structure associated with Sudden Aspen Decline (SAD), a natural form of habitat disturbance that is common in Southwestern Colorado. Specifically, we chose to evaluate how SAD altered small mammal biodiversity and the prevalence of Sin Nombre virus (SNV), a hantavirus hosted by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). From May-June 2010, we sampled small mammal community composition and SNV prevalence on 9 sites with high, moderate and low levels of SAD. Our results show distinct differences in both small mammal biodiversity and SNV prevalence across the SAD gradient. SNV prevalence on high SAD sites was roughly triple that of low and moderate SAD sites (F = 6.02, P < 0.01). Species diversity also varied across the SAD gradient, with greater species diversity on low and moderate SAD sites (D = 0.77 and D = 0.68, respectively), compared to high SAD sites (D = 0.28; F = 4.65, p = 0.01). These results suggest that changes in vegetation structure impact both small mammal community composition and zoonotic disease prevalence, supporting predictions of the Dilution Effect hypothesis.

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