see document / Master of Science

Master of Science

Master of Engineering

The electroplating industry has not evolved substantially over the years. Typically, the industry relies on experience as well as the common sense of its personnel to produce parts and to deal with any waste products that the plating process produces. With the heightened environmental awareness of the 1990s, past practices which produced acceptable treatment levels are no longer good enough. There are numerous methods for meeting the environmental laws of the 1990's. Technology can range from the simple to the complex. Several established methods for the electroplating industry are ion exchange, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, ion flotation, sulfide precipitation and activated carbon. Internal waste reduction programs, discharging to publicly owned treatment works and zero discharge are as well viable options for the industry. With the combination of regulations and compliance scenarios facing today's etectroplating operations, it is necessary to define a protocol or methodology which will enable them to make economically feasible decisions as to what compliance option best fits with their corporate strategy. By doing so, the decision will allow them to continue to operate into the 21st century. The selection process must be flexible enough so that state of the art technologies are not the only solution. It must allow for multiperson evaluation of systems with multiattributes. This report represents the development and application of a methodology for evaluating different environmental compliance scenarios for the electroplating industry. The methodology was developed using the analytical hierarchy process, AHP. The strength of AHP lies in its ability to incorporate complex, multiattribute systems into a single decision making process which is robust enough to allow for multiperson evaluation. / Master of Science

<p>The radio spectrum is a resource which unlike other resources, is not consumed - it is being wasted when not being used. Effective management of this valuable resource is necessary because of the limited number of channels that are physically available for use.</p> <p> Without regulation, stations operating on the same channel in the same general area will inevitably interfere with each other and often also with others on adjacent channels. Therefore, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of this national resource in accordance with rules which have been developed and continue to evolve. These rules relate to all kinds of broadcast services including AM & FM radio and TV.</p> <p> In defining the technical specifications of a new broadcast facility, the engineer must try to achieve an optimum system design while conforming to all FCC rules and regulations. The design process is divided into a number of stages which include channel and frequency selection, site selection, protection and interference studies, topographic studies, and an environmental impact statement considering the area in the vicinity of the facilities. These specifications must then be submitted to the FCC as a formal proposal.</p> <p> This report describes the design approach used in industry to specify the technical details of such a proposal and highlights the tradeoffs which are made at almost every stage of the process. The hardware needed to implement the technical details specified must be selected. Various types and configurations of transmitter-antenna systems and tower configurations are evaluated and an optimum design is sought.</p> / Master of Science

Master of Science

see document / Master of Engineering

Master of Engineering

Master of Science in Education

This report evaluates the use of a newly proposed American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standard for data compression in a bulk data transmission system. An overview of the transmission system, the current compression method, and the ANSI algorithm are presented. A dynamic systems model is used to analyze the benefits and impacts of various alternatives to addressing the needs of the system. A decision model is built to summarize the alternatives based on the perceived problem contexts. / Master of Engineering