This thesis improves on the design of the leaky-mode spatial light modulator, LMW-SLM, presented by Dr. Smalley[1]. Improvements include: input coupling gratings, a pulsed laser input, output coupling gratings, and a 3D printed adjustable module for the stabilization of critical alignments. First, input coupling gratings reduce the cost of the LMW-SLM from $500 to around $2, a drop in cost of over two orders of magnitude. This enables multiple modulators to be used in a single display and allows for an inexpensive modular design to be created. Second, a pulsed laser input allows for image creation without the use of a polygon for derotation. Removal of the polygon allows for direct viewing of the LMW-SLM output enabling near-eye and flat panel displays. Third, output coupling gratings allow for bottom exit devices that are essential for thin substrates and flat panel displays. Fourth, the 3D printed module allows for the critical alignments of the LMW-SLM to become permanent. This in turns allows for transportation of the created displays without a trained technician by abstracting away the complexities of the device. The resulting changes simplify hardware, reduce cost, and enable the LMW-SLM to be modularized and the resulting 3D displays to be transportable. These improvements are made possible by the addition of a one new mask step during fabrication, a simple circuit design, and a 3D printed module designed in SOLIDWORKS. Included in this thesis as attachments are the MATLab, Eagle, and SOLIDWORKS files used to create the improved LMW-SLM.

Through the vantage point of institutions of higher learning, Utah's distinction as a politically conservative state dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is examined during the Vietnam War era. The three universities in the study-Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and Utah State University- are the three oldest and most populous universities in the state. This thesis concentrates on these three institutions and less on the politics of the state at the time. Studies showed that the universities, to varying degrees, exhibited antiwar sentiment Still, the campuses were less active in opposing the war, drawing only a very small percentage of students to demonstrations. Brigham Young University's President, Ernest L. Wilkinson (1951-1971), vigorously guarded against signs of antiwar activity. He was involved in the 1966 spy ring, which organized students for surveillance of supposedly liberal faculty. Students who appeared to be antiwar were also scrutinized. Despite the negative sanctions on such students, a minority of pupils did oppose the war and Wilkinson's tactics. The University of Utah produced the highest number of protesters, largely because of its more diverse and urban population. Many of the demonstrators at the U of U continued as activists in the Salt Lake Valley into the 1990s. Utah State University echoed the U of U, but to a lesser extent. Still, underground newspapers and an organized antiwar political party showed that USU also had a movement against the war. The administrations of the two schools figure into the text less powerfully than BYU's Wilkinson because they failed to become as involved in the debate. Oral interviews dominate this thesis. Subjects were chosen according to their involvement in particular events or movements. Student newspapers and underground newspapers were also utilized. This thesis attempted to recreate a tumultuous and turbulent time in American history. Utah's unique cultural slant showed that the Beehive State could not isolate itself from international events but also responded in its own way.

The purpose of this research is the development of design concepts and models of large-angle, compliant, multistable, revolute joints. This research presents evidence of the capability of these models and concepts by presenting a case study in which the miniaturization of revolute joints are examined. Previous attempts at multistable revolute joints can be categorized into two categories: compliant and non-compliant mechanisms. Non-compliant multistable revolute joints are typified by a combination of pin-in-slot joints, springs, and detents. Due to factors inherit in design, noncompliant joints often succumb to friction, wear, and undesirable motion, that leads to a decline in performance. Compliant multistable joints, such as those discussed in this work, negate these issues by allowing deflection in one or more of their members. However, compliant mechanisms have challenges associated with large-angle revolutions, stress concentration, and, historically, they perform poorly in compression. The literature has been lacking information on the fabrication of compliant multistable revolute joints having more than two stable positions. This work develops a truly multistable compliant revolute joint that is capable of multiple stable positions, the multistable compliant rolling-contact element(CORE). A CORE is a contact-aided complaint mechanism that eliminates friction and wear by allowing two surfaces to roll on each other. Furthermore, the contact eliminates problems such as poor performance in compression, typically associated with compliant mechanisms. The device uses minima in potential energy to achieve multi-stability, through one of six mechanisms. The use of minima in the potential energy eliminates the need for detents and other fatigue prone devices. Multistability may be achieved by placing the CORE flexure into tension or using flexible segments attached to the foci; or by changing the initial curvature of the flexure, curvature of the CORE surface, cross sectional area of the flexure (both protagonistically or antagonistically), or material properties. The stability methods are evaluated via a Pugh scoring matrix and the most promising concept, stability through tension in the CORE flexures, examined further. The utility of mathematical models, developed in this work, that predict stress, strain, and activation force, are demonstrated via a case study. This work also demonstrates that the device is capable of large angle deflections (360) and that the provided models permit efficient engineering design with COREs.

For over twenty-five years the Brigham Young University Women's Conference has given women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) the opportunity to go beyond womanhood and share sisterhood. Spurred by the women's movement of the 1970s, LDS women were pressed to define for themselves what it meant to be a woman in the Church. This discovery and defining process often brought confusion, criticism and conflict. As women sought to reconcile the discrepancies between their own lives and views, their internal definition and the external definition they received from others, a reconstruction began to take place that reflected not only society's stress on “family values” but also the Church's growing globalization and emphasis on LDS fundamentals of family and gospel principles. The conference is a reflection of this transformation and the issues Latter-day Saint women faced in the late twentieth-century. In addition, it is the history of a grass roots conference that grew and was adopted by the Church through the Relief Society. The BYU Women's Conference began in response to the needs of female students at BYU and quickly expanded beyond the BYU community. Early conferences concentrated on identifying the various roles of LDS women. The event expanded to include issues like depression, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the state and national meetings for the International Year of the Woman. Throughout the history of the conference the issue of professional women and working outside the home with its attendant issue of child care stirred controversy and contention. As the LDS Church has grown to be an international church, the conference expanded to address the needs of LDS women in a worldwide church. In expanding the focus, the conference topics evolved from a scholarly focus to a growing emphasis on LDS fundamentals of family and gospel principles. The sponsorship, program and structure of the conference have changed to meet the issues facing this expanded population. Through its annual gathering the conference endeavored to strengthen womanhood through knowledge and faith, assist women in understanding their identity, and recognize the beauty in the diversity of sisterhood.

The purpose of this research is to develop the tools necessary to create tristable compliant mechanisms; the work presents the creation of models and concepts for design and a demonstration of the feasibility of the designs through the fabrication of tristable compliant mechanism prototypes on the macro scale. Prior methods to achieve tristable mechanisms rely on detents, friction, or power input; disadvantages to these methods include a high number of parts, the necessity for lubrication, and wear. A compliant tristable mechanism accomplishes tristability through strain energy storage. These mechanisms would be preferable because of increased performance and cost savings due to a reduction in part count and assembly costs. Finite element analysis and the pseudo-rigid-body model are used to design tristable compliant mechanisms. The mechanisms are initially designed by considering symmetrical or nearly symmetrical mechanisms which achieve a stable position if moved in either direction from the initial (fabrication) position, thus resulting in a total of three stable positions. The mechanisms are fabricated and tested in both partially and fully compliant forms, and efforts to miniaturize the mechanism are discussed. The basic mechanism design is used as a starting point for optimization-based design to achieve tailored stable positions or neutrally stable behavior. An alternative to fabrication methods commonly used in compliant mechanisms research is introduced. This method integrates torsion springs made of formed wire into compliant mechanisms, allowing the desired force, stiffness, and motion to be achieved from a single piece of formed wire. Two ways of integrating torsion springs are fabricated and modeled, using either helical coil torsion springs or torsion bars. Because the mechanisms are more complex than ordinary springs, simplified models are presented which represent the wireform mechanisms as four-bar mechanisms using the pseudo-rigid-body model. The method is demonstrated through the design of mechanically tristable mechanisms. The validity of the simplified models is discussed by comparison to finite element models and experimental measurements. Finally, fatigue testing and analysis is presented.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer protocol useful for distributing large files over the Internet. Many organizations use BitTorrent to distribute their software in order to reduce client download time and reduce the load on their servers. While there is a lot of legitimate content available via BitTorrent, some organizations ban BitTorrent usage due to concerns over copyright infringement and the amount of bandwidth that peers can consume. A BitTorrent proxy will allow organizations to control those risks and allow its members to use the BitTorrent protocol for approved uses. It will allow the organization to control the files that are downloaded and the total bandwidth that can be used, and it will eliminate redundant downloads by acting as a cache.

A new technique, called nanoinjection, is being developed to insert foreign DNA into a living cell. Such DNA transfection is commonly used to create transgenic organisms vital to the study of genetics, immunology, and many other biological sciences. In nanoinjection, DNA, which has a net negative charge, is electrically attracted to a micromachined lance. The lance then pierces the cell membranes, and the voltage on the lance is reversed, repelling the DNA into the cell. It is shown that DNA motion is strongly correlated to ion transport through a process called electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is used to move DNA using an electric field through a gel matrix (electrolytic solution). Understanding and using electrophoretic principals, a mathematical model was created to predict the motion (trajectory) of DNA particles as they are attracted to and repulsed from the nanoinjector lance. This work describes the protocol and presents the results for DNA motion experiments using fabricated gel electrophoresis devices. Electrophoretic systems commonly use metal electrodes in their construction. This work explores and reports the differences in electrophoretic motion of DNA (decomposition voltage, electrical field, etc.) when one electrode is constructed from a semiconductor, silicon rather than metal. Experimental results are used to update and validate the mathematical model to reflect the differences in material selection. Accurately predicting DNA motion is crucial for nanoinjection. The mathematical model allows investigation of the attraction/repulsion process by varying specific parameters. Result show that the ground electrode placement, lance orientation and lance penetration significantly affect attraction or repulsion efficiency while the gap, lance direction, lance tip width, lance tip half angle and lance tip height do not. It is also shown that the electric field around the lance is sufficient to cause localized electroporation of cell membranes, which may significantly improve the efficiency of transport.

Throughout the 20th century, a significant amount of work was conducted at archaeological sites in Utah Valley dating to the Archaic, Fremont, and Late Prehistoric periods. Despite the amount of work conducted, very little has actually been reported in the past. As a result, very little has previously been known about either the prehistoric archaeology of the Provo River Delta area or the historic archaeological work that has taken place. This thesis presents a synthesis of historical work, a reanalysis of artifacts from previous excavations, and a review of extant documentation (including field notes, maps, and student reports) of several sites in the Provo River Delta, including the Hinckley Mounds, Seamons Mound, and the Bee Sites.

The Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF) is used in steel structures as a lateral load resisting system for seismic events. In typical design procedure the impact of gravity loads acting on BRBFs is neglected and the beams and columns of the structure are designed to resist all gravity loads. In actuality BRBFs are supporting portions of gravity loads acting on the structure which may be changing the overall performance of BRBFs. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of large gravity loads on BRBF performance. This is done using finite element analysis to test two different structures supporting large gravity loads. The first structure is a seven story structure consisting of different BRBF configurations; the second structure is a three story structure with all BRBFs in an eccentrically braced configuration. Each structure was modeled with applied ground motion simulations with and without gravity loads, and with gravity loads but no applied ground motion simulations. Results indicate that gravity loads have no significant impact on the overall performance of BRBFs for either structure.

This is a qualitative study that takes a close look at an exemplary performing group, the Brigham Young University Singers. Using the methods of phenomenology and naturalistic inquiry, the author presents a rich, thick description of the daily activities and unique culture of the choir. Both strengths and weaknesses of the group are identified so that others can have an authentic, vicarious experience through reading the Singers' story. The author also identifies seven principles that contribute to the success of the group so that other choral conductors can adapt them to their own unique situations. Educators in all disciplines can benefit from a deeper understanding of this model community of learners.