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Advanced water treatment (AWT)/reuse has become a necessity for many utilities across the globe as the quantity and quality of water resources has been diminished. In some locations including California, the full-advanced treatment (FAT) train is mandated including membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV advanced oxidation. The application of carbon-based treatment has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to FAT in locations that cannot manage brine disposal. However, considering the relative novelty of this treatment technology for water reuse, the process still requires full-scale validation of treatment goals including pathogen reduction. While there are many constituents of concern in water reuse, exposure to pathogens remains the greatest acute health risk. The studies described herein examine pathogen and microbial surrogate reduction both full-scale and pilot-scale floc/sed-ozone-biofiltration advanced water treatment facility. Both culture and molecular-based methods were used to demonstrate removal in this case and pilot challenge testing was employed to address the shortcomings of full-scale monitoring and to address additional research objectives. The reduction of Cryptosporidum, Giardia, enteric viruses, pathogenic bacteria and their corresponding surrogate microorganisms (e.g. spore forming bacteria, coliphage) was quantified across the upstream wastewater treatment process and the AWT. In general, the removal of surrogate microorganisms was less than or equal that of the pathogens of interest thereby justifying their use in full-scale monitoring. Several limitations of full-scale monitoring were noted including low starting concentrations which resulted in large sample volume required to demonstrate log-reduction. Additionally, while molecular methods were sufficient to demonstrate reduction by physical treatment steps, they are unable to demonstrate inactivation. Therefore, ozone pilot testing was performed to evaluate the use of capsid integrity PCR for showing inactivation by ozonation. Additional testing was also performed to relate the LRV shown with culture methods to the LRV shown with PCR so as to create a relationship that can be used in future monitoring. While pathogen inactivation is a major concern in water reuse, these objectives must also be balanced with the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) through ozonation. Given the elevated concentration of dissolved organic matter, relatively higher ozone doses are required in reuse applications when compared with water treatment applications in order to achieve the desired treatment goals (oxidation, disinfection). Pilot scale ozone testing was performed to evaluate ozone disinfection performance in unfiltered secondary effluent while balancing the formation of bromate and oxidation of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs). Two chemical bromate control methods were compared including preformed monochloramine (NH2Cl), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Neither of these bromate control methods had any demonstrable impact on virus or coliform inactivation, however H2O2 eliminated measurable ozone exposure which is necessary for the inactivation of more resistant spore forming bacteria. Additionally, NH2Cl was shown to suppress *OH exposure and thus negatively impacted the oxidation of ozone resistant TrOCs, while H2O2 marginally improved TrOC oxidation. Finally, the use of H2O2 for bromate control necessitates the validation of an alternative framework for ozone process control. The existing ozone Ct framework has been shown to be prohibitively conservative especially for virus inactivation. In this study, the applied specific ozone dose (O3:TOC) and the change in UV254 absorbance were evaluated as ozone monitoring frameworks across a range of water quality characteristics. Elevated temperature and pH were shown to significantly impact ozone decay kinetics, and only marginally impact virus inactivation. Both frameworks that were evaluated were shown to be valid across all water quality conditions evaluated. Validating pathogen reduction across carbon-based reuse treatment trains is imperative in order to allow for more widespread application and regulatory confidence in the technology. Coagulation, floc/sed, ozone, and biofiltration were shown to be robust barriers for pathogen and surrogate reduction and recommended concentration and quantification methods are presented herein. The ozone challenge testing results also provide guidance to utilities using ozone for disinfection while controlling DBPs and enhancing organics oxidation in water reuse applications. / Doctor of Philosophy / Water reuse has become a necessity for many utilities across the globe as the quantity and quality of water resources has been diminished. In some locations including California, the full-advanced treatment (FAT) train is required including membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV advanced oxidation. The application of carbon-based treatment has emerged as a cost-effective alternative to FAT in locations that cannot manage brine disposal. However, considering the relative novelty of this treatment technology for water reuse, the process still requires full-scale validation of treatment goals including pathogen reduction. While there are many constituents of concern in water reuse, exposure to pathogens remains the greatest acute health risk. The studies described herein examine pathogen and microbial surrogate reduction both full-scale and pilot-scale floc/sed-ozone-biofiltration advanced water treatment facility. Both culture and molecular-based methods were used to demonstrate removal in this case and pilot challenge testing was employed to address the shortcomings of full-scale monitoring and to address additional research objectives. The reduction of protozoa, viruses, bacteria and their corresponding surrogate microorganisms was quantified across the upstream wastewater treatment process and the water reuse treatment train. In general, the removal of surrogate microorganisms was less than or equal that of the pathogens of interest thereby justifying their use in full-scale monitoring. Several limitations of full-scale monitoring were noted including low starting concentrations which resulted in large sample volume required to demonstrate log-reduction. Additionally, while molecular methods were sufficient to demonstrate reduction by physical treatment steps, they are unable to demonstrate inactivation. Therefore, ozone pilot testing was performed to evaluate several methods to adapt these methods to reflect inactivation. While pathogen inactivation is a major concern in water reuse, these objectives must also be balanced with the formation of disinfection byproducts through ozonation. Given the elevated concentration of dissolved organic matter, relatively higher ozone doses are required in reuse applications when compared with water treatment applications in order to achieve the desired treatment goals (oxidation, disinfection). Pilot scale ozone testing was performed to evaluate ozone disinfection performance in wastewater effluent while balancing the formation of byproducts and oxidation of trace organic contaminants. Two chemical byproduct control methods were compared including preformed monochloramine, and hydrogen peroxide. Neither of these bromate control methods had any demonstrable impact on virus or coliform inactivation, however H2O2 eliminated measurable ozone exposure which is necessary for the inactivation of more resistant spore forming bacteria. Additionally, monochloramine was shown to suppress hydroxyl radical exposure and thus negatively impacted the oxidation of ozone resistant organic contaminants, while hydrogen peroxide marginally improved oxidation. Finally, the use of hydrogen peroxide for bromate control necessitates the validation of an alternative framework for ozone process control. The existing framework that relies on ozone exposure has been shown to be conservative especially for virus inactivation. In this study, the applied specific ozone dose and the change in UV254 absorbance were evaluated as ozone monitoring frameworks across a range of water quality characteristics. Elevated temperature and pH were shown to impact ozone decay kinetics and virus inactivation to varying degrees. Both frameworks that were evaluated were shown to be valid across all water quality conditions evaluated. Validating pathogen reduction across carbon-based reuse treatment trains is imperative in order to allow for more widespread application and regulatory confidence in the technology. Coagulation, flocculation/sedimentation, ozone, and biofiltration were shown to be robust barriers for pathogen and surrogate reduction and recommended concentration and quantification methods are presented herein. The ozone challenge testing results also provide guidance to utilities using ozone for disinfection while controlling disinfection byproducts and enhancing organics oxidation in water reuse applications.

The objectives of this report was to study the existing literature and data of residential graywater treatment and disposal systems and their possible applications and environmental impacts in Florida. The report addresses mainly (1) the definition of graywater quantity and quality, (2) the evaluation of proposed graywater treatment systems for possible reuse and disposal, (3) the impact of residential graywater systems on existing and proposed wastewater treatment plants, and (4) the possible impacts on groundwater and surface water environment. The report also presents some preliminary residential graywater treatment and disposal system designs including expected treatment efficiencies and cost. It should be cautioned that the proposed designs and efficiencies are based on limited operational or test data, and a great amount of field data was obtained for blackwater septic tanks. Finally, it recommended that additional laboratory, field and operational testing is required to evaluate system design parameters and possible environmental impacts for the Florida Environment.

This thesis intends to explore the idea of transforming unused lifeless space which is surplus and old into a holistic mental healthcare space. The world has never been the same since the pandemic and one of the major trends that have been seen post-pandemic is the work from home culture, Major companies have chosen this model and not planning to turn back, this has led to the decline in use of office spaces. Most of the office buildings now are seeing a sharp decline in occupancy, this has led to question the usage of such unused workspaces. There have been projects in the recent years where such conversions have taken place such as the 1633 Broadway by SOM. The design takes an intentional approach of carving out a monolith mass which had more than 50-feet of depth strategically to create floor plates appropriate to a residential use case. This also allowed the transformed building to access natural light. Mental health can play a crucial role for the coming generations and the overall health of the city. It is time that we look for spaces which can be converted to facilities which not only provide traditional mental health clinics but also green public spaces which contribute in lowering the mental stress. To cater to mental healthcare on a larger scale it important to have access to green spaces, a space where a person can go and have lunch, a space where a person can enjoy their walks or just take a break. Even though New York has green spaces such as Central Park, Bryant Park, Washington Square park, high line and much more it is not enough for the everyday local to access them based on their location of work and stay. New York has a couple of mini parks sprinkled across the city such as Paley Park, Green-acre Park. These parks are a breath of fresh air for people living nearby as they have their own private space in this chaotic city. Being mindful of such strategies can prove useful while designing the building for mental health care not just for the people using the building but also for the people of New York living in and around the building. Some neighborhoods in Manhattan have ample of green spaces as well as spaces where they have good views from their apartments while some neighborhoods lack access to such spaces. In order to be efficient and right in choosing the site, it is important to map such factors which will guide the site selection process. It has been observed that more expensive neighborhoods such as Hudson Yards, Tribe-ca, So-Ho already do have access to green spaces and places which contribute to mental well being of a person. People staying near the Central park have access to such a large green space and hence those areas were not considered while selecting the site. The intervention makes more sense if it happens on a site which falls on the areas which are deserted of green spaces. Hence, Midtown-West was looked at after studying various neighborhoods in and around Manhattan. The design follows an adaptive reuse approach where the heritage building is sensitvely altered to create spaces which contribute towards the program of the building. Voids are carefully sculpted out of the existing facade while keeping the essence of the building intact.The proposed design intends to make the visitor aware about themselves through architectural features that engage the five human senses. Variations and randomness found in nature is also mimicked in the space which generates curiosity for the person experiencing the same. The orderly and monotonous spaces are avoided by adding natural features and elements such as plants and shrubs. Uses of natural materials such as wood and stone create a sense of warmth and do contribute in create an atmosphere where a person can connect with themselves. Natural light is invited into the space through large openings and cut outs in the slab. The proposed structure is set in from the primary façade to create an in-between space which acts like a buffer space between the external world and the structure. The façade acts like a horizon which a person can use to orient themselves with respect to the building. All these design gestures contribute towards a person's mental awareness and thus making a person to be in the moment. Being aware of the impact that built spaces can have over a person's mental health, the design takes an approach which focuses on how a person feels in a space. The architecture and the user do have a conversation through light, materials, wind and sound to achieve a space which positively impacts a person's mental health. / Master of Architecture / Architecture is capable of and responsible for providing opportunities which positively affect our mental health, and this thesis explores how this can be achieved within the constraints of the existing infrastructure in the city. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from increasing vacant office spaces, cases of mental health issues have been on the rise. In a recent survey involving people living across all 5 boroughs, it was found that 2 out of 3 people experienced some form of mental health issue during the past year. There has been an increase in the intake of medication such as Antidepressants, Anti-anxiety medications, Anti-insomnia medications. More than 50% believe that they are not receiving enough mental health care and the biggest barriers to access treatment were finding clinics, cost of treatment, time-consuming. We spend around 86% of our lives indoors and the built environment around us has the ability to affect our mood, understanding this the thesis approaches designing spaces for mental healthcare with a focus on making people aware of themselves and their surroundings by stimulating the five human senses. This approach helps the person to be in the present and be more conscious of their feelings and thoughts, patients visiting the space experience touch, sound, sight, taste and smell through various architectural gestures in the building. The journey of the patient focuses on a person feeling safe, comfortable and yet allowing them to interact with the community through social spaces. The intent of the thesis is to have a positive impact on a person's mental health, and while doing that also be conscious of the existing footprint of the building. Being aware of the impact that built spaces can have over a person's mental health, the design takes an approach which focuses on how a person feels in a space. The architecture and the user do have a conversation through light, materials, wind and sound to achieve a space which positively impacts a person's mental health.

The pursuit of reducing waste and carbon emissions in the building industry is a challenge which is collective, prescient, and an opportunity for explorations of new material practices and fabrication methods. This thesis seeks to show how digital fabrication can serve as a tool in material reclamation and reuse in architecture. Utilizing the design of a pharmaceutical headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as a vessel for investigation, both the challenges and potentials of such a process are evaluated. This proposal includes a process by which material reclamation drives design decisions in order to show that when architects consider material lifecycles and design for a process, rather than just a product, new possibilities can be realized for a building and its implications. By reusing existing metal cladding in the pharmaceutical building's solar veil, not only is waste reduced, but a narrative is conveyed about possible futures. Through creative material practices and digital tools, architects have the opportunity to create a future that is locally grounded, resource efficient, and less wasteful while meeting the needs of an expanding global population. This thesis raises a number of questions around material use in buildings, fabrication methods, facade design, and the balance between performance and embodied traits. The journey of designing for material systems is documented here in order to show the possibilities for change in the industry towards more sustainable material practices. / Master of Architecture / Around the world, buildings are one of the top producers of carbon emissions and waste. Responsible and creative methods for material use in buildings is imperative to address the current global climate and environmental crises. This thesis seeks to show how digital fabrication can serve as a tool in material reclamation and reuse in architecture. Utilizing the design of a pharmaceutical headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as a vessel for investigation, both the challenges and potentials of such a process are evaluated. In this proposal, material reclamation drives design decisions in order to show that when architects consider material lifecycles and design for a process, rather than just a product, new possibilities can be realized for a building and its larger impacts. By reusing existing metal cladding in the pharmaceutical building's solar veil, not only is waste reduced, but a narrative is conveyed about possible futures. Through creative material practices and digital tools, architects have the opportunity to create a future that is locally grounded, resource efficient, and less wasteful while meeting the needs of an expanding global population. This thesis raises a number of questions around material use in buildings, fabrication methods, facade design, and the balance between performance and embodied traits. The journey of designing for material systems is documented here in order to show the possibilities for change in the industry towards more sustainable material practices.

Discarded furniture constitutes a significant share of bulky waste directed to landfills and incinerators each year in the USA. This has implications for resource consumption, social equity, and other sustainability concerns. Reuse of furniture provides a strategy for waste prevention and enables product life extension and offset of new consumption as part of a circular economy (CE). Using online platforms (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist), users can connect directly to acquire and/or discard used furniture items that would otherwise be disposed. Much of the existing literature focuses on an individual's motivations for disposing/acquiring used products, and not on the mechanics and/or practice of reuse. This study explores reuse practices, perspectives, and individual engagement in the local reuse of furniture through user-to-user (U2U) online platforms using two data sources and methodologies. To understand the characteristics of used furniture available for local reuse via U2U online platforms, web-scraping was conducted on Craigslist posts over a four-month period to collect data regarding furniture type, condition, and location. In parallel, individuals were invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their use of U2U online platforms for acquiring/disposing of used furniture, perceived convenience of using online platforms, and the extent to which reuse transactions were 'local'. This study found that the product type, perceived convenience, and access to information played key roles in the local reuse of furniture. This study has important implications for sustainable consumption systems in a local circular economy. / Master of Science / Every year, millions of tons of furniture is disposed as bulky waste in landfills. The discarded furniture can cover eight thousand football fields with couches, mattresses, and tables. Previous studies show about half of the discarded items can be used again. Reuse is one of the solutions to the furniture waste problem. Depending on where you live, it is now possible to easily match someone who is discarding furniture with someone else who wants to obtain it. This is how the internet enables anyone to participate in furniture reuse. The study looks at how and what types of furniture is being reused locally, i.e., acquired, and discarded for reuse all within twenty-five miles or lesser. The study also seeks to answer how people perceive the use of online platforms for the local reuse of furniture. The research shows that the type of furniture (e.g., chair, table, mattress), convenience of reuse through online platforms, and information about the used furniture item are central to furniture reuse. The results help in understanding what factors promote or hinder the local reuse of furniture, which is important for scaling local reuse. Increased participation in reuse is important for social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

This thesis is an investigation into the role of architecture as a tool for connections. It explores this idea in four scales: the urban scale, the immediate context, the scale of the building and the interpersonal scale. Architecturally, it addresses the complexities of an intervention in an urban fabric and embraces the contextual it is an attempt to reanimate the core of Downtown Roanoke, through the adaptive reuse of an inert built mass by opening it up to put it in conversation with its surroundings. Programmatically, it responds to a collaborative transient workspace catering to individual entrepreneurs or small groups of independent start-up enthusiasts or simply mobile workers. The thesis focuses on connections as the language through which these stories find their expression. / Master of Architecture

StackOverflow (SO) is a widely used question-and-answer (QandA) website for software developers and computer scientists. GitHub is a code hosting platform for collaboration and version control. Popular software libraries are open-source and published in repositories on GitHub. Preliminary observation shows developers cite SO questions in their GitHub repository. This observation inspired us to explore the relationship between SO posts and GitHub repositories; to help software developers better understand the characterization of SO answers that are reused by GitHub projects. For this study, we conducted an empirical study to investigate the SO answers reused by Java code from public GitHub projects. We used a hybrid approach to ensure precise results: code clone detection, keyword-based search, and manual inspection. This approach helped us identify the leveraged answers from developers. Based on the identified answers, we further investigated the topics of the discussion threads; answer characteristics (e.g., scores, ages, code lengths, and text lengths) and developers' reuse practices. We observed both reused and unused answers. Compared with unused answers, We found that the reused answers mostly have higher scores, longer code, and longer plain text explanations. Most reused answers were related to implementing specific coding tasks. In one of our observations, 9% (40/430) of scenarios, developers entirely copied code from one or multiple answers of an SO discussion thread. Furthermore, we observed that in the other 91% (390/430) of scenarios, developers only partially reused code or created brand new code from scratch. We investigated 130 SO discussion threads referred to by Java developers in 356 GitHub projects. We then arranged those into five different categories. Our findings can help the SO community have a better distribution of programming knowledge and skills, as well as inspire future research related to SO and GitHub. / Master of Science / StackOverflow (SO) is a widely used question-and-answer (QandA) website for software developers and computer scientists. GitHub is a code hosting platform for collaboration and version control. Popular software libraries are open-source and published in repositories on GitHub. Preliminary observation shows developers cite SO questions in their GitHub repository. This observation inspired us to explore the relationship between SO posts and GitHub repositories; to help software developers better understand the characterization of SO answers that are reused by GitHub projects. Our objectives are to guide SO answerers to help developers better; help tool builders understand how SO answers shape software products. Thus, we conducted an empirical study to investigate the SO answers reused by Java code from public GitHub projects. We used a hybrid approach to refine our dataset and to ensure precise results. Our hybrid approach includes three steps. The first step is code clone detection. We compared two code snippets with a code clone detection tool to find the similarity. The second step is a keyword-based search. We created multiple keywords to search within GitHub code to find the referenced answers missed by step one. Lastly, we manually inspected the outputs of both step one and two to ensure zero false positives in our data. This approach helped us identify the leveraged answers from developers. Based on the identified answers, we further investigated the topics of the discussion threads, answer characteristics, and developers' reuse practices. We observed both reused and unused answers. Compared with unused answers, We found that the reused answers mostly have higher scores, longer code, and longer plain text explanations. Most reused answers were related to implementing specific coding tasks. In one of our observations, 9% of scenarios, developers entirely copied code from one or multiple answers of an SO discussion thread. Furthermore, we observed that in the other 91% of scenarios, developers only partially reused code or created brand new code from scratch. Our findings can help the SO community have a better distribution of programming knowledge and skills, as well as inspire future research related to SO and GitHub.

Too often buildings around the world are completely demolished or gutted only for another building to take its place less than thirty years later, despite the strength of its original design intent. This human fascination with replacing the old with the new has led to a disastrous climatic situation. According to the EPA, in 2018 more than 90 percent of total construction and demolition debris generation in the U.S. alone came from demolition, and around 145 million tons of it was sent to landfills. Building design and redesign decisions must become even more conscientious when it comes to planning for the future, not only in the materials that are chosen, but how they are connected. Designers must plan on how projects not only get built, but also how they will inevitably be taken apart. / Master of Architecture / Too often buildings around the world are completely demolished or gutted only for another building to take its place less than thirty years later, despite construction standards in place to ensure buildings may withstand a hundred years of use. This human fascination with replacing the old with the new has led to a disastrous climatic situation. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018 more than 90 percent of total construction and demolition debris generation in the U.S. alone came from demolition, and around 145 million tons of it was sent to landfills. There is only so much land left to bury more trash, and most of it is poisoning the planet's resources, especially thanks to the exorbitant amount of plastic that is continuously created and discarded. This thesis seeks to study an underutilized building within a city, and discover ways to redesign it in a conscientious way that will offer future occupants opportunities to remodel or upgrade the structure with as little waste as possible. This idea of deconstruction is utilized in not only the materials that are chosen, but how they are connected, as well as in how the existing components are discarded or repurposed.