Sustainable energy solutions are necessary in developing nations as current food preparation practices are becoming harmful to the environment, economic development and the overall health of the population. The purpose of this study was to create a Scheffler reflector-based system prototype, experimentally analyze the system and to predict its behavior when subjected to the solar conditions of Rajasthan, India. Former designs from India, the University of Iowa and several other institutions were consulted during the formulation of the prototype design. While consulting a specific set of design constraints, pertinent to developing counties, a Scheffler reflector and tracking stand were fabricated. Solutions for a thermal storage unit were investigated for eventual integration with the prototype. Solar flux data for Iowa and India was used to predict the amount of energy transmitted by the reflector. Experiments were designed and completed to observe the temperatures experienced at the focal point of the reflector and estimate the energy stored by a steel mass. A series of sun angles, monthly solar flux data and experimental data were used to predict the performance of the storage unit, over a three day span, in Rajasthan. Aspects of the system were then modified to investigate their effects on the temperature of the storage unit.

The Scheffler reflector is a new solar concentrator design which maintains a fixed focus while only having a single axis tracking mechanism. This design makes the construction and operation of high temperature solar concentrators accessible to developing nations. In this project, I wrote computer simulation codes to better understand the dynamics and the effect of deformation or deviations from ideal conditions in order to define necessary manufacturing and operational tolerances. These tools and knowledge drove the prototyping of new reflector concepts by myself and other students on my team. A fiberglass prototype was able to drive the cost of a reflector to sub-$50 and a wood reflector was manufactured with accessible materials and techniques used in boat building.

Demandingness-based objections to utilitarianism and other consequentialist moral theories constitute the most important problem facing moral philosophers today. In this Thesis, I offer an explanation of what makes the demandingness objection compelling, namely, that utilitarianism alienates us from the projects and goals that define us as individual human beings (normally taken to be a separate objection). This suggests that solving the problems demandingness considerations present involves carving out a space for these projects and goals alongside the demands of a consequentialist morality; thus, we have two nearly independent sources of normative reasons, and the real question is how they interact. Various suggestions for answering this question are considered and rejected. I also discuss how Alastair Norcross’ scalar utilitarianism “solves” the demandingness problem, what the costs of this solution are, and how it might be integrated into a theory concerning the aforementioned interaction. / February 2008

Demandingness-based objections to utilitarianism and other consequentialist moral theories constitute the most important problem facing moral philosophers today. In this Thesis, I offer an explanation of what makes the demandingness objection compelling, namely, that utilitarianism alienates us from the projects and goals that define us as individual human beings (normally taken to be a separate objection). This suggests that solving the problems demandingness considerations present involves carving out a space for these projects and goals alongside the demands of a consequentialist morality; thus, we have two nearly independent sources of normative reasons, and the real question is how they interact. Various suggestions for answering this question are considered and rejected. I also discuss how Alastair Norcross’ scalar utilitarianism “solves” the demandingness problem, what the costs of this solution are, and how it might be integrated into a theory concerning the aforementioned interaction.

Demandingness-based objections to utilitarianism and other consequentialist moral theories constitute the most important problem facing moral philosophers today. In this Thesis, I offer an explanation of what makes the demandingness objection compelling, namely, that utilitarianism alienates us from the projects and goals that define us as individual human beings (normally taken to be a separate objection). This suggests that solving the problems demandingness considerations present involves carving out a space for these projects and goals alongside the demands of a consequentialist morality; thus, we have two nearly independent sources of normative reasons, and the real question is how they interact. Various suggestions for answering this question are considered and rejected. I also discuss how Alastair Norcross’ scalar utilitarianism “solves” the demandingness problem, what the costs of this solution are, and how it might be integrated into a theory concerning the aforementioned interaction.

Firewood has been used as fuel since the beginning of mankind resulted in health problems and deforestation. The solar cooking technology has been first developed in 1767 by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure but did not find development due to lack of reliability. Studies showed the necessity of having a backup facility. The primary goal of this study is to design a fully functional kitchen for National Park in Nairobi, Kenya. The kitchen will be serving up to 100 people daily. The study is done with five steps, the first step is literature and exploring of solar cooking products as well as backup facility products around the world. The second step is interviewing a local entrepreneur to get familiar with the parameters of a restaurant in Kenya. The third step is evaluating the solar cooking and backup facility to make an educated decision. The fourth step is integrating the systems into a functional kitchen. The fifth and last step is to analyse and discuss the results to draw conclusions. As a result, choosing Scheffler reflector as a solar cooker and backed up with a biogas plant would be the chosen solution. / Ved har använts som bränsle sedan mänsklighetens början som resulterade i hälsoproblem och avskogning. Solar-matlagningstekniken utvecklades först 1767 av Horace-Bénédict de Saussure men hittade ingen utveckling på grund av bristande tillförlitlighet. Studier visade nödvändigheten av att ha en reservfacilitetenhet. Det primära målet med denna studie är att designa ett fungerande kök för National Park i Nairobi, Kenya. Köket serverar upp till 100 personer dagligen.  Studien gjordes av fem steg, första är litteraturstudie och utforskning av produkter för sollagning samt reservfacilitet alternativ från hela världen. Andra steget är att intervjua en lokal entreprenör för att bekanta sig med parametrarna för att gestalta en restaurang i Kenya. Tredje steget är att utvärdera olika solkokare-enheter och reservfacilitetsenhet för att fatta ett välgrundat beslut. Fjärde steget är att integrera systemen i ett funktionellt kök. Femte och sista steget är att analysera och diskutera resultaten för att dra slutsatser. Som ett resultat skulle det vara den bästa lösningen att välja Scheffler reflector som solkokare och biogasanläggning som reservfacilitetsenhet.

This Thesis will examine how the framing of ‘trolley problems’ incorrectly motivates arithmetic rankings of states of affairs by removing context. This is problematic because the context of these problems provides the tools to solve moral dilemmas by allowing one to analyze the relevant motivations, moral implications, duties, values, and personal and societal obligations that one has. I will discuss Samuel Scheffler’s charge that a paradox exists within agent-centered restrictions and how his abstract paradigmatic case leads to arithmetic rankings of choices, which are both unrealistic and lead to tragic and morally unacceptable decision making. I will argue that Allen Wood’s Middle Theory can help dispel the apparent paradox and demonstrate a better way to examine ‘trolley problems’. I will further discuss how Martha Nussbaum’s analysis of tragic questions illuminates the issues surrounding such problems providing a morally acceptable way to account for the occasional unavoidable harm that results in decision-making caused by solving ‘trolley problems.’ Taken together, Wood’s and Nussbaum’s theories and analysis provide potential solutions to ‘trolley problems.’

Les fonctionnelles de la densité couramment utilisées ont rencontrées un succès spectaculaire dans la modélisation des systèmes physiques, chimiques, et biologiques. Toutefois, elles se sont avérées inadaptées pour décrire certaines situations, comme par exemple les forces de dispersion de London ou les phénomènes de corrélation forte. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés à des développements récents de la formulation de l’énergie de corrélation exprimée à partir du théorème de fluctuation-dissipation et connexion adiabatique, visant à pallier ces problèmes. En particulier, différentes implémentations des méthodes au-delà de l’approximation de la phase aléatoire, qui permettent la prise en compte de la contribution d’échange dans le calcul de l’énergie de corrélation, ont été comparées. Ensuite, afin de réduire drastiquement la complexité numérique, une procédure d’orthogonalisation des vecteurs utilisées pour représenter la matrice diélectrique a été développée. Ces méthodes ont ensuite été appliquées au calcul de l’énergie de liaison de petits complexes moléculaires. La formulation de l’énergie de corrélation de la théorie de perturbation de Møller-Plesset dans le contexte matrice diélectrique est aussi présentée et testée. En parallèle, des calculs utilisant les méthodes semi-empiriques numériquement efficaces ont été conduits sur trois ensembles de molécules afin d’en tester les performances concernant les énergies de liaisons en les comparant aux valeurs de références disponibles dans la littérature / Commonly used density functionals have encountered a spectacular success in the modelling of physical, chemical or biological systems. However, they have proven to be unsuitable to describe some situations, such as London’s dispersion forces or strong correlation behaviour. In this thesis, we have been interested in recent developments in the formulation of the correlation energy from the adiabatic connection fluctuation dissipation theorem, to overcome these problems. In particular, different implementations of methods beyond the random phase approximation, which allow to take into account the exchange contribution in the computation of the correlation energy, have been compared. Then, in order to drastically decrease the numerical complexity, an orthogonalization procedure of the vectors used to represent the dielectric matrix has been developed. Then these approaches were applied to the calculation of the binding energy of small molecular complexes. The formulation of the correlation energy of the Møller-Plesset perturbation theory within the dielectric matrix context is also presented and tested. In parallel, calculations using numerically efficient semi-empirical methods were conducted over three molecular sets in order to test their performances regarding the binding energies by comparing them to reference values available in the literature

The formation and patterns of a monolayer are determined by the interplay of two fundamental interactions, adsorbate-substrate and intermolecular interactions. The binding strength between adsorbate and substrate affects the mobility of the adsorbate at the surface and the stability of the complex. The intermolecular interaction plays a significant role in the monolayer patterns on the epitaxial layer of the substrate. A monolayer can be formed either by a spontaneous self-assembly, or by fabrication via atomic-layer deposition (ALD). The physical and chemical properties of the resulting monolayer have a broad array of applications in fabricating functional materials for hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces, biological sensors, alternating the properties of the substrate, catalysis and forming ordered layered structures. In this dissertation, the investigation focuses primarily on the influence of the surface topology on the binding behaviour of adsorbate-surface complexes. The state of the art DFT-TS method is used to simulate the sulfur-containing amino acids at complex gold surfaces and examine the relationship between the binding strengths and the binding sites with various nearest neighbouring environments. The same method is also used to determine if a chemical reaction will take place for various catalytic silicon precursors at a silicon oxide surface. Simulating surface chemistry using the DFT-TS method requires intensive com- puting resources, including CPU use and computing time. Another focus of this dissertation is to increase the data generating speed by reducing the size of the sim- ulated systems without altering the outcome. A relatively small gold cluster is used to study the binding behaviours of small organic molecules on the cluster. The same strategy is also used to simulate the chemical reactions between various self-catalying silicon precursors and a water molecule. / Graduate / 2021-10-21