Dr. Wendy Nehring, Dean of the College of Nursing, explained that the idea to establish a LPN-BSN Program came about after a statewide tour of all the Community Colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) to promote the RN-BSN Program. Students said they wanted a LPN-BSN Program that is accessible and that they get through as quickly as possible. ETSU worked with THEC to develop a hybrid program with 23 hours of articulation credits that takes four semesters to complete. ETSU is currently the only public university in Tennessee to offer a LPN-BSN Program, Dr. Nehring said. The LPN-BSN Program started at three sites in fall 2018 and has quickly expanded to seven sites, with five additional sites planned across the state. Last summer, the program received 1,000 inquiries per week. In fall 2019, 94 students enrolled, which is close to the enrollment in the BSN Program on ETSU’s main campus. Spring 2020 enrollment is estimated to be just over 100 students. At this time, Dr. Nehring said the highest interest is coming from Crossville and Nashville, and students at the Memphis TCAT petitioned their President to offer the LPN-BSN Program. The state is experiencing a nursing shortage, especially in rural areas, so this program is one way TSU is working to meet workforce needs.

Esta tese apresenta pela primeira vez a obtenção, a partir de alcoóis, de nanotubos de carbono do tipo cup-stacked nitrogenados sendo esses nanotubos hidrofílicos e semicondutores. Os compósitos híbridos de fibra de carbono/nanotubos de carbono possuem geometria tridimensional nanoestruturada e foram preparados em reator de deposição química de vapor de leito fixo. Neste processo nanotubos de carbono do tipo cup-stacked nitrogenados, de paredes múltiplas organizadas ou helicoidais são crescidos diretamente sobre as fibras de carbono com diferentes graus de grafitização. Os compósitos obtidos foram analisados principalmente por microscopia eletrônica de varredura e de transmissão de alta resolução que mostrou que o grau de grafitização do substrato de carbono tem influência sobre o crescimento. A densidade de NTC diminui com a redução da grafitização das fibras de carbono, o que produz um material com porosidade não observada quando as fibras são bem grafitizadas. O material compósito foi estudado como elemento filtrante, eletrodos de baterias de íons de lítio, emissor de elétrons e como reforço em compósitos de silicone. A constatação da eficiência na filtragem seletiva de uma série de compostos orgânicos voláteis presentes na fumaça do cigarro bem como a preparação de eletrodos de baterias de íons de lítio sem o uso de folhas metálicas de alumínio ou cobre resultaram no deposito de dois pedidos de patente. / This thesis presents for the first time nitrogen-cup-stacked carbon nanotubes with hydrophilic and semiconducting properties synthesized by alcohol precursor. The hybrid carbon fiber/carbon nanotubes composite have three-dimensional geometry and nanostructure. The material was prepared via fixed-bed chemical vapor deposition reactor. In this process nitrogen-cup-stacked, multi-walled or helical carbon nanotubes were synthesized directly onto carbon fibers with different graphitization grade. The composites were analyzed by high resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This characterization showed that the fiber graphitization has influence on the growth. Carbon nanotube density decreases producing a porous composite that was not observed in well-graphitized fibers. The hybrid composite material was studied as a filter, lithium ion battery electrode, electron field emission and as silicone reinforcement. The efficiency to filter several volatile organic compounds present in the mainstream smoke and the development of lithium-ion battery electrodes, aluminum and copper foils free resulted in two patent applications deposit.

Esta tese apresenta pela primeira vez a obtenção, a partir de alcoóis, de nanotubos de carbono do tipo cup-stacked nitrogenados sendo esses nanotubos hidrofílicos e semicondutores. Os compósitos híbridos de fibra de carbono/nanotubos de carbono possuem geometria tridimensional nanoestruturada e foram preparados em reator de deposição química de vapor de leito fixo. Neste processo nanotubos de carbono do tipo cup-stacked nitrogenados, de paredes múltiplas organizadas ou helicoidais são crescidos diretamente sobre as fibras de carbono com diferentes graus de grafitização. Os compósitos obtidos foram analisados principalmente por microscopia eletrônica de varredura e de transmissão de alta resolução que mostrou que o grau de grafitização do substrato de carbono tem influência sobre o crescimento. A densidade de NTC diminui com a redução da grafitização das fibras de carbono, o que produz um material com porosidade não observada quando as fibras são bem grafitizadas. O material compósito foi estudado como elemento filtrante, eletrodos de baterias de íons de lítio, emissor de elétrons e como reforço em compósitos de silicone. A constatação da eficiência na filtragem seletiva de uma série de compostos orgânicos voláteis presentes na fumaça do cigarro bem como a preparação de eletrodos de baterias de íons de lítio sem o uso de folhas metálicas de alumínio ou cobre resultaram no deposito de dois pedidos de patente. / This thesis presents for the first time nitrogen-cup-stacked carbon nanotubes with hydrophilic and semiconducting properties synthesized by alcohol precursor. The hybrid carbon fiber/carbon nanotubes composite have three-dimensional geometry and nanostructure. The material was prepared via fixed-bed chemical vapor deposition reactor. In this process nitrogen-cup-stacked, multi-walled or helical carbon nanotubes were synthesized directly onto carbon fibers with different graphitization grade. The composites were analyzed by high resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy. This characterization showed that the fiber graphitization has influence on the growth. Carbon nanotube density decreases producing a porous composite that was not observed in well-graphitized fibers. The hybrid composite material was studied as a filter, lithium ion battery electrode, electron field emission and as silicone reinforcement. The efficiency to filter several volatile organic compounds present in the mainstream smoke and the development of lithium-ion battery electrodes, aluminum and copper foils free resulted in two patent applications deposit.

Abstract : The objective is to provide methods to improve the performance, or prediction accuracy of standard stacking approach, which is an ensemble method composed of simple, heterogeneous base models, through the integration of the diversity generation, combination and/or selection stages for regression problems. In Chapter 1, we propose to combine a set of level-1 learners into a level-2 learner, or ensemble. We also propose to inject a diversity generation mechanism into the initial cross-validation partition, from which new cross-validation partitions are generated, and sub-sequent ensembles are trained. Then, we propose an algorithm to select best partition, or corresponding ensemble. In Chapter 2, we formulate the partition selection as a Pareto-based multi-criteria optimization problem, as well as an algorithm to make the partition selection iterative with the aim to improve more the ensemble prediction accuracy. In Chapter 3, we propose to generate multiple populations or partitions by injecting a diversity mechanism to the original dataset. Then, an algorithm is proposed to select the best partition among all partitions generated by the multiple populations. All methods designed and implemented in this thesis get encouraging, and favorably results across different dataset against both state-of-the-art models, and ensembles for regression. / Résumé : L’objectif est de fournir des techniques permettant d’améliorer la performance de l’algorithme de stacking, une méthode ensembliste composée de modèles de base simples et hétérogènes, à travers l’intégration de la génération de la diversité, la sélection et combinaison des modèles. Dans le chapitre 1, nous proposons de combiner différents sous-ensembles de modèles de base obtenus au primer niveau. Nous proposons un mécanisme pour injecter de la diversité dans la partition croisée initiale, à partir de laquelle de nouvelles partitions de validation croisée sont générées, et les ensembles correspondant sont formés. Ensuite, nous proposons un algorithme pour sélectionner la meilleure partition. Dans le chapitre 2, nous formulons la sélection de la partition comme un problème d’optimisation multi-objectif fondé sur un principe de Pareto, ainsi que d’un algorithme pour faire une application itérative de la sélection avec l’objectif d’améliorer d’avantage la précision d’ensemble. Dans le chapitre 3, nous proposons de générer plusieurs populations en injectant un mécanisme de diversité à l’ensemble de données original. Ensuite, un algorithme est proposé pour sélectionner la meilleur partition entre toutes les partitions produite par les multiples populations. Nous avons obtenu des résultats encourageants avec ces algorithmes lors de comparaisons avec des modèles reconnus sur plusieurs bases de données.

Patterned resistive sheets (PRS) are resistive sheets with periodic patterns which provide further advantages to the functionality of the microbolometer. This study examines the potential of both single- and double-layer designs to achieve spectral selectivity in both broadband and narrowband absorption in the microbolometer's application. First, important design parameters, including rules and processes, are established. These include descriptions of sheet resistance, air gap, material refractive index, thicknesses of dielectric and bolometric layers, mirror, pattern shape and size, and unit cell period. Moreover, interactions among these elements are examined. Second, single-layer designs using dipole and slot PRS are introduced as initial designs for the reduced thermal mass design. Applying holes without changing spectral selectivity are investigated for narrowband application. Moreover, the method to tune the change of spectral selectivity is introduced. Third, newly stacked two-color design is suggested. The out-of-band transmission and reflection characteristics of the dipole and slot PRS are investigated to increase the absorption of each layer. Additionally, different pattern shapes, such as the circular patch and square patch, are investigated for easier fabrication. / text

Stacked commercial second generation (2G) high temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes has been demonstrated to have great field trapping ability, with superior mechanical, thermal properties and crossed-field performance to HTS bulks. HTS stacks are considered as a very promising candidate for superconducting permanent magnets, which can be used for many applications like superconducting machines and levitation devices. However, the current magnetization methods for HTS stacks are the conventional magnetization methods developed for HTS bulks decades ago, which have various limitations. On the other hand, the recent progress on HTS flux pumping technology enables HTS coils to be successfully magnetized in an effective and efficient way. In this thesis, these two concepts were combined for the first time. Flux pumping for HTS stacks was proposed and developed as a new magnetization technique. I employed two types of flux pumps, the rotating magnet flux pump and the rectifier type flux pump, to magnetize the modified HTS stacks. The design of the flux pumps, the experimental results and the analysis of the observed behaviours are presented in the thesis. This research provides a new direction in the magnetization of HTS permanent magnets, which has the potential to make HTS permanent magnets more practical with lighter, more compact and efficient magnetization setups.

PIM - uma técnica onde elementos computacionais são adicionados perto, ou idealmente, dentro de dispositivos de memória - foi uma das tentativas criadas durante os anos 1990 visando mitigar o notório memory wall problem. Hoje em dia, com o amadurecimento do processo de integração 3D, um novo horizonte para novas arquiteturas PIM pode ser explorado. Para investigar este novo cenário, pesquisadores dependem de simuladores em software para navegar pelo espaço de exploração de projeto. Hoje, a maioria dos trabalhos que focam em PIM, implementam simuladores locais para realizar seus experimentos. Porém, esta metodologia pode reduzir a produtividade e reprodutibilidade. Neste trabalho, nós mostramos o desenvolvimento de um simulador de PIM preciso, modular e parametrizável. Nosso simulador, chamado CLAPPS, visa a arquitetura de memória HMC, uma memória 3D popular, que é amplamente utilizada em aceleradores PIM do estado da arte. Nós desenvolvemos nosso mecanismo utilizando a linguagem de programação SystemC, o que permite uma simulação paralela nativamente. A principal contribuição do nosso trabalho se baseia em desenvolver a interface amigável que permite a fácil exploração de arquiteturas PIM. Para avaliar o nosso sistema, nós implementamos um modulo de PIM que pode executar operações vetoriais com diferente tamanhos de operandos utilizando o proposto conjunto de ferramentas. / PIM - a technique which computational elements are added close, or ideally, inside memory devices - was one of the attempts created during the 1990s to try to mitigate the memory wall problem. Nowadays, with the maturation of 3D integration technologies, a new landscape for novel PIM architectures can be investigated. To exploit this new scenario, researchers rely on software simulators to navigate throughout the design evaluation space. Today, most of the works targeting PIM implement in-house simulators to perform their experiments. However, this methodology might hurt overall productivity, while it might also preclude replicability. In this work, we showed the development of a precise, modular and parametrized PIM simulation environment. Our simulator, named CLAPPS, targets the HMC architecture, a popular 3D-stacked memory widely employed in state-of-the-art PIM accelerators. We have designed our mechanism using the SystemC programming language, which allows native parallel simulation. The primary contribution of our work lies in developing a user-friendly interface to allow easy PIM architectures exploitation. To evaluate our system, we have implemented a PIM module that can perform vector operations with different operand sizes using the proposed set of tools.

This thesis investigates a relatively new method for harvesting wind energy by using flexible piezoelectric polymers with additional sails to increase their ability to harvest wind energy. This paper also introduces a new topology deemed the “stacked buck” that allows for multiple inputs to a system with a single output. Derivations and analysis detail the workings of the “stacked buck” with a laboratory test to show a working model. This paper also reports another experiment done in a wind tunnel to analyze the capability of the piezoelectric polymers as sources to the “stacked buck” topology with measurements of the power output. The results of this thesis demonstrate that because the design is very modular, it is possible to scale the proposed wind energy harvesting system for small power applications.

Modern main memory is primarily built using dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. As DRAM chip scales to higher density, there are mainly three problems that impede DRAM scalability and performance improvement. First, DRAM refresh overhead grows from negligible to severe, which limits DRAM scalability and causes performance degradation. Second, although memory capacity has increased dramatically in past decade, memory bandwidth has not kept pace with CPU performance scaling, which has led to the memory wall problem. Third, DRAM dissipates considerable power and has been reported to account for as much as 40% of the total system energy and this problem exacerbates as DRAM scales up. To address these problems, 1) we propose Rank-level Piggyback Caching (RPC) to alleviate DRAM refresh overhead by servicing memory requests and refresh operations in parallel; 2) we propose a high performance and bandwidth efficient approach, called SELF, to breaking the memory bandwidth wall by exploiting die-stacked DRAM as a part of memory; 3) we propose a cost-effective and energy-efficient architecture for hybrid memory systems composed of high bandwidth memory (HBM) and phase change memory (PCM), called Dual Role HBM (DR-HBM). In DR-HBM, hot pages are tracked at a cost-effective way and migrated to the HBM to improve performance, while cold pages are stored at the PCM to save energy.

De nouveaux radio-isotopes pour la médecine nucléaire peuvent être produits par des accélérateurs de particules. C'est l'un des buts d'Arronax, un cyclotron de hautes énergies - 70 MeV - et hautes intensités - 2*350 µA - installé à Nantes. Une liste d'émetteurs b- - 47Sc, 67Cu - b+ - 44Sc, 64Cu, 82Sr/82Rb, 68Ge/68Ga - et a - 211At - à étudier en priorité a été établie. Parmi ceux là, le 47Sc et le 67Cu présentent un intérêt en thérapie ciblée. L'optimisation de leurs productions nécessite la bonne connaissance de leurs sections efficaces, mais aussi de celles de tous les contaminants créés. Nous avons lancé sur Arronax un programme de mesures de sections efficaces utilisant la technique des Stacked-foils. Elle consiste en l'irradiation simultanée d'un groupe de feuilles - cibles, moniteurs et dégradeurs - et la mesure par spectro-gamma de la production d'isotopes. Les moniteurs permettent un contrôle des pertes de faisceau tandis que les dégradeurs en diminuent l'énergie. Nous avons étudié les réactions natTi(p,X)47Sc et 68Zn(p,2p)67Cu. Les cibles étant respectivement des feuilles de natTi - achetées chez Goodfellow - ou des électrodépositions sur Ag de 68Zn enrichi. Nous les réalisons nous même ainsi que la séparation chimique des isotopes de Cuivre et de Gallium indispensable avant de procéder au comptage gamma. Les sections efficaces de plus de 40 réactions ont ainsi été obtenues sur l'intervalle de 18 MeV à 70 MeV. Une comparaison avec le code Talys est systématiquement faite, et plusieurs paramètres des modèles théoriques étudiés. Nous montrons qu'il est impossible de reproduire avec exactitude toutes les sections efficaces à partir d'un seul jeu de ces paramètres.