Cyclic loading, from earthquake, has caused the instability and failure of slopes composed of sensitive clays. During the 1964 9.2 moment magnitude (M) earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska, several slopes comprised of Bootlegger Cove Formation (BCF) clays failed during the strong seismic motion. Some researchers have proposed the use of residual...
The cuprate superconductor HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+\delta}$ (Hg1201) has one of the simplest physical structures of the cuprates making it an ideal candidate for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. Here we discuss our NMR experiments aimed at studying the mixed state of two under-doped single crystal Hg1201 samples at high magnetic fields.
This dissertation reports on a 16-week ethnographic study of politicized caring within a museum-based tinkering program for high school students called the FabYouth program. Drawing on a data set that includes 16 field notes, 785.83 minutes (about 13.1 hours) of ethnographic audio-video recordings, 280 photographs, and ten student interviews, I...
Realizing electromagnetic metamaterials which operate in the optical regime requires creating precise arrangements of sub-100 nm building blocks. As such, fabricating these materials using conventional lithographic methods is extremely costly. On the other hand, bottom-up assembly of nanoparticles into crystalline superlattices offers opportunities to explore the scalable fabrication of 2-...
In my dissertation, Knowing How to Feel: mapping affective epistemologies of ignorance through numbness, I examine the ways by which numbness contributes to harmful “epistemic resilience,” or the phenomenon whereby systems of meaning remain stable despite counter evidence or attempts to alter them (Dotson 2014). I am most importantly concerned...
Protein homeostasis, or proteostasis, is essential for preserving all cellular functions and involves a balance of protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation. A collapse in proteostasis is a common feature of many neurodegenerative disorders that are characterized by the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in the brain. Parkinson’s disease (PD)...
This dissertation examines the interactional mechanisms that undergird exercises of regulatory authority in expert work settings. In the first chapter, I argue that, in the aftermath of a crisis (in this case, induced by a major regulatory event), organizational actors face environments of high uncertainty which challenge rational models of...
In recent years, the social sciences have been ensnared in a crisis in which many research findings cannot be replicated (Ioannidis, 2005; Open Science Collaboration, 2015; Camerer et al., 2016; Makel & Plucker, 2014). This crisis has been attributed to a variety of problems including lack of transparency about research...
This dissertation addresses two distinct but related questions. First, how should we conceive of social freedom? Second, given this conception, what ideals would best satisfy the demands we are under as citizens and moral agents? In answer to the first question, I defend a novel account of social freedom, where...
Regulatory T (Treg) cells are required to control immune responses and maintain homeostasis, but are a significant barrier to antitumor immunity. Conversely, Treg instability, characterized by loss of the master transcription factor Foxp3 and acquisition of proinflammatory properties, can promote autoimmunity and/or facilitate more effective tumor immunity. A comprehensive understanding...