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An experimental project was created within our inter-disciplinary product realization capstone course to bring together students and staff from our campus steam plant to explore the feasibility of an economical design for a cogeneration turbine, generator, and power conditioning equipment. Project activities consisted of interviewing regional consultants and electric utility staff, touring other cogeneration facilities within the region, monitoring campus-wide steam pressure, analyzing seasonal data, modeling performance of different plant configurations with Engineering Equation Solver (EES), and conducting multiple design reviews with senior facilities staff. The team proposed a comprehensive design that could save $190,000/year with an implementation cost of $1.5M. The team's solution also included instrumentation that can support laboratory studies in multiple STEM courses, is visually attractive in its layout within our historic steam plant building, and is sustainable in its use of local wood waste. The team won two awards at our 2014 Design Expo. Project outcomes were assessed through a survey of students, faculty, and facilities staff. Success factors included student connection with a DOE sponsored Industrial Assessment Center, preparation in prior course work, capstone course activities that were aligned with project needs, and a welcoming, continuous improvement mindset displayed by steam plant personnel. Recommendations are also provided for enriching future energy conservation projects done within the context of capstone design courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thrips are problematic throughout much of the U.S. cotton belt and can negatively impact early-season cotton if curative action is not taken. In this study we compare two different methods (visual and cup) for sampling thrips on seedling cotton, and using these sampling methods we began the process of developing a binomial sampling plan. This study was conducted in a variety of locations across the Texas High Plains and far west Texas in commercial cotton fields. The sample data collected from both methods of sampling were used to determine how many cotton leaves were infested to mean thrips density relationship needed to develop the binomial sample plan using the following formula (P(I) = 1-e-m[LN(amb-1)/(amb-1-1)]). Taylor's power law effectively modeled the thrips sample data from both sample methods. Taylor's coefficients suggest that thrips nymphs tend to be more clumped than adult thrips, but neither appear to be highly clumped. This may be an artifact of small sample unit size. The relationship between the P(I) cotton leaves and thrips mean density was also modeled well by using the method of Wilson and Room (1983). The relationship was similar for both sample methods and thrips age classes, thus both sample methods should perform equally well. However, additional data is needed to determine the relative cost reliability of each sample method and develop sample plans. This will be completed in 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]