Browsing by Author "Williams, Casey"

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    Envisioning a Better Rural Water Supply for Hancock County
    (2020-04-23) Burnett, Sterling; Pless, Bo; Williams, Casey; Wyatt, Jonathan; Giesey, Jeff
    Jubilee Project sought to collaborate with Milligan Engineering to assess the water quality of a mountain-spring source and improve water availability. This rural water supply provides water to Cedar Grove Baptist Church and surrounding communities in Hancock County. The goal of our collaboration is to produce a reliable supply of clean water. Analysis showed that the source water was contaminated with fecal coliform. Implementation of a sediment filter, carbon filters, and an ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection system successfully provided a sustainable source of clean water. The addition of a feature to monitor UV dosage was developed, utilizing a microcontroller and UV sensor. The improved design also used the microcontroller to monitor the differential pressure across the sediment and carbon filters to detect when they need replacing. An addition of a solenoid valve to automatically trickle water during freezing conditions is specified to increase freeze protection. For safes maintenance, a new hydraulic-cylinder lid design was implemented to assist in lifting and closing the 100-pound lid. Instrumentation for measuring pressure, temperature, flow, and energy consumption was integrated for the assessment of system performance. Improvements to the existing water supply should allow it to reliably provide safe water for years to come.
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    Moore's Law or Moore's Flaw? Sustainability of an Industry Built on Exponential Growth
    (2017-12-04) Williams, Casey
    Roughly stated, Moore's Law observes that the processing power of computers doubles approximately every two years, and has retained striking accuracy over the past five decades. Since it was first observed by Intel Corporation co-founder Gordon Moore in 1965, Moore's Law has been something of an enigma to the semiconductor industry. Although originally made to project the industry's capacity to innovate, Moore’s Law came to dictate the pace of the semiconductor industry’s growth. Many industry experts continue to insist on its impending doom, despite numerous incorrect examples of such forecasts during the last 30 years. I discuss the ever-evolving meaning of Moore's Law that has allowed it to persist in surprising ways. However, the eventual demise of Moore's Law, if not pre-empted by economic factors, is all but guaranteed by the laws of physics. I explore the sustainability of an industry founded on a model of exponential growth and suggest an alternative model of logistic growth. Ultimately, I connect the progress of the semiconductor industry to the progress of the global economy, and anticipate ways to weather the change in growth signaled by the end of Moore's Law.