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Friday Forum: ''Flood of failure: Katrina one year later,'' Michael Brown [Brownie], former director, Federal Emergency Management Agency, (FEMA) sponsored by The Tom & Peggy Campbell Endowed Forum. See Further Reading for citation.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2002., Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-102)., by Michael D. Crafts., S.M.

Thesis: S.M. in Transportation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2014., Cataloged from PDF version of thesis., Includes bibliographical references (pages 163-168)., After decades of growth in domestic flights, seats, and available seat-miles, airlines reduced capacity at airports across the United States from 2007-2012 in response to a global economic downturn and high and volatile fuel prices. Despite an economic recovery and more stable fuel prices, airlines continued to keep domestic capacity low relative to historical levels. This strategy, which has been referred to as "capacity discipline," has had widespread implications for the entire U.S. air transportation network. This thesis examines the effects of capacity discipline on service availability, network connectivity, and fares in the U.S. air transportation network, particularly at smaller airports. We find that airlines cut flights at large airports by 8.8% from 2007-2012, as compared to a 21.7% reduction in flights at smaller airports over the same time period. As a result, some smaller airports may be particularly vulnerable to losing all network carrier service. Capacity discipline also changed the mix of carriers that served smaller airports. In many cases, network carriers providing service from smaller airports to connecting hubs were replaced by ultralow- cost carriers providing less-frequent service. We create an airport connectivity index to explore these effects of capacity discipline on airports' connections to the global air transportation network. The index model suggests that smaller airports lost more connectivity than larger airports in multi-airport regions. Finally, we examine changes in airfares as a result of capacity discipline. We find that medium-sized airports saw the largest increases in airfares-11.9% on average-from 2007-2012. Additionally, while the presence of low-cost carriers is still associated with in a decrease in the average one-way fare at an airport, the effects of some LCCs such as Southwest Airlines have diminished over time. Capacity discipline may be an unstable equilibrium when viewed in the game-theoretic context of the "pris, by Michael D. Wittman., S.M. in Transportation

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1989., Includes bibliographical references., by Michael D. Travers, M.S.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010., Cataloged from PDF version of thesis., Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-143)., This thesis presents the development of a new microfluidic method for separating and characterizing cells based upon differences in their electrical properties. The objective of this work is to obtain a genome-wide mapping of genotype to electrical phenotype in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Towards this end, we present: (1) the development of a novel equilibrium gradient separation method, called isodielectric separation (IDS); (2) the development of physical theories describing how interactions between particles effect microscale separations; and (3) the application of IDS to a screen for electrical phenotypes in the yeast deletion library. Despite the variety of technologies available for cell sorting, a relative lack of intrinsic separation methods - those which separate cells according to their natural, unmodified characteristics - persists. To address this need, we have developed isodielectric separation. IDS separates cells according to differences in their intrinsic electrical properties. Using dielectrophoresis in a medium with spatially varying electrical conductivity, IDS drives cells to the locations where their polarization charges vanish, spatially resolving cells with different electrical properties. Our implementation of IDS offers label-free, continuous-flow separation, and is capable of resolving graded differences in electrical properties. Additionally, we demonstrate the ability to extract quantitative information from samples during separation, establishing IDS as an analytical technique as well as a preparative one. Any platform for performing genetic screens must have high throughput. Although satisfying this requirement would be greatly facilitated by using high cell densities, physical interactions between cells under these conditions can affect the performance of devices used for screening. Although pervasive, interactions between cells or particles are challenging to describe quantitatively, especially in the confined environm, by Michael D. Vahey., Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2006., Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103)., Increased throughput in the techniques used to engineer new metabolic pathways in unicellular organisms demands similarly high throughput tools for measuring the effects of these pathways on phenotype. For example, the metabolic engineer is often faced with the challenge of selecting the one genomic perturbation that produces a desired result out of tens of thousands of possibilities. This thesis proposes a separation method - iso-dielectric separation, or IDS - which separates microorganisms continuously based on their dielectric properties. This technology would enable high throughput screening of cells based upon electrically distinguishable phenotypes. Iso-dielectric separation uses dielectrophoresis (DEP) and media with spatially varying conductivity to separate cells based upon their effective conductivity. Our target application is the separation of Escherichia coli based upon the amount of the intracellular polymer poly(hydroxybutyrate) that each cell contains. This thesis discusses the modeling, design, fabrication, and testing of an IDS device., by Michael D. Vahey., S.M.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1994., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-82)., by Michael D. Falcon., M.S.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2006., Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-99)., Using primary data from an innovative water project in Tirupur, India with findings from two well-documented water projects in Latin America, this thesis asks: How might greater equity participation and decision-making authority among a broad base of users insulate against key political risks that have beset water sector private sector participation (PSP) in the past? I utilize concepts from the political risk literature, which have mainly been applied to the extractive and manufacturing industries, and extend this consideration to the water sector. I present preliminary findings, based on field research in India, that suggest increased local participation in water sector PSPs can mitigate against key political risks that have created problems elsewhere. These early findings challenge the conventional wisdom about water privatization and suggest a means to improve the design of future PSPs to reduce some of the risks and controversy that have characterized the sector., by Michael D. Brown., M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1989., Includes bibliographical references., by Michael D. Prange., Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-139)., Fitting the X-ray spectra of thermal radiation from neutron stars with realistic atmosphere models provides a way to place constraints on their radii, surface gravities and compositions, and to test general relativity in the strong field limit. Such determinations allow us to constrain the the equation of state of nuclear matter. I present fits which constrain the radii and surface compositions of two neutron stars, using high quality Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the point source in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (Cas A XPS), and the isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754. I apply models calculated with advanced versions of the ATM model atmosphere code developed by Madej and Joss for neutron-star atmospheres composed of hydrogen, hydrogen-helium, iron, or a silicon to iron mixture. The results, taken assuming a typical value of 1.4 solar masses, show that the X-ray emission is generated from hot spot regions of scale size - 3-4 km, on stars of intrinsic radius 9 and 12.5 km. This implies a relatively stiff equation of state. For the Cas A XPS, I fit the most source photons to date with spectra extracted from three Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observations (ObsIds 114, 1952, 1046), with a total effective exposure of approximately 110,000 seconds. With these data, I am able to show that atmosphere models fit significantly better than blackbody models, although a wide range of radii are permitted. I also present evidence of an absorption feature in the XPS spectrum caused by silicon present in the supernova remnant, and discuss efforts to to fit CCD pileup of the spectrum. For the RX J1856.5-3754, I fit a 450,000 second Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating/High Resolution Camera observation., (cont.) My findings agree with previous results that a blackbody model provides the best fit, and reject hydrogen and iron atmospheres. While previous attempts to fit the spectrum with rotationally-blurred iron or solar abundance atmospheres have failed, I successfully fit the spectrum to a rotationally Doppler blurred silicon-ash model, a surface composition which might exist following a supernova. The fit implies a rotational period of approximately 2 ms., by Michael D. Stage., Ph.D.

Fitting the X-ray spectra of thermal radiation from neutron stars with realistic atmosphere models provides a way to place constraints on their radii, surface gravities and compositions, and to test general relativity in the strong field limit. Such determinations allow us to constrain the the equation of state of nuclear matter. I present fits which constrain the radii and surface compositions of two neutron stars, using high quality Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of the point source in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (Cas A XPS), and the isolated neutron star RX J1856.5-3754. I apply models calculated with advanced versions of the ATM model atmosphere code developed by Madej and Joss for neutron-star atmospheres composed of hydrogen, hydrogen-helium, iron, or a silicon to iron mixture. The results, taken assuming a typical value of 1.4 solar masses, show that the X-ray emission is generated from hot spot regions of scale size - 3-4 km, on stars of intrinsic radius 9 and 12.5 km. This implies a relatively stiff equation of state. For the Cas A XPS, I fit the most source photons to date with spectra extracted from three Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer observations (ObsIds 114, 1952, 1046), with a total effective exposure of approximately 110,000 seconds. With these data, I am able to show that atmosphere models fit significantly better than blackbody models, although a wide range of radii are permitted. I also present evidence of an absorption feature in the XPS spectrum caused by silicon present in the supernova remnant, and discuss efforts to to fit CCD pileup of the spectrum. For the RX J1856.5-3754, I fit a 450,000 second Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating/High Resolution Camera observation., (cont.) My findings agree with previous results that a blackbody model provides the best fit, and reject hydrogen and iron atmospheres. While previous attempts to fit the spectrum with rotationally-blurred iron or solar abundance atmospheres have failed, I successfully fit the spectrum to a rotationally Doppler blurred silicon-ash model, a surface composition which might exist following a supernova. The fit implies a rotational period of approximately 2 ms., by Michael D. Stage., Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2003., Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-139).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology, 1992., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-204)., by Michael D. Buschmann., Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-51)., The objective of this paper was to try and find the optimal distribution of rescuers after an earthquake with a very large magnitude caused major damage in two different cities. A model was developed to optimally divide all of the available rescuer workers such that the expected number of lives saved was maximized. When the method was tested on random sets of data on average a 5% improvement in lives saved was found. However it was also determined that there was a positive relationship between percent improvement and severity of the earthquake. This shows that the method is especially effective when extreme amounts of damage occur., by Michael D. Metzger., M.Eng.

Thesis (Nav. E.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1996, and Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1996., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124)., by Michael D. Amrozowicz., M.S., Nav.E.

Thesis (Sc. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1994., Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-214)., by Michael D. Richard., Sc.D.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 1996., Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-98)., by Michael D. Amrozowicz., M.Eng.

Champagne Beach, Hog Harbour, the site of Eugene Peacock's planned development of hotel subdivision, for rich Americans.

Champagne Beach, Hog Harbour, the site of Eugene Peacock's planned development of hotel subdivision, for rich Americans.