The African-American community has played a historically significant role in the advancement of Arizona and our region. The future success of our state relies on our ability to strengthen our communities and empower them to meet and exceed their vast potential. This project between the community and the University was undertaken to help advance a better understanding of the changing dynamics of Arizona’s African-American population and the critical issues that require our collective attention in terms of education, health care, the economy, culture and leadership.

A survey was created to help gain some insight on the opinions of homeowners across the <br/>Phoenix Metro Area. This survey consisted of 7 questions relating to personal experiences and <br/>the homeowners’ opinions or concerns. The results of the survey showed that there are a few <br/>concerns surrounding solar energy with an emphasis on the cost of maintenance of panels and <br/>the payback period where the homeowners would see a return on their investment. Most of the <br/>homeowners answered that they do not use solar energy but have thought about using it for their <br/>main source of energy before. The homeowners in the survey also thought that solar energy was <br/>overall too expensive and that it would take a long time before they would see any payoff or <br/>savings from the solar panels. It was found that the payback period for panels is around 7 years <br/>and that depending on the size of the solar system installed or on the model used, solar panels <br/>cost much less than many people think. This was found by researching non-biased resources <br/>from government websites and from local energy companies’ websites. To combat the concerns <br/>found from the survey, an infographic was created to help inform the public about solar energy <br/>and allow the homeowners to make decisions that are well informed and not based on <br/>misinformation. The infographic included information related to the survey by explaining the <br/>survey and explaining topics that were of concern to the homeowners who took the survey. In <br/>addition, the infographic displayed information about solar energy and that the decision to use <br/>solar is ultimately up to the audience.

This thesis will bring together students to engage in entrepreneurship by finding, measuring and sharing strategic market opportunities. From a student’s perspective, it will take a deep dive into the world of startup ecosystems, markets and trends utilizing both qualitative and quantitative market research techniques. The information gathered has been curated into a productive, meaningful manner, through a report titled “The State of Startups: A Student Perspective.” <br/> The first key theme of this thesis is that market intelligence can be a powerful tool. The second key theme is the power of knowledge implementation towards competitive strategies. The first section of the thesis will focus on identifying and understanding the current “startup” landscape as a basis on which to build strategic and impactful business decisions. This will be accomplished as the team conducts a landscape analysis focused on the student perspective of the student-based North American “entrepreneurial” ecosystem. The second section of the thesis will focus specifically on the personal experiences of student startup founders. This will be accomplished through the analysis of interviews with founders of the startups researched from the first section of the thesis. This will provide us with a direct insight into the student perspective of the student-based North American “entrepreneurial” ecosystem.

Temperature swing adsorption is a commonly used gas separation technique, and is being<br/>further researched as a method of carbon capture. Carbon capture is becoming increasingly<br/>important as a potential way to slow global warming. In this study, algae-derived activated<br/>carbon adsorbents were analyzed for their carbon dioxide adsorption effectiveness.<br/>Algae-derived carbon adsorbents were synthesized and then studied for their adsorption<br/>isotherms and adsorption breakthrough behavior. From the generated isotherm plots, it was<br/>determined that the carbonization temperature was not high enough and that more batches of<br/>adsorbent would have to be made to more accurately analyze the adsorptive potential of the<br/>algae-derived carbon adsorbent.

This paper will cover topics regarding remote work. More specifically, remote work for the field of logistics. It will also dive into remote work platforms themselves e.g., Slack, Zoom, etc. Microsoft Teams, the specific software we used while I was at my internship, will be analyzed as well. I will, specifically, be analyzing the fundamental issues that occurred during my internship, developing a feasible solution with a laid-out process for each one. After the proper execution of these processes, I will discuss my results. I found that time is the most critical component of an optimal transition to remote work. Finally, I will conclude with reflections on my findings, insights from current working supply chain professionals, and prompt further research that could be done.

The purpose of this study is to create and establish an efficient and cost-effective solution to decrease the effects of sedentarism in pregnant women. Our team was given a propelling question, from which we had to narrow down our scope and conduct primary and secondary research to determine our ideal customers. The design of our study intends to imitate the development of a startup where ideas are created from scratch and the final deliverable is a business model plan that shows some sort of traction. Our first major finding is that a sedentary lifestyle can be treated without major challenges in low-risk pregnancies. We determined that uncertainty and lack of concise and clear information is one of the main causes of an increased level of sedentary behavior in low-risk pregnancies. A significant driver for women to do some sort of activity or exercise stems from feeling supported, which doesn’t necessarily come from their partner or couple, but instead from other women that are going to a similar process as them. There are apps in the market that intend to serve pregnant women; however, there is not one that incorporates a social aspect to achieve their goal. In conclusion, there is opportunity in the market for a socially integrated pregnancy fitness app. The Gleam concept has been consciously developed to decrease sedentary behavior through concise, clear, and reliable information and by encouraging women through a socialization platform.

The contemporary world is motivated by data-driven decision-making. Small 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are often limited in their reach due to their size, lack of funding, and a lack of data analysis expertise. In an effort to increase accessibility to data analysis for such organizations, a Founders Lab team designed a product to help them understand and utilize geographic information systems (GIS) software. This product – You Got GIS – strikes the balance between highly technical documentation and general overviews, benefiting 501(c)3 nonprofits in their pursuit of data-driven decision-making. Through the product’s use of case studies and methodologies, You Got GIS serves as a thought experiment platform to start answering questions regarding GIS. The product aims to continuously build partnerships in an effort to improve curriculum and user engagement.

As part of the Founders’ lab program, this thesis explores a social venture idea whose concept is to connect the philanthropic community with individuals and organizations in need of funding a project relating to (Sustainable Development Goals) SDG indicators through a peer-to-peer donation-based crowdfunding platform. Through this platform, the philanthropic community will have the possibility to easily access a wide range of projects to support as well as underserved individuals and communities seeking help, track their impact, donate in a complete transparent donation process, and automate donations through bank card round-ups. This social venture idea has been named PhilanthroGo.