b'Engineering Aspects of Processing of a PeanutJames J. Nix and Thomas A. BartonSponsor: Dr. HojjatieA significant portion of peanuts used in the U.S. are produced and processed in the state of Georgia. Recently, VSU engineering programs had a field trip to Premium Peanut, a new state of the art peanut shelling plant located in Douglas Georgia. We will describe some of advanced engineering techniques that are employed in this plant. The process of shelling begins with multiple oscillating conveyers that mechanically sift debris, afterwards the shakers begin removing the shell, which are extruded using vacuums. After the peanuts have been sifted and removed from their shell, they are then optically sorted using infrared cameras to ensure no undesired peanuts are sold. Peanut shelling involves applications of many engineering techniques. The objective of this study is to describe some of the engineering techniques that are used in processing of a peanut.Assessing Hurricane Impacts on LandCover at the Coastal Regions of West FloridaKathryn A. VilliersSponsors: Dr. Feng and Dr. DenizmanThere have been several studies on the impacts of hurricane damage on the western coast of Florida, showing devastating results for the region. This study focuses on Panama City Beach, of Bay County, Florida, and Florida Caverns State Park, of Jackson County, Florida. The impacts of the hurricanes are studied by obtaining pre- and post-hurricane satellite images from the USGS Earth Explorer database. The images are then georeferenced, GIS layers were prepared, and compared in ArcGIS platform to assess the temporal changes in land cover. The geomorphic and environmental outcomes of this study are discussed.Impact of Ship Backlog on Pollution in Los Angeles, CA during the COVID-19 Pandemic using QGISAlexander Pearsall FourakerSponsors: Mrs. Qian Liu, George Mason University Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, Dr. Barry Hojjatie, VSU Engineering Program, PAGET Dept., and Dr. Jia Lu, VSU Geosciences ProgramDuring the past two years there have been significant challenges in ship ports because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As online shopping increases, the ship traffic increases. The purpose of this study is to analyze variations in the air pollution in Los Angeles California and how it has been affected by the ship backlog during the past two years by using QGIS software. We researched the changes in the number of ships at the LA ports between 2020 and 2021 and graphed the rolling mean. I also used the satellite data from NASA, authored by Qian Liu, to visualize annual changes for October, November, and December of 2021. The research showed that the NO2 changes mirrored the changes in ship numbers, and the QGIS graphs show a correlation between the two.45'