Annotated Bibliography
Alexander Kinghorn
CHECHS
ISM
Mrs. Allen
5/14/2024
1. Summary
2. Evaluation – Is the source biased, well-researched, credible, etc.?
3. Reflection – How did the source support your mentorship and/or final product?
Burdon, Judson. “What Are the Standard Parking Space Dimensions?” Asphalt Kingdom Blog,
Asphalt Kingdom, 22 Apr. 2024, blog.asphaltkingdom.com/standard-parking-space-
dimensions#:~:text=Standard%20Parking%20Space%20Size&text=In%20North%20Amer
ica%2C%20the%20standard,or%20a%20two%2Dway%20aisle.
This source is a website that focuses on things related to pavement, roads, and concrete. I would
say the source is credible due to the amount of sources it uses and references. This source
helped me by allowing me to make an estimation of how large a parking site would need to
be for my product proposal.
Catalano, Don. “What to Know about Parking Ratios.” iOptimize Realty, 14 July 2022,
www.ioptimizerealty.com/blog/what-to-know-about-parking-ratios#three.
This source talks about using space for parking optimally. I think the source might be biased
towards the side of an employer; due to the sort of cold natured words the article uses. I
used this source to help with finding out the amount of space needed for parking.
Clear Lake, Tx Household Income, Population & Demographics | Point2,
www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/Houston/Clear-Lake-Demographics.html.
Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This source talks about demographics in clear lake. This source is unbiased, it only states the
facts that they have independently collected. I used this for my demographic data in my
product.
“Crexi.Com.” Crexi, www.crexi.com/properties/1063510/texas-204-ibis-street. Accessed 29 Apr.
2024.
This site is a real estate listing for one of the properties I was looking at for my product. This site
is reliable because it pulls from different relators directly. I used this source for pricing on
one of my properties.
Gardner, Wesley. “Hundreds of Homes to Be Developed in Lake Houston Area after Housing
Market Stagnation.” Community Impact, Community Impact, 24 Jan. 2023,
communityimpact.com/houston/lake-houston-humble-
kingwood/development/2023/01/24/hundreds-of-homes-to-be-developed-in-lake-houston-
area-after-housing-market-stagnation/.
This source talks about possible land use and planned land use in the Clear Lake area. It might be
biased due to the people living in the area that they are talking about. I used this as
inspiration for deciding which area i would look at for my project.
Geocortex Viewer for HTML5,
geogimsprod.houstontx.gov/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=geolink-public. Accessed 29
Apr. 2024.
This application is a map viewer of the city of Houston and its utilities. It is reliable due to it
being a government effort to map utilities and other such things as roads. I used this to see
if my properties were connected to any utilities.
Gis.Rrc.Texas.Gov, gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This website is the website for the railroad commission. This source is reliable as it is a
government and private sector map of railroads and oil pipes. I used this to narrow down
sites based on pipeline conflicts.
Google Earth, Google,
earth.google.com/web/search/14150+Beamer+Rd,+Friendswood,+TX/@29.56917279,-
95.19601837,8.4644356a,723.67273605d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=CosBGmESWwolMHg4NjQ
wOWI5OWZkNWJmMmI5OjB4MTM4MTJhMTRiZGJmOGNjMBnHuyNjtZE9QCHum
uuPi8xXwCogMTQxNTAgQmVhbWVyIFJkLCBGcmllbmRzd29vZCwgVFgYAiABIiY
KJAkY2PGYIpI9QBFJ2MexE5E9QBmetIOUPcxXwCFsddRe28xXwDoDCgEw.
Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This is google earth, it catalogues different data about addresses, elevation, and terrain. It is
unbiased due to it simply being a map. I used this to find out drainage data.
“How Much Space Is Enough for Your Self Storage Building Project?” MakoRabco, 7 Nov.
2019, makosteel.com/blog/bid/76142/how-much-space-is-enough-for-your-self-storage-
building-project.
This is an article on a website that talks about the right amount of space for a storage facility. It
is unbiased due to it needing a wide variety of viewpoints to conjure its data into one
cohesive block. I used this to estimate how much space would be needed for my storage
building.
Magee, Jake. “Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership: Future of Southeast Houston’s
Economy Is Bright.” Community Impact, Community Impact, 11 May 2022,
communityimpact.com/houston/bay-area/economy/2022/05/11/bay-area-houston-
economic-partnership-future-of-southeast-houstons-economy-is-bright/.
This is an article talking about developments in Houston. This article is reliable as it is a well-
known community news source. I used this as inspiration for my project.
“New Developments and Innovation Driving Growth in Bay Area Houston.” Houston,
www.houston.org/news/new-developments-and-innovation-driving-growth-bay-area-
houston. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This is an article talking about developments in the bay area. I think it might be biased due to the
people living in the place they are talking about. I used this as inspiration for my project.
“Online Permits & Inspections.” Online Permits & Inspections | Friendswood, TX,
www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/349/Online-Permits-Inspections. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This is a pdf showing the value of certain properties according to tax appraisals. It is not biased
due to it being a collection of data from tax officials. I used this for pricing on my
properties.
“Research and Data.” Research and Data | Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), www.h-
gac.com/research. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This is a website dedicated to cataloging data from the Houston/Galveston area. It is unbiased
due to it being government-organized. I used this for data regarding growth and
development.
Rowan, Brandon. “Bay Area Houston Growth Mind Boggling.” Bay Area Houston Magazine, 5
Jan. 2016, www.bayareahoustonmag.com/bay-area-houston-growth-mind-boggling/.
This is an article discussing the growth of the bay area. It is reliable due to it being an on the
ground news source comprised of people who live and work in the area. I used this as
inspiration for my project.
“Welcome to the Houston-Galveston Area Council.” Home | Houston-Galveston Area Council
(H-GAC), www.h-gac.com/Home. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
This is a website where I found a good utilities map. It is reliable due to it being a government
effort. I used this for their utilities map.
Current events
Summary
Today, I have been looking at an article that I think perfectly sums up the
reasons why
A&M is such a great college. In the article, it talks about a recent addition to
Texas A&M, the
space institute at Johnson Space Center. The Texas A&M Board of Regents
gave the go-ahead
to construct a building for the A&M Space Institute at Johnson Space Center.
This was after the
Texas legislature put 350 million dollars into the Texas Space Commission. Out
of that amount,
Texas A&M got 200 million dollars to construct their building at Johnson Space
Center. All this
follows Texas A&M stating that its role in the new space economy will be front
and center. The
Institute will employ astronauts and many other aerospace experts as teachers,
clearly, Texas
A&M is taking this seriously. So, basically, Texas A&M is working on hundreds
of space-
related projects to fill its new curriculum. And, as they said, they are making
sure that they are
expanding the states’ influence in the new space economy.
Connection to essential Question
So, why should I go to Texas A&M, and what examples does this article
provide that
would convince me? Well, to begin with, this article implies that the Texas
legislature favors the
university, as it did give them 200 million dollars to fund a new building and
curriculum. And
what can I say? I love a well-funded school. The article also shows that the
university has strong
ties with NASA and the government. This means that Texas A&M has
numerous qualified
professionals with extensive history in their field of study. If they put this
much effort into a new
department, I can imagine how much effort they put into everything else. So,
to summarize my
point, the article puts out that Texas A&M puts much effort into its curriculum
and
infrastructure. I would love to go to a school that puts so much effort into
improving the
educational experience of it’s students.
Texas A&M University System Office of Marketing & Communications.
"Regents Approve
Texas A&M Space Institute." TEXAS A&M TODAY, 17 Aug. 2023. TEXAS A&M
TODAY, https://today.tamu.edu/2023/08/17/regents-approve-texas-am-
space-institute/.
Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Summary
A few days ago, Craig and Ann Mcdonald gave 1 million dollars to the Jazz
Studies Program at
Texas Tech. This gift comes after students in the School Of Music performed a
jazz concert. The
gift will have a use that many could have guessed, equipment purchases
alongside scholarships
and miscellaneous needs. The gift was followed by a speech from the Chair of
Jazz and
Associate Professor of Jazz Studies Ben Haugland. In the brief yet thankful
speech, he expressed
how grateful him and the jazz group were for the family’s continued support.
He continued by
saying that “A gift of this magnitude is transformative for our program”. The
family’s gift will
boost the jazz program’s morale alongside getting them more opportunities in
the future. Craig
and Ann Mcdonald live with an affinity for jazz music, so it is only logical that
they would
support a group like the one at Texas Tech. An when asked why they gave the
gift to the jazz
group, Ann said, our parents laid a foundation for us to follow an example of
investing in what
you love. Being able to support jazz music, while also supporting students who
want to learn and
succeed, was just the perfect combination for us.
Connection to essential Question
So, what did I learn from this article? Why should I go to Texas Tech? Well, if
you didn’t know,
I am a music lover. If it were not for the cost, I would purchase and own my
own cello and
continue my education in the musical arts. Now, given that information, you
can see how this
article might convince me to go to Texas Tech. With a jazz band alone, it has
garnered enough of
a reputation to have a rich family gift it one million dollars. Now, if the jazz
section can do it,
then I am hoping the orchestra can too. Other than pursuing music, this gift
signifies that the
school deserves praise and funding. It is not every day that someone just gives
away one million
dollars to a school as an individual. So, given all of that, if I go to this school I
can expect a well-
funded, talented, and learning-focused university.
Erramouspe, Haleigh. "Craig and Ann McDonald Make $1 Million Gift to the Texas
Tech University Jazz Studies Program." Texas Tech Today, 4 Oct. 2023.
Texas Tech Today, https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2023/10/Stories/Craig-and-Ann-McDonald-Make-1-
Million-
Gift-to-the-Texas-Tech-University-Jazz-Studies-Program
Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.
Summary
When I think of a man who is great from any university, I think of those who
have achieved the
most. The most outspoken, well-renowned, and most rewarded of the
university. Now, this man
in the article I have read today shows us just how that can positively affect the
goodwill of a
university. Brian Belardi is one such person who has given the University of
Texas a massive
boost on top of its already good reputation. Brian was recently given the
Packard Science and
Engineering Fellowship Award. He was awarded this for doing research into
tissue interaction in
damaged organs. The award is given to people with “blue sky thinking”. Belardi
certainly fits
that bill. Alongside the award comes a large amount of money HP offers to its
awardees for
research purposes. Belardi himself got $875000.
Connection to essential Question
So, why should I go to the University of Texas? And why does this article
reinforce that
decision? Well, the type of people who receive awards like this, Brian Belardi
for example, are
the type of people I want to be surrounded by. If I can get into a university
where the norm is to
strive for excellence, then that would be my goal. To be awarded like Brian,
due to my
excellence in the field. And if the University of Texas at Austin has the right
environment to
Mould me into that sort of person, then it is the University of Texas at Austin
that I want to
attend. And, the people who have attended in the past reflect the departments
and educators they
learned from, so it would make sense that these would also be of great
standard.
“Texas Engineer Brian Belardi Awarded Packard Science and Engineering Fellowship.” Cockrell School
of
Engineering, 16 Oct. 2023, cockrell.utexas.edu/news/archive/9760-texas-engineer-brian-belardi-
awarded-packard-science-and-engineering-fellowship.
Accessed November 3, 2023
Summary
The people who work in low-fame, community-level colleges are often under-
looked. But these
are usually the type of people who make the greatest discoveries and
innovations. Like the
people who work in the Human Health and Performance Institute at UHCL.
Professor William
Amonette, who is the director of the institute, says that they are doing these
biomechanical
studies to “prepare students for the multidisciplinary nature of work in the
21st century”. The
type of work they do here is advancements in the medical field using
mechanical engineering
and medical knowledge to tackle problems in the world. One of their most
recent studies was
about women soccer players in the HHPI. They used simulations to gain insight
into the stress
placed on knee ligaments during activities. These people are true innovators.
Connection to essential Question
So, why should I go to the University of Houston Clear Lake? The amount of
educational value
for the price has got to be my biggest reason. This article gives me a great
example of how much
value you can get out of a smaller college like UHCL. The HHPI has made great
strides in
getting students more prepared for the workplace of the future. This sort of
actual experience and
preparedness is what I want to see. And, not only that, but my sister attended
this college and set
up a Spanish American club. So, I have a triple incentive to go. Not only does it
have a great
worth, and fantastic faculty, but my sister also left some groundwork for me.
UHCL. (2023, October 30). Two UHCL professors collaborate to provide ‘opportunities of a lifetime.’
Two UHCL
professors collaborate to provide “opportunities of a lifetime.” https://news.uhcl.edu/two-uhcl-
professors-collaborate-to-provide-opportunities-of-a-lifetime-with-nasa/
Summary
In this article, Scott Jasechko states that groundwater has been declining
rapidly in the recent
past. He goes on to say how this has affected the potability of groundwater by
having seawater
intrude into it. He also mentions that due to the groundwater aquifers being
rapidly drained, the
land subsides a bit, and it lowers in elevation relative to sea level. Along with
these problems,
wells are starting to deplete, causing deeper holes to be dug. He explains that
groundwater fuels
homes, farms, and cities. He also marks the Gulf Coast area around Texas as
one of the most
subsided portions of land in the world. He does this through an illustration
showing global
hotspots for land subsidence. He then goes on to say that there is hope
groundwater reserves will
be restored due to findings from recent studies.
Connection to essential Question
The main focus of geotechnical engineering is to deal with soil stability and
composition. Due to
this, it is obviously very important here in Houston, as we have some of the
most unstable soil
ever. Because we here in Houston have to deal with this, geotechnical
engineers have many
duties to make sure that buildings don't collapse and so that bridges don't
break. This article is a
great example of what geotechnical engineers have to deal with on a daily
basis. Land
subsidence, a common problem here, is mentioned in the article. If you see fire
hydrants around
and see that there is exposed pipe below it, that is a result of land subsidence.
When we drain
aquifers, it removes that sort of sponge that holds up the land and results in
the land sinking. So,
this article helps me understand what geotechnical engineers have to deal
with.
Jasechko, S., Seybold, H., Perrone, D. et al. Rapid groundwater decline and
some cases of
recovery in aquifers globally. Nature 625, 715–721 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06879-8
Summary
This article talks about a new processor with embedded AI. The article says
that Renesas, a chip
company, is now making a high-performance MPU. The AI it uses is called
Edge, in reference to
the processing being done at the edge of the network your device is
connected to. It then goes on
to state how it requires less power and generates less heat, so overclocking is
encouraged. They
say that this MPU does not require a fan. I think that if they put this tech to
good use in things
like GPUs, the PC market might seem more appealing to newcomers not
wanting to spend so
much money. For instance, a good Ryzen CPU can cost 700 dollars, whereas if
you can take this
tech and put it into a mass-produced sort of thing, you could lower the price of
CPUs.
Connection to essential Question
So, why would I want to become an electrical engineer after reading this
article? Well, for
Starters, I like building PCs, and I like upgrading my already-installed parts. This
is modern
technology for PCs, and it required electrical engineers to make, without them,
this would be
some crackpot’s theory in his basement. due to my being interested in PC
parts, and their
manufacturing, I think that this could push me to become an electrical
engineer. If not for the
ingenuity, and the ability to express my creativity in ways that help people run
their computers
better, then I'll do it for the money. Most small electronics cost a load of
money, like how some
super high-end graphics cards can cost 2000 dollars. This money has to go
somewhere. And if
we follow it up, I'm sure that the electrical engineers that designed it get a
pretty penny out of the
sales.
“Renesas Acclaims New Edge Ai Mpu for High Performance, Low Power -
News.” All About Circuits,
www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/renesas-acclaims-new-edge-ai-mpu-high-
performance-low-
power/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
Summary:
The article say that project engineers manage projects that cover technical and
engineering topics. Think of a project engineer as a manager on a job site. Like
the manager
of managers. The project engineer has control of the use of funds. A project
engineer is
responsible for all of the personnel at the job site, and it is their duty to direct
them and
have them follow the project plan. The project plan that they made, due to it
being another
duty of a project engineer. The project engineer also interoperates the plan
given to them
by higher-ups. They make it so that the overall plan is made realistic and
actually able to be
executed. They also confer with contractors for workers and supplies.
Response:
I think that this article does a great job of giving me reason on why i might
consider this job
for my career. It show the responsibilities of a project engineer as well as the
work
environment. It show that i will need to know engineering knowledge. I will
have to manage
an engineering project’s budget, which includes resources, workers, and
insurance. So, if i
were to become a project engineer, i would have a lot on my plate. But it isnt
all bad.
Project engineers can make 140000 dollars a year. I know this from my
personal
experience with one from a jobsite mrs. Foster took me to.
https://www.getreskilled.com/what-is-a-project-engineer/
