Digital Commons Network^™

Enabling The Human Perception Of A Working Camera In Web Conferences Via Its Movement, Anish Shrestha

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, video conferencing has seen a significant increase in its usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When casting user’s video to other participants, the videoconference applications (e.g. Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, etc.) mainly leverage 1) webcam’s LED-light indicator, 2) user’s video feedback in the software and 3) the software’s video on/off icons to remind the user whether the camera is being used. However, these methods all impose the responsibility on the user itself to check the camera status, and there have been numerous cases reported when users expose their privacy inadvertently due to not realizing that their camera is …

2-Dimensional String Problems: Data Structures And Quantum Algorithms, Dhrumilkumar Patel

LSU Master's Theses

The field of stringology studies algorithms and data structures used for processing strings efficiently. The goal of this thesis is to investigate 2-dimensional (2D) variants of some fundamental string problems, including \textit{Exact Pattern Matching} and \textit{Longest Common Substring}.

In the 2D pattern matching problem, we are given a matrix $\M[1\dd n,1\dd n]$ that consists of $N = n \times n$ symbols drawn from an alphabet $\Sigma$ of size $\sigma$. The query consists of a $ m \times m$ square matrix $\PP[1\dd m, 1\dd m]$ drawn from the same alphabet, and the task is to find all the locations of $\PP$ …

Control And Planning For Mobile Manipulators Used In Large Scale Manufacturing Processes, Joshua T. Nguyen

LSU Master's Theses

Sanding operations in industry is one of the few manufacturing tasks that has yet to achieve automation. Sanding tasks require skilled operators that have developed a sense of when a work piece is sufficiently sanded. In order to achieve automation in sanding with robotic systems, this developed sense, or intelligence, that human operators have needs to be understood and implemented in order to achieve, at the minimum, the same quality of work. The system will also need to have the equivalent reach of a human operator and not be constrained to a single, small workspace. This thesis developed solutions for …

Neutron Interferometry Using A Single Modulated Phase Grating, Ivan J. Hidrovo Giler

LSU Master's Theses

Neutron grating interferometry provides information on phase and small-angle scatter in addition to attenuation. Previously, phase grating moiré interferometers (PGMI) with two or three phase gratings have been developed. These phase-grating systems use the moiré far-field technique to avoid the need for high-aspect absorption gratings used in Talbot-Lau interferometers (TLI) which reduce the neutron flux reaching the detector. We demonstrate through simulations a novel phase grating interferometer system for cold neutrons that requires a single modulated phase grating (MPG) for phase-contrast imaging, as opposed to the two or three phase gratings in previously employed PGMI systems. We compare the MPG …

Improving Kernel Artifact Extraction In Linux Memory Samples Using The Slub Allocator, Daniel A. Donze

LSU Master's Theses

Memory forensics allows an investigator to analyze the volatile memory (RAM) of a computer, providing a view into the system state of the machine as it was running. Examples of items found in memory samples that are of interest to investigators are kernel data structures which can represent processes, files, and sockets. The SLUB allocator is the default small-request memory allocator for modern Linux systems. SLUB allocates “slabs”, which are contiguous sections of pre-allocated memory that are used to efficiently service allocation requests. The predecessor to SLUB, the SLAB allocator, tracked every slab it allocated, allowing extraction of allocated slabs …

Malware And Memory Forensics On M1 Macs, Charles E. Glass

LSU Master's Theses

As malware continues to evolve, infection mechanisms that can only be seen in memory are increasingly commonplace. These techniques evade traditional forensic analysis, requiring the use of memory forensics. Memory forensics allows for the recovery of historical data created by running malware, including information that it tries to hide. Memory analysis capabilities have lagged behind on Apple's new M1 architecture while the number of malicious programs only grows. To make matters worse, Apple has developed Rosetta 2, the translation layer for running x86_64 binaries on an M1 Mac. As a result, all malware compiled for Intel Macs is theoretically functional …

Improving Memory Forensics Capabilities On Apple M1 Computers, Raphaela Santos Mettig Rocha

LSU Master's Theses

Malware threats are rapidly evolving to use more sophisticated attacks. By abusing rich application APIs such as Objective-C’s, they are able to gather information about user activity, launch background processes without the user’s knowledge as well as perform other malicious activities. In some cases, memory forensics is the only way to recover artifacts related to this malicious activity, as is the case with memory-only execution. The introduction of the Rosetta 2 on the Apple M1 introduces a completely new attack surface by allowing binaries of both Intel x86 64 and ARM64 architecture to run in userland. For this reason it …

Rethinking The Design Of Online Professor Reputation Systems, Haley Tatum

LSU Master's Theses

Online Professor Reputation (OPR) systems, such as RateMyProfessors.com (RMP), are frequently used by college students to post and access peer evaluations of their pro- fessors. However, recent evidence has shown that these platforms suffer from major bias problems. Failing to address bias in online professor ratings not only leads to negative expectations and experiences in class, but also poor performance on exams. To address these concerns, in this thesis, we study bias in OPR systems from a software design point of view. At the first phase of our analysis, we conduct a systematic literature review of 23 interdisciplinary studies on …

Application Of Gravity Data For Hydrocarbon Exploration Using Machine Learning Assisted Workflow, Oluwafemi Temidayo Alaofin

LSU Master's Theses

Gravity survey has played an essential role in many geoscience fields ever since it was conducted, especially as an early screening tool for subsurface hydrocarbon exploration. With continued improvement in data processing techniques and gravity survey accuracy, in-depth gravity anomaly studies, such as characterization of Bouguer and isostatic residual anomalies, have the potential to delineate prolific regional structures and hydrocarbon basins. In this study, we focus on developing a cost-effective, quick, and computationally efficient screening tool for hydrocarbon exploration using gravity data employing machine learning techniques. Since land-based gravity surveys are often expensive and difficult to obtain in remote places, …