Digital Commons Network^™

7th International Conference On Creative Mathematical Sciences Communication (Cmsc`24), Frances A. Rosamond

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The 7th International Creative Mathematical Sciences Communication (CMSC) conference is scheduled for October 2024 in Trier, Germany. Initiated in Darwin, Australia in 2013, CMSC aims to explore novel methods of imparting computational thinking to diverse audiences including non-specialists, modern citizens, and children. Participants from around the world and from various and interdisciplinary disciplines such as science, education, dance, drama, and visual arts convene to exchange ideas, present experimental approaches, and collaborate on engaging children in the exploration of ongoing, unresolved research challenges.

Khovanov Homology And Legendrian Simple Knots, Ryan J. Maguire

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The Jones polynomial and Khovanov homology are powerful invariants in knot theory. Their computations are known to be NP-Hard and it can be quite a challenge to directly compute either of them for a general knot. We develop explicit algorithms for the Jones polynomial and discuss the implementation of an algorithm for Khovanov homology. Using this we tabulate the invariants for millions of knots, generate statistics on them, and formulate conjectures for Legendrian and transversely simple knots.

Asteroidal Sets And Dominating Targets In Graphs, Oleksiy Al-Saadi

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The focus of this PhD thesis is on various distance and domination properties in graphs. In particular, we prove strong results about the interactions between asteroidal sets and dominating targets. Our results add to or extend a plethora of results on these properties within the literature. We define the class of strict dominating pair graphs and show structural and algorithmic properties of this class. Notably, we prove that such graphs have diameter 3, 4, or contain an asteroidal quadruple. Then, we design an algorithm to to efficiently recognize chordal hereditary dominating pair graphs. We provide new results that describe the …

Algorithmic Design And Computational Modeling Using Dynamic Spectrum Allocation Techniques To Optimize Bandwidth Management In Wireless Communication Systems, Ankit Walishetti

Distinguished Student Work

This study aims to address the pressing need for efficient spectrum management methodologies in wireless communication systems by developing innovative sorting and allocation algorithms. Leveraging Dynamic Spectrum Allocation (DSA) techniques, this research devises strategies to optimize the utilization of bandwidth within existing spectrum space, ultimately reducing the need for network infrastructure expansion.

Ensuring thorough coverage of DSA techniques, 5 distinct transmitter sorting algorithms were programmed and tested across 8 performance metrics designed to measure specific capabilities. For consistency, a single bandwidth allocation program was designed to ‘pack’ transmitters starting from the left endpoint of the spectrum space. Progressively varying the …

Persistent Relative Homology For Topological Data Analysis, Christian J. Lentz

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

A central problem in data-driven scientific inquiry is how to interpret structure in noisy, high-dimensional data. Topological data analysis (TDA) provides a solution via the language of persistent homology, which encodes features of interest as holes within a filtration of the data. The recently presented U-Match Decomposition places the standard persistence computation in a flexible form, allowing for straight-forward extensions of the algorithm to variations of persistent homology. We describe U-Match Decomposition in the context of persistent homology, and extend it to an algorithm for persistent relative homology, providing proofs for the correctness and stability of the presented algorithm.

Inexact Fixed-Point Proximity Algorithm For The ℓ₀ Sparse Regularization Problem, Ronglong Fang, Yuesheng Xu, Mingsong Yan

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

We study inexact fixed-point proximity algorithms for solving a class of sparse regularization problems involving the ℓ₀ norm. Specifically, the ℓ₀ model has an objective function that is the sum of a convex fidelity term and a Moreau envelope of the ℓ₀ norm regularization term. Such an ℓ₀ model is non-convex. Existing exact algorithms for solving the problems require the availability of closed-form formulas for the proximity operator of convex functions involved in the objective function. When such formulas are not available, numerical computation of the proximity operator becomes inevitable. This leads to inexact iteration algorithms. We investigate in this …

Constructions And Analyses Of Efficient Symmetric-Key Primitives For Authentication And Encryption., Sebati Ghosh Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In symmetric key cryptography there are two fundamental objectives, viz. 1. confidentiality or secrecy of message from unexpected party and 2. authentication of message which includes authenticating the source of the message as well as integrity of the message against any unwanted modification. Let us first concentrate on confidentiality. In classical symmetric key cryptography two parties, say Alice and Bob, first secretly exchange a key-pair (e, d). Later, if Alice wishes to send a secret message m ∈ M to Bob, she computes c = Ee(m) and transmits c to Bob. Upon receiving c, Bob computes Dd(c) = m and …

Computing Well-Structured Subgraphs In Geometric Intersection Graphs., Satyabrata Jana Dr.

Doctoral Theses

For a set of geometric objects, the associative geometric intersection graph is the graph with a vertex for each object and an edge between two vertices if and only if the corresponding objects intersect. Geometric intersection graphs are very important due to their theoretical properties and applicability. Based on the different geometric objects, several types of geometric intersection graphs are defined. Given a graph G, an induced (either vertex or edge) subgraph H ⊆ G is said to be an well-structured subgraph if H satisfies certain properties among the vertices in H. This thesis studies some well-structured subgraphs finding problems …

Data Ethics: An Investigation Of Data, Algorithms, And Practice, Gabrialla S. Cockerell

Honors Projects

This paper encompasses an examination of defective data collection, algorithms, and practices that continue to be cycled through society under the illusion that all information is processed uniformly, and technological innovation consistently parallels societal betterment. However, vulnerable communities, typically the impoverished and racially discriminated, get ensnared in these harmful cycles due to their disadvantages. Their hindrances are reflected in their information due to the interconnectedness of data, such as race being highly correlated to wealth, education, and location. However, their information continues to be analyzed with the same measures as populations who are not significantly affected by racial bias. Not …

Data And Algorithmic Modeling Approaches To Count Data, Andraya Hack

Honors College Theses

Various techniques are used to create predictions based on count data. This type of data takes the form of a non-negative integers such as the number of claims an insurance policy holder may make. These predictions can allow people to prepare for likely outcomes. Thus, it is important to know how accurate the predictions are. Traditional statistical approaches for predicting count data include Poisson regression as well as negative binomial regression. Both methods also have a zero-inflated version that can be used when the data has an overabundance of zeros. Another procedure is to use computer algorithms, also known as …

Efficient Handover Mechanisms For Heterogeneous Networks., Shankar Kumar Ghosh Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In this thesis, some analytical frameworks have been developed to analyze the effect of different system parameters on handover performances in heterogeneous network (HetNet) and based on such frameworks, some efficient handover algorithms have been proposed. The study starts with an analytical framework to investigate the effect of resource allocation mechanisms, upper layer mobility management protocols (MMPs) and handover decision metrics on user perceived throughput. This analysis reveals that among other factors, handover decision metric plays a crucial role in determining user perceived throughput in HetNet. Subsequently, we develop two handover decision metrics for ultra dense networks (UDN) and unlicensed …

Zero-Knowledge Proof, Deniability And Their Applications In Blockchain, E-Voting And Deniable Secret Handshake Protocols., Somnath Panja Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In this thesis, we propose a cryptographic technique for an authenticated, end-to-end verifiable and secret ballot election. Currently, almost all verifiable e-voting systems require trusted authorities to perform the tallying process except for the DRE-i and DRE-ip systems. We have shown a weaknesses in the DRE-ip system and proposed a solution. We have modified the DRE-ip system so that no adversary can create and post a valid ballot on the public bulletin board without detection. We provide security proofs to prove the security properties of the proposed scheme. We propose two methods to store these ballots using blockchain and cloud …

On Class Imbalanced Learning:Design Of Non-Parametricclassifiers, Performance Indices, And Deep Oversampling Strategies., Sankha Mullick Dr.

Doctoral Theses

The relevance of classification is almost endless in the everyday application of machine learning. However, the performance of a classifier is only limited to the fulfillment of the inherent assumptions it makes about the training examples. For example, to facilitate unbiased learning a classifier is expected to be trained with an equal number of labeled data instances from all of the classes. However, in a large number of practical applications such as anomaly detection, semantic segmentation, disease prediction, etc. it may not be possible to gather an equal number of diverse training points for all the classes. This results in …

Rankings Of Mma Fighters, Michael Schaefer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Ranking is an essential process that allows sporting authorities to determine the relative performance of athletes. While ranking is straightforward in some sports, it is more complicated in MMA (mixed martial arts), where competition is often fragmented. This paper describes the mathematics behind four existing ranking algorithms: Elo’s System, Massey’s Method, Colley’s Method, and Google’s PageRank, and shows how to adapt them to rank MMA fighters in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). We also provide a performance analysis for each ranking method.

Secret Sharing And Its Variants, Matroids,Combinatorics., Shion Samadder Chaudhury Dr.

Doctoral Theses

The main focus of this thesis is secret sharing. Secret Sharing is a very basic and fundamental cryptographic primitive. It is a method to share a secret by a dealer among different parties in such a way that only certain predetermined subsets of parties can together reconstruct the secret while some of the remaining subsets of parties can have no information about the secret. Secret sharing was introduced independently by Shamir [139] and Blakely [20]. What they introduced is called a threshold secret sharing scheme. In such a secret sharing scheme the subsets of parties that can reconstruct a secret …

An Introduction To Calling Bullshit: Learning To Think Outside The Black Box, Jevin D. West, Carl T. Bergstrom

Numeracy

Bergstrom, Carl T. and Jevin D. West. 2020. Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World. (New York: Random House) 336 pp. ISBN 978-0525509202.

While statistical methods receive greater attention, the art of critically evaluating information in everyday life more commonly depends on thinking outside the black box of the algorithm. In this piece we introduce readers to our book and associated online teaching materials—for readers who want to more capably call “bullshit” or to teach their students to do the same.

Dealing With Classification Irregularities In Real-World Scenarios., Payel Sadhukhan Dr.

Doctoral Theses

Data processing by the human sensory system comes naturally. This processing, commonly denoted as pattern recognition and analysis are carried out spontaneously by humans. In day to day life, in most cases, decision making by humans come without any conscious effort. From the middle of the past century, humans have shown interest to render their abstraction capabilities (pattern recognition and analysis) to the machine. The abstraction capability of the machine is ’machine intelligence’ or ’machine learning’ [87].The primary goal of machine learning methods is to extract some meaningful information from the ’data’. Data refers to the information or attributes that …

Algorithms Related To Triangle Groups, Bao The Pham

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Given a finite index subgroup of $\PSL_2(\Z)$, one can talk about the different properties of this subgroup. These properties have been studied extensively in an attempt to classify these subgroups. Tim Hsu created an algorithm to determine whether a subgroup is a congruence subgroup by using permutations \cite{hsu}. Lang, Lim, and Tan also created an algorithm to determine if a subgroup is a congruence subgroup by using Farey Symbols \cite{llt}. Sebbar classified torsion-free congruence subgroups of genus 0 \cite{sebbar}. Pauli and Cummins computed and tabulated all congruence subgroups of genus less than 24 \cite{ps}. However, there are still some problems …

Awegnn: Auto-Parametrized Weighted Element-Specific Graph Neural Networks For Molecules., Timothy Szocinski, Duc Duy Nguyen, Guo-Wei Wei

Mathematics Faculty Publications

While automated feature extraction has had tremendous success in many deep learning algorithms for image analysis and natural language processing, it does not work well for data involving complex internal structures, such as molecules. Data representations via advanced mathematics, including algebraic topology, differential geometry, and graph theory, have demonstrated superiority in a variety of biomolecular applications, however, their performance is often dependent on manual parametrization. This work introduces the auto-parametrized weighted element-specific graph neural network, dubbed AweGNN, to overcome the obstacle of this tedious parametrization process while also being a suitable technique for automated feature extraction on these internally complex …

The “Knapsack Problem” Workbook: An Exploration Of Topics In Computer Science, Steven Cosares

Open Educational Resources

This workbook provides discussions, programming assignments, projects, and class exercises revolving around the “Knapsack Problem” (KP), which is widely a recognized model that is taught within a typical Computer Science curriculum. Throughout these discussions, we use KP to introduce or review topics found in courses covering topics in Discrete Mathematics, Mathematical Programming, Data Structures, Algorithms, Computational Complexity, etc. Because of the broad range of subjects discussed, this workbook and the accompanying spreadsheet files might be used as part of some CS capstone experience. Otherwise, we recommend that individual sections be used, as needed, for exercises relevant to a course in …

Studies On Diagnostic Coverage And X-Sensitivity In Logic Circuits., Manjari Pradhan Dr.

Doctoral Theses

Today’s integrated circuits comprise billions of interconnected transistors assembled on a tiny silicon chip, and testing them to ensure functional and timing correctness continues to be a major challenge to designers and test engineers with further downscaling of transistors. Although substantial progress has been witnessed during the last five decades in the area of algorithmic test generation and fault diagnosis, applications of combinatorial and machinelearning (ML) techniques to solve these problems remain largely unexplored till date. In this thesis, we study three problems in the context of digital logic test and diagnosis. The first problem is that of fault diagnosis …

New Characterizations Of Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces And Applications To Metric Geometry, Daniel Alpay, Palle E. T. Jorgensen

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

We give two new global and algorithmic constructions of the reproducing kernel Hilbert space associated to a positive definite kernel. We further present a general positive definite kernel setting using bilinear forms, and we provide new examples. Our results cover the case of measurable positive definite kernels, and we give applications to both stochastic analysis and metric geometry and provide a number of examples.

Essays In Social Choice Theory., Dipjyoti Majumdar Dr.

Doctoral Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore some issues in social choice theory and decision theory. Social choice theory provides the theoretical foundations for the field of public choice and welfare economics. It tries to bring together normative aspects like perspective value judgements and positive aspects, like strategic con- siderations. The second feature which is our focus, is closely related to the problem of providing appropriate incentives to agents, an issue of prime importance in eco- nomics.Consider for example, a set of agents who must elect one among a set of can- didates. These candidates may be physical agents …

In Silicoidentification Of Toxins And Their Effect Onhost Pathways: Feature Extraction, Classificationand Pathway Prediction., Rishika Sen Dr.

Doctoral Theses

Identification of toxins, which are either proteins or small molecules, from pathogens is of paramount importance due to their crucial role as first-line invaders infiltrating a host, often leading to infection of the host. These toxins can affect specific proteins, like enzymes that catalyze metabolic pathways, affect metabolites that form the basis of metabolic reactions, and prevent the progression of those pathways, or more generally they may affect the regular functioning of other proteins in signaling pathways in the host. In this regard, the thesis addresses the problem of identification of toxins, and the effect of perturbations by toxins on …

Predicting Carcass Cut Yields In Cattle From Digitalimages Using Artificial Intelligence, Darragh Matthews

Theses

Beef carcass classification in Europe is predicated on the EUROP grid for both fatness and conformation. Although this system performs well for grouping visually similar carcasses, it cannot be used to accurately predict meat yields from these groups, especially when considered on an individual cut level. Deep Learning (DL) has proven to be a successful tool for many image classification problems but has yet to be fully proven in a regression scenario using carcass images. Here we have trained DL models to predict carcass cut yields and compared predictions to more standard machine learning (ML) methods. Three approaches were undertaken …

Provable Security Of Symmetric-Key Cryptographic Schemes., Ashwin Jha Dr.

Doctoral Theses

In this thesis, we provide quantitative and/or qualitative improvements in the provable security of several symmetric-key schemes, encompassing major information security goals, viz. data authentication, encryption, and authenticated encryption.AUTHENTICATION AND INTEGRITY: Among authentication schemes, we analyze the CBC-MAC family and counter-based MACs (XMACC, XMACR, PCS, LightMAC etc.), referred as the XMAC family. First, we revisit the security proofs for CBC-MAC and EMAC, and identify a critical flaw in the state-of-the-art results. We revise the security proofs and obtain significantly better bounds in case of EMAC, ECBC and FCBC. Second, we study the security of CBC-MAC family, when the underlying primitive …

Strategies And Algorithms Of Sudoku, Callie Weaver

Mathematics Senior Capstone Papers

This paper discusses different strategies for the game of Sudoku and how those strategies relate to other problem solving techniques while also attempting to use those other techniques in a way that improves the strategies for Sudoku. This includes a thorough analysis of the general algorithm and an algorithm that is formed by the Occupancy Theorem and Preemptive Sets. This paper also compares these algorithms that directly relate to Sudoku with algorithms to similar combinatorial problems such as the Traveling Salesman problem and more. With the study of game theory becoming more popular, these strategies have also been shown to …

Towards A Novel Generalized Chinese Remainder Algorithm For Extended Rabin Cryptosystem, Justin Zhan, Peter J. Shiue, Shen C. Huang, Benjamin J. Lowe

Mathematical Sciences Faculty Research

This paper proposes a number of theorems and algorithms for the Chinese Remainder Theorem, which is used to solve a system of linear congruences, and the extended Rabin cryptosystem, which accepts a key composed of an arbitrary finite number of distinct primes. This paper further proposes methods to relax the condition on the primes with trade-offs in the time complexity. The proposed algorithms can be used to provide ciphertext indistinguishability. Finally, this paper conducts extensive experimental analysis on six large data sets. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithms are asymptotically tight to the existing decryption algorithm in the …

Even Subgraphs Of A Graph, Hong-Jian Lai, Zhi-Hong Chen

Zhi-Hong Chen

No abstract provided.

Graph Pebbling Algorithms And Lemke Graphs, Charles A. Cusack, Aaron Green, Airat Bekmetjev, Mark Powers

Faculty Publications

Given a simple, connected graph, a pebbling configuration (or just configuration) is a function from its vertex set to the nonnegative integers. A pebbling move between adjacent vertices removes two pebbles from one vertex and adds one pebble to the other. A vertex r is said to be reachable from a configuration if there exists a sequence of pebbling moves that places at least one pebble on r. A configuration is solvable if every vertex is reachable. The pebbling number π(G) of a graph G is the minimum integer such that every configuration of size π(G) on G …