Algorithm For Computational Imaging On A Real-Time Hardware, Manish Bhattarai

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

DRAMATIC advances in the field of computational and medical imaging over the past decades have enabled many critical applications such as night vision, medical diagnosis, quality control, and remote sensing. The increasing demand for image quality and its fidelity requires an increase in pixel count and a sophisticated post-processing mechanism to efficiently store, transmit, and analyze this massive data. There is an inherent trade-off between the generation of big data by such imaging systems and efficiency in extraction of useful information within real-time constraints, limiting the efficacy of such sensors in real-time decision-making systems. The traditional imaging system gets burdened …

Displacement Measurement Using A Laser Doppler Vibrometer Mounted On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Piyush Garg

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The railroad network in the united states is one of the best in the world, handling around 40 percent of all US freight movement. To maintain the serviceability and cost-effective operation of the railway infrastructure, regular monitoring is essential. Bridges are a critical part of the railway infrastructure and their timely maintenance and repair are important. Measuring transverse bridge displacement under train loading can assist to determine the bridge condition. The traditional methods available for transverse displacement measurement include Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDT). However, irregular terrain, remote and inaccessible locations, and the height of railroad bridges make implementation of …

Ros-Enabled Framework For A Miniature Hexapod As A Mobile Robot Research Platform, Joseph Michael Kloeppel

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop a framework for connected six-legged robots which can be used as a Robotic Operating System (ROS) based research platform. The research presented aims to purvey the necessary engineering and scientific steps needed to evolve a consumer-grade connected toy into a fully functioning and highly capable robotic system. Such a platform can be used to simulate and implement novel biologically inspired swarm research. Crawling robots have the advantage of being able to scale terrains which wheeled mobile robots may not and possess many interesting characteristics. The miniROaCH, miniature ROS-enabled and Crawling …

Development Of A Curriculum Analysis And Simulation Library With Applications In Curricular Analytics, Michael S. Hickman

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Higher education institutions are currently investing significant resources in attempts to improve student success by improving instruction quality, implementing tutoring programs, and providing other services to help students. While these are all worth- while, one area that tends to be overlooked is the structure of the curricula that are offered. When viewing curricula as data, or more specifically, a graph, it is intuitive to see how its structure can influence a student’s ability to move through it. How- ever, there are currently no tools to analyze a curriculum’s structural properties and how they might affect student success. This thesis describes …

Context-Sensitive Human Activity Classification In Video Utilizing Object Recognition And Motion Estimation, Abigail R. Jacoby

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Classification of human activity in raw video presents a challenging problem that remains unsolved, and is of great interest for large datasets. Though there have been several attempts at applying image processing techniques to video to recognize human activity in controlled video segments, few have attained a significant degree of success in raw videos.

Raw video classification exhibits significant challenges that can be addressed through the use of geometric information. Current techniques employ a combination of temporal information of the feature space or a combination of Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks (CNN and RNNs). CNNs are used for frame feature …

Modeling Of A Battery Storage System On A Distribution Feeder, Aaron M. Griego

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Driven by the need to reduce harmful emissions and the desire to move away from our dependency on fossil fuels, we have seen a sharp increase in alternative energy research and development within the last decade. Amongst the many alternative energy sources, photovoltaics (PV) is becoming more commonplace in the power utility system.

With these new sources of renewable energy being widely adopted, there are causes for concern that power utility companies must address. One of the more present issues that have been noted is the reliability of the power being delivered; in particular with PV systems. Studies have shown …

Integration Of Thin Film Tpv Cells To Cvd Diamond Heat Spreaders, Emma J. Renteria

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In this work, techniques to isolate thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices from the growth substrate and their subsequent integration with Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond heat spreaders will be discussed, with the envisioned goal of fabricating thermally managed cells. CVD diamond heat spreaders are a great option for thermal management of TPV cells. The key requirement, however, is the bonding of the TPV cell directly onto the diamond wafer without the presence of thick (>350 μm) growth substrates, which can offer significant thermal resistance.

The first approach is to release GaSb epitaxial layers from GaSb substrates. However, this is challenging due …

High Power Microwave Metamaterial Based Passive And Active Devices, Hamide Seidfaraji

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The goal of this dissertation is to design novel metamaterials for High Power Microwave devices. Metamaterials (MTM) are artificial periodic structures, which support reversed Cherenkov radiation and backward wave propagation. Microwave sources transform the kinetic energy of an electron beam into microwaves through the interaction of the electrons with a periodic slow wave structures (SWS). Here, a metamaterial (MTM) waveguide is proposed for use in a microwave oscillator instead of a SWS. The interaction of a multi-beam cathode with a set of MTM structures inside a cylindrical waveguide is studied and analyzed.

Group theory is used to design a metamaterial …

Applying Heterogeneous Teams Of Robotic Agents Using Hybrid Communications To Mapping And Education, Jonathan M. West

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Robotic agents are being increasingly utilized to carry out tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans. Many of these missions are best performed by heterogeneous teams of agents with various individual abilities. Communication among agents and with operators is a critical element in the performance and efficiency of these missions. Although radio frequency communications dominate the robotic networking field, they are limited in range and bandwidth due to spectrum congestion and subject to interference from noise or hostile jamming and can be intercepted. Optical communication has many advantages such as higher bandwidth and focused beam, however the line-of-sight requirement …

Prediction Of Graduation Delay Based On Student Characterisitics And Performance, Tushar Ojha

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

A college student's success depends on many factors including pre-university characteristics and university student support services. Student graduation rates are often used as an objective metric to measure institutional effectiveness. This work studies the impact of such factors on graduation rates, with a particular focus on delay in graduation. In this work, we used feature selection methods to identify a subset of the pre-institutional features with the highest discriminative power. In particular, Forward Selection with Linear Regression, Backward Elimination with Linear Regression, and Lasso Regression were applied. The feature sets were selected in a multivariate fashion. High school GPA, ACT …

Ros Based High Performance Control Architecture For An Aerial Robotic Testbed, Christoph Hintz

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to show the development of an aerial testbed based on the Robot Operating System (ROS). Such a testbed provides flexibility to control heterogenous vehicles, since the robots are able to simply communication with each other on the High Level (HL) control side. ROS runs on an embedded computer on-board each quadrotor. This eliminates the need of a Ground Base Station, since the complete HL control runs on-board the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

The architecture of the system is explained throughout the thesis with detailed explanations of the specific hardware and software used for the …

Design & Evaluation Of A Hybrid Switched Capacitor Circuit With Wide-Bandgap Devices For Dc Grid Applications, Joshua L. Stewart

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

ABSTRACT

As technologies advance, the rate at which renewable power sources, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, are being added to the power grid is increasing. Typically, PV power plants require large inverters for direct current to alternating current (DC-AC) power conversion, as well as large transformers to step up voltages to the grid voltage. Offshore wind farms and large PV power plants in remote locations often aggregate power on a DC bus in order to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of power conversion hardware within the energy complex. However, the power must still be converted to AC …

Characterization Of Methods For Surface Charge Removal For The Reduction Of Electrostatic Discharge Events, Khandakar Nusrat Islam

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) from charged dielectric materials used in explosive environments presents a significant hazard. In order to investigate dielectric surface charging and methods of removing this charge in a controlled manner, a test stand has been built to study the behavior of several common dielectric materials used in such environments. A corona discharge source of the type used in electrostatic printing technology has been employed at normal laboratory temperatures and at low and high relative humidity in a controlled manner.

Dielectrics tested included black/semi-black/yellow Kapton, Lexan, Delrin, and red Adiprene with surface potentials (V_diel) ranging from -1 …

Development Of Epitaxial Strategies Towards The Growth Of Novel Semiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirrors (Sesams) For Passively Mode-Locked Optically Pumped Vertical-External-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (Vecsels), Sadhvikas J. Addamane

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Mode-locked VECSEL systems using SESAMs are a relatively less complex and cost-effective alternative to state-of-the-art ultrafast lasers based on solid-state or fiber lasers. This system has seen considerable progress in device performance in terms of pulse width and peak power in the recent years. However, these device characteristics still have to be improved greatly and this system has to become more reliable to become commercially relevant. The realization of femtosecond pulses over long periods of time is non-trivial due to the high sensitivity of SESAM characteristics to minor drifts in growth or cavity conditions. This work focuses on developing novel …

Incorporating Census Data Into A Geospatial Student Database, Edwin Agbenyega

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The University of New Mexico(UNM) stores data on students, faculty, and staff at the University. The data is used to generate reports and fill surveys for several local, statewide and nationwide reporting entities. The reports convey statistical and analytical information such as the graduation rates, retention, performance, ethnicity, age, and gender of students. Furthermore, the Institute of Design and Innovation (IDI), and the Office of Institutional Analytics (OIA) at UNM use the data provided for various predictive studies aimed at improving student outcomes.

This thesis proposes geospatial data as an additional layer of information for the data repository. The paper …

Statistical Topological Approach Using Wave-Chaos For Electromagnetic Effects (Stuwee), Ghadeh M. Hadi

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Predicting the nature of the scattering of short wavelength waves in random interconnected networks of large complicated enclosures is routinely encountered in diverse fields such as acoustics, wireless communications, and electromagnetic compatibility engineering. The Random Coupling Model (RCM), based on wave-chaos, is a statistical model describing the scattering of short wavelength electromagnetic waves in large complicated (chaotic) enclosures. The Baum-Liu-Tesche (BLT) electromagnetic topology formulation is a hierarchical framework based on the multiconductor transmission line (MTL) model for describing the flow of energy between different nodes on a network of MTL segments, originally developed to study the coupling of electromagnetic waves …

Packet Scheduling Algorithms In Lte/Lte-A Cellular Networks: Multi-Agent Q-Learning Approach, Najem Nafiz Sirhan

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Spectrum utilization is vital for mobile operators. It ensures an efficient use of spectrum bands, especially when obtaining their license is highly expensive. Long Term Evolution (LTE), and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) spectrum bands license were auctioned by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to mobile operators with hundreds of millions of dollars. In the first part of this dissertation, we study, analyze, and compare the QoS performance of QoS-aware/Channel-aware packet scheduling algorithms while using CA over LTE, and LTE-A heterogeneous cellular networks. This included a detailed study of the LTE/LTE-A cellular network and its features, and the modification of an open source …

A Novel Application Of Machine Learning Methods To Model Microcontroller Upset Due To Intentional Electromagnetic Interference, Rusmir Bilalic

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

A novel application of support vector machines (SVMs), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and Gaussian processes (GPs) for machine learning (GPML) to model microcontroller unit (MCU) upset due to intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) is presented. In this approach, an MCU performs a counting operation (0-7) while electromagnetic interference in the form of a radio frequency (RF) pulse is direct-injected into the MCU clock line. Injection times with respect to the clock signal are the clock low, clock rising edge, clock high, and the clock falling edge periods in the clock window during which the MCU is performing initialization and executing the …

Progress Towards Competitive Iii-V Infrared Detectors: Fundamental Material Characterization And Techniques, Emil A. Kadlec

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Measurement of recombination mechanisms provides critical feedback on the material quality of semiconductors. Strained layer type-II superlattices (T2SLs) have seen a recent increase in interest as they possess intriguing properties making them prime candidates for use as infrared detectors. As T2SL-based detectors approach the performance of industry-standard Hg_1-xCd_xTe photodetectors, measurement of the carrier lifetime is becoming increasingly important. A comparison of the lifetime measurement techniques time-resolved photoluminescence, frequency-modulated photoluminescence, time-resolved microwave reflectance, and frequency-modulated conductance is made. Although photoluminescence-based measurement techniques are more common in literature, it is shown that the microwave reflectance-based measurement technique is …

Multidataset Independent Subspace Analysis: A Framework For Analysis Of Multimodal, Multi-Subject Brain Imaging Data, Rogers F. Silva

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Mental illnesses are serious disorders of the brain that have devastating effects on individuals and society. In addition to their disabling and impairing effects, mental illnesses have deep social and economical implications, accounting for an estimated loss of 12 billion working days and a care cost surge to $6 trillion a year by 2030. For diseases such as depression and anxiety, enhancing preventive programs and treatment accessibility, in combination with accurate early diagnosis and personalized treatments, are projected to result in a four-fold return on every dollar invested, a strategy that can drastically help curtail those losses. Notably, within the …

Simulation And Analysis Of The Band-Agile Coaxial Backward-Wave Oscillator, Phillip H. Fansler

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Simulation of a Band-Agile Coaxial Backward-Wave Oscillator (BACoRBWO) pro- duced a device that is tunable to operate in two distinct bands: L-band (1.4GHz) at 1.9GW with an efficiency of 26%, and C-band (4.2GHz) at 1.1GW with an efficiency of 15%. The device does not perform as expected based on existing literature; how- ever the end result is not necessarily undesirable. The need for further exploration of the discrepancies between contemporary literature and our findings notwithstanding, this device operates well enough of its own accord to merit additional study.

Thermoreflectance Technique For Thermal Properties Measurement Of Micro/Nanoscale Cantilever Beams, Mirza M. Elahi

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Thermal property analysis of thin film materials on a semi-infinite substrate is a very important area of research in last few decades due to the deviation of their properties from its bulk values and measurement technique plays very important role to be free from the effect of interface conductance, surface impurities, convective and radiative losses and fabrication tolerances. Non-contact optical measurement technique drew attention to be applicable to measure thermal properties using pump-probe thermoreflectance where short pulse Laser beam applied to the film to avoid heat loss with the inclusion of the interfacial conductance and extract thermal diffusivity which is …

Investigating The Classical And Non-Classical Mechanical Properties Of Gan Nanowires, Mohammad Reza Zamani Kouhpanji

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Study and prediction of classical and non-classical mechanical properties of GaN is crucial due to the potential application of GaN nanowires (NWs) in piezoelectric, probe-based nanometrology, and nanolithography areas. GaN is mainly grown on sapphire substrates whose lattice constant and thermal expansion coefficient are significantly different from GaN. These discrepancies cause mechanical defects and high residual stresses and strains in GaN, which reduce its quantum efficiency.

Specifically, for nanoscale applications, the mechanical properties of materials differ significantly compared to the bulk properties due to size-effects. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the mechanical properties of GaN NWs using the non-classical …

Optimizing Swap For Directed Energy – Detection Of Buried Conductors With Low-Energy High-Voltage Pulses, Jon C. Pouncey

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

High-voltage directed energy systems have shown promise in the role of neutralizing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in various experiments over the last decade. While these systems can be very effective with significant benefits over conventional counter-IED techniques, the excessive space, weight, and prime power (SWaP) requirements create significant challenges in developing deployable systems. One promising technique for dramatically reducing the SWaP requirement for certain types of directed energy counter-IED systems is the separation of the pulsed-power circuits into high voltage and high energy subsystems. In this technique, termed low average power high-voltage energy (LP-HVE) a repetitive low-energy, high-voltage pulse subsystem …

Computing The Reach-Avoid Set For Space Vehicle Maneuvering In The Presence Of Debris, Matthew Shubert

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The ability to guarantee the safety of autonomously controlled space vehicles is of great importance to help avoid accidents and ensure mission success. In this paper we investigate the safety verification of a satellite attempting to maneuver to a new position while avoiding multiple pieces of debris. We assume that the satellite, desired rendezvous point, and all debris are near the same circular orbit with dynamics modeled by Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill (CWH) equations. We will use reachability methods to guarantee the satellite is able to reach a desired point while avoiding all debris. We will first develop a computationally efficient method for …

Characterization Of A Beam Position Monitor For Linear Accelerators, Artem Kuskov

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Los Alamos National Laboratory is one of the leaders in the development of accelerator based Mo-99 radioisotope production, a key diagnostic for medical applications. In order to increase the efficiency of Mo-99 yield, a non-interfering Beam Position Monitor (BPM) system was developed that measures the time-dependent centering of the Bremsstrahlung producing electron beam. The Beam Positioning Monitor is comprised of 4 capacitive pickups positioned at 90 degrees to each other housed in a conflat 4.5” (63.5 mm) flange. This thesis develops, from first principles, analytical solutions for the transfer curve of this diagnostic based. Additionally, finite element time and frequency …

The Effect Of Power Supply Ramp Time On Sram Puf's, Abdelrahman T. Elshafiey Mr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are security primitives that exploit the device mismatches. PUFs are a promising solution for hardware cryptography and key storage. They are used in many security applications including identification, authentication and key generation. SRAM is one of the popular implementations of PUFs. SRAM PUFs offer the advantage, over other PUF constructions, of reusing resources (memories) that already exist in many designs.

In this thesis, for the first time, it is demonstrated that the start-up value of an SRAM PUF could be different depending on the SRAM power supply rising time. An analytical model has been developed to …

A Frequency Domain Based Approach To Evaluating Manual Tracking Behavior In Parkinson’S Disease, Gabriel A. Parras

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized in part by its neurodegenerative effects, which include bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and many other symptoms. While treatments such as Levodopa and deep brain stimulation are available, they both have associated complications. Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) is a non-invasive method used to stimulate the vestibular nerves with electric current and it has shown promise as a possible treatment for patients with PD. In order to assess the efficacy of GVS, I examined data collected from a manual pursuit tracking experiment. The experiment involved ten patients with varying severities of PD who were asked to perform a …

Aluminum Zinc Oxide (Azo) Optimization Process For Use In Optically Transparent Antennas, Maria Elizabeth Zamudio

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The importance of having an optimal material for fabricating Optically Transparent Antennas (OTAs) is crucial for designing highly efficient antennas that can be integrated with photovoltaics. Transparent Conductor Oxides (TCOs) are promising for OTA fabrication due to their capability of being simultaneously transparent at optical frequencies and conductive within the radio frequency (RF) range. In this work, a new material was developed and optimized to be used for fabricating an optically transparent antenna on a solar cell. Aluminum and Zinc Oxide were co-sputtered onto Si and onto a polycrystalline photovoltaic cell and then annealed between 350°C and 450°C for 24 …

A Leaky Integrate-And-Fire Neuron With Adjustable Refractory Period And Spike Frequency Adaptation, Jacob N. Healy

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

As standard CMOS technology approaches its physical limitations there is increased motivation to explore new computing paradigms. One possible path forward is to develop an array of computational architectures which specialize in distinct tasks. Neural computing architectures excel at pattern recognition and processing low-fidelity sensory input, but one of the biggest challenges in the field has been implementing architectures which strike an appropriate balance between biologically-plausible performance and the simplicity needed to make large neural systems practical. This work proposes a new VLSI neural architecture which seeks to provide such a balance.

The design described here builds on an implementation …