Engineering Commons^™

Race, Class And Gender In Engineering Education: A Quantitative Investigation Of First Year Enrollment, Canek Moises Luna Phillips

Open Access Dissertations

Research explanations for the disparity across both race and gender in engineering education has typically relied on a deficit model, whereby women and people of color lack the requisite knowledge or psychological characteristics that Whites and men have to become engineers in sufficient numbers. Instead of using a deficit model approach to explain gender and race disparity, in the three studies conducted for this dissertation, I approach gender and race disparity as the result of processes of segregation linked to the historic and on-going perpetuation of systemic sources of oppression in the United States. In the first study, I investigate …

A Unicorn's Tale: Examining The Experiences Of Black Women In Engineering Industry, Monique S. Ross

Open Access Dissertations

Black women have recently been identified as the most educated demographic in the United States, and yet they are grossly underrepresented in engineering. They comprise 6.4 % of the U.S. population and only 0.72 % of engineering industry. Meanwhile, engineers have been identified as the key to the United States’ ability to maintain its prominence and leadership in a competitive global economy due to their contribution to maintaining and improving our infrastructures and standard of living. This significance to society has spawned national initiatives geared towards broadening participation in engineering. This research study was designed to explore the experiences of …

Identifying And Prioritizing Critical Success Factors For Fixed Base Operators In The United States: A Mixed Method Approach, Yu Wang

Open Access Dissertations

Fixed Base Operators (FBOs) are major service providers for the general aviation (GA) sector, which closely connect the public with the aviation industry. However, over the past decade, the U.S. GA industry has experienced a decline in the numbers of registered aircraft, pilots, and airports. Due to the fact that FBOs significantly contribute to the aviation industry, further research studies regarding the FBO-sector at a national level are needed. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) that promote the success of FBO operations in the United States.

The methodology consisted of a …

Safety Performance Prediction Of Large-Truck Drivers In The Transportation Industry, Emily Moneka Francis Xavier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trucking industry and truck drivers play a key role in the United States commercial transportation sector. Accidents involving large trucks is one such big event that can cause huge problems to the driver, company, customer and other road users causing property damage and loss of life. The objective of this research is to concentrate on an individual transportation company and use their historical data to build models based on statistical and machine learning methods to predict accidents. The focus is to build models that has high accuracy and correctly predicts an accident. Logistic regression and penalized logistic regression models …

Eveleth, Minnesota: A Portrait Of My Home Town, Judith I. Luna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This 30-minute documentary film provides snapshots of the small northeastern iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Iron Range. It uses a two-pronged approach: 1) a first-person return to the town by the filmmaker almost 50 years after graduating from high school to see how the town may have changed, 2) a look at some historical and cultural factors which made the town what it was when the filmmaker was growing up and what continues to animate the town in the face of iron mining’s decline and rebirth. The latter include the immigrant experience and influence as the …

A Mixed Methods Study On Choice Of Media Influence On Construction Industry Communication, Luciana De Cresce El Debs

Open Access Dissertations

This study focuses on the use of different communication media for solving problems in the construction industry. The focus of this research is on design-problems containing spatial information and are informally reported between site supervision and design professionals. Due to the fragmented nature of the construction industry, miscommunication is a well-known and common problem. Yet, this fragmented nature is necessary in order to build a complex product involving many different types of professionals. To better understand the issue, this study uses previous literature, such as those published on media richness theory, problem-solving strategy, and construction specific communications, in a three-phased …

Supporting Space Systems Design Via Systems Dependency Analysis Methodology, Cesare Guariniello

Open Access Dissertations

The increasing size and complexity of space systems and space missions pose severe challenges to space systems engineers. When complex systems and Systems-of-Systems are involved, the behavior of the whole entity is not only due to that of the individual systems involved but also to the interactions and dependencies between the systems. Dependencies can be varied and complex, and designers usually do not perform analysis of the impact of dependencies at the level of complex systems, or this analysis involves excessive computational cost, or occurs at a later stage of the design process, after designers have already set detailed requirements, …

Enabling A Sustainable Economy Through Energy Systems Modeling: Solar-Centric, Efficient, Integrated And Continuous Process Synthesis And Optimization, Emre Gencer

Open Access Dissertations

The expected increase in food, energy and water demand due to increase in population and change in consumption habits in conjunction with diminishing fossil fuel reserves and increasing greenhouse gas emissions urge the development and implementation of alternative energy conversion techniques using renewable energy for a sustainable economy. Among renewable energy sources, solar energy is prominent due to its abundance. A sustainable economy can be created by producing building blocks foundational to meeting all basic human needs of daily existence. However, intermittencies and limitations on land area dedicated to harness solar energy are the major obstacles on widespread implementation of …

Improving The Laboratory Design Of Asphalt Mixtures To Enhance Asphalt Pavement Durability, Ali Hekmatfar

Open Access Dissertations

Most departments of transportation, including Indiana’s, currently use the Superpave mixture design method to design asphalt mixtures. This method specifies that the optimum asphalt content for a given gradation be selected at 4 percent air voids. During construction, these mixtures are typically compacted to 7-8 percent air voids. If mixtures were designed to be more compactable in the field they could be compacted to the same density as the laboratory mixture design, which would increase pavement durability by decreasing the in-place air voids. The objective of this research was to enhance the asphalt mixture design method in order to increase …

Modeling, Control, And Impact Analysis Of The Next Generation Transportation System, Feng Zhu

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation aims to develop a systematic tool designated for connected and autonomous vehicles, integrating the simulation of traffic dynamics, traffic control strategies, and impact analysis at the network level.

The first part of the dissertation is devoted to the traffic flow modeling of connected vehicles. This task is the foundation step for transportation planning, optimized network design, efficient traffic control strategies, etc, of the next generation transportation system. Chapter 2 proposes a cell-based simulation approach to model the proactive driving behavior of connected vehicles. Firstly, a state variable of connected vehicle is introduced to track the trajectory of connected …

Enhancing Silymarin Fractionation Via Molecular Modeling Using The Conductor-Like Screening Model For Real Solvents, Emma C. Brace

Open Access Theses

The market for bio-based products from plant sources is on the rise. There is a global challenge to implement environmentally clean practices for the production of fuels and pharmaceuticals from sustainable resources. A significant hurdle for discovery of comparable plant-derived products is the extensive volume of trial-and-error experimentation required. To alleviate the experimental burden, a quantum mechanics based molecular modeling approach known as the COnductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) was used to predict the best biphasic solvent system to purify silymarins from an aqueous mixture. Silymarins are a class of flavonolignans present in milk thistle ( Silybum marianum …

Modeling Economic Impacts Of The Inland Waterway Transportation System, Furkan Oztanriseven

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inland waterway transportation system of the United States (U.S.) handles 11.7 billion tons of freight annually and connects the heartland of the U.S. with the rest of the world by providing a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. This dissertation aims to create decision support tools for maritime stakeholders to measure the economic impacts of the inland waterway transportation systems under real world scenarios including disruptions, demand changes, port expansion decisions, and channel deepening investments. Monte Carlo simulation, system dynamics, discrete-event simulation, agent-based modeling, and multiregional input-output modeling techniques are utilized to analyze the complex relationships between inland …

A Cross-Sectional And Mixed-Method Assessment Of Safety Culture And Safety Climate At A Regional Airline, Micah S. Walala

Open Access Dissertations

The researcher applied a mixed methods approach to conduct a cross-sectional assessment of the safety culture, safety climate, and SMS at a regional airline in the United States. Data collection techniques were comprised of interview, on-line-survey, and a focus group activity. Participants in the current study were maintenance technicians, flight attendants, dispatchers, pilots, and managers. Results indicated significant differences of perception of safety climate, safety culture, and Safety Management System between the maintenance technicians and flight attendants. The length of time a participant had worked at the subject airline and age of the participant appeared to be significant factors of …

Optimal Monitoring And Mitigation Of Systemic Risk In Lending Networks, Zhang Li

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis proposes optimal policies to manage systemic risk in financial networks. Given a one-period borrower-lender network in which all debts are due at the same time and have the same seniority, we address the problem of allocating a fixed amount of cash among the nodes to minimize the weighted sum of unpaid liabilities. Assuming all the loan amounts and cash flows are fixed and that there are no bankruptcy costs, we show that this problem is equivalent to a linear program. We develop a duality-based distributed algorithm to solve it which is useful for applications where it is desirable …

Dynamic Green Split Optimization In Intersection Signal Design For Urban Street Network, Peng Jiao

Open Access Theses

In the past few decades, auto travel demand in the United States has significantly increased, but roadway capacity unfortunately has not expanded as quickly, which has led to severe levels of highway traffic congestion in many areas. In theory, the problem of congestion addressed through demand management and roadway expansion. However, system expansion in urban areas is difficult due to the extremely high cost of land; therefore, maximizing the existing capacity therefore often is considered the most realistic option. In urban areas, most of the traffic congestion and delays typically occur at signalized intersections. This thesis aims to prove the …

Investigating U.S. Resident Perceptions Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Food And Agriculture, Carissa Jae Morgan

Open Access Theses

Corporations are prioritizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities by investing in and actively promoting their social practices. In the U.S. of the modern food supply chain creates a unique challenge for corporations to address concerns about social issues of consumers and non-consumers alike. This study is motivated by the need to better understand individuals’ perceptions of CSR as it pertains to the food supply chain. In April 2015 an online survey collected information from 1,201 U.S. residents with the objective of investigating individuals’ perceptions of relative importance of eight prominent CSR areas relevant to food and agriculture. Demographic, household consumption, …

A Framework For Organizational Performance Assessment In The Construction Industry, Zenith Rathore

Open Access Theses

Organizations have been trying to increase their efficiency and improve their performance in order to achieve their goals. Organizational success is determined by various factors that impact organizational performance. Construction industry is a project based industry which is extremely dynamic in nature. The need to identify the weak points and search solutions to improve performance of construction organization is extremely crucial. Previous research works have primarily focused on the measurement of financial or tangible assets. Industry has always focused on measure of project success. However, previous studies lack the understanding of qualitative factors and their combine effect on organizational performance. …

A Methodology For Cooperation Between Electric Utilities And Consumers For Microgrid Utilization Based On A Systems Engineering Approach, Franklin E. Pacheco Chiguano

Open Access Theses

In recent years, the energy market has experienced important challenges in its structure and requirements of its actors, such as the necessity for more reliable electric service, energy efficiency, environmental care practices, and the incorporation of decentralized power generation based on distributed energy resources (DER). Given this context, microgrids offer several advantages to the grid and its actors. However, few microgrid projects have been implemented, and the participation of electric utilities is lower than the expected. Hence, this research explores how electric utility - customer interactions can accommodate mutual benefits for both parties through the proposal of a Microgrid Reference …

Asphalt Pavement Preservation Using Rejuvenating Fog Seals, Ammanuiel A. Kebede

Open Access Theses

Fog seal is a type of treatment that uses a diluted asphalt emulsion to seal and protect an existing asphalt surface from a variety of distresses. Fog seal is sprayed on top of an asphalt pavement surface to improve and protect it from further cracking and raveling. Rejuvenator is also a type of treatment that penetrates into the asphalt pavement and restores its original viscoelastic properties. Similarly, like fog seal, rejuvenators can be sprayed on top of an asphalt pavement surface. The use of rejuvenators has grown rapidly in the past decade. However, little is known about the actual effectiveness …

Evaluation Of Poisson’S Ratio Of Asphalt Concrete, Elvis Alexander Castillo Camarena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poisson´s ratio can be defined as the negative ratio of strains perpendicular to the load direction to the strains parallel to the loading direction. If elastic or viscoelastic models are used, Poisson´s ratio, together with elastic modulus, is a main input used to predict distresses in flexible pavement structures such as rutting and cracking. In asphalt concrete, Poisson’s ratio is commonly measured using two different testing configurations: indirect tension (IDT) and uniaxial. However, results from these two testing configuration can potentially have differences. Design methodologies such as the Mechanistic Empirical Design Guide (MEPDG, now PavementME) have been shown to be …