Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Investigation Of Ceria-Nickel Containing Aerogels For Catalytic Converter Applications, Xiao Peng Li

Honors Theses

Aerogels have physical properties that make them appealing for automotive exhaust catalysis: they are highly porous with low density and high surface area. Current catalytic converter technology uses precious metals (Pt, Pd and Rh) to oxidize CO and unburned hydrocarbons and reduce NO. Catalytic-metal-containing aerogel can potentially be a less expensive alternative for use in catalytic converters. Prior work with nickel-alumina aerogels indicated promise for this application; the goal of including ceria is to increase oxygen storage and thereby enhance catalytic ability. Here, cerium- and nickel-containing aerogels, with an alumina backbone and silica backbone, are fabricated using an epoxide-assisted recipe …

Preventing Browser Fingerprinting By Randomizing Canvas, Rianna Quiogue

Honors Theses

Whether users know it or not, their online behaviors are being tracked and stored by many of the websites they visit regularly through a technique called browser fingerprinting. Just like a person's physical fingerprint can identify them, users' browser fingerprints can identify them on the Internet. This thesis outlines the techniques used in browser fingerprinting and explains how although it can be used for good, it can also be a major threat to people's online privacy and security. Since browser fingerprinting has gained popularity among many websites and advertising companies, researchers have been developing ways to counteract its effectiveness by …

Characterizing The Waters Of 6 Rivers In Upstate New York With A Focus On Physical Hydrology And Controls On Water Quality, Connor Horan

Honors Theses

Rivers are key passageways connecting inland waters to the world’s oceans. They are responsible for the mobilization and transport of nutrients, sediments, and weathered materials. Rivers have been influential in the development of human civilization and are hubs for people and businesses to populate. As our population puts a heavier burden on these waterways, there is a need to better understand the controls on their water quality.

The overarching goal of this research is to improve our understanding of the hydrology and water resources of the Upper Hudson and Mohawk watersheds. This is critical to our understanding of the ecological …

Exploring The Behavior Repertoire Of A Wireless Vibrationally Actuated Tensegrity Robot, Zongliang Ji

Honors Theses

Soft robotics is an emerging field of research due to its potential to explore and operate in unstructured, rugged, and dynamic environments. However, the properties that make soft robots compelling also make them difficult to robustly control. Here at Union, we developed the world’s first wireless soft tensegrity robot. The goal of my thesis is to explore effective and efficient methods to explore the diverse behavior our tensegrity robot. We will achieve that by applying state-of-art machine learning technique and a novelty search algorithm.

Investigating The Urban Stream Syndrome In The Schenectady-Schoharie Region Of Upstate New York, Elizabeth Marie Andonie

Honors Theses

The urban stream syndrome is defined as the typical effects that cities have on watersheds and has been identified in urban regions worldwide. Symptoms include a higher risk of flooding, increased erosion, reduced biodiversity, and elevated concentrations of nutrients and contaminants. The objective of this study is to determine the extent of the urban stream syndrome in and around the Schenectady area. More specifically, this study focuses on two separate aspects: 1) the influx of road salt, and 2) the influx of organic waste. In addition, data were compared with previous data of the same streams to determine changes over …

Geometric Constructions, Origami, And Galois Theory, Julia Greene

Honors Theses

Geometric constructions using an unmarked straightedge and a compass have been studied for thousands of years. In these constructions, we can draw circles and lines starting with any two points, and we can create new points where they intersect. An n-gon is said to be constructible if can be constructed in a finite number of steps using these guidelines. We begin with constructions of several n-gons, and examine the field theory behind geometric constructions. Galois theory then provides a precise classification of which n-gons are constructible and which are not. Next is an exploration of origami construction, which examines a …

Approximation Of Continuous Functions By Artificial Neural Networks, Zongliang Ji

Honors Theses

An artificial neural network is a biologically-inspired system that can be trained to perform computations. Recently, techniques from machine learning have trained neural networks to perform a variety of tasks. It can be shown that any continuous function can be approximated by an artificial neural network with arbitrary precision. This is known as the universal approximation theorem. In this thesis, we will introduce neural networks and one of the first versions of this theorem, due to Cybenko. He modeled artificial neural networks using sigmoidal functions and used tools from measure theory and functional analysis.

Category Theory And Universal Property, Niuniu Zhang

Honors Theses

Category theory unifies and formalizes the mathematical structure and concepts in a way that various areas of interest can be connected. For example, many have learned about the sets and its functions, the vector spaces and its linear transformation, and the group theories and its group homomorphism. Not to mention the similarity of structure in topological spaces, as the continuous function is its mapping. In sum, category theory represents the abstractions of other mathematical concepts. Hence, one could use category theory as a new language to define and simplify the existing mathematical concepts as the universal properties. The goal of …