Digital Commons Network^™

Parameter Informed Reinforcement Learning For Vehicle System Identification, Nathan Schaff

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Accurate system identification is essential for modeling and controlling vehicle dynamics. This dissertation explores the application of Parameter Informed Reinforcement Learning (PIRL) as a novel approach to system identification (SYSID). PIRL integrates prior system knowledge, such as physical parameters, into reinforcement learning (RL) frameworks to improve estimation accuracy. The study begins with an overview of traditional SYSID methods and then introduces PIRL as a modification of standard RL. The research applies PIRL to short-period aircraft dynamics, demonstrating its effectiveness in both offline and online learning frameworks. The dissertation then further explores PIRL’s utility in an indirect model reference adaptive control …

Evaluation Of Internal Field In Ppln And Studies On Qpm Shg Efficiency Factor, Prasath Rk Mr

Theses and Dissertations

Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate (PPLN) crystals have attracted interest in optoelectronics and nonlinear optics. The response to the applied electric field is determined by their larger electro-optic and nonlinear optical coefficients. An internal electric field exists in congruent PPLN crystals due to its defects. Its evaluation is important in controlling the electro-optical behavior. A simple nondestructive diffraction method is proposed to estimate the internal electric field present in the congruent lithium niobate crystal.

Due to the presence of an unrelaxed internal field, the as-poled sample acts as an index grating. When a light is incident on such a sample, it …

Development And Validation Of 2nn-Meam Interatomic Potential For Sc And Al-Sc Alloys Thermodynamics Solidification And Intermetallic Ordering, Avik Mahata

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We present a second-nearest-neighbor Modified Embedded Atom Method (2NN–MEAM) potential for Scandium (Sc) and Aluminum-Scandium (Al–Sc) alloys that unifies cohesive, thermodynamic, and solidification behavior within a single transferable framework. The Sc component accurately reproduces cohesive energy, lattice constants, defect energetics, and the experimental melting point obtained from two-phase coexistence, demonstrating reliable description of both hcp and liquid phases. The Al–Sc binary interaction parameters were fitted using the L1₂–Al₃Sc reference and benchmarked against first-principles and calorimetric data. The potential reproduces the strong negative formation enthalpy of Al₃Sc (–0.45 eV atom⁻¹), correct relative stability …

Exploring Interactive Robotic Music Therapy Systems For Rehabilitation: A Survey Paper, Hector A. Salinas Gordillo

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Interactive robotic music therapy introduces an innovative opportunity, where human guided musical interaction with robotic systems can create adaptive and engaging therapeutic experiences. This survey explores the current state of research at the intersection of robotics, music, and rehabilitation, focusing on emerging technologies such as human robot interaction methods and system designs that help enable real time, interactive music therapy.

Potential patient groups include individuals undergoing motor or cognitive rehabilitation, such as those recovering from stroke, living with Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, or other motor impairments, as well as individuals with developmental disorders or limited mobility.

Traditional rehabilitation exercises may …

Iphone-Based Image Refocusing, Katie Jeong, Daniel Niu

Electrical and Systems Engineering Capstone Design Projects

In this project, we show that we can change the focus of a picture after we take it by using real optical physics instead of fake software blur. Modern phones try to create “portrait mode” effects, but those results are often not physically correct. Our approach uses multiple photos taken from slightly different positions to figure out the directions that light rays came from in the scene.

To collect the photos, we move an iPhone sideways on a slider in small, precise steps. Since we know exactly how far the phone moved for each picture, we can track how objects …

A Predictive Model For Multi- Week Respiratory Risk From Red Tide On Florida’S Gulf Coast., Elmer S. Ochaeta

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Florida’s Gulf Coast red tide (Karenia brevis) can put toxins into the air, making people cough, irritating the throat, and worsening asthma or other breathing problems especially when winds blow from the ocean toward the beach. Right now, most public updates don’t really help with the question people actually ask when planning a weekend or vacation: “Will going to or close to the beach be risky in the next few weeks?”.

In this project, I build a weekly early warning system that estimates respiratory risk for specific beaches and predicts that risk 2 to 4 weeks ahead. The study covers …

Developing A Waste-To-Energy Assessment Framework Integrating Engineering And Policy Dimensions Using A Triple Bottom Line Approach, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities has emerged as a critical concern in both energy and governance. Dependence on landfills is approaching critical thresholds as disposal sites near saturation, transportation costs escalate, and host communities increasingly resist garbage transfers. In response, this study proposes a comprehensive Waste-to-Energy (WtE) assessment framework that integrates engineering evaluation with policy and stakeholder analysis to support sustainable decision- making.

Using Baguio City as a case study, the framework applies a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to evaluate three waste management scenarios: (1) current landfill-dominated practices, (2) engineered landfill with …

Iso-Detr: A Novel Detection Transformer For Industrial Small Object Detection, Faisal Saeed, Anand Paul

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Effectively detecting and assessing real-time structural and ecological parameters in contemporary manufacturing environments poses significant challenges, particularly in identifying minute objects within product images. The swift evolution of the industrial sector underscores the necessity for intelligent manufacturing environments to uphold stringent product quality standards. However, accelerating production processes at high speeds heightens the risk of defective product outcomes. This research addresses the challenges inherent in small object detection within industrial contexts, proposing an innovative detection transformer model tailored to modern manufacturing environments. The proposed model integrates a feature-enhanced multi-head self-attention block (FEMSA), merging cross-channel communication network and multiple multi-head self-attention …

The Equity Implications Of Pecuniary Externalities On An Electric Grid, Charles Sims, Gasser G. Ali, J Scott Holladay, Tim Roberson, Chien-Fei Chen, Islam H. El-Haddad

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The adoption of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems can create upward pressure on retail electricity rates as utilities are forced to spread their fixed costs of generation and transmission across a smaller customer base. Since high-income households are more likely to purchase PV systems, low-income households may be disproportionately impacted by these rate increases. Using a novel combination of agent-based computational economic modeling and a choice experiment of rooftop solar adoption, we show how this pecuniary externality between low- and high-income customers increases low-income electricity bills by 10% in an area with some of the highest poverty rates in the United …

Isolated Dc-Dc Converter For An Ev Microgrid, Oscar Yu, William Leiker

Electrical Engineering

This product is a redesign of a DC-DC buck-boost converter which utilizes a new topology, the flyback converter, for use in an electric vehicle (EV) as a microgrid. The main driver behind the redesign is to provide electrical isolation between elements in the microgrid. The EV microgrid consists of the battery, motor, external DC and AC ports, and the power electronics (DC-DC converter and AC-DC inverter) which were designed and built in previous senior projects. Using EV’s as microgrids can help relieve stress from the main power grid caused by charging electric vehicles. Implementing EV’s as a microgrid enables the …

Ai-Optimized Resource Management In Next-Gen Wireless Networks, Fatemeh Lotfi

All Dissertations

Next-generation wireless networks must deliver highly adaptive, scalable, and intelligent connectivity to satisfy the heterogeneous demands of emerging services, including enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine-type communications, and ultra reliable low latency applications. The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) paradigm has emerged as a key enabler of this vision, introducing openness, virtualization, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven control into the RAN ecosystem. O-RAN’s disaggregated architecture facilitates multi-vendor interoperability and empowers intelligent management through the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). However, achieving real-time, autonomous, and generalized optimization in such a dynamic environment remains a significant challenge due to its distributed nature, non-stationary traffic, and …

Adaptive Deep Learning In Physical Layer Applications, Ali Owfi

All Dissertations

Traditionally, signal processing models in communication systems have been designed based on solid foundations in statistics and information theory, often assuming linearity and optimizing for simplified models. However, real-world communication systems exhibit numerous imperfections and non-linearities that traditional linear models struggle to capture accurately. Deep Learning (DL)-based approaches, unconstrained by rigid mathematical models, have shown promise in optimizing system performance by accommodating specific hardware configurations and dynamic channel conditions as an alternative to the traditional methods. Despite all the recent research efforts on DL-based methods for physical layer applications, DL models have still not been widely applied to physical layer …

Platforming For Circuit Education, Grady Oliver Schneider

Computer Engineering

The purpose of this project was to provide an alternative for students being introduced to resistive circuits. As a freshman in electrical engineering (transferred to computer engineering), I saw the struggles of other freshman to grasp the conceptual basics of circuits. While there’s lots of guides to circuit education, I think many of them fall short of being both engaging and teaching the intuition behind circuits. A lot of the more advanced concepts in circuits depends on the basic intuition of KCL, KVL, and Ohm’s Law. While there’s several basic techniques (such as voltage divider, current divider, and mesh current …

Unmixing In Very High Spatial Resolution Hyperspectral Images, Ana C. Chavez Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) captures hundreds of contiguous narrow wavelength bands across the optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum collecting the spectral signature of materials in the field of view of the sensor enabling detailed analysis of each pixel's spectral signature. Satellite or airborne remote sensing systems often capture imagery with low to moderate spatial resolution (LMSR). At these resolutions, the measured spectral signature is a mixture of the signatures of the materials within a single pixel. This mixing of spectral information makes analysis and material identification difficult. Hyperspectral unmixing is an analysis technique that decomposes a pixel's spectrum into constituent …

Investigating The Efficiency Of Ingan P-N-P-N Homojunction Solar Cells, Moath Alhejji, Mohammad Alavijeh, Jacob Kupernik, Mirsaeid Sarollahi, Abbas Jammali, Seyed Taghavi, Reem Alhelais, Md Hel Uddin Maruf, Morgan Ware

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research investigates the development of a novel p-n-p-n homostructure solar cell, through semiconductor simulations using the Nextnano software. InGaN was used as a model system in order to achieve a bandgap with optimized efficiency for a p-n homojunction solar cell. By increasing the uniform doping concentration from 1.5*10(16) cm(-3) to 1.5*10(17) cm(-3), the open circuit voltage (V-oc) increased while the short-circuit current density (J(sc)) decreased, as expected in simple p-n junctions. The p-n-p-n structure achieved a peak efficiency of 32.91% at a doping level of 6.5*10(16) cm(-3), a similar to 7% improvement over a conventional p-n junction's 25.31% efficiency …

Position Sensor Offset Fault Calibration In Speed-Regulated Pmsm Drives, Ujala Anuradhi Maha Gamage

Masters Theses

Speed regulation of electro-mechanically actuated systems is common across broad application segments, including industrial and residential sectors. The increasing demand for efficient energy conversion has made permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) a preferred choice in modern applications. Vector controlled PMSMs in speed regulation mode being the dominant form of control, accurate speed and position measurement is crucial. However, a misalignment in the position sensor with respect to the true rotor zero position in speed regulated PMSM drives leads to inefficient energy conversion with the possibility of unstable motor behavior. The considered position sensor offset error fault, under severe fault modes, …

Cattlefever: An Automated Cattle Fever Estimation System, Trong Thang Pham, Ethan Coffman, Beth Kegley, Jeremy G. Powell, Jiangchao Zhao, Ngan Le

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Farmers face the critical challenge of monitoring cattle well-being for both ethical and economic success, relying on signals like body temperature and facial expressions to assess their animals' health. However, these indicators have traditionally relied on human observation with manual measurement, which is time-consuming and subjective. Despite this clear need, no automated system currently exists for monitoring cattle body temperature, and available datasets remain limited in scope. To address these challenges, we make two key contributions: (i) We introduce CattleFace-RGBT, a novel RGB-Thermal (RGB-T) Cattle Facial Landmark dataset consisting of 2,300 paired RGB and thermal images (4,600 images in total), …

Machine Learning Assisted Quality Control In Metal Additive Manufacturing: A Review, Zeqi Hu, Changlin Huang, Lechun Xie, Lin Hua, Yujie Yuan, Lai Chang Zhang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Additive manufacturing (AM) promotes the production of metallic parts with significant design flexibility, yet its use in critical applications is hindered by challenges in ensuring consistent quality and performance. Process variability often leads to defects, insufficient geometric accuracy and inadequate material properties, which are difficult to effectively manage due to limitations of traditional quality control methods in modeling high-dimensional nonlinear relationships and enabling adaptive control. Machine learning (ML) offers a transformative approach to model intricate process-structure-property relationships by leveraging the rich data environment of AM. The study presents a comprehensive examination of ML-driven quality assurance implementations in metallic AM. First, …

Optimization Of Size And Siting Of Distributed Generation In Unbalanced Distribution Systems: A Literature Review, Pema Dorji, Stefan Lachowicz, Octavian Bass

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Renewable energy sources (RES) are essential for meeting the rising global electricity demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from conventional generation. As traditional systems approach capacity saturation, the integration of RES into power grids becomes increasingly vital. However, the intermittent and variable nature of RES introduces significant technical, economic, and operational challenges. This review focuses on the optimal planning and integration of distributed generation in unbalanced distribution systems, which more accurately reflect real-world power network conditions. Emphasis is placed on siting and sizing strategies aimed at enhancing voltage stability, minimizing power losses, and reducing system costs and emissions. The review …

A Low-Power Mixed-Signal Potentiostat System-On-Chip With Integrated Dual-Slope Adc, Seth Mcrobert

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

This thesis presents the design and characterization of a low-power mixed-signal potentiostat that was integrated with a 65 nm core in a SoC for low-power electrochemical sensing applications. The system integrates a low-noise transimpedance-based potentiostat front end with a 12-bit dual-slope analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for accurate current-to-digital conversion. The potentiostat core—comprising the control amplifier, current-mirror network, and transimpedance amplifier—consumes 38.2 µA from a 2.5 V supply (95.5 µW) and achieves an input-referred noise floor of 113 µVRMS over a 330 Hz bandwidth, while having an input current range from 1 nA to 20 µA and a noise-limited sensitivity of 56.4 …

Extremum-Seeking Approach For Real-Time Self-Healing Of Position Sensor Offset Error In Non-Salient Pmsms, Ramitha Kalhara Dissanayake Ralalage

Masters Theses

The inherent advantages of permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs), such as high efficiency, has led to their frequent use in industry, including safety-critical applications, such as transportation electrification. The accurate measurement of the rotor position is key to achieving efficient and reliable field-orientation-based torque regulation. With the high reliance on the rotor position measurement, position sensor fault diagnosis and mitigation facilitate a layer of safety. Conventional methods for compensating position sensor offset errors in electric drives typically depend on accurate knowledge of motor parameters. However, these parameters are often subject to variation due to temperature changes, system aging, and other …

Series Resonant Converters With Medium Voltage Sic Mosfets For Electric Aircraft Applications, Xinyuan Du

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To develop high-performance high- power-density MV power converters, the emerging silicon carbide (SiC) devices are more attractive than their silicon (Si) counterparts, since the fast switch frequency brought by the SiC can effectively reduce the volume and weight of the filter components and thus increase the converter power density. From the converter topology perspective, with the MV dc distribution, the single stage isolated dc/dc converter are suitable for next-generation electric aircraft system due to soft switching and high power density. In this work, comprehensive static and dynamic characterizations were conducted for the latest 6.5 kV silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs from …

Implementation Of A Three-Port Solar Converter With A Battery Energy Storage System, Maison Christopher Phipps

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increasing deployment of distributed solar and energy storage systems has created the need for integrated power converters that can efficiently manage photovoltaic (PV) generation, battery energy storage, and grid-tied AC output. This thesis presents the implementation and validation of a 5kW non-isolated Three-Port Converter (TPC) adapted for residential solar applications. The converter consolidates three power stage into a high-frequency, compact architecture: a unidirectional boost converter for PV input, a bidirectional interleaved buck-boost converter for battery energy storage, and a configurable DC/AC inverter for 120Vac single-phase output. The system is controlled using a central controller implemented on a TI C2000™ …

Optical Characterization Of Ge And Gesn Grown In Aspect Ratio Trapping Structures For Enhanced Emitter Performance, Abdulla Said Ali

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon (Si) began dominating the electronics industry since 1960s, the dominance came due to its affordability and well developed fabrication processes. But when it comes to light emitting devices and photonics devices in general, the indirect bandgap of Si has caused many scientists to search for alternative semiconductor materials that can deliver better light emission, materials that can also improve wavelengths detection which is also very limited when it comes to Si, reduce losses and greater light amplification, all this while still being affordable. Despite these limitations, Si has been widely used in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing and …

Volume Status Detection With Integral Pulse Frequency Modulation Model Of Peripheral Venous Pressure, Jeremiah Rhys Wimer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the effectiveness of utilizing a modified integral pulse frequency modulation (IPFM) algorithm to synthesize peripheral venous pressure (PVP) waveforms for the detection of several physiological conditions using logistic regression. PVP waveforms are collected from 18 human patients and 4 porcine subjects. Human data are used to train models for determining the hypovolemic status of the patient, while the porcine data are used to train models for determining level of anesthesia and detecting internal hemorrhaging. In the human dataset, the waveforms collected from the 18 patients are classified into two groups according to serum chloride levels: resuscitated (≥100 …

Design Of Phase Shifter And True Time Delay Gan Mmics For High-Temperature Ku-Band Applications, Michael Lee Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and high-temperature characterization of Gallium Nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) developed for beamforming and phased-array systems operating in the Ku-band (12-14 GHz). Two integrated circuits were designed: a 3-bit digital phase shifter and a 3-bit true time delay (TTD), both optimized for high linearity, low insertion loss, low phase error, and stable operation at elevated temperatures up to 300°C. Developing both a phase shifter and a TTD enabled a direct comparison of their beamforming performance and the evaluation of beam squint effects over frequency, a critical factor in wideband array design. The …

Flood-Level Estimation Using Aerial Imagery, Yisen Zhang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Projects for D. Eng. Degree

Reliable flood-level estimation using aerial UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle) imagery is essential for effective post-disaster assessment and rapid emergency response. This study utilizes a UAV-based dataset, referred to as the UVA dataset, which integrates multiple public datasets and manually labeled UAV images, together with a multi-stage vehicle-centric framework for flood-depth estimation. The UVA dataset integrates images from multiple public sources, including Unmanned Drone Water Assessment (UDWA), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detection and Tracking (UAVDT), Car Parking Lot (CARPK), and additional UAV-view images collected from the internet, followed by manual annotation for water depth, viewing angle, and altitude labels. In the proposed …

Power Distribution Controller For Formula Sae Vehicles, Michael Yuen

Electrical Engineering

The Power Distribution Controller (PDC) is designed for low-voltage (12V) automotive applications, specifically Formula SAE vehicles. It aims to replace the current and outdated MOSFET-based system, which suffers from inefficiencies such as lossy current sense resistors and limited configurability. Instead, this new system uses a PROFET-based architecture controlled over the Controller Area Network (CAN) and an updated microcontroller, enabling intelligent power management and data logging.

Designed with FSAE regulations in mind, the PDC not only enhances the reliability of low-voltage systems but also provides a quickly adaptable solution to fuse boxes. It achieves this by providing firmware-adjustable overcurrent protection, incorporating …

Few-Shot Anomaly Detection And Classification Through Reinforced Data Selection With A Combinatorial Reward, Xiaolei Hn, Depeng Xu, Shuhan Yuan, Xintao Wu

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Due to the scarcity of anomalies, deep anomaly detection models are typically trained in an unsupervised or semi-supervised manner, depending on the availability of a small number of labeled samples. Currently, most unsupervised approaches detect anomalies by identifying the deviant patterns from normal samples, and some semi-supervised studies also use labeled anomalies to improve performance. However, few studies have focused on how to take advantage of potential anomalies in an easily obtained and large-scale unlabeled dataset. Meanwhile, in a semi-supervised setting, although we assume there will be a small number of labeled anomalies, the task of anomaly classification is under-exploited, …

Deterministic Methods To Improve The Field-Of-View For Direction Finding Using Sparse Digital Arrays, Nolan J. Egging

Master's Theses

Direction finding algorithms are used with digital phased arrays to determine the incoming angle of arrival (AoA) of an incident signal. These algorithms, and direction finding as a whole, have a wide range of civilian and military applications from radar, electronic reconnaissance, mobile communication, et cetera. However, for situations where the spacing between antenna elements needs to be large, gating lobes appear in the radiation pattern of analog arrays. This work demonstrates that for digital beamforming algorithms, the field of view (FoV) of a uniform linear digital array matches the grating lobe free range of a similarly spaced analog array. …