Digital Commons Network^™

Data-Driven Evaluation Of Sustainable Waste-To-Energy Pathways For Intelligent Urban Systems, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities poses intricate energy and governance challenges. In Baguio City, reliance on landfills has reached critical levels due to diminishing capacity, rising transport costs, and opposition to trash transfers by nearby LGUs. Although shaped by unique topographical and governance constraints, Baguio’s situation reflects issues faced by other rapidly growing Philippine cities; therefore, analyzing it offers insights for national MSW decision-making. This study applies a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to assess three management scenarios: (1) Status Quo, where all MSW is landfilled with no energy recovery; (2) Landfill with …

Engineering Risk And Indigenous Resilience Toward Intelligent Decision Support For Mining In Ancestral Lands, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Mining within ancestral territories reveals an ongoing conflict between technical viability and Indigenous consent. This collaborative study, conducted by an engineering scholar and a policy researcher of Indigenous heritage in Benguet among the Ibaloi and Kankanaey peoples, investigates how risk transparency and policy alignment can bridge existing divides, while formulating principles applicable to other Indigenous mining contexts. The study provides an initial evaluation of the feasibility of a proposed large-scale mining operation within a risk-informed, data-driven governance framework. Three elements of engineering risk were assessed utilizing literature-derived and proxy parameters: (1) Land degradation is indicated by a Soil Productivity Index …

Porous Triboelectric Nanogenerator For Load Sensing Of Total Knee Replacement, Elham Mahmoudi, Adam Garry Redgrift, Emre Salman, Milutin Stanacevic, Ryan Willing, Shahrzad Towfighian

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship

This study addresses the critical need for self-powered, durable pressure sensors in Total Knee Replacement (TKR) implants to enable the collection of post-operative information. The scope of this research encompasses the design, development, and testing of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) integrated into an instrumented knee implant for energy harvesting and pressure sensing. The authors’ unique approach involves utilizing a porous silicone rubber as a dielectric material. This allows the TENG to withstand forces up to 2000 N and generate a maximum power output of 18 μW. Theoretical modeling combined with experimental validation provides deeper insight into the fundamental operating principles. …

Bridging Cybersecurity Practice And Law: A Hands-On, Scenario-Based Curriculum Using The Nice Framework To Foster Skill Development, Colman Mcguan, Aadithyan Vijaya Raghavan, Komala M. Mandapati, Chansu Yu, Brian Ray, Debbie Jackson, Sathish Kumar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In an increasingly interconnected world, cybersecurity professionals play a pivotal role in safeguarding organizations from cyber threats. To secure their cyberspace, organizations are forced to adopt a cybersecurity framework such as the NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework). Although these frameworks are a good starting point for businesses and offer critical information to identify, prevent, and respond to cyber incidents, they can be difficult to navigate and implement, particularly for small-medium businesses (SMBs). To help overcome this issue, this paper identifies the most frequent attack vectors to SMBs (Objective 1) and proposes a practical …

Surface Reaction And Transportation Of Radium-226 In Marine Systems, Jiusi Wang

All Dissertations

Historical uses of radium (Ra)-containing self-luminous paint, such as on gauges and dials in naval ships, have led to the potential for such paint, and thus Ra, to be released into the marine environment. Radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) behavior in marine systems is not fully described in the literature, presenting a knowledge gap in the process of evaluating potential ecological impact of Ra in marine systems. This study explores various mechanisms contributing to Ra environmental transport in marine systems on a laboratory scale, including leaching, sorption, and diffusion. ²²⁶Ra leaching from watch hand dials containing radioactive luminous paint is …

Opposed-Piston Two Stroke Engine As A High Power Density Solution In Heavy Duty Applications: An Experimental Evaluation With Diesel And Ethanol, Ankur Bhatt

All Dissertations

With an increasing demand to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the conventional powertrain technology is at a saturation point. There is reinvigorated research interest in alternative powertrain designs that offer potentially higher efficiencies and lower engine-out emissions compared to conventional powertrains. The opposed piston two-stroke (OP2S) engine is one such alternative engine architecture that has demonstrated a reduction in engine-out emissions and increased efficiency compared to conventional four-stroke diesel engines. Like any two-stroke engine, the scavenging process and the composition of the internal residuals are predominantly governed by the pressure differential between the intake and the exhaust ports. Without dedicated …

Towards Trustworthy Federated Learning, Alina Basharat

Theses and Dissertations

Federated learning is a collaborative training model in which multiple clients optimize aglobal model by transmitting updates to a coordinating server while keeping raw data on-device, thereby reducing direct data exposure and enabling iterative global improvement. However, the iterative communication process is vulnerable to malicious attackers that either deliberately destroy the model or curious to infer raw data. Moreover, learning from multiple agents may result in unfair results. To enhance trustworthiness within this setting, we employ two-sided norm-based screening (TNBS) that removes both abnormally large and abnormally small updates, pair it with a q-fair objective to emphasize high-loss (disadvantaged) clients, …

Experimental Measurement Demonstration Of Initial And Steady-State Heights Of A Co2 Vertical Jet Fountain In Still Air, Brock Mcrae

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atmospheric releases of heavier-than-air gases pose acute near-field hazards in low wind, yet the near-source behavior of vertical dense-gas jets in still air is sparsely documented. This thesis demonstrates a repeatable laboratory method for measuring the initial and steady-state rise heights of a carbon dioxide (CO₂) jet issued vertically from a floor nozzle in the CHRC ultra-low-speed wind tunnel under still-air conditions. Controlled mixtures (pure CO₂, 50/50 CO₂-air, 25/75 CO₂-air) were released at four flow rates (75, 100, 125, 150 LPM) with five repeats per condition. A fixed camera and tape-measure scale enabled video extraction of jet height using Kinovea …

Per- And Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances Fate Across California Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Meta-Analysis Of Formation, Distribution, And Persistence, Elizabeth Reineke

Master's Theses

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent contaminants that move through municipal and industrial wastewater systems with limited attenuation. As a result, they are increasingly detected in drinking water supplies. Despite growing regulatory concern, a systems-level understanding of PFAS behavior across multiple treatment facilities and watershed settings remains incomplete. This study compiled influent, effluent, and biosolids datasets from more than one hundred California wastewater treatment plants to evaluate PFAS occurrence, transformation, and partitioning across diverse treatment configurations. Analytical steps included calculating removal efficiencies, assessing precursor-to-product oxidation, evaluating co-contaminant correlations, and grouping facilities by process design to quantify configuration-specific fate patterns. …

Performance Assessment Of Reconditioned Freight Rail Bearings Using Eddy Current Array For Enhanced Nondestructive Inspection, Eduardo Miranda

Theses and Dissertations

In North America, freight bearings removed from service must undergo a reconditioning process in accordance with Association of American Railroads recommended guidelines before reuse, with approximately 80% having been reconditioned at least once. This process includes bearing inspection, where repairable defects may be refurbished and returned to service with an extended performance range of 50,000 to 250,000 miles. Motivated by this extensive range in performance, researchers at the University Transportation Center for Railway Safety, in collaboration with MxV Rail, utilized a nondestructive evaluation method to enhance the reconditioning inspection process. An Eddy Current Array (ECA) was applied to bearing cup …

A Human Factors Analysis And Classification System (Hfacs) Approach To Compare Cardiovascular, Orthopedics, Trauma Care, And Neurosurgery, Asfandyar Khan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Background: Despite significant progress in patient safety, human error continues to occur at high rates in procedural settings. Traditional safety models tend to focus on retrospective incident analysis, often overlooking the systemic conditions that allow errors to occur. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) offers a proactive lens to understand how and where errors emerge and is useful for identifying active and latent failures.

Objective: To evaluate the utility and reliability of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) in categorizing and comparing the pattern of frequencies (events) in cardiovascular, orthopedic, trauma care, and neurosurgical procedure.

Design, …

Occurrence Of Per And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances In Rural Wastewater Treatment Plants And Comparison To Large Treatments Plants, Madeleine Rauhauser

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of compounds defined by their carbon – fluorine bonds, which are incredibly strong. The strength of this bond makes these compounds very useful industrially, they are used as waterproof and grease proof coatings, and as fire retardants. The same thing that makes them useful industrially makes them incredibly recalcitrant in the environment, it is difficult to destroy these compounds. PFAS are also suspected to cause health impacts in people, such as kidney cancer and low birth weights. Wastewater has been commonly identified as a contributor to the amount of PFAS in the …

Securing Connected And Autonomous Vehicles, Owana Marzia Moushi

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

A vehicular network is susceptible to various security flaws and attacks. Cryptographic techniques are used in vehicular networks but these alone cannot provide proper security to the network. Identifying various types of attacks is necessary to secure vehicular communication networks. In this dissertation, we focused on detecting various insider attacks in vehicular networks to enhance the security of the network.

Our first contribution in this dissertation is the detection of both binary and multi-class data replay and data replay Sybil attacks in vehicular networks. A publicly available dataset, VeReMi-Extension is used to detect these attacks. This dataset has been reformulated …

Exploring Transformative Learning Experiences In Engineering Doctoral And Post-Doctoral Education: Developing Non-Technical Competencies For Early-Career Academic Roles, Ibukunoluwa Eunice Salami

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the transformative learning experiences that early-career engineering faculty recounted from their doctoral and postdoctoral training and how these experiences shaped the development of non-technical competencies essential for academic success. Grounded in Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) and the Competency-Based Professional Development Framework (CBPDF), the study examines how reflection and shifts in frames of reference supported competency growth and faculty readiness. A qualitative holistic single-case study design was employed. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with early-career engineering faculty and program learning objectives drawn from graduate handbooks. Data analysis was both deductive and inductive guided by Mezirow’s ten phases …

Advanced Membrane Methods For Treatment Of Toxic Contaminants And Education Of Early-Career Researchers, Thomas Mckean Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane technologies are attractive as they are linearly scalable and often require lower operating costs compared to other technologies. One area where they are particularly effective is the treatment of water contaminated with toxic substances. The simplicity of this removal mechanism provides reliable performance capable of meeting stringent removal requirements. However, membrane fouling is a major challenge that often limits their commercial viability. This research sought to investigate novel approaches to pretreatment and membrane modification to overcome fouling and high operating pressures. In addition, membrane separation processes can often be developed into simple yet educational experiments that are ideal for …

Thermal Management Of Power Electronic Converters In Electric Motor Drives Using Active Thermal Control And Active Cooling, S M Imrat Rahman

All Dissertations

The application of power electronic converters (PEC) in electric vehicles (EVs) has significantly increased due to their enhanced controllability and flexibility. Additionally, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) are favored in EVs for their higher torque, efficiency, performance, and heat dissipation capabilities compared to asynchronous machines. The reliable operation of power converters in PMSM drives is crucial for EV operation, and this is driving interest in developing innovative and sustainable technologies that ensure the safe and reliable functioning of PECs. One of the main challenges in achieving reliable PECs is designing effective thermal management systems to control junction temperature and reduce …

Reverse (Bio)Engineering: A Machine Learning Approach To Optimize Baseball Pitcher Health And Performance, Robert C. Moore

All Dissertations

Ball tracking systems are becoming ubiquitous in sport, creating an unprecedented opportunity for big data applications to optimize human health and performance. These applications are especially common in baseball, a sport known for analyzing ball flight data to quantify performance. Analysts routinely use ball flight data to identify the attributes of top performing pitchers, finding that the best pitchers throw with optimal combinations of release speed and spin to precise locations. However, for certain pitchers, the throwing motion required to produce optimal ball flight places exceedingly high biomechanical load on the elbow, and consequently injury rates continue to rise. This …

Particle Migration In Non-Newtonian Fluid Flows Through Curved Microchannels, Sanskruti Ramesh Raut

All Dissertations

Innovations in microfabrication over the past three decades have enabled the development of microfluidic devices with intricate channel geometry. Microfluidic platforms offer controlled manipulation of fluids and particles by leveraging the internally induced and/or externally imposed force field(s). The demand for compact microchannel geometry has turned the attention toward curved microchannels with significantly reduced footprints. However, most of the previous studies in curved microchannels have been limited to particle migration in Newtonian fluids. The influence of fluid rheology has remained largely unexplored.

In the first part of this dissertation, we present a systematic experimental study on the influences of fluid …

Accident Data Analytics And Ai-Based Auditory Enhancement For Highway Construction Safety, Thinh Nguyen

All Dissertations

This research develops data-driven and AI-enhanced approaches to improve worker safety in highway construction environments. The study integrates advanced analytics and auditory signal enhancement to identify high-risk worker behaviors and improve real-time safety warnings. The work consists of three core studies. The first study applies Sequential Pattern Mining and Social Network Analysis to more than 1,000 construction accident reports to identify high-risk worker actions and their hidden sequential relationships with accident types and consequences. These insights reveal sector-specific risk patterns, supporting the creation of targeted, data-informed safety interventions. The second study introduces an AI-based auditory enhancement model built on a …

Purifying Circular Rna Therapeutics, Karen Guillen-Cuevas

All Dissertations

Circular RNA (circRNA) has emerged as a promising therapeutic modality due to its enhanced stability and resistance to exonuclease degradation compared with linear mRNA. However, its stability and functionality depend strongly on achieving high purity, and current methods such as size-exclusion chromatography suffer from peak overlap, low yields, and poor scalability. This dissertation addresses these limitations by developing ultrafiltration-based strategies to purify circRNA directly from in vitro transcription (IVT) and self-splicing (circularization) reactions. First, the feasibility of ultrafiltration was demonstrated using polyethersulfone membranes, where sieving coefficients and critical flux values of circRNA, precursor RNA, and nicked RNA were measured to …

End-To-End Direct Current For Standalone Power Network, Eyad Ahmad Aldarsi

All Dissertations

The primary issue that faces the humanity is climate change and because of that greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are rising. The consequences of this issue have emphasized the necessity for replacing the dominant method of electricity generation, which mostly utilizes fossil fuels, to be centered on access to all, green, low-cost, and renewable sources of energy. Currently, photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the two technologies so far that can convert the source of renewable energy, which is produced by sun irradiance and wind respectively, into large-scale electric power that can be distributed into the electricity grid. The work in …

Diseño Visual, Identidad De Género Y Diversidad Cultural En La Animación Contemporánea: El Caso De Raya And The Last Dragon, Elisabet Fonts González

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

En los últimos años, la animación ha evolucionado hacia representaciones más inclusivas de género y diversidad cultural. Raya and the Last Dragon (López Estrada & Hall, 2021) destaca como un caso significativo de esta transformación, integrando elementos visuales, narrativos y simbólicos que reconfiguran los arquetipos femeninos tradicionales. Este estudio adopta un enfoque cualitativo centrado en el análisis visual, narrativo y simbólico de los personajes Raya, Namaari y Sisu. Basándose en fuentes primarias del proceso creativo y marcos teóricos de la animación y los estudios de género (Furniss, 2017; Lauretis, 1987; Wells, 1998), presta especial atención al diseño de personajes, la …

Integrating Neural Control And Finite Element Muscle Modeling: A Predictive Neuromusculoskeletal Framework For Investigating Neurodegenerative Disease, Colton Babcock

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupt the interplay between neural control and musculoskeletal function, leading to progressive motor decline and loss of force control and production. Traditional experimental and clinical approaches are limited in their ability to capture the multiscale, nonlinear mechanisms driving these impairments. This dissertation presents a novel predictive neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) modeling framework that integrates physiologically accurate motor neuron dynamics with three-dimensional finite element (FE) muscle models. Using subject-specific muscle geometry and fiber architecture of the tibialis anterior, the model simulates realistic force generation under both healthy and ALS-affected conditions. The neural component incorporates a …

Harnessing The Mechanical And Gelation Behavior Of Tyramine-Substituted Silk Fibroin Bioinks Through Integration Into A Modular And Low-Cost 3d Bioprinting Platform, Sourjjadeepta Biswas

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

3D printing has become an indispensable tool in research labs across the globe. Yet, when it comes to bioprinting with custom or sensitive bioinks, accessible options remain limited. Commercial systems are often prohibitively expensive and restricted to proprietary materials, while DIY setups frequently lack the precision and compatibility needed for biologically relevant printing. Moreover, tunable bioinks that align with real-world biological constraints are still hard to come by. To address these gaps, we developed a modular, low-cost bioprinting platform tailored for tyramine-substituted silk fibroin (TA-SF) hydrogels-biocompatible materials known for their rapid gelation, tunable stiffness, and potential to support cell differentiation …

A Machine Learning Approach To Estimating Agricultural Return Flows: A Case Study Of The Twin Falls Canal Company In Idaho, Kendra Alise Figgins

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Idaho is the third largest water user in the United States due to its extensive agriculture industry (Murray, 2018). Irrigation has allowed farmers to take advantage of the warm climate and rich soils of the Eastern Snake River Plain to develop one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions. This area now contains one-third of Idaho’s irrigated acres (Idaho Department of Water Resources, 2024). It also contains critical hydrologic connections between the Snake River and the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

Farming practices in Idaho have gradually shifted over time. Warming temperatures and increased irrigation efficiency are allowing an expansion of …

Evaluation Of High Concentration Dissolved Oxygen Delivery On Wastewater Treatment Plant Performance, Gregor Ethan R. Posadas

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Microorganisms are used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to transform constituents and depend on dissolved oxygen (DO) for growth. Limitations in traditional treatment methods pose inefficiencies in performance relative to constituent removal. This study involved monitoring the performance of a selected WWTP located in Greenleaf, Idaho that was retrofitted with a high concentration DO delivery system. The WWTP was selected due to its small scale (classified as a minor discharge facility with a design flow <1 MGD) and capability of being retrofitted with a high concentration DO delivery system proprietary to BioSolution Holdings Co., Ltd. This study aimed to monitor the effects of delivering higher DO concentrations in the WWTP in conjunction with validating the performance and function of the retrofitted high concentration DO delivery system. The performance of the selected WWTP was monitored over the course of one year to capture seasonal fluctuations.

Significant changes in WWTP constituent treatment induced by higher DO concentrations were observed at various points within the treatment processes. Monitored parameters included DO, temperature, …

Harnessing Bioscaffold-Coupled Stimulation Through Electroactive Graphene Foam For Enhanced Cellular And Mechanical Responses: Applications In Cartilage Tissue Engineering, Mone't Sawyer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of joint degeneration, with limited treatment options that fail to restore native cartilage. Tissue engineering offers a promising strategy by combining cells, scaffolds, and bioactive cues to regenerate functional tissue, though challenges remain in developing systems that integrate and precisely control these signals in three-dimensional environments. This work establishes a scaffold-coupled electrical stimulation (ES) platform using electroactive graphene foam (GF) to modulate cellular and mechanical responses relevant to cartilage tissue engineering. Custom stereolithography-printed bioreactors were developed to deliver low-voltage biphasic square waves (20–60 mVpp, 1 kHz) directly to GF scaffolds under submerged culture, maintaining waveform …

Stimulation And Recording Interfaces For Data Transmission To And From A Micro Neural Stimulation Device, Morgan Riley

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Advancements in neuromodulation for treating neurological disorders increasingly rely on selective peripheral nerve stimulation rather than whole-nerve activation. Traditional approaches engage all fascicles, causing off-target effects such as involuntary muscle contractions and pain. To address these challenges, this research proposes a minimally invasive microdevice that integrates wireless galvanic impulse communication with an epineural multi-contact nerve cuff. This design facilitates high-throughput, low-power stimulation, recording, and data transfer. Development efforts include optimizing neural stimulation protocols, validating deep tissue galvanic transmission, and fabricating a multi-channel nerve cuff for stable electrode–tissue interfacing. In parallel, custom depth-controlled intramuscular arrays enable high-density electromyography (EMG) recording during …

Artificial Intelligence In Waste Management Systems: Applications, Challenges, And Prospects, Imane Belyamani

All Works

Despite global recognition of the climate crisis, greenhouse gas emissions are projected to rise by 8.8 % by 2030, primarily due to inadequate planning, poor implementation, and insufficient financial support. While international initiatives such as the ’Waste to Zero’ coalition launched at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 28) highlight the urgency of advancing decarbonization and the circularity of waste systems, this review focuses on how artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate that transformation. It systematically explores the role of AI in advancing waste management practices, with a focus on predictive analytics, route optimization, and machine learning-based …

Examining The Relationship Between Title 14 Code Of Federal Regulations (Cfr) Part 147 Maintenance School Aviation Maintenance Technician (Amt) Instructor Experience And Instructor Pass Rates For Airmen Certification Standards (Acs) Element Subject Areas, Richard Lyman Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) instructor experience and student pass rates in 14 CFR Part 147 maintenance schools. Data were collected from February to August 2025 using purposive and snowball sampling, which yielded 67 complete responses. Instructor experience, measured in months of A&P-rated maintenance work prior to teaching, ranged from 1 to 684 months (M = 253.54, SD = 197.97). Student pass rates, defined as the proportion of students passing ACS element subject area courses, ranged from .52 to 1.00 (M = .95, SD = .07). Most instructors were male, White, over 50 …