Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Remote Sensing Imagery Temporal Resolution Using Starfm Data Fusion Approach For Improved Land Surface Monitoring, Ahmadreza Pourghodrat

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High-resolution remote sensing imagery plays a critical role in various domains, such as farm-level agricultural operations, environmental monitoring, and natural resource management. However, data with high spatial resolution typically have low temporal resolution, and those with high temporal resolution often lack spatial detail. For example, Landsat 8 and 9 satellites deliver high spatial resolution images with a 30-meter pixel size but suffer from low temporal resolution, with a 16-day revisit cycle. In contrast, satellites like MODIS and VIIRS provide daily images but with a much coarser spatial resolution (375 meters or more), reducing spatial details. Additionally, there is a lack …

Clinical Use Of Sit2stand Ai Application For Kinematic Analysis In Prosthesis Users., Samerial Brown

Posters - 2025

Biomechanical analysis is a tool to evaluate prosthetic and orthotic patient's. These tools offer the clinician capability of understanding the mechanism of injury, gait deviation or prosthesis problem. Video based analysis require expensive hardware, software, and training which sometimes costs $40-100,000.

The recent advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up the possibility of acquiring high speed human motion video analysis using low-cost hardware and open-source machine learning algorithms. Still, free assessments like the Sit2Stand test is a current clinical outcome measure which assesses ability of a patient to stand and sit as fast as possible 5x. The faster the …

Building Services Engineering March/April 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Transdisciplinary Collaborations For Advancing Sustainable And Resilient Agricultural Systems, Brooke Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Feeding the growing human population sustainably amidst climate change is one of the most important challenges in the 21st century. Current practices often lead to the overuse of agronomic inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers and water, resulting in environmental contamination and diminishing returns on crop productivity. The complexity of agricultural systems, involving plant-environment interactions and human management, presents significant scientific and technical challenges for developing sustainable practices. Addressing these challenges necessitates transdisciplinary research, involving intense collaboration among fields such as plant science, engineering, computer science, and social sciences. Five case studies are presented here demonstrating successful transdisciplinary approaches toward more …

Every Relevant Detail, Salomé Viljoen

Michigan Law Review

A review of The Ordinal Society. By Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy.

Intersectional Predictors Of Early Mathematics Identity Among Underrepresented Engineering-Interested Students, Douglas D. Havard, Adriana Quirós-Arauz

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the intersectional factors influencing early mathematics identity development among underrepresented secondary students (grades 9-10) with aspirations in engineering. Mathematics identity is a well-established predictor of long-term persistence in engineering, making its early formation critical to understanding student retention in the engineering pipeline. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological framework, this study situates learning within nested layers of influence. Using data form the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), which includes over 23,000 9th-graders, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted. The analysis examined intersections of race and gender identity across 16 variables spanning individual, micro-, meso-, …

Use Of Wastewater Grit And Milorganite Chaff In Concrete, Carter Deinhammer

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Wastewater grit is a major byproduct from preliminary municipal wastewater treatment. Chaff is a collection of dried biosolids generated as a waste product from Milorganite® fertilizer production. Because landfilling is a costly and unsustainable method, the development of technologies for diverting grit from landfills to a useful product by tapping grit’s inherent values (e.g., sand and gravel) are of great interest. Chaff, consisting of fibers, provides a potential source for bolstering concrete tensile strength through internal means. This research has proposed a concept of grit and chaff additive-based concrete, an expansion of the grit-assisted patch material developed (GAP) in previous …

Low Cost Ndvi Aerial Imager For Plant Health Monitoring, Roe Crawford , '25, Brandon Mickelson , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Due to the spread of Beech Leaf Disease, Swarthmore College and the Scott Arboretum expect to lose all of the beech trees on campus in the next five years. Methods of monitoring plant health are required to act as early warnings for tree loss so that the Arboretum can manage deadfall, erosion, and other adverse effects. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a multispectral imaging technique that can assess plant health. NDVI is a common satellite remote sensing technique that has shown promise in drone remote sensing applications. With recent decreases in the costs of optical components, we determined that …

Generating Electricity From The Matchbox Equipment, Syed A. Ali , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

The Swarthmore College Matchbox is used by hundreds of students and faculty every day. The energy expended during the activity is dissipated and never transformed into useful energy. The focus of this project will be to retrofit pre-existing gym equipment so that any expended energy can be captured and converted into electrical energy. By using non-intrusive and compact mechanisms to design the model, the project would aim to provide renewable energy sources without drastically changing the workout experience itself. The first phase will be focused on generating enough electricity to power a small device, such as a cellular device, to …

‘To Zero By Thirty-Five’ Geoexchange System Optimization, Andrew Moy , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Swarthmore College’s ’To Zero by Thirty Five’ project involves the construction of a geothermal exchange plant to provide heating and cooling to campus buildings. This report follows the implementation of the project and the impact of building envelopes on the effectiveness of the system. Groups of potential upgrades and their impacts on building performance were analyzed using integer linear programming and the PuLP python library. This analysis provides recommendations on which buildings to upgrade according to the priorities of Swarthmore College.

Closing The Loop: Solar-Powered Vermicomposter, Isabela Ibrahim , '25, Lindsey Turner , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Organic waste is oftentimes poorly managed and directed to landfill and incineration, as more sustainable alternatives such as traditional composting are not always accessible. Swarthmore College has a robust composting partnership offsite, however, it does not leverage avenues for waste stream circularity on campus to its full potential. Vermicomposting, composting that incorporates earthworms (Eisenia fetida), consists of a method to achieve small-scale and accessible composting. The goal of this project was to create an on-campus, low-maintenance, replicable, and sustainable vermicomposter to efficiently repurpose food waste from Swarthmore’s dining hall into nutrient-rich soil amendments for the adjacent Our Food Garden. …

Experimental Investigation Of Heat Transfer To Tightly Packed Cylinder Arrays, Cameron M. Sexsmith

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With the increased emphasis on the development of hybrid electric aircraft and other electric driven vehicles, the thermal demand on batteries is increasing. Unique to the aviation sector is the combined need of high battery thermal loads and a light-weight thermal management system. A proposed configuration is an array of batteries directly cooled with a dielectric coolant. The knowledge of heat transfer characteristics of battery cooling is becoming an ever pressing issue due to the need to optimize volume and mass in a safe manner. Tighter spacings between batteries provide higher pack densities, however, at the cost of increased cooling …

From Flames To Change: An Exploration Of Housing, Fire, And Inequity, Helen Underhill, Charles R. Jennings, Brian Meacham, Danielle Antonellis

Publications and Research

Housing and fire safety are deeply connected: inadequate and poorly maintained housing poses heightened fire risk for occupants. An individual or household’s housing situation (including limited or constrained choice) interacts with issues such as affordability, access, location, quality, safety, occupancy levels, tenure type, and resident or immigration status. These dynamics shape vulnerability, and inequity becomes most visible in the event of a fire. The extreme end of this spectrum includes the unhoused, who occupy structures entirely outside of regulatory systems with little or no fire protection.

Exploring New Applications Of Municipal Solid Waste, Harrison Appiah, Ezra Bar Ziv, Jordan L. Klinger, Armando G. Mcdonald

Michigan Tech Publications

This study aimed to (i) characterize municipal solid waste (MSW) sourced from Utah and Michigan transfer stations and (ii) upcycle, produce, and evaluate composites derived from this MSW. Composition analysis showed that the MSW was composed of a variety of commodity plastics, paper/cardboard, and inorganic materials. Detailed chemical analysis for lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lipids was performed. The plastics identified were mainly polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and poly (ethylene terephthalate). The compoundability of the MSW was assessed by torque rheometry. Composites were prepared by compounding the MSW in an extruder. A composite flexural strength of 29 MPa and a modulus of …

Measurement Of Groundwater And Contaminant Fluxes In Fractures Using A Combined System Of Passive Flux Meter And Multiport Sampler, Qasim Raza Khan

Dissertations

Groundwater and contaminant movement in fractured rock aquifers is highly variable. Its dependence on fracture apertures and orientation as well as fracture network interconnectivity is not well understood. This poses a challenge to the measurement of groundwater and contaminant fluxes, especially when using open-hole techniques, which significantly alter natural flow conditions by connecting different fractures along an open borehole or a well. Hence, downhole techniques to directly measure groundwater fluxes and map fractures' locations, orientations, and apertures are considered valuable tools. In this work, the use of Fractured Rock Passive Flux Meter (FRPFM) with invisible tracer and visible dye component …

Bilateral Gait Trainer For Transtibial Amputees, Desmond Greer, Odinachi Anene, Andrew Wallace, Noah Hill

Bioengineering Senior Theses

Lower limb amputation affects over 2.3 million individuals in the U.S., with peripheral vascular disease and diabetes as leading causes. Prosthetic rehabilitation is critical for restoring mobility, yet barriers like therapist shortages, cost, and inconsistent at-home training limit patient outcomes. This thesis presents the design, development, and testing of a bilateral gait training device that addresses these challenges by providing real-time haptic feedback and quantitative gait metrics for at-home rehabilitation. The device integrates force-sensitive resistors embedded in insoles to monitor plantar pressure distribution, haptic actuators (eccentric rotating mass motors) mounted on thigh straps to deliver corrective feedback, and an Arduino-based …

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Safety Management System Regulations: An Informal Policy Evaluation, Brian J. Roggow

Publications

The United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revised 14 CFR § Part 5 Safety Management Systems, effective May 28, 2024. US air carriers have one year to modify their existing Safety Management System (SMS), whereas commuter and on-demand operators, commercial air tour operators, certain production certificate holders, and certain holders of a type certificate must implement an SMS within three years. The sociopolitical and legal rule-making processes are complex. This research evaluates the most recently revised FAA SMS regulations through the lens of prevailing literature, theories, and standard practices. Policy assessments and evaluations by non-governmental stakeholders can further inform …

Robotic Arm: A Helping Hand, Chisom Obiora-Egbuziem , '25

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This report proposes the development of a robotic arm that mimics human arm movements using a simple controller to provide aid and assistance to those with mobility issues. The robotic arm would serve as a practical solution to assist with daily tasks such as reaching, grasping, and moving objects, ultimately enhancing autonomy and independence for individuals with limited mobility. Key considerations include power sources, degrees of freedom, camera resolution, processing power, and safety mechanisms, with stepper motors prioritized for their precision. The project is divided into three phases: designing the arm and joints, developing code to control the arm, and …

Modeling Student Depression With Decision Trees: Predictive Insights From Data, Ahloe Feomaia, David Montoya, Israel De Leon, Oluwabunmi V. Sanusi

Posters - 2025

• Student depression is a growing public health concern that adversely affects academic performance and general well-being.

• According to Ibrahim et al. (2013), the prevalence of depression among university students ranges from 10% to 85%, with an overall weighted mean of 30.6%.

• Factors such as financial challenges, academic stress, and social adjustments significantly contribute to higher depression rates among students compared to the general population.

• Studies have shown that female students are more prone to depression due to hormonal, psychological, and social factors (Altemus et al., 2014). Depression impacts academic performance, reducing cognitive function and increasing dropout …

Hybrid Machine Learning And Comparison Error Minimization For Frequency Domain-Based Rapid State Estimation In Structures Subjected To High-Rate Boundary Change, James Scheppegrell

Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic forces and evolving structural boundary conditions pose challenges for various structural systems such as aircraft, orbital infrastructure, and energy harvesting devices. The design, evaluation, and functionality, of such systems can be aided through the collection and analysis of data. However, real-time decision-making for systems experiencing high-rate changes can pose unique challenges, if assessments are to be made accurately and rapidly enough to be relevant. In cases where the systems are well-defined and thoroughly understood, monitoring the frequency response can be instrumental in determining the state of structures subjected to high-rate structural boundary condition changes. This study focuses on investigating …

Supercritical Water Oxidation For Removing Pfas Contaminants: A Numerical Study, Ashley Joy Poyner

Theses and Dissertations

Per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of stable pollutants known for their long lifetimes and resistance to treatment methods used traditionally to remove other contaminants. PFAS and their ability to accumulate in both aquatic and terrestrial environments present threats such as detrimental effects to people and ecosystems due to their ability to penetrate entire systems. Though many methods are being explored to treat PFAS contamination in different systems, Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) is a promising method for both removing and decomposing PFAS, with the ability to completely oxidize these persistent contaminants. This study is a numerical investigation …

Ai, Blockchain, And Autonomous Innovation : Charting The Future Of Intelligent Enterprises, Shubham Gupta

Harrisburg University Other Works

In today’s digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are twin forces driving transformative change. AI and blockchain each rose to prominence on their own, but together they hold the promise of revolutionizing how businesses operate and create value. AI systems can analyze massive datasets, automate complex decisions, and even mimic human learning and reasoning. Blockchain technology, on the other hand, enables secure and tamper-proof transactions by distributing records across a network, ensuring transparency and trust without relying on a central authority. The convergence of these technologies is ushering in new possibilities for automation, smarter decision-making, and secure digital transactions …

Rookies To Aces: Investigating The Intuitiveness Of Pilot Interaction For Operating Evtol Aircraft, Shivani J. Patel

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft introduce unique movement dimensions beyond traditional fixed-wing and rotor-wing aircraft, requiring novel control interfaces for pilot operation. This study examines the compatibility of gesture-based control movements across participants with varying flight experience levels. This study included a total of 60 participants across four groups; novices (no real or virtual flight experience, n=30), flight simulator gamers (n=10), fixed-wing pilots (n=10), and rotor-wing pilots (n=10). Participants viewed eighteen simulated first-person eVTOL aircraft movements (e.g. pitch, roll, yaw, heave, translations) assessing their intuitive gesture inputs for the different aircraft motions. Additionally, they were asked to sketch …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Transportable Nuclear Reactors: A Radiological Risk Case Study, Robert John Demuth

Theses and Dissertations

The feasibility of a truly transportable nuclear reactor presents significant radiological challenges that must be addressed to ensure compliance with regulatory limits and operational safety. This study evaluates the radiological constraints associated with the transportability of the Transportable Helium-cooled One-megawatt Reactor (THOR), focusing on neutron activation, shielding performance, and external radiation exposure. Using advanced radiation transport and activation modeling within the SCALE framework, a comprehensive analysis was conducted to quantify dose rates during operation, post-shutdown, and transport. A key aspect of this work involved assessing activation products in core materials, auxiliary components, and surrounding environments to determine their contribution to …

Understanding Water Washing Needs Of Hydrochar Generated From The Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Food Wastes To Establish Minimum Post-Processing Needs For Soil Amendment Application, Neve Renee Steger

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an advantageous and potentially environmentally beneficial approach for the conversion of wet biomass and waste streams into a value-added solid product referred to as hydrochar. Although hydrochar composition and properties generated from the carbonization of a variety of feedstocks have been well studied, there is a need for understanding whether hydrochar requires further refinement and/or treatment prior to being used in environmental applications, particularly when using the hydrochar as a soil amendment. Understanding the need for and extent of hydrochar post-treatment is critical in identifying environmentally beneficial and economically attractive strategies for hydrochar use. In this …

Frequency-Based Rapid Structural Damage Detection Using Embedded Edge Computing On Resource-Constrained Devices, Ryan Yount

Theses and Dissertations

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is essential for ensuring reliability and longevity of useful structures. Traditional SHM approaches rely on manual or remote data transmission and external processing, which introduce latency and can depend on stable communication links. This work aims to advance SHM by integrating edge-computing techniques for rapid damage detection to enable faster and more autonomous structural assessments in resource-constrained environments. The research spans three key contributions including 1) frequency-based damage detection of civil structures using a sensor package with the addition of an edge processor, 2) additions to the computational efficiency of the edge-computing sensor package in a …

Women Overcoming Barriers In Stem: How Mentors, Allies, And Sponsors Assist Career Trajectories In Higher Education, Leila Marie Romeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the personal narratives of women in STEM in both public and private higher education institutions within various roles. Specifically, the researcher aimed to determine the following: (a) if mentors/allies influence the career trajectories of women in STEM in higher education institutions and (b) if mentors/allies aid in the support of women in STEM in higher education institutions. The researcher used semistructured interviews with a narrative analysis to determine areas of struggle for the sample within their careers and how mentors, allies, and sponsors were present throughout their careers to help the women overcome these challenges. Data …

From A Learning To A Smart Nation: The Rise Of The Digitalization Megatrend And Singapore's Development, Siu Loon Hoe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the “learning nation” concept and examine the characteristics and implications of using the “learning” premodifier in this nation-building program. Design/methodology/approach: This article reviews how the “learning” aspect is inter-related to a series of national information and communication technology masterplans and includes a comparative analysis of the related premodifier “smart” as Singapore sets forth its ambition to become a “smart nation” as part of the digitalization megatrend. A print media indicator and Google Trends form part of the methodology to ascertain the rise of digital technology over a certain period. The former …

Updated Document On Standard Terminology For Foot And Ankle, Jason T. Bariteau, Constantine A. Demetracopoulos, Ahmed Khalil Attia, Nacime Salomão Barbachan Mansur, Daniel J. Scott, Karen M. Kruger, Amy L. Lenz

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The Standardized Terminology and Measurement Subcommittee was established as an ad hoc academic entity at the behest of Dr Ian Alexander in 1990. Members who have served on the committee include Ian Alexander, David Katcherian, Harold Kitaoka, Bright McConnell, Chris Reynolds, Charles Saltzman, and Saul Trevino. This subcommittee met twice yearly at the annual winter and summer meetings. This initial work was coordinated with members of the POSNA’s Committee on Terminology and Measurement.   These definitions were published in Foot & Ankle International and were expected to be included in the Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation, which was never done.

Activity And Function Of The Endothelial Sodium Channel Is Regulated By The Effector Domain Of Marcks-Like Protein 1 In Mouse Aortic Endothelial Cells, Ling Yu, Niharika Bala, Van-Anh L. Nguyen, Leah Kessler, John F. Ladisa Jr., Abdel A. Alli

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Enhanced endothelial sodium channel (EnNaC) functioning causes an increase in vessel stiffness. Here, we investigated the regulation of EnNaC in mouse aortic endothelial cells (mAoECs) by the actin cytoskeleton and lipid raft association protein myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate-like protein 1 (MLP1). We hypothesized that mutation of specific amino acid residues within the effector domain of MLP1 or loss of association between MLP1 and the anionic phospholipid phosphate PIP2 would significantly alter membrane association and EnNaC activity in mAoECs. mAoECs transiently transfected with a mutant MLP1 construct (three serine residues in the effector domain replaced with aspartate residues) showed a significant …