Digital Commons Network^™

Proposing A Matrix For Selecting Security Tools For Small Businesses, Nathan Jonathon Rowbotham

Theses and Dissertations

Small businesses are increasingly under threat of cybersecurity attacks. An increasingly long list of tools with different purposes and coverage are available to help. But it can be difficult to choose which tools to use, particularly for a small business that may lack financial resources, expertise, and time. Research literature focuses on providing frameworks to follow to protect a business generally. Some research considers an aspect of creating a Security Operations Center. Other research describes the creation of a Security Operations Center as a Service with all the components the researchers deemed necessary. None of the current research literature seems …

Real-Time Dynamically Feasible B-Spline Trajectory Generation For Unmanned Aircraft, David Lavae Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

Onboard aircraft systems must frequently plan dynamically feasible paths or trajectories to safely and quickly reach their goal position. Optimized B-splines are promising because they can guarantee kinematic feasibility in a computationally efficient manner and can be applied to a variety of vehicle models. However, current B-spline solutions do not adequately constrain trajectories to the physical limitation of the vehicles they are planning for, or are often too conservative. Most are also limited to path smoothing or require pre-optimized timing parameters. This thesis develops a real-time B-spline optimization-based trajectory generator capable of minimizing time while respecting the velocity, acceleration, and …

A Personalized Chat Application For Career Profiling: A Case Study, Dhiraj Choithramani

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed numerous fields over the past decade, significantly influencing industries such as software engineering and computer science. One of the most impactful developments in this area is the rise of AI-driven chat applications, which have evolved from simple, rule-based systems to sophisticated platforms capable of simulating human-like conversations. These chatbots are increasingly being utilized across various sectors, including customer service, healthcare, and education, to provide users with quick, personalized responses. This research paper presents a case study of a personalized chat application designed specifically for career profiling, leveraging advanced AI technologies to deliver contextually relevant …

Development And Application Of A Particle-Based Reactor Network Model For Entrained Flow Gasifier Design, Eric Christian Monson

Theses and Dissertations

A novel particle-based reactor network model (PRNM) was developed to predict the performance of a dry-feed, pressurized, single-stage, slagging entrained flow gasifier under various operational parameters. This model provides improved detail of particle conversion as a function of gasifier location, particle size, and fuel type not available in standard reactor network models. The model inputs were designed to allow changes in geometry, firing rate, stoichiometric ratio, fuel type, and inlet gas composition. Key performance metrics included the gas and refractory temperature profiles, axial gas compositions, and particle burnout. PRNM used a network of idealized reactors to specify the flow field …

Design And Validation Of Sensing Knee Sleeve Rehabilitation Device Utilizing Large Deflection Strain Gauges, Kurt Christian Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures are increasingly common in the US and globally. However, rehabilitation outcomes may be negatively affected by limited access to physical therapy and patients' tendency to not fully adhere to recommended exercises between therapy sessions. This study aims to develop a remote system to aid rehabilitation, building upon recent sensor development at Brigham Young University, providing physical therapy-like biofeedback during unsupervised at-home exercises. The system developed by this research consists of three primary components: (1) a sensor array for measuring leg/knee biomechanics, (2) a machine learning algorithm to predict knee flexion angle from the sensor data, …

Modular Approach To Soft Mobile Robots, Dimuthu Kodippili Arachchige

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Soft robot locomotion is a highly promising but under-researched subfield within the field of soft robotics. The compliant limbs and bodies of soft robots offer numerous benefits, including the ability to regulate impacts, tolerate falls, and navigate through tight spaces. These robots have the potential to be used for various applications, such as search and rescue, inspection, surveillance, and more. The state-of-the-art still faces many challenges, including limited degrees of freedom, a lack of diversity in gait trajectories, insufficient limb dexterity, limited payload capabilities, lack of control methods, etc. To address these challenges, this research introduces a modular approach to …

Vco Calibration Techniques And Design Of A 0.12-V Ultra-Low Supply Analog-To-Digital Converter, Shea Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Many analog-to-digital converters (ADC) quantize inputs using a voltage-controlled-oscillator (VCO). These VCO-based ADCs leverage time-domain processing to shape quantization noise and mismatch, which further increases their appeal. Despite these advantages, achieving good performance with a VCO-based ADC remains a significant challenge due to the nonlinear transfer characteristics of the voltage-to-frequency (V-F) conversion. VCO-based ADCs widely utilize coarse-fine readout to save power and hardware compared to counter-only converters. However, the timing mismatch due to the clock skew between the coarse and fine quantizers can lead to significant reconstruction errors. Chapter 2 proposes a digital calibration circuit to detect and correct coarse-fine …

Activity Map Generation And Event-Based Sensor Processing With Spiking Autoencoders And Sparse Dictionary Learning, Jack Easton

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the potential of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) in processing event sensor data and generating high-fidelity activity maps. Event sensors capture asynchronous binary events with high dynamic range, but traditional processing methods often fail to leverage their advantages fully. SNNs, with their asynchronous, event-driven nature, offer a promising alternative.

A Spiking Autoencoder (SAE) was employed in this thesis to handle the stochastic and sparse event data, integrating deep dictionary learning to enhance the feature space and improve activity map quality. The encoder, modeled after the VGG network, extracts features from event streams generated by speckle patterns, which are …

Enhancing Fundraising Strategies In Higher Education Through Machine Learning, Laith Alatwah

Electrical Engineering Theses

This thesis presents a comprehensive application of machine learning techniques, namely Fine Gaussian SVM and RUS Boosted Trees, to enhance fundraising strategies in higher education institutions. Analyzing a rich dataset from Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, spanning 2012 to 2022, the study focuses on donor profiles, including demographics, donation history, and engagement patterns. Key demographic insights include the increasing engagement of younger donors (20-29 age group) and significant contributions from older donors (70-99 age group). Geographical trends are also examined, revealing distinct patterns based on donors' city, state, and ZIP code. The Fine Gaussian SVM model demonstrates moderate discriminatory power, with …

Is Declined Cognitive Function Predictive For Fatal Accidents Involving Aging Pilots?, Douglas D. Boyd, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

Civil aviation comprises airlines/charters and general aviation (GA). Currently, airlines are experiencing a pilot shortage, partly reflecting scheduled retirements mandatory for airline (but not GA) pilots aged 65 years, fueling a debate as to whether the retirement age should be increased. Herein, using 16–40 years-of-age aviators as a reference, we determined whether GA pilots aged 60+ years (i) incurred an elevated accident rate, employing, for the first time, age-tiered flight time as a measure of risk exposure and (ii) carried an excess risk for cognitive deficiency-related fatal accidents. Methods. Airplane accidents (2002–2016) involving Class 3 medical certificated pilots were per …

Process Intensification For Carbon Sequestration By Resonant Vibratory Mixing, Amirhosein Riahi

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Due to the excessive consumption of fossil fuels, which leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions and rapid climate change, it is crucial to develop various Carbon Capture and Sequestration strategies. CO₂ sequestration in solid, porous adsorbents like low-cost biochar emerges as a promising method to achieve this goal. However, slow adsorption kinetics are one of the issues that limit the widespread use of biochar. While the characteristics of biochar are important and impact CO₂ adsorption, the conditions under which adsorption occurs are equally critical.

In this work, a novel process intensification strategy, namely Low-Frequency High Amplitude resonant vibratory …

Solar Process Heat Pyrolysis, Maxwell Triepke

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Solar process heat pyrolysis mobilizes the production of biochar via selective solar absorbance. Mobilization allows for the production of pyrolysis products at the location of the biomass source while eliminating the need for infrastructural power to operate the reactor. Traditionally, the implementation of economies of scale has led to large, permanent biochar production facilities; however, biochar feedstock is often in remote locations or stockpiled temporarily in mill/forestry operation locations. Modular reactors are important to eliminate feedstock location, transportation, and variability limitations. Previous work at Montana Technological University’s CHAR Laboratory has developed two lab scale modular, both tethered to infrastructural power. …

Subspace Decomposition Of Linear Secrecy Codes, David Robert Joseph Hunn

Theses and Dissertations

We introduce a new method for the study of linear codes, termed subspace decomposition, which provides new insights into code structure and performance. Briefly, subspace decomposition comprises the evaluation of complex properties of a linear code by evaluating simple properties of its constituent subspaces. We find that this technique has application to a number of problems in coding theory. When applied to the problem of evaluating the performance of secrecy codes, subspace decomposition provides an efficient method for computing the equivocation of coset codes over the binary erasure wiretap channel. It is also especially efficient in computing the chi squared …

Radiation-Tolerant Thin-Film Reference Electrodes And Potentiometric Sensors, Bingyuan Zhao, Alexander Wei

Department of Chemistry Faculty Publications

The integration of electronic sensors into single-use systems for bioprocessing is challenged by their sensitivity to sterilizing γ-irradiation. This challenge also applies to reference electrodes (REs), whose potentials may be destabilized upon ionization and drift over time. Here we evaluate the performance of thin-film Ag/AgCl REs over a two-month window following γ-ray sterilization using a 60Co source. γ-REs display a characteristic voltage decay function ascribed to the dissipation of radiation-induced charge defects, and exhibit long-term potentiometric stability when stored in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with a 95% confidence interval of 4 mV over 60 days. γ-REs have a mean insensitivity (inertness) …

Development And Structural Origin Of Stretchable Semiconducting Polymers And Composites, Yunfei Wang

Dissertations

Stretchable semiconductors are pivotal in advancing wearable and implantable electronics, with those boasting both high stretchability and self-healing capabilities being especially significant for a myriad of wearable applications. In this dissertation, we developed an extremely soft, highly stretchable, and self-healing elastomer based on H-bonding crosslinked amide-functionalized polyisobutylene (PIB-amide). When blended with a high-performance conjugated diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP-T) polymer, the composite exhibits unprecedented stretchability, exceptionally low elastic modulus, and an innate ability to self-heal at room temperature.

The morphology of conjugated polymer/elastomer semiconducting composites have significant impacts on electrical and mechanical properties Further investigations focused on manipulating the phase separation size in …

Unrefined And Milled Ilmenite As A Cost-Effective Photocatalyst For Uv-Assisted Destruction And Mineralization Of Pfas, Eustace Y. Fernando, Zhiming Zhang

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are fluorinated and refractory pollutants that are ubiquitous in industrial wastewater. Photocatalytic destruction of such pollutants with catalysts such as TiO2 and ZnO is an attractive avenue for removal of PFAS, but refined forms of such photocatalysts are expensive. This study, for the first time, utilized milled unrefined raw mineral ilmenite, coupled to UV-C irradiation to achieve mineralization of the two model PFAS compounds perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluoro octane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Results obtained using a bench-scale photocatalytic reactor system demonstrated rapid removal kinetics of PFAS compounds (>90% removal in less than 10 …

Time-To-Failure Prediction Of Fine-Grained Soil Slopes Subject To Weather-Driven Deterioration, Arm M. Morsy

Mineta Transportation Institute

Embankments have been widely used in the construction of transportation and flood defense infrastructure. Embankments constructed from clays experience a suite of weather-driven deterioration processes that lead to a progressive loss of hydromechanical performance, causing potentially severe and costly consequences. This study aimed to predict the time to failure of aging, deteriorating clay embankments supporting transportation infrastructure. A multi-phase numerical modeling approach was developed to replicate the long-term, weather-driven, hydromechanical behavior of clay embankments. This model simulated the behavior of a number of well-documented embankment failure case studies that had sufficient data to derive the necessary soil properties and climate …

Sustainable Waste-To-Bioproducts Engineering Center Laboratory Safety Project, Claudine Mock

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Laboratory accidents are common in teaching and research labs; these accidents can be injurious or even fatal. The consequences of each type of laboratory accident are different based on the activities performed and the hazardous materials used in each facility. However, the most common issue related to laboratory accidents is the lack of proper safety measures (e.g., poor handling of hazardous materials, not reporting incidents immediately, etc.). This project aimed to establish and strengthen best practices and procedures to ensure laboratory safety at the Utah State University Sustainable Waste-to-Bioproducts Engineering Center. To achieve this goal, different practices and measures were …

Virtual Engagement: Can Law Enforcement Benefit From Utilizing Extended Reality In Their Training Systems?, Jacob Maxwell Read

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Extended reality (XR) technologies offer innovative training solutions for various industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, aviation, sports, military, and law enforcement. XR can provide a solution for training where job tasks are difficult or near impossible to train in real-life. A human factors research and design approach could provide an effective, low-risk, and cost and time-efficient option for integrating the use of XR technology into training for many industries. To advance this goal, this research answered two main research questions: (1) What training needs/challenges are best suited for an XR training system designed for law enforcement officers (LEOs)? (2) …

Reconfigurable Over-The-Air Chamber: Measuring Radio Frequency Device Performance, Benjamin T. Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Over-the-air (OTA) testing is particularly useful in determining the performance of multi-antenna communication devices in real-world environments. Traditional OTA testing technologies include the reverberation chamber (RC) and the multi-probe anechoic chamber. More recently, the reconfigurable OTA chamber (ROTAC), which is a RC that has probes lining its chamber walls, has been proposed. These probes are either driven with a source, possibly combined with a channel emulator, or are terminated with a tunable impedance. Controlling the excitations and terminations on the probes can alter the fields within the chamber and thereby synthesize an antenna response at the device under test (DUT). …

Experimental And Computational Investigation Of Green Laser Propagation Through Turbulent Medium In A Water Tank, Richard Owusu Adansi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Turbulence medium poses significant challenges to the propagation of laser beams, impacting applications such as free-space optical communication, remote sensing, and laser weapons systems. Therefore, comprehending and mitigating turbulence effects are vital for enhancing the performance of these systems. Analysis of a strong turbulence impact on electromagnetic wave propagation requires extensive knowledge of the Earth's atmospheric and Oceanic phenomena and Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light as a propagating wave of electric and magnetic fields. Optical systems' propagation often encounters Strong Turbulence, causing interference and diffraction. Nonetheless, light propagation through randomly fluctuating media has been an exciting and active area of …

Magnetic Sensor Compensation Utilizing Factor Graph Estimation, Frederic W. Lathrop, Clark N. Taylor, Aaron Nielsen

Faculty Publications

Recently, there has been significant interest in the ability to navigate without GPS using the magnetic anomaly field of the Earth (magnav). One of the key technical bottlenecks to achieving magnav is obtaining an accurate magnetic sensor calibration, taking into account own-ship and sensor effects. The Tolles-Lawson magnetic calibration method continues to be the industry standard and was developed when airborne magnetic survey aircraft were first employed over 70 years ago. In this paper, we present a magnetic calibration algorithm based on a factor graph optimization using inertial measurements as well as inputs from both a vector and scalar magnetometer. …

Frameworks For The Techno-Economic Assessment Of Membrane-Based Bioprocessing Platforms, Juan Jose Romero Conde

All Dissertations

This dissertation describes developing and implementing computational frameworks for simulating and optimizing purification processes in the biopharmaceutical industry. The framework performs techno-economic analyses to establish value propositions for new process alternatives, especially membrane technologies. Initially, the focus is developing a framework capable of simulating monoclonal antibody (mAb) capture using membrane and resin media in multi-column chromatography (MCC) platforms for continuous manufacturing. Subsequently, the impact of capture MCC is compared against other intensification strategies in established mAb manufacturing facilities. Finally, the framework application expands to simulate the purification of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for gene therapy.

Chapter 2 details the framework …

Emerging Technologies And Advanced Analyses For Non-Invasive Near-Surface Site Characterization, Aser Abbas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation introduces novel techniques for estimating the soil small-strain shear modulus (G_max) and damping ratio (D), crucial for modeling soil behavior in various geotechnical engineering problems. For G_max estimation, a machine learning approach is proposed, capable of generating two-dimensional (2D) images of the subsurface shear wave velocity, which is directly related to G_max. The dissertation also presents a method for estimating frequency dependent attenuation coefficients from ambient vibrations collected using 2D arrays of seismic sensors deployed across the ground surface. These attenuation coefficients can then be used in an inversion process …

Method Development For The Extraction And Analysis Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Wastewater And Biosolids, Victoria Krull

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Per and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals that have water and grease repellant properties and do not readily biodegrade. PFAS are present in many consumer products and end up in waste systems and the environment. Studies have shown that PFAS can have adverse health effects on humans and animals.

There are many challenges to processing and analyzing samples containing PFAS including: adsorption of PFAS to equipment, contamination from equipment containing PFAS, and the high sensitivity needed to analyze for PFAS in the parts per trillion detection range. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing methods …

Developing A Comprehensive Genome-Scale Metabolic Model For The Arabidopsis Thaliana Root System, Lohani Esterhuizen

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) is the most well-established model plant to date. Being the first plant to have its genome mapped, studies on Arabidopsis have provided insurmountable insights into the physiological and biochemical nature of plants. Methods that allow us to computationally study the metabolism of organisms include the use of genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs). Despite its popularity, no GEM currently maps the metabolic activity in the root system of Arabidopsis, which is the first organ to face and respond to stress conditions in the soil. This work aims to develop and implement a comprehensive GEM of the Arabidopsis root system …

Studies Of Exotic Electronic, Optical, And Electrochemical Properties In Nanoparticle Assembly And Graphene, Jay Min Lim

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

It is well known that exotic properties and phenomena emerge as structural dimensions shrink to nanoscales. We self-assembled one-dimensional chains of gold nanoparticles in solution and quantified the growth process by monitoring the redshift of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Curiously, the redshift stopped while the chains continued to rearrange as manifested by gradual reduction in the LSPR peak. Using electromagnetic simulations, we quantitatively explained the phenomena as a rapid “addition-polymerization” followed by a sharp transition to “condensation-process.” Next, recognizing the significant electric field enhancement in the interparticle gap, a photoluminescent-active Eu³⁺ ion was used to probe Surface-Enhanced Photoluminescence …

Mitochondrial Function In Lungs Of Rats With Different Susceptibilities To Hyperoxia-Induced Acute Lung Injury, Pardis Taheri, Devanshi D. Dave, Ranjan K. Dash, Guru P. Sharma, Anne V. Clough, Elizabeth R. Jacobs, Said H. Audi

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Adult rats exposed to hyperoxia (>95% O₂) die from respiratory failure in 60–72 h. However, rats preconditioned with >95% O₂ for 48 h followed by 24 h in room air acquire tolerance of hyperoxia (H-T), whereas rats preconditioned with 60% O₂ for 7 days become more susceptible (H-S). Our objective was to evaluate lung tissue mitochondrial bioenergetics in H-T and H-S rats. Bioenergetics was assessed in mitochondria isolated from lung tissue of H-T, H-S, and control rats. Expressions of complexes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) were measured in lung tissue homogenate. Pulmonary endothelial filtration coefficient …

Expandable Tissue-Engineered Living Surgical Pulmonary Heart Valve For Pediatric Patients, Jacob M. Lautenschlager

All Theses

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of mortality in developed countries, with 607.74 million cases globally in 2020.^1,2 Advances in medicine have changed the current demographic suffering from heart valve disease into an aging population suffering from degenerative heart valve disease, creating a growing population treated by surgical or transcatheter intervention.^3-6 Current treatments of valvular heart disease are therefore directed toward valve replacements for the adult population, leaving a treatment gap for pediatric patients suffering from heart valve disease.^7-10

Congenital heart defects are defined as structural abnormalities of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels and are …

Training Uav Teams With Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Towards Fully 3d Autonomous Wildfire Response, Bryce Hopkins

All Theses

As climate-exacerbated wildfires increasingly threaten landscapes and communities, there is an urgent and pressing need for sophisticated fire management technologies. Coordinated teams of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) present a promising solution for detection, assessment, and even incipient-stage suppression – especially when integrated into a multi-layered approach with other recent wildfire management technologies such as geostationary/polar-orbiting satellites and CCTV detection networks. However, there remains significant challenges in developing the necessary sensing, navigation, coordination, and communication subsystems that enable intelligent UAV teams. Further, federal regulations governing UAV deployment and autonomy pose constraints on real-world aerial testing, creating a disconnect between theoretical research …