Digital Commons Network^™

Fabrication Of Su-8 Electrically Actuating Membranes, Tyler James Adams

Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates SU-8 polymer waveguides as a fabrication platform for integrated optical structures. Surface roughening using oxygen plasma etching is used to induce controlled optical scattering, enabling direct observation of guided modes and providing insight into waveguide behavior. Building on this, waveguide geometry is modified through an elevated scattering region (ESR) design, which reduces transition losses and improves scattering efficiency by preserving optical volume within the guiding region. In parallel, suspended SU-8 membranes are fabricated and evaluated for mechanical stability, providing a platform for integrating optical structures beyond conventional substrate-bound configurations. These membranes are further characterized under electrostatic actuation, …

Democratizing National Water Model Streamflow Forecasts Through Cross-Platform Mobile Application Development, Jerson J. Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The National Water Model (NWM) provides operational streamflow forecasts for 2.7 million stream reaches across the continental United States, yet technical barriers prevent widespread public access to this hydrological infrastructure. This paper presents RIVR (River Information Visualization and Risk), a cross-platform mobile application that transforms National Water Model forecasts into an accessible interface for non-technical users. Built with Flutter, the application deploys to iOS and Android from a single codebase and integrates NOAA forecast APIs, CIROH return-period thresholds, and interactive vector-tile mapping. Performance evaluation across six metrics: application size, startup time, memory consumption, rendering frame rates, API response times, and …

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Fingerprinting: Techniques For Attacker-In-The-Middle Proxy Detection, Evasion, And Counter-Evasion, Jensen George Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Attacker-in-the-middle (AitM) phishing toolkits have emerged as a critical threat to enterprise and individual security by enabling adversaries to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) and compromise cloud-based accounts at scale. Traditional detection techniques--such as IP blocklists or content-based detection methods--are often ineffective against these increasingly sophisticated attacks. We propose a novel method that detects malicious proxies by identifying artifacts they introduce into HTTP request headers. To evaluate our approach, we systematically analyze traffic passed through several open-source AitM toolkits and proxies, identifying distinct modifications to header structures and content, then formalize these features as YARA rules for automated use. To validate …

Further Development Of A Low-Energy Arc-Ignition System For Nytrox/Abs Hybrid Propulsion Systems, Stephen A. Whitmore, Jared S. Coen, Ryan J. Thibaudeau

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Utah State University has developed a high-performance “green” hybrid propulsion technology based on the unique electrical breakdown properties of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Using 3D-printed ABS as fuel, typical startup sequences require approximately 5–15 joules and, once started, the system can be sequentially fired with no additional energy inputs required. The number of possible ignitions is limited only by the amount of fuel. The most technologically mature version uses gaseous oxygen (GOX) as oxidizer and 3D-printed ABS as fuel. While GOX is mass-efficient, it lacks volumetric efficiency unless highly pressurized. Nytrox, a blend of GOX and nitrous oxide, improves propellant …

Path Planning And Control For Vertical Takeoff And Landing Aircraft, Dean Benjamin Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

One of the challenging problems of unmanned aerial vehicles (uav) is controlling vertical takeoff and landing (vtol) aircraft. Vtol aircraft can take off and land without landing strips while retain the efficiency of fixed-wing airplanes for long range flight. Unfortunately, the transition from takeoff and forward flight, and from forward flight to landing, is an extremely difficult control problem. Most current controllers for transition switch between flight regimes based solely on airspeed. The trajectory for such switching transitions is a straight vertical ascension followed by a straight forward startup flight; it does not allow for the development of more complex …

Real-Time Data Collection System For Low-Cost Diesel Emissions Monitoring, Zachary Driskill

Theses and Dissertations

Diesel trucks are a major source of pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and NO$_x$. Roadside emissions monitoring can identify high-emitting diesel vehicles, but conventional sensing systems rely on expensive, complex sensing instruments that limit widespread deployment. Low-cost sensors offer increased scalability due to their small size, low cost, and low power consumption, but they have lower accuracy and slower response time. This thesis presents the design and evaluation of a low-cost roadside emissions monitoring system, establishing the foundation for a scalable and widely deployable alternative. We apply machine learning calibration to roadside emission monitoring to improve the usability of low-cost …

Implementation And Evaluation Of Alternative Methods For Simulation Of Sidescan Sonar, Blake Paul Romrell

Theses and Dissertations

The original sonar implementation for the HoloOcean simulator was built upon a cached octree representation of the world. On first runs, building the cache was prohibitively slow, and the cache had a major memory footprint. This work presents alternative implementations for the sidescan sonar using direct raytracing on the CPU and rendering on the GPU. To evaluate and compare the implementations, timing tests on comparable parameters, as well as sweeps on resolution and range parameters, were performed. The render-based GPU implementation outperformed the others in the timing tests.

Familybloom: Examining Ecologies Of Collaboration In Family-Centered Health Tracking, Lucas M. Silva, Aehong Min, Evropi Stefanidi, Franceli L. Cibrian, Jesus A. Beltran, Cassie Zeiler, Sabrina E. B. Schuck, Kimberley D. Lakes, Gillian R. Hayes, Daniel A. Epstein

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Family health informatics tools can help support well-being with shared data tracking. Prior work typically focused on shared data review, but often in specific moments, like bedtime, or centered on caregiving of children or elderly members. To investigate how tracking can support mutual health collaboration between family members pervasively across daily contexts, we designed and deployed FamilyBloom, a glanceable smartwatch and home display system for mood and goal tracking. Twelve families with both neurotypical and ADHD members used FamilyBloom for three months on average. Our findings reveal how family-centered tracking created collaboration opportunities and tensions across multiple ecological systems: individual …

Leveraging River Forecast Center Knowledge To Improve Large-Scale Hydrologic Model Performance Through Bias Correction, Ian Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

The National Water Model (NWM) provides continental-scale streamflow predictions but exhibits bias and reduced skill in highly regulated and snow-driven basins. In contrast, River Forecast Center (RFC) models incorporate decades of local calibration and regulatory knowledge but are limited in spatial coverage to specific points of interest. This study evaluates whether hydrologic knowledge embedded in RFC-calibrated simulations can be transferred to improve NWM performance at unmonitored locations using the Streamflow Analysis for Bias Estimation and Reduction (SABER) framework. Using Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) simulations as surrogate reference data, we applied SABER to the NWM 44-year retrospective model simulation …

Security Risks Of Ai-Generated Code In Software Development, Maame Agyekum

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Artificial Intelligence(AI) has recently forced change globally, public Institutions and as well as national security. Advancement in machine learning, mixed datasets have enabled significantly powerful systems while being capable of operating at a large scale. As innovation and technological advancement increases at rapid pace, issues like a regulation gap where scientific development far exceeds the government’s ability to regulate and establish an effective oversight. As a result, Artificial Intelligence has been controlled by private companies, leading to an industry where speed and profit often outweigh safety and ethical responsibility.

Sub-Nanometer Nanoclusters Of Copper Atop Single-Atom Copper Moieties Toward Electrochemical Co2 Hydrogenation To Methane, Ahmed Badreldin, Mohammad Bilal Minhas, Shengyao Wang, Gabriella Smith, Shaoqin Chen, Shiwen Wu, Carter Racine, Jin Feng, Yun Hang Hu, Tao Li, Ying Li

Michigan Tech Publications

The electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) offers a compelling route for converting CO2 into value-added fuels and chemicals. Among CO2-derived products, methane (CH4) occupies a distinct position, serving both as a key intermediate for emerging cascade electro-oxidation to oxygenates and as a strategically important extraterrestrial fuel that can be generated in situ from off-planet CO2 resources. Although Cu-based catalysts capable of selectively producing CH4 have been reported, they seldom sustain high selectivity at practically relevant current densities. Here, we created a single-step co-pyrolysis strategy toward generating and anchoring Cu sub-nanometer clusters (CuSNC) atop Cu-Nx single-atom (SA) motifs embedded within N-doped carbon …

Growth Potential Of Materials For Decarbonization: Insights From The Cement Industry Value Chain, Noha Mostafa

Mechanical Engineering

To meet the Paris Agreement objectives and limit global warming to 1.5˚C compared to preindustrial levels, it is estimated that the built sector must cut its total emissions by 50% before the year 2030 and fully decarbonize it by 2050. The built environment is estimated to be responsible for 40% of global energy and emissions. These global carbon emissions include both operational carbon—the day-to-day carbon emissions generated through the operation and maintenance of buildings—and embodied carbon. With its recorded high emissions, cement manufacturing is a key area of interest for the decarbonization efforts. To meet the increasing demand for sustainably …

Re-Purposing Pre-Existing Tilapia Aquaculture Open-Design System For Zebrafish Biomedical Research Purposes, Luke Cantu, David Sierra, Skyleigh Curtis, Maya Avila

ATU Scholars Symposium

Title: Re-purposing pre-existing tilapia open-design aquaculture systems for zebrafish biomedical research purposes.

Background: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) models are gaining popularity in biomedical research; however, the high infrastructure cost, at approximately $20,000 per unit, is a significant hurdle for primary undergraduate institutions (PUIs) establishing zebrafish facilities. This study assesses if repurposing existing tilapia open-design aquaculture systems could be a cost-effective method for zebrafish facility establishment.

Methods: Between November-2025 to February-2026, the study used a pre-existing tilapia aquaculture open-design system with personnel modified outlet filters. The water quality of this system was monitored and recorded. The study compared the stabilization phase or …

Tunable Shock And Vibration Damping In Metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion Components Via Controlled Post-Print Compaction Of Particle Damper Cavities, Joud N. Stame, Yanzhou Fu, Samuel Roberts, Austin Downey, Tianyu Zhang, Lang Yuan, Daniel Kiracofe

Faculty Publications

Components manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) can incorporate particle dampers (PDS) by retaining unfused powder within internal pockets, providing inherent vibration suppression without added mass or separate damping components. This study investigates the damping performance of such LPBF-integrated PDs through two complementary approaches: (1) quantifying the effect of post-printing volume compression on energy absorption by mechanically indenting the damper pocket, and (2) evaluating how variations in particle packing density influence the dynamic response under both sinusoidal and transient impulse excitation. Experimental results from shaker and shock testing demonstrate that increased packing density, whether by compression or tighter confinement, …

Digital Transformation And Market Microstructure: Analyzing The Impact Of Algorithmic Trading On National Stock Exchange Of India Price Discovery Mechanisms Through Complex Systems Theory., Mukesh Bhaskar Ahirrao, Harshal Anil Salunkhe, Vishal Sunil Rana

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Abstract

This research examines the evolution of market microstructure at the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) from 2020 to 2024, a period characterized by substantial growth in algorithmic trading from 35% to 44% of total trading volume. Using market microstructure data and analytical techniques grounded in complex systems perspectives, the study documents temporal patterns in price discovery, liquidity, volatility, and market efficiency associated with this digital transformation.

The analysis reveals several notable changes in market characteristics. Transaction costs improved significantly, with bid-ask spreads declining by 23.4% and market depth increasing by 18.1%. Price adjustment half-life decreased by 50%, indicating …

Self-Assembly Interactions In Magnetite-Coated Cellulose Nanocrystals: Implications For Magnetic Hyperthermia Applications, Mohammad J. Hasan, Erin L. Mcneill, Kishore Chand, Juganta Roy, Monishita Deb, Katherine Schlaak, Sydney Herzog, Yvonne Sun, Sarah Watzman, Esteban E. Ureña-Benavides, Erick S. Vasquez-Guardado

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Magnetic cellulose nanocrystal (MCNC) nanocomposites are promising sustainable and biocompatible platforms for magnetic hyperthermia; however, the molecular mechanisms governing Fe3O4 adsorption and deposition onto CNCs remain poorly understood. Here, sulfated (S-CNC) and TEMPO-oxidized CNCs (T-CNC) were used to prepare nanocomposites at 1:2 and 1:4 CNC:Fe3O4 mass ratios, enabling a systematic evaluation of how surface chemistry and nanoparticle loading dictate interfacial interactions and magneto-colloidal behavior. Bare magnetite nanoparticles were 21 ± 5 nm by TEM but grew to 144 ± 18 in the DLS measurement at pH 7. The S-CNC nanocomposites had hydrodynamic sizes between 144 and 210 nm, not much …

Threat-Analysis Oriented Digital Twinning Of Ml-Powered Future Autonomous Weapon Systems, Thomas Neubert

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Warfare is undergoing a rapid transformation with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into autonomous weapon systems (AWS) for perception, decision support, and control. As these systems become more software-defined, their cyber attack surface expands across sensing, communications, autonomy logic, and human-machine interfaces. As human oversight diminishes, ensuring the cybersecurity, resilience, and reliability of these systems becomes critical to mission success. This thesis investigates how a digital twin-driven threat modeling framework that integrates system-centric analysis with adversary-informed methodologies can support structured cybersecurity vulnerability evaluation and defensive strategy development associated with ML-powered AWS. First, the study analyzes …

Synthesis And Hydrothermal Evaluation Of Poly(Styrene Phosphonate) For Conformance Control In Geothermal Reservoirs, Sara Mccauley

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, geothermal energy has emerged as a promising energy alternative to fossil fuels. A barrier to widespread implementation and energy production efficiency is macro-heterogeneity of the rock matrix. Cracks, void spaces, and flow conduits divert fluid flow away from unswept portions of the geothermal reservoir and can cause cooling of the reservoir. Flow heterogeneity has been treated in oil reservoirs by injecting hydrogel particles that travel preferentially to ultra-high permeability zones and selectively block fluid flow in these regions. We are applying polymer hydrogels that withstand hydrothermal conditions of 225 up to 275°C …

Online Path Planning For Disaster Response In The Presence Of Unknown Road Disruptions: A Comparison Of Research And Practice, Jannatul Shefa, Ashlea Bennett Milburn, Erica Gralla

Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose This paper aims to illuminate gaps between theory and practice in one crucial area of disaster logistics: transportation management between staging areas and final destinations, on uncertain and disrupted road networks. Relevant current practice in federal, state, nonprofit and private disaster response organizations in the USA is described and compared to pertinent assumptions in the literature on disaster response online path planning under uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative approach. The disaster response routing literature informed the development of an interview guide used for in-depth interviews with disaster response logistics practitioners. Collected data were coded to identify how …

The Stability Study Of Dna-Polymer Hybrids For Nanotechnology Applications, Ethan Kuehn, Milan Jebaraj

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

DNA nanostructures have garnered increasing interest in their application as drug delivery vehicles. However, DNA is susceptible to degradation under physiological conditions. To remedy this, we have devised a novel method to coat DNA nanostructures with the polysaccharide chitosan (a natural derivative of chitin). Chitosan binds to DNA electrostatically and inhibits nuclease activity that would normally degrade DNA in a physiological environment. We used both agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to determine the stability of DNA before and after immersion in a simulated biological environment. Physiological conditions were mimicked by incubating the DNA in cell culture …

Analysis Of Autonomous Vehicle Survivability To 5g Communication Errors, Sydney Clark

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

Autonomous vehicles rely on low-latency, high-reliability data exchange for real-time perception and control. Disruptions such as packet loss, latency variation, protocol-level errors, and malicious interference can pose significant safety risks to both passengers and surrounding environments. This project aims to evaluate, quantify, and predict the survivability of autonomous vehicle systems to communication errors, with focus on 5G network environments. The impact of these communication impairments on vehicle stability and control will be investigated through high-fidelity cyber-physical simulation of the vehicle and its surrounding environment. Experiments designed to capture varying network conditions will be used to assess a broad range of …

Biosensors For Biomedicine, Drake O'Leary

Miners Solving for Tomorrow Research Conference

This project investigated the use of engineered bacterial reporter systems to detect cellular stress responses associated with antibiotic activity. While constructs were successfully introduced and tested against known antibiotics, the reporter consistently produced a blue signal across conditions, limiting the ability to distinguish specific stress responses. This suggests issues such as leaky expression, insufficient regulatory control, or lack of specificity in the reporter design. Although results were inconclusive, this work highlights key challenges in developing reliable biosensors and provides a foundation for future optimization. Improving signal specificity and reducing background expression will be critical for enabling accurate characterization of antibiotic …

How Q-Succeed-Cny Connects Local Residents To Emerging Semiconductor And Quantum Career Opportunities, Moamer Hasanovic

SyracuseCoE

This slide deck is from Professor Moamer Hasanovic's talk, "How Q-SUCCEED-CNY Connects Local Residents to Emerging Semiconductor and Quantum Career Opportunities," presented at SyracuseCoE's April 2026 Research & Technology Forum.

Development And Acceptability Of A Patient Decision Aid For People With Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: An International Mixed-Methods Study, Andrew R. Gamble, David B. Anderson, Marnee J. Mckay, Benjamin M. Davies, Sophie Macpherson, James Van Gelder, Tammy Hoffmann, Kirsten Mccaffery, Samuel X. Stevens, Carlo Ammendolia, Rohil V. Chauhan, Carl M. Zipser, Timothy F. Boerger, Lindsay A. Tetreault, Michael G. Fehlings, Elanor Dustan, Carolyn Nugent, Helen Holmgren, Andreas K. Demetriades, Justin M. Lantz, Rana Dhillon, Chris G. Maher, Joshua R. Zadro

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objectives To develop and user-test a patient decision aid for people diagnosed with degenerative cervical myelopathy and who are considering surgery.

Design Mixed-methods study describing the development of a patient decision aid.

Setting A draft decision aid was developed by a multidisciplinary steering group (including study authors with degenerative cervical myelopathy, health professionals and researchers) informed by the best available evidence, authorship consensus and existing patient decision aids.

Participants Patient-participants and health professional-participants who manage people with degenerative cervical myelopathy were recruited through social media and the steering group’s research and practice network. Quantitative questionnaires were used to gather baseline …

Wright State University's Celebration Of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities From Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Wright State University

Celebration of Undergraduate & Graduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Materials

The student abstract booklet is a compilation of abstracts from students' oral and poster presentations at Wright State University's Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship & Creative Activities on April 1, 2026.

Competitive Reaction Pathways In The Fully Green Synthesis And Surface Modification Of Silver Nanowires Under L-Ascorbic Acid-Limited Conditions, Finley Neal

Honors Theses

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are critical building blocks for transparent conductive films (TCFs) in flexible electronics, yet their commercial viability is hindered by environmentally hazardous, energy-intensive synthesis methods and limited intrinsic chemical stability. This study investigated a fully green, room-temperature (25℃) batch synthesis of pristine AgNWs using tannic acid as a biodegradable dual reducing and capping agent under strict kinetic pH control (pH 1.25). To enhance oxidative resistance, a subsequent surface modification protocol was evaluated to deposit a protective palladium (Pd) shell using L-ascorbic acid (LAA) as a secondary reducing agent. The pristine green synthesis yielded one-dimensional Ag nanostructures with a …

Quantification Of The Depth-Of-Field In A Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren System, Alexander Ephraim

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis investigates self-aligned focusing schlieren (SAFS) as a step toward future volumetric and quantitative measurements of three-dimensional compressible flows. Conventional schlieren imaging provides valuable visualization of density gradients, but it records only a line-of-sight projection and therefore does not directly resolve the spatial distribution of structures through the depth of the flowfield. SAFS addresses part of this limitation by introducing depth sensitivity, but its depth response has not been well characterized quantitatively. To help lay the foundation for future volumetric and quantitative SAFS methods, this work addresses two related problems. First, calibrated quantitative schlieren imaging is applied to an …

High-Fidelity Swarthmore Septa Station Display, Aurélien Carretta , ‘26, Nicholas Fettig , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

For this project, we propose a design and a prototype assembly for a high-fidelity SEPTA station display that shows real-time transit information, including train delays and future arrival times. This system would allow local commuters and Swarthmore College affiliates alike to remain updated on train arrival times at the Swarthmore College station, which currently does not have such a display deployed. We accomplished this design goal by assembling 16 LED panels together, powering them through a power supply unit, and sending information to them from a Raspberry Pi 5 microcontroller which connected to the SEPTA API to pull real-time information. …

Bio-Payload Senior Design Report, Connor Bishop, Oliver Goodall, Marcus Kirk, Gabby Robles, Anish Shanmuganathan

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

This project focuses on the design and development of an autonomous experimental platform capable of conducting cellular biology experiments in a well plate within a CubeSat environment. The system integrates microfluidics, robotics, and onboard sensors to remotely initiate experiments, monitor them, and collect data without human intervention. The objective is to create a platform for automated biological experimentation in microgravity, while reducing reliance on ground-based control and increasing mission efficiency and reproducibility. The team used Saccharomyces cerevisiae to assess the biocompatibility of the well plate and monitor changes in cell culture, including optical density and cell viability.

Stamp-V: Steganographic Traceability For ​ Ai-Generated Images With Multimodal Verification, Xinlei Guan, David Arosema, Tejaswi Dhandu, Meng Xu, Kuan Huang, Tida Umamheswara Rao, Bingya Shen

Center for Cybersecurity

The rapid growth of generative AI has intensified challenges in content moderation and digital forensics, particularly when benign AI-generated images are paired with harmful or misleading text. This contextual misuse undermines traditional moderation systems and complicates attribution, as synthetic images typically lack persistent metadata or device signatures. We introduce STAMP-V, a steganography-enabled provenance framework that embeds cryptographically signed identifiers into images at creation time and verifies provenance through multimodal harmful content detection. Our system evaluates five watermarking methods across spatial, frequency, and wavelet domains, and integrates a CLIP-based fusion model that performs multimodal harmful-content detection as part of the provenance …