Digital Commons Network^™

Biki: Design Overhaul, Meg Rawson

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

For children from bilingual households, kindergarten can represent both an introduction to formal mathematics education and a period of increased exposure to the English language. Students may therefore be learning foundational mathematical concepts while simultaneously developing the English vocabulary used to describe those concepts. BiKi (Bilingual Math for Kindergartners) was developed to help bridge this gap through an educational application that combines visual, auditory, and interactive learning activities to reinforce mathematical vocabulary in both English and a student’s home language.

This work builds upon the existing BiKi application while maintaining its original educational goals and intended audience. The primary focus …

Mapping And Modeling Threat-Evoked Brain States After Early Life Adversity, Taylor W. Uselman

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Early life adversity (ELA) increases lifelong neuropsychiatric vulnerability. Yet how ELA reorganizes brain-wide activity and circuit coordination across later experience remains unclear. This dissertation tests the hypothesis that ELA alters adult brain-wide activity and responses to threat through disrupted coordination among neural systems that regulate emotional experience, including prefrontal-limbic and monoaminergic systems. Longitudinal manganese-enhanced MRI of adult mice exposed to standard or fragmented early care, combined with computational processing and statistical modeling, quantified brain states before, during, and long after innate predator threat. These studies established that acute threat evokes large-scale, distributed brain activity that evolves over time. ELA potentiates …

Integrated Construction Risk Assessment Framework, Felix Delmonte

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

An integrated risk assessment architecture for construction projects synthesizes data governance, BIM, Digital Twins, and hybrid analytics into a continuous feedback loop that links sensing, semantic modelling, probabilistic simulation, and organizational learning. The framework distinguishes aleatory from cognitive uncertainty and prescribes layered methods: Monte Carlo and Bayesian updating for measurable variability; fuzzy inference and consensus aggregation for linguistic and expert judgements; and graph-based discovery for dynamic cyber-physical topologies represented as time-varying graphs 𝐺𝑡. Governance primitives, aligned with ISO 19650, enforce provenance, interoperability, and staged readiness thresholds that prevent premature prescriptive outputs until model convergence criteria are met. BIM and GIS …

Perspectives Of Scholars, Families, And Advisors On 360-Degree Video Technology In Graduate Education, Oluwatobi A. Mogbojuri, Bridget A. Walsh, Matthew Aguirre

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

This study explored the experiences of scholars in creating and sharing 360-degree videos, as well as the perspectives of families and advisors who viewed the videos. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted online using a videoconferencing platform. Perspectives from 20 participants (15 scholars, three advisors, and two family members) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three primary themes were identified: (1) barriers to 360-degree video use, (2) perspective shifts and limited change, and (3) storytelling and scholar visibility. Findings suggest that 360-degree video technology may be an innovative tool for enhancing recruitment and retention, especially for historically marginalized groups, through …

Video Compression Optimization Techniques Using Artificial Intelligence: Review/Review Article, Amal Abbas Kadhim, Wedad Abdul Khuder Naser, Nada Abdulkareem Hameed

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Compressing video is an important and essential function in today's multimedia systems as it enables the efficient storage and transmission of large volumes of video data. The proliferation of high-resolution videos that are being used in various application areas such as video streaming, video conferencing, surveillance, and autonomous systems has caused the strong demand for more efficient compression algorithms. This paper presents an in-depth review of video compression techniques with particular focus on AI methods. It also discusses traditional video coding standards including H. 264/AVC, H. 265/HEVC, and AV1, including motion estimation, transform coding quantization entropy coding, and rate-distortion optimization. …

Undergraduate Design Spine For Biological Systems Engineering And Agricultural Engineering, David Mabie, Derek M. Heeren, Deepak R. Keshwani, Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Nicole M. Iverson, Rachel Padrnos, Greg Bashford, Taryn King, Jenna Hefley, Curtis L. Tomasevicz

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Engineering education is undergoing a shift toward preparing graduates with demonstrated capabilities that integrate technical knowledge, durable skills, and the ability to adapt in a rapidly evolving professional landscape. This paper describes a comprehensive redesign of the undergraduate curriculum in Biological Systems Engineering (BSEN) and Agricultural Engineering (AGEN) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The redesign is grounded in a “Design Spine” framework, which distributes and scaffolds design experiences across all four years of the program to support progressive development of problem solving, systems thinking, communication, and professional skills. The curriculum is organized around clearly defined capabilities and threads that connect …

Reducing Complexity In Versatile Video Coding Intra-Coding Through Machine Learning-Based Optimization Of Partitioning And Prediction, Amina Kessentini, Amna Maraoui, Imen Werda, Fatma Ezahra Sayadi

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The escalating demand for high-resolution multimedia content has necessitated more efficient video compression solutions. The Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard, despite achieving remarkable compression gains, introduces significant computational complexity, primarily due to its exhaustive Rate-Distortion Optimization (RDO) process. To address this, we propose an intelligent approach leveraging supervised machine learning techniques to streamline the VVC encoding process. Specifically, we introduce a Lightweight Neural Network (LNN) for efficient coding unit partitioning decisions and a Decision Tree (DT) classifier for optimizing the intra prediction process. This dual-method framework, tailored for All Intra coding configuration, significantly reduces encoder complexity while maintaining compression performance …

Strategies For Sustainable And Inclusive Outdoor Wayfinding In Healthcare Facilities: An Approach To Enhance User Experience At Kafr Alsheikh University Hospital, Egypt, Rania Abd Allateef Ghanam, Ahmed Salah El-Deep

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Outdoor wayfinding plays a critical role in shaping user experience in healthcare environments, where inadequate navigation can heighten stress and hinder timely access to care. Despite the presence of wayfinding systems in many hospitals, outdoor navigation remains underexamined and inconsistently addressed in design guidelines. This study fills this gap by investigating architectural strategies to enhance outdoor wayfinding and reduce user stress. The research focuses on Kafrelsheikh University Hospital in Egypt and applies a twophase methodology: (1) a comprehensive literature review to identify current principles, guidelines, and best practices in outdoor wayfinding, and (2) an on-site case study to assess existing …

Clear And Concise: Technical Writing For Biological Engineers, Abigail S. Engelberth

Purdue University Press Books

Clear and Concise: Technical Writing for Biological Engineers is a practical guide designed to help students and early career engineers communicate their work with clarity and confidence. Drawing on years of teaching experience, Abigail S. Engelberth breaks down the essentials of technical writing into approachable steps, showing readers how to organize ideas, present data effectively, and write reports that meet professional standards.

Rather than overwhelming readers with theory, the book focuses on real-world application. It includes examples, checklists, and strategies for common engineering documents including formal and memo-style lab reports. Special attention is given to visuals, formatting, and the role …

Multi-User Collaboration In Augmented Reality For Beyond-Visual-Line-Of-Sight Bridge Inspection, Joel Murithi Runji, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bridge inspection traditionally relies on scaffolds, snooper trucks, and aerial robots for hard-to-reach areas beyond the visual line of sight of inspectors. This study automates the collaborative inspection workflow for multiple users when inspecting hard-to-reach bridge sections by interfacing low-cost multimodal sensors mounted on a magnetically wheeled climbing robot with augmented reality devices in a cyber-physical system. Non-destructive and visual sensors provide near real-time information of automated steel thickness measurements and visual observations of corrosive regions, respectively. The visual sensors also support robot teleoperation. The cyber-physical system is evaluated for its user-friendliness and performance. The system performance is quantified by …

Memebuddy: Dialog-Style Audio Representations For Engaging Non-Visual Meme Experiences, Chirag Bhansali, Vikas Ashok, Hae-Na Lee

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Image memes are a pervasive form of online communication, widely used to convey humor, opinions, and cultural references. Prior work has explored making memes accessible to blind users, primarily through auto-generated descriptive captions. While these approaches improve comprehensibility and sometimes incorporate prosodic or emotional cues, they often fail to capture the humor, narrative structure, and contextual nuances that make memes engaging. We present MemeBuddy, a system that models memes as dialog, generating structured, multi-turn audio representations using role-based speakers. MemeBuddy reinterprets a meme as a conversation between two speakers, integrating extracted meme text with contextual knowledge implicitly inferred by a …

Architecting A Complex Adaptive System Model For Selecting Policies To Reduce Kidney Discard, Lirim Ashiku

Doctoral Dissertations

"The kidney allocation system is a complex, evolving system involving multiple heterogeneous agents. Each agent exhibits emergent behavior that may not fully align with the complex system goals. Therefore, there is a need for a transdisciplinary systems approach to visualize the interdependency among agents and understand the dominant patterns that shape the kidney allocation system.

First, this research presented an incremental hierarchical system engineering approach in identifying the agents’ needs and behaviors toward the complex systems’ goal of maximizing deceased donor kidney utilization and reducing kidney discard. The hierarchical systems approach linked with model-based system engineering aided in eliciting agents’ …

Design For Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing: Generation Of Guidelines For Ceramics With Comparison To Thermoplastics, Hollis Hervey Waites

Masters Theses

"Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) has made much progress for polymer material extrusion processes (MEX-P), like Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), but very little progress for ceramic MEX processes (MEX-C) like Direct Ink Writing (DIW). This thesis leverages MEX-P design guidelines to create an initial set of design guidelines for DIW. FDM and DIW processes and material properties are compared, and the effect of these factors on the differences in rules is discussed. Five design guidelines are identified as applying to all MEX. For three of these, an exact limit for DIW of alumina is studied: minimum corner radius in the …

Reinforcement Learning In A Virtual World: A Study Of Ppo And Sac Within Unity Ml Agents, Rufat Mammadzada

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This study explores the use of Unity3D as a versatile platform for developing, training, and evaluating intelligent agents through reinforcement learning. Leveraging the Unity ML-Agents Toolkit, a dynamic 3D environment was created to examine agent learning behavior using two advanced algorithms: Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and Soft Actor-Critic (SAC). The simulation environment consisted of navigable terrain bounded by red borders, with collectible blue balls serving as rewards and a purple cube representing the agent. A carefully designed reward system was implemented to encourage goal-directed behavior and penalize inefficiency, while time constraints introduced an additional challenge requiring both precision and speed. …

Examining Iot-Enhanced For Current Developments In Face Image Authentication (Fia) Methods And Their Drawbacks, Marwa Jamal Hadi, Emaan Ouudha Oraby

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The quick development of IoT and facial image manipulation (FIM) algorithms, as well as the growth of their user-friendly applications, highlight the pressing need for manipulation detection methods. These techniques need to demonstrate how face photos have been altered and validate their legitimacy. The scientific community has recently taken notice of the phrase “DeepFakes” and methods for detecting them. Take note of the latest methods for identifying watermark-based face image modification as well. The important thing to remember is that every one of these methods has its own set of drawbacks. This study provides a brief introduction to face image …

Multimedia Forensics: Identification And Verification Of Source Camera, Vehicle Speed Estimation, And Deepfakes Detection, Jiajun Jiang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation advances multimedia forensics by addressing three critical research areas that enhance the authenticity verification and analysis of digital media. Multimedia forensics, which encompasses techniques for examining images, videos, audio, and text, faces increasing challenges due to sophisticated editing tools and massive data volumes. In the first study, a fast source camera identification and verification method based on PRNU analysis is proposed for video forensic investigations. By integrating camera rolling and I-frame analysis, this approach achieves a processing speed improvement of at least 15 times over conventional frame-by-frame methods while reducing false positives. The second study focuses on vehicular …

A Visual Positioning Method For Tunnel Boring Machines In Underground Coal Mines Based On Anchor Net Features, Zhang Xuhui, Chi Yunkai, Du Yuyang, Jiang Junying, Yang Wenjuan, Zhao Youjun, Wan Jicheng, Wang Yanqun, Tian Chenhui

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Precise positioning of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in underground coal mines plays a fundamental role in the automated and intelligent guidance and control of fully mechanized heading face. However, traditional visual positioning methods show limited application effects in underground roadways due to their narrow and enclosed spaces, insufficient illumination, and sparse textures. This study proposed a visual positioning method for TBMs in underground coal mines based on anchor net features.Methods A three-stream depthwise separable convolutional neural network (TSCR-NET) for image enhancement was employed to estimate the reflection, illumination, and noise in images individually. Through illumination adjustment while suppressing …

Optimization Of Pile Construction Sequence Using Cfa Machines, Omar Wael Ammar

Theses and Dissertations

In most construction projects with deep foundations, piling activities are critical to the project schedule and often fall on the critical path. The piling construction process requires a diverse range of resources, including equipment, materials, and skilful labour. Without carefully planning the construction process according to installation standards, there is a significant risk of time and cost overruns. These overruns are caused by inefficiencies such as equipment idle or lost time due to required lags between closely spaced piles. Therefore, it is essential to develop an optimized construction sequence to minimize these risks and enhance overall project efficiency. The primary …

Tellings Of The Pacific Ocean: A Landscape-Based Approach For Multispecies Design And Hci, Maliheh Ghajargar

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Environmental disturbances induced by climate change have caused significant changes in our ecosystems and are threatening the health of our environments. As a response to this issue, a growing body of work has emerged in HCI and design, which seeks to foreground more-than-human stories in support of making more sustainable and just futures. This research contributes to this broad agenda by probing graphic novels as a multispecies storytelling method for design and HCI. Combining ideas from Anna Tsing’s adventures of landscape and from HCI and design’s use of sequential art (e.g., storyboards), we use landscape as the main protagonist of …

Visualizing Sustainability Data With Ai, Matthew Van Dyke, Emily Chen, Hayden Le, Dorothy Xu

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

EcoVisor is a prototype system for extracting, structuring, and visualizing sustainability related metrics from natural language articles. The project integrates a FastAPI backend with a Next.js frontend to transform raw text or article URLs into structured sustainability data, detect trends over time, and generate visual outputs for users. Key capabilities include automated scraping of web articles for sustainability semantics, sustainability related metric data extraction, post-processing of extracted values into cleaned segments and sentences using HTML parsing, grouping of metrics by category and year, generation of Chart.js visualizations, and production of concise “comic brief” summaries for accessible storytelling. EcoVisor aims to …

Trailer Transport System For Multi-Ton Bins, Joanna Lizbeth Bendy, Kevin Matthew Creel, Annelise Vaara Cuneo, Hugo Alonso Valdez

Mechanical Engineering

This project aimed to improve the process of transporting 10,000-pound industrial waste bins. The current method for relocating these bins poses safety risks and requires significant manual effort. This project presents a conceptual solution that enables a single operator to efficiently and safely move roll-off bins using a custom-designed trailer system. The design incorporates three main subsystems: a trailer frame, an integrated winch system, and an off-the-market puller device to guide and secure the bin during transport. Two scaled proof-of-concept prototypes were fabricated to evaluate key aspects of the system's functionality. Testing and analysis suggested that the system is viable …

Ray Collection: Forging A New Fashion Genre, Olivia R. Cooper

Graphic Communication

This senior project addresses a gap in the fashion industry by creating a new genre through a unique collection and comprehensive branding. The "RAY" collection draws inspiration from the designer's artistic roots and is a deeply personal homage to influential female artists like Frida Kahlo, Louise Bourgeois, and Leonora Carrington, whose works have inspired the designer's creative journey. Each piece in the collection draws direct inspiration from these artists, reflecting the creator's vision and self-expression, a key element of the streetwear genre incorporated into the designs.

The project also heavily emphasizes fashion branding, encompassing a logo, brand identity, social and …

2025 Annual V.E.S.T Hackathon: Renovating Safety Harnesses, Mason P. Chamberlin

Construction Management

This paper presents the organizational framework and logistical planning involved in executing the 2025 Verifying Everyone’s Safety Together (V.E.S.T.) Hackathon, an annual innovation workshop hosted by the Construction Management Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The event brings together students, faculty, and industry professionals to reimagine and redesign common construction equipment with a focus on safety, usability, comfort, and inclusivity across diverse user profiles. The 2025 hackathon, held April 15–16, concentrated on safety harnesses, an essential component of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the construction industry. Participants engaged in the two-day event that included conceptualization, prototyping, and …

Effect Of Using Machine Learning To Improve Active Suspension Control For Vehicle Stability, David A. Butz

Masters Theses

This study demonstrates that it is possible to use road surface classification as a means of informing active suspension systems in order to limit their activity. An approach was taken to improve the response of an active suspension control system by classifying road surfaces in near real time. A control system model was developed to represent a full-body vehicle, and an AI was used to analyze road vibration noise. The model was adapted to allow the AI to select from multiple control signals based on the AI’s analysis of road vibration noise. The objective of the study was to demonstrate …

Hydrologic Decision Support In The Nile Basin: Creating Status And Outlook Products From The Geoglows Hydrologic Model, Rachel Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Decision makers and stakeholders need information about current and future streamflow to make informed decisions and we show how the GEOGLOWS Hydrologic Model, known as River Forecast System (RFS), can be used to provide hydrologic status and outlook products to inform these decisions. We examine a specific use case of RFS in the Nile River Basin and how RFS is used to provide users with hydrologic status products. We work with stakeholders at the Nile Basin Initiative to assess their needs for this information. We use basic low flow calculations to compute the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) and the 95th …

Using Human Computation And Harmonic Expansions For Characterization And Design Of Grain Boundary Networks, Christopher W. Adair

Theses and Dissertations

Grain Boundary Networks (GBNs) are a high-dimensional feature in polycrystalline microstructural materials that are formed from the crystallographic degrees of freedom. This feature affects multiple material properties such as diffusivity, fracture, elasticity, heat transfer, and others. The link between the crystallography and the material properties is called the structure-property linkage, and allows for simulation and design of materials. While it is possible to use the structure-property linkage to design materials for better performance, the high-dimensional nature of the interconnected grain boundaries preclude the use of many common optimization algorithms for efficiency or local minima considerations. This work shows how the …

Cybermapping Solutions: A Unified Approach In Us/Nato Military Applications And Development, Nicholas Macrino

Electrical & Computer Engineering Projects for D. Eng. Degree

[First paragraph] Cyber threats are evolving in complexity and frequency, posing significant challenges for cybersecurity professionals in identifying, categorizing, and responding to attacks in real time. Unlike traditional warfare, where battlefield awareness is based on fixed geographic warfare, cyber operations involve abstract attack vectors, non-linear threat escalation, and rapidly changing network conditions. Modern cyber threats, such as advanced persistent threats (APTs), polymorphic malware, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, require adaptive visualization techniques that provide real-time awareness and facilitate rapid decision-making. However, existing symbology standards, such as MIL-STD-2525D, were not designed to accommodate the dynamic nature of cyber warfare. The inability …

Are Emojis The New Words? A Sentiment Analysis Of Social Media Brand Conversations, Yashodhan Karulkar, Dev T. Vora, Siddharth Vaddepalli, Yash Thakur

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Emojis have become an increasingly important aspect of consumer-brand interactions in the Indian subcontinent. However, the impact of emoji use on brand image and mental health remains underexplored, particularly in emerging economies like India, where structured research on this topic is limited. To address this gap, the present study analyzes over 4,600 consumer tweets related to 19 prominent brands across eleven industries. Using VADER sentiment analysis, the research develops a metric to assess consumer sentiment and brand engagement in relation to emoji usage. The findings indicate that effective integration of emojis contributes to positive consumer sentiment and enhanced brand engagement. …

Augmented Reality In Construction, Brendan Trinh

Construction Management

This research focuses on how augmented reality (AR) technology could assist construction projects by increasing quality control, efficiency, and collaboration. AR tools, such as Revizto, overlay 3D models into real-world construction sites, allowing the project teams to test installations and discover issues before they occur. This study aims to determine how AR affects project costs, the construction schedule, and quality. To further understand this, interviews were conducted with McCarthy Builders' Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) employees. They discussed their experiences with AR on active job sites, including its benefits, limitations, and potential improvements. Studies from an internship with McCarthy Builders …

Design And Simulation Evaluation Of Converged Toll Collection Schemes For Senegalese Highways, Lai Zengcheng, Zhang Ning, Yang Shichun, Ding Xueqi, Ji Yanjie

Journal of China & Foreign Highway

The Senegalese highway toll collection system is inefficient,and significant congestion and delays frequently occur at toll stations in the face of sudden traffic surges during holidays.This paper examined the limitations of the existing toll collection methods on Senegalese highways and combined the image detection algorithm and electronic license plate recognition technology with the existing MTC and ETC toll collection methods to construct a converged toll collection method based on vehicle information recognition.The paper aimed to optimize the Senegalese highway toll collection system,reduce its cost of use,and improve the efficiency of toll collection.The BPV Thiès toll station in Senegal was selected …