Digital Commons Network^™

Climbing Robot Design, Cali Good, Dawson Durr, Matthew Miller

Mechatronics Final Projects

Design Summary

Our device, shown in Figure 1, is an autonomous rope-walking robot designed to travel across a suspended climbing rope. The robot waits until it is hanging from the rope, moves forward using a walking arm mechanism, and stops when it approaches the marker at the end of the course. The system is fully self-contained, with onboard batteries, sensors, controls, and mechanical components housed inside a laser cut acrylic body. The robot moves using pairs of rotating arms located on both sides of the body. These arms hook around and push against the rope, creating a repeated walking motion …

Spectral Characterization Of Colorectal Cancer Using Excitation-Scanning Hyperspectral Imaging, Natalie Hadad

Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide, with a lifetime risk of approximately one in twenty-three for men and one in twenty-five for women. Although early detection significantly improves survival, current diagnostic approaches such as tissue biopsy are invasive, reliant on subjective interpretation, have extended turnaround times, and risk missing flat or depressed lesions that are more difficult to detect than raised polyps. These limitations highlight the need for objective, minimally invasive technologies capable of detecting early tissue changes. This study investigates excitation-scanning hyperspectral imaging (Ex-HSI) as a label-free optical approach for identifying colorectal cancer–associated …

Assessment Of Lake Water Quality Parameters Using Uav Hyperspectral Imaging, Hasanul Banna, Taufiqa Tajnin

Publications and Research

Monitoring water quality in lakes is critical for assessing ecosystem health, managing drinking water resources, and detecting harmful algal blooms. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)–based hyperspectral imaging provides a promising approach for high-resolution observation of water quality parameters. In this undergraduate research project, hyperspectral imagery collected over sample lakes within the Delaware River Watershed was processed using BaySpec’s CubeStitcher software to assess its capability to detect variations in chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations. This work was conducted as part of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)-funded project in collaboration with Princeton Hydro and NYC College of New York. Hyperspectral image cubes were …

A Multi-Criteria Decision And Spatial Modeling Framework For Socially Informed Advanced Air Mobility Implementation Planning, Noah Wesley Bretz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is an emerging mode of transportation that integrates advanced aircraft technologies, such as manned air taxis or unmanned freight drones, to transport people and goods across urban and regional environments. While these technologies promise to transform mobility, successful implementation depends heavily on community acceptance, which is shaped by multiple social factors. This study presents a multi-criteria decision framework to evaluate and prioritize the key social factors influencing AAM adoption. A literature review identified six primary social factors: safety, noise, privacy and cybersecurity, automation, environmental impact, and price and economics. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used …

Experimental Data-Driven System Identification Of Scale-Model Airboat Dynamics For Control And Autonomy Applications, Miguel A. Trejos

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

To achieve autonomous control of a surface watercraft requires an accurate model describing the dynamics of the system. To this end, the modeling of dynamics of an airboat with a combustion engine-based propulsion system is investigated. Specifically, a black-box data-based approach using neural networks. To facilitate this, a custom data collection system was developed to record linear and rotational motion during field tests. Due to the airboats unique ability to traverse different terrains, not just water, the modeling of dynamics on different terrains was investigated.

Optimization-Based Power Management For Hybrid Towing Vessels: A Comparative Framework Toward Mission-Aware Control, Rachel K. Burchill

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an optimization-based framework for power management in hybrid towing vessels operating under dynamic mission conditions. A physically consistent modeling approach is developed, incorporating battery state-of-charge dynamics (SOC), unified power flow, and operational constraints. The framework evaluates rule-based control using fixed heuristic thresholds, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and multi-objective Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) under a representative harbor-assist mission profile. Results show that optimization-based methods significantly outperform rule-based control. PSO achieves the lowest fuel consumption and near-perfect tracking with minimal battery use, while GA provides balanced performance with moderate battery utilization. NSGA-II reveals a …

Model Stormwater Standards 2026, Unh Stormwater Center

UNH Stormwater Center

The purpose of post-construction stormwater management standards is to provide reasonable guidance for the regulation of stormwater runoff to protect local natural resources from degradation and prevent adverse impacts to adjacent and downstream land, property, facilities, and infrastructure. These standards regulate discharges from stormwater and runoff from land development projects and other construction activities to control and minimize increases in stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel erosion, and nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater runoff.

Effectiveness Of Quiz-Based Interventions In Virtual Reality Lectures On Learning, Mason T. Prather

Master's Theses

This thesis examined whether quiz-based interventions affect learning during an immersive virtual reality (VR) lecture and whether quiz timing strategy matters when prompts are delivered on a fixed timer or through gaze/Region of Interest (ROI)-based attention timing. The study used an eye-tracking virtual reality headset and a game engine-based classroom application. The final completed cohort included 29 participants assigned to three between-subjects conditions: No Intervention (n = 10), Timer-Based Intervention (n = 9), and Attention-Based Intervention (n = 10). All participants viewed the same virtual reality lecture and completed the same 15-item post-lecture assessment. Mean learning scores were 44.00% for …

Hardware Integration Of Preamble Based 802.11a Wi-Fi Frame Location For Usrp Radios, Nicholas P. Margavio

Honors Theses

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network of devices that can exchange information over the internet, and its deployments are projected to reach 30.9 billion by 2025, with most lacking encryption. One solution for these unencrypted devices is to use Specific Emitter Identification (SEI). SEI exploits distinct, native, and unintentional features of a radio’s signal to identify it and enhance wireless network security uniquely. For example, IEEE 802.11a Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi) radio waveforms have a fixed structure that occupies the first 16 microseconds, from which SEI features can be extracted and used to identify the originating radio. By removing the …

A New Electroencephalography Electrode Design For Curly And Kinky Hair Types, Elena Butler

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Medical discrimination and implicit bias are present in both societal systems and into the design and validation of medical devices. Traditional electroencephalography (EEG) systems often fail to provide reliable physiological recordings on curly and kinky hair types (3B–4C), associated typically with Black American and others of African descent. EEG on these hair types often results in high electrode-scalp impedance, poor signal quality, and participant discomfort. Consequently, such technical biases contribute to the underrepresentation of these populations in neuroscience research and clinical diagnostics, while simultaneously limiting equitable access to EEG-based medical care.

To address this gap, a novel conductive electrode attachment …

Beyond Local Pathology: Exploring The Role Of Gut Microbiota In Chronic Low Back Pain Using An Integrated Behavioral And Microbiological Approach, Adan L. Redwine

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Chronic low back pain (LBP) affects millions worldwide, often originating from intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. While the gut microbiome modulates musculoskeletal pain, prior studies of the gut-disc axis have focused entirely on structural changes. This leaves a critical gap: does the microbiome influence the experience of discogenic pain? To answer this, an integrated approach using longitudinal gut microbiome profiling, machine learning-based behavioral phenotyping, and structural disc assessments in a rat model of discogenic LBP was utilized.

Female Sprague Dawley rats underwent one of four conditions: sham surgery, IVD injury, antibiotic-mediated microbiome depletion + IVD injury, or IVD injury + treatment …

Exploring The Role Of Video Games In Civil Engineering Education And K-12 Stem Engagement, Jillian S. Codron

Architectural Engineering

Civil engineering education has traditionally emphasized a linear progression from theory to application, with foundational concepts introduced in lecture before being reinforced through laboratory or design experiences. While effective for advanced learners, this approach can limit early engagement for K–12 students who may struggle to connect abstract principles to realworld engineering practice. This project examines the use of video games as interactive, feedback-driven environments for introducing civil engineering concepts and practices to younger learners in more exploratory and accessible ways.

The study pursues four primary objectives: evaluating the educational affordances of selected video games; examining how gaming experiences have influenced …

Securing Distributed Energy Resources: A Dnp3 Master Station With Semantic Web Integration For Decentralized Der Data Sovereignty, Ethan J. Coffman

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

As current electrical grids trend toward a heavier reliance on DERs, there is a growing need to secure DER communications while maintaining data sovereignty for device owners. Previously, work by Donna Thakadipuram established the foundation for a decentralized framework using Solid by implementing a prototype that used a Raspberry Pi and a DSP to simulate Modbus traffic and upload the data to a Solid server. This thesis extends her work to simulate multiple DERs using Typhoon HIL and communicate to each device over DNP3/TCP. The system uses a Python-based DNP3 master to collect telemetry from all 12 DERs before transforming …

Performance Comparison Of A Two-Level And A Three-Level 1500v Three-Phase Grid-Tied Solar Inverter, Shawn Sproles

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the global switch to renewable energy sources, photovoltaic energy has become an integral source to harvest from. When solar panels convert sunlight into a DC voltage, a grid-tied inverter is needed to transform this DC voltage into an AC voltage to interface with the AC grid. The most widely used topologies for grid-tied solar inverters are two-level three-phase inverters and three-level NPC three-phase inverters. Compared to two-level inverters, three-level NPC inverters have advantages such as lower EMI, lower THD, and lower switching losses. Moreover, three-level NPC inverters are shown to have higher efficiency in low-voltage applications at medium to …

Protocol-Aware Enforcement-Point Postcards And Collector Feedback For Ot/Ics Forensic Readiness And Closed-Loop Defense, Haden Fowler

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this work, we apply P4-programmable switches to Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control System (ICS) traffic with the objective of turning enforcement decisions into structured forensic evidence that can also support fast, scoped feedback. OT investigations often rely on later correlation of endpoint logs, passive packet traces, and historian data, but those sources can be incomplete, hard to align in time, and missing the decision made at the enforcement point. We address this gap by implementing a P4-based enforcement switch that parses Modbus/TCP write traffic, applies protocol-aware policy checks, and exports protocolaware postcards to a collector. The collector stores …

Editorial: El Juego De Rol Como Instrucción Para La Inmortalidad, Romano Ponce Díaz

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

El presente número del Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM examina la convergencia entre las prácticas lúdicas, el diseño narrativo y los procesos de mediación sociocultural en la investigación contemporánea. Las contribuciones reunidas en este número abordan el juego de rol como un dispositivo de producción de conocimiento, intervención psicoeducativa y reelaboración de representaciones culturales. Nos podemos atrever a señalar que la educación es la convergencia entre la ludología, las ciencias sociales, los estudios visuales y el análisis cultural; entendiendo a la educación como la actividad consciente e intencionada de transmitir información y conocimientos a las siguientes generaciones.

Practicing Conflict Transformation Skills Through Role-Playing Games For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Higher Education, Alexandra Schreiber, Kjell H. Hugaas, Sarah L. Bowman

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

No abstract provided.

3d: Dragones, Dados Y Deseos. Rituales En Las Comunidades Roleras De Bogotá, Francisco Gonzalez Buitrago

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

¿Qué ocurre cuando la ficción deja de ser solo entretenimiento y se transforma en refugio, ritual y espacio de transgresión? Este artículo analiza los hallazgos de una etnografía y un ejercicio de cartografía social en torno a comunidades roleras de Bogotá, mostrando cómo jóvenes y adultos reconfiguran sus vidas cotidianas a través del juego de rol.

Lejos de limitarse al escapismo, las partidas se convierten en escenarios simbólicos donde caben la negociación, la crítica y la catarsis. En una ciudad marcada por la incertidumbre generacional y las tensiones entre género, clase y territorio, las campañas de rol permiten reimaginarse a …

The Functions Of Role- Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems And Explore Identity, De Sarah Lynne Bowman (2010) [Reseña De Libro], Cristo Leon

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems and Explore Identity, by Sarah Lynne Bowman, is an ambitious, wide-ranging, and still necessary work for role-playing game studies. Published in 2010, the book proposes that role-playing and roleplaying games fulfill three main social and psychological functions: creating community, facilitating problem solving, and enabling the exploration of identity. Bowman develops this thesis through a combination of theoretical review, cultural reflection, and participant-observer ethnography, based on interviews with players of tabletop role-playing games, live-action roleplaying games, and virtual environments. Organized into seven chapters, the book moves clearly from the …

A Study Of Visualized Diagnostics In Early Stage Digital Twin Implementation Of An Industrial Control System, Michael R. Kinzel

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are used for process control in almost all industries. An ICS combines Operational Technologies (OT) with Information Technologies (IT) to allow human supervision of a process through surveillance of process variables and manipulation of controlling elements such as valves to maintain stable process conditions. ICSs have been in-service for several decades and may remain operational past their technological service life. Organizational personnel interact with the ICS through visual displays that both indicate the process variables and also the controlling elements. The Human Machine Interface (HMI) allows visibility of the process and the ability to manipulate controlling …

Stretch Web Teleoperation Keyboard Final Report, Aaron Chou, Francisco Irazaba

Computer Engineering

This project added keyboard controls to the Hello Robot Stretch Web Teleop interface. The goal was to make the robot easier to control from a web browser without needing a gamepad or separate terminal-based keyboard program. The new interface allows users to control different parts of the robot with customizable key bindings.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Of Counter-Current Flow In Channels Separated By A Membrane, Akram Mashhour Riziq Abdullah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Counter current flow in channels separated by membrane were studied in several published studies. The present study aims to numerically and analytically simulate and physically describe the distribution of pressure, volume flow rate and velocity in counter current flow module. Numerical simulation Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was performed by solving Navier-Stokes (N–S) equations in the channels and membrane pores (vertical channels) to determine pressure and velocity fields. An analytical solution one-dimensional (1-D) model was developed to simulate the flow in the channels and membrane pores by solving the continuity and Darcy’s Law to obtain pressure and volume flow rate. Accordingly, …

Preclinical Animal Modeling To Investigate Redox-Mediated Molecular Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury, Brandon Z. Mcdonald

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Impacts associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) induce a multitude of neurological morbidities mediated by a spread of biochemical dysfunction. Redox stress is a significant contributor to TBI pathophysiology and several redox stress markers have substantial evidence to support their role in diagnosing preclinical and clinical TBI. However, there is a critical need to verify their translational utility through correlations with behavioral, imaging, and molecular modalities. In chapter two, we examined the therapeutic efficacy of an antioxidant treatment (NPC3) using a controlled cortical impact (CCI) mouse model of TBI. NPC3 alleviated glial expression and reactivity while influencing the expression of …

Effect Of Prefilmer Design On Atomization Behavior In The Pre-Vaporization Tube Of A Small-Scale Annular Gas Turbine Combustior, Amogh G. Natu, Antoine M. Fradet, Cohen Nunes, Daniel R. Guildenbecher

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This work investigates the influence of internal prefilmer geometry on fuel spray atomization in the prevaporization tube (PVT) of a small-scale reverse-flow annular gas turbine combustor. Four configurations are examined: a control with no prefilmer, a planar internal prefilmer, and two angled internal prefilmers at θ = 60◦ and θ = 45◦ . Double-pulsed digital in-line holography (DIH) is used to measure droplet size distributions, spray density, Sauter mean diameter (SMD), and droplet velocities at the PVT exit under conditions scaled to represent nominal ignition conditions. Results show the control design exhibits poor atomization characterized by large droplet diameters, low …

Tau Beta Pi Engineering Mentorship Program, Tyler Black

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project is to design and implement a student-led engineering mentorship program directed by the members of the Utah Gamma Chapter of Tau Beta Pi on the Utah State University (USU) Logan campus. Retention data show that many undergraduate students who start engineering programs change their degree before graduation due to academic and social challenges that may be mitigated by the support of a peer mentor. The Tau Beta Pi Engineering Mentorship Program selects and trains upperclassman mentors to effectively mentor underclassman engineering students.

The design of the mentorship program is an application of backward design, where …

Establishing Caenorhabditis Elegans As A Platform For Bioaccumulation And Selectivity Screening Of Anthelmintic Compounds, Jiarui Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

To address the cuticular barrier in anthelmintic discovery, this study establishes a bifurcated framework in Caenorhabditis elegans. First, HPLC-based quantification of 14 PIM inhibitors revealed that cuticular penetrance is primarily dictated by phylogenetic lineage (Clade V) rather than ecological niche. Specifically, C. elegans demonstrated a significant pharmacokinetic correlation with the hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum (Clade V) but not the whipworm Trichuris muris (Clade I), validating it as a superior surrogate model for hookworm bioaccumulation. Within this small molecule inhibitor library, SGI-12was identified as a lead candidate with superior potency against C. elegans and bioaccumulation. Second, target validation using a C. …

Designing A Steel Bridge: A Structural Overview, Andrew Orr

Honors Theses

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) host the Student Steel Bridge Competition (SSBC), a nation-wide competition where students design, fabricate, and construct a model bridge based on a provided rule set. A group of Arkansas State University civil engineering students participated in that competition in Spring 2026.

Low-Cost Rf Exposure Monitoring With Tinyml Prediction, Sanad Sahawneh

Nanoscale Science & Engineering (discontinued with class year 2014)

The proliferation of wireless technologies has produced a dense, increasingly heterogeneous radio-frequency (RF) environment that surrounds modern life. While regulatory bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) maintain exposure guidelines, the tools that ordinary people, educators, and small institutions can use to actually observe RF exposure in their own spaces remain expensive, specialized, and largely confined to professional laboratories. Spectrum analyzers and calibrated field probes routinely cost between five hundred and one hundred thousand dollars per unit, placing continuous local monitoring out of reach for most environments where exposure questions are most natural …

An Experimental Study Of The Morphology Of Dna-Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Structures In Direct Dna Sequencing, Avery P. Davis

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hybrid structures formed between single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have emerged as promising components in future direct DNA sequencing technologies due to their unique morphological and electronic properties. The nanoscale configuration of these hybrids, including the DNA wrapping angle, pitch, and contour behavior, directly influences their potential for stable electronic readout. This thesis presents an experimental study of DNA-SWCNT hybrid morphology using a fixed, reproducible wrapping protocol designed to minimize environmental variability and isolate the influence of DNA nucleotide sequence on hybrid structure. As described in prior work, this protocol produces well-dispersed hybrids suitable for high-resolution imaging. …

Exploring Determinants Of Value For Money And Bundling Effects On Public–Private Partnership Projects: A Data-Driven Empirical Study, Gaurav Khadka

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Public–private partnerships (P3s) are widely used to deliver public infrastructure, yet current understanding of what drives variation in Value for Money (VfM) and the effectiveness of project delivery strategies such as bundling remains largely conceptual and grounded in perception-based evidence. Consequently, governments lack empirically validated guidance on which project, financial, and macroeconomic conditions meaningfully influence VfM outcomes and whether bundling improves project performance within the P3 context. This study addresses these gaps through an integrated analysis of 180 Canadian P3 infrastructure projects (1992–2020), one of the most comprehensive datasets of realized VfM internationally, incorporating project characteristics, financial arrangements, and macroeconomic …