Digital Commons Network^™

Breaking The Fourth Wall: Structural Accessibility In Theaters, Maddie Adams-Miller , ‘26, Abbey Peters , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Historic theaters, especially those on Broadway, are in high demand but often lack appropriate access for patrons with disabilities. This work evaluates existing barriers to physical accessibility in historic theater spaces and develops a model to address as many of these barriers as possible. Through the implementation of the double diamond research method, it was ensured that the experience of the end user was centered, and prototypes were created to address these identified needs. This two-part design solution includes a scale model of an idealized theater and a prototype of a universally accessible seat, as well as a set of …

Optimization Of Pumping Kite Wind Energy Conversion System, Jamie Pickar , ‘26, Sam Peterson , ‘26, Luke Magnuson , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Airborne wind energy systems (AWES) promise access to higher-altitude wind resources at lower capital cost than conventional turbines. This thesis presents a rigid-wing, ground-generation AWES prototype developed across two coupled subsystems: a kite designed for harnessing wind energy and a generator station designed for efficient pumping-cycle operation.

The kite subsystem progressed through three design generations. We replaced ball-joint wing mounts with fixed joints, derived a tail design using tail volume coefficients, and validated the tail through fusion 360 stress testing and Unity game engine simulation. The final prototype of the kite demonstrated approximately 25 seconds of passive transient flight stability …

Trash Bot!, Owen Hoffman , ‘26, Ryder Maston , ‘26, Jack Nicholson , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Trash Bot! is the prototype of a smart and mobile waste receptacle for Swarthmore’s waste management system. With Swarthmore College committing to embed zero waste into campus culture and achieve a 90% diversion rate by 2035, flexible waste systems must be developed and improved. Trash Bot! seeks to improve the diversion rate and sort accuracy on campus by reducing the human error present in the current waste sorting process. Trash Bot! was also designed to seamlessly integrate with a classroom environment, maintaining safety standards and avoiding collisions. Trash Bot! uses computer vision coupled with a trained classifier algorithm to achieve …

Reducing Freeze-Thaw Settlement For Homes In Alaska’S Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Jalyn Miller , ‘26, Madeline Mountcastle , ‘26, Elijah Santos , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is one of the largest intertidal wetlands in North America and serves as the ancestral homeland to over 50 indigenous communities. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is currently facing a climate crisis causing a myriad of environmental issues including increased flooding, rises in sea levels, and an escalation of storm surges.^[3] One primary concern has been the large scale permafrost degradation which is causing freeze-thaw induced settlement and contributing to infrastructural failure. To address these foundation failures, a soil profile design layered with an Ultra Light Foam Glass Aggregate (UL-FGA) was developed to reduce freeze-thaw settlement of pile …

Soil Erosion In The Crum Woods: Testing And Mitigation, Andrew Narain , ‘26, Sabina Karabin , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This project aimed to determine the optimal erosion mitigation method for a specific site in the Crum Woods in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Inexpensive and bench-scale laboratory testing protocol was designed to measure the efficiency of retaining walls and of planting native grasses against a baseline, using rainfall simulations over a smaller version of the site slope. Erosion mitigation was measured through increased water infiltration through soil and decreased sediment runoff. It was found that the retaining wall increased infiltration of water into the soil from 2% (control) to 14.7% (retaining wall), but was outperformed by the plant infiltration of 27.5%. While …

Sensegrity: A Tactile Sensor-For Tensegrity Robots, Jennifer Salguero , ‘26, Jefrey Torres , ‘26, Alvin Zheng , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This report presents the design, fabrication, and evaluation of three tactile sensors developed as part of the Sensegrity project: a fabric-based double-plate capacitive sensor, Hall effect sensor, and barometric pressure sensor. All three sensors were developed in parallel using Dragon Skin 20 silicone due to its durability and resilience. Each sensor differed in their methodology, the capacitive sensor used a capacitive fabric, the Hall effect sensor employed Hall effect integrated circuits (IC’s), and the barometric pressure sensor relied on pressure sensors to detect applied forces.

Each sensor successfully provided real-time binary contact detection. Physically, the capacitive sensor fit over the …

Scdi X Mass Timber: Design Optimization, Emily Leane, Ifran Mohamed, Jacey Niiya, Gabriela Valle

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The Civil Engineering industry is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, creating a need for more sustainable structural alternatives to traditional steel and concrete systems. This project investigates the feasibility of redesigning the gravity structural system of Santa Clara University’s Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation (SCDI) using mass timber. By replacing the original steel and concrete gravity system with cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor panels and glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams and columns, the study explores how mass timber can impact structural design, constructability, cost, schedule, geotechnical demand, and sustainability. The redesign maintains the original structural grid and loading assumptions …

Logistics Center: Sustainable Design Build, Dylon Moala, Daryn Nguyen, Andrew Sabuda, Gage Urbach, Nicolae Vesca

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The Cal Centre Distribution Center is a proposed 4,000,000 square foot, four (4) warehouses total, e-commerce warehouse and logistics facility located along Interstate 5 (the I-5) in Kern County, California. The site occupies a very strategic location for overall distribution logistics of the Western United States being close to the Port of Los Angeles allowing for 65,000,000 people to be reached within a two (2) day truck turn. The site also addresses the local economic needs of Kern County and the greater Bakersfield area. Ranking as one of the highest functional unemployment rates among cities, this site will provide approximately …

Electromyography, Prosthetic Properties, And Running Biomechanics In Recreationally Active Persons With Lower Extremity Amputation, Paige M. Agnew

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Lower extremity loss affects nearly 150,000 individuals in the United States yearly yielding extreme health care costs annually. Typically, prosthetic devices are prescribed for 5-8 years despite known changes to an individual’s gait as time progresses. Patients can expect to undergo approximately 8-12 weeks of gait retraining to improve their comfort and efficiency. Biomechanical changes occur when running with a specific running prosthetic including considerable biomechanical and neuromuscular interlimb asymmetries and alterations in loading patterns. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the biomechanical demands for lower extremity prosthesis users during running. The first study synthesized peer reviewed evidence …

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 …

Evaluating Human Rod Photoreceptor Function Using Pixelwise Intensity-Based Optoretinography, Gao Yang, Mina Gaffney, Robert F. Cooper

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: More than 50 inherited retinal diseases are known, with rod photoreceptor functional loss serving as an early indicator in nearly half of them. The “optoretinogram” is a relatively new assay that detects optical changes in cells in response to stimuli. This tool has excellent potential for providing insights into the earliest functional changes of rod photoreceptors, with the potential to assist in the early detection, monitoring, and treatment of retinal diseases.

Methods: In this work, we obtained intensity-based optoretinograms (iORGs) from rod photoreceptors using an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope. We explore the necessity of both individual rod identification …

Biocrude From Organic Waste And Its Conversion To Hard Carbon: Experimental And Modeling Study, Isamu Umeda

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study establishes a technical and theoretical foundation for the efficient conversion of organic waste into biocrude and high-value carbon materials, aiming to facilitate the industrialization of hydrothermal and solvothermal liquefaction. The dissertation research is structured as follows:

Chapter 2 developed a novel chemical kinetic model for the HTL of corn stover based on elemental balances (C, H, N, and O). By incorporating temperature, residence time, solid loading as an independent variable, the model successfully predicted product yields and properties, revealing that there was non-pseudo-first-order reaction pathways in the conversion of water soluble organics in aqueous phase (AP) to hydrochar. …

Plant-Mediated Green Synthesis Of Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles: Mechanisms, Properties, And Advanced Applications In Environmental And Biomedical Fields, Rihab Jabbar

Al-Bahir

Recently, plant-mediated green synthesis has emerged as a sustainable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective strategy for synthesizing zinc ferrite (ZnFe₂O₄) nanoparticles (NPs). This review critically examines the advancements in biosynthesizing ZnFe₂O₄ NPs using various plant extracts, including Aloe vera, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Aegle marmelos, Eucalyptus leaves, Tragacanth gum, Piper nigrum, and Moringa oleifera, among others. It emphasizes their dual role as reducing, capping, chelating, and stabilizing agents. The article extensively compares physicochemical properties of the green-synthesized NPs in terms of crystallite size, morphology, magnetic behavior, and band gap energy. Achieved through different synthesis routes such as sol-gel, hydrothermal, co-precipitation, and microwave-assisted methods. …

Condition Monitoring Of Induction Motor Using Motor Current Signature Analysis, Francis Ikechukwu Obianke, Joseph Okhaifoh, Benjamin Akinloye

Al-Bahir

Induction machines serve as the cornerstone and driving force of modern manufacturing and production systems. This research aims to monitor and analyse the operating performance of induction motors using motor current signature analysis (MCSA). MCSA is employed to process the current signal of a motor into a frequency spectrum, known as the current signature by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. The underlying principle is that vibration generated in a motor is closely related to the changes of the magnetic field density, and the induced voltage varies with the stator current.

A simulation model replicating the behaviour of an …

Recombinant Gelonin: Purification And Functional Validation For Electroporation-Assisted Delivery, Eleni Zivla, Giedrė Šilkūnienė, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Mantas Šilkūnas, Olga N. Pakhomova

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Type I ribosome-inactivating proteins, such as gelonin, are enzymatically potent toxins but are effectively non-toxic under physiological conditions because they are unable to cross the plasma membrane[1]. Pulsed electric fields (PEF) overcome this delivery barrier by transiently permeabilizing the plasma membrane, allowing direct cytosolic entry. This enhances gelonin cytotoxicity by several thousand-fold, highlighting gelonin’s potential as an electrochemotherapy candidate[2]. Here, we present a recombinant gelonin (rGel) expression platform in E. coli with HPLC-based purification that enables reproducible protein production and structure-guided engineering.

The mature gelonin sequence (residues 47–297) was cloned into pET-32a(+) with an N-terminally fused Trx-6×His tag and TEV …

On The Extreme Complexity Of Certain Nearly Regular Graphs, Gregory P. Constantine, Gregory C. Magda

Theory & Applications of Graphs

The complexity of a graph is the number of its labeled spanning trees. It is demonstrated that the seven known triangle-free strongly regular graphs are graphs of maximal complexity among all graphs of the same order and degree; their complements are shown to be of minimal complexity. A generalization to nearly regular graphs with two distinct eigenvalues of the Laplacian is presented. Conjectures and applications of these results to biological problems on neuronal activity are described.

Requirements Of The Elderly In Interior Design Based On A Survey As A First Stage Of Smart Interior Design, Girges Sidhom, Christine Ezzat Danial

HBRC Journal

As the number of the aged in the world is expected to rise dramatically, the built environment should be adjusted to accommodate aging in place, and most of the facilities currently available are inadequate in terms of interior design requirements to support the functional and psychological needs of the aged. The purpose of this study is to establish the design needs of the aged by incorporating smart technology in interior architecture to make them safer and self-reliant. The methodology will apply a descriptive methodology by use of literature review and an analytical approach by use of a questionnaire of 153 …

Design And Construction Of Prestressed Concrete Balanced Cantilever Bridges, Ahmed S. Elareshy, Ashraf M. Osman, Ismail. M. Kamal, Amr A. Abdelrahman

HBRC Journal

Balanced cantilever concrete bridges have recently been widely used in mid and long-span bridges. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the development and design of prestressed concrete balanced cantilever (PCBC) bridges, focusing on research related to real case studies of both precast and cast-in-place box-girder bridges investigated through finite element modeling (FEM) or field measurements. The research strategy targeted peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports published over the last two decades in major engineering databases. Construction methods, design methodology, and structural behavior of this type of bridge are discussed, alongside key findings on long-term response, dynamic performance, …

Efficiency Comparison Of Reduced Graphene Oxide (Rgo) Composite-Incorporated Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibrous Filters For Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust And Coal Dust, Mahsa Moradi, Ashish Kakoria, Lina Zheng, Guang Xu

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The health of miners working in underground mines is greatly threatened by their exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) found in coal dust. While coal dust includes RCS, it is important to know the specific filtration efficiency for RCS particles compared to coal dust to improve protective measures. This study compares the filtration efficiency of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite-incorporated Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous filters at four different concentrations of rGO (0, 2, 6, and 10 wt.%) for RCS particles and coal dust. The filters were made using the electrospinning method. They were tested separately with RCS particles and coal dust …

Voltage Breakdown Strength And Energy Density Of Ceramic Srtio₃ At Cryogenic Temperatures From 295 K To 77 K, Hung Trinh, Alan Devoe, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The low-temperature dependence of the DC dielectric breakdown strength (EBD) and the energy storage density (W) of capacitors, fabricated from high purity polycrystalline strontium titanate, were investigated in the temperature range from 295 K to 77 K. Test samples were constructed with a process similar to that used for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). The permittivity, loss tangent, leakage current, and breakdown strength were measured as a function of temperature and voltage. Weibull statistical analysis was used to quantify breakdown distributions. Despite electric-field suppression of permittivity, breakdown strength increased significantly with decreasing temperatures, leading to enhanced energy density. The breakdown field …

Propagation And Interaction Of Gravity Currents Induced By Successive Release Of Two Lock Fluids, Khem Prasad Bhattarai, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigates the dynamics of sequentially released gravity currents in a lock-exchange configuration consisting of two lock fluids using high-resolution numerical simulations and compares them with the classical single-lock exchange. The results demonstrate that, in a two-lock-fluid configuration, the overtaking of the lighter lock current by the heavier lock current alters the current's front dynamics, leading to complex velocity transitions. Before overtaking occurs, the front propagation is slower than in the classical single-lock-fluid case because of lower density contrast, but after overtaking, the heavier lock fluid accumulates at the head region of the current and enhances its speed. The …

Deep Learning-Based Structural Displacement Identification And Quantification Under Target Feature Loss, Lishuai Zhu, Guangcai Zhang, Qun Xie, Zhen Peng, Li Ai, Ruijun Liang, Taochun Taochun Yang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Structural displacement monitoring faces significant challenges under complex environmental conditions due to the loss or degradation of target features, making it difficult for traditional methods to ensure high accuracy and robustness. Therefore, this study proposes a structural displacement identification and quantification method that integrates YOLOv8n with an improved edge-orientation gradient-based template matching algorithm. By combining deep learning techniques with traditional template matching methods, the accuracy and robustness of monitoring are enhanced under adverse conditions such as noise and extremely low illumination. Specifically, in the edge-orientation gradient matching stage, the Canny-Devernay sub-pixel edge detection technique and an improved ellipse-fitting method are …

Community Engagement Through Robotics Mentoring – Unlv, First Nv, And High School Robotics Teams, Brendan O'Toole

Community Engagement Expo Research Posters

The UNLV Robotics Mentorship program includes a two-semester course that trains students to support local high school FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams. ‘ME 464 Robotics Mentoring I’ provides training in design, mentoring,  fabrication, and programming. ‘ME 465 Robotics Mentoring II’, pairs students with local high school teams to serve as technical mentors for the competition season.

Markov-Modulated Queueing Network For Mobile Traffic Aggregation With Threshold-Controlled Buffers, Anton A. Esin, Elmira Yu. Kalimulina

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

We study the problem of data transmission from mobile platforms operating in high-speed transit between cellular base stations, under conditions of unstable and intermittent connectivity. Conventional queueing and connectivity models often fail to capture the combined effects of rapidly changing signal conditions, finite buffer capacity, and dynamic topology. We aim to develop a tractable yet expressive model that integrates stochastic link availability, queue dynamics, and buffer control. We propose a mathematical framework based on queues whose service intensities are modulated by a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) representing signal conditions along a high-speed trajectory. The core subsystem is a two-stage (aggregation …

Neutrosophic Sets In Neural Networks: Theory, Applications, And Challenges, Vladimir Simic, Dragan Pamucar, Hafiz Muhammad Athar Farid

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

The integration of neutrosophic sets into neural networks presents a novel approach to handling uncertainty, indeterminacy, and falsity in data. Traditional neural networks typically operate under the assumption of precise and complete data, but real-world applications often involve noisy, incomplete, or ambiguous information. Neutrosophic sets extend fuzzy logic by incorporating three components: truth, indeterminacy, and falsity, allowing for a more nuanced representation of uncertain data. This paper explores the theoretical foundations of neutrosophic sets and their integration with neural networks, highlighting the challenges in computational complexity, training, and optimization. The paper also discusses the potential applications of neutrosophic neural networks …

Neutrosophic Probability With Dynamic Temporal Uncertainty (Nptu), Bhimraj Basumatary, Ashoke Kumar Brahma

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

This paper introduces Neutrosophic Probability with Dynamic Temporal Uncertainty (NPTU), an extension of classical neutrosophic probability that incorporates the dimension of time. In classical neutrosophic probability, the degrees of truth, indeterminacy, and falsity are considered static. However, real-world uncertainties evolve, and their degrees change as new information becomes available. NPTU models these uncertainties dynamically, allowing for more accurate decision-making in time-varying environments. The paper explores key mathematical properties of NPTU, including entropy, distance measures, similarity measures, and Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence, to quantify and compare temporal uncertainty states. The proposed framework is demonstrated through a case study on stock price prediction, …

Emergent Operator Logic: A Foundational Framework For Dynamic Reasoning And Generative Intelligence, Mona Gharib, Abduallah Gamal, Muhammad Nawaz, Basma Nasir

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

This paper introduces Emergent Operator Logic (EOL), a framework that treats propositions as continuous operators $F_p:X \rightarrow X$ on a complete metric state space $( X,d )$ and evaluates truth after action via a continuous valuation $V:X \rightarrow [ 0,1 ]$. Logical composition is realized by three operator-level connectives: sequential $p \circ q$(causal order), parallel $p\parallel q$(1-Lipschitz cooperative blend), and the emergent synthesis $E( p,q ) = \frac12( F_p \circ F_q + F_q \circ F_p )$, which symmetrizes non-commuting actions. We provide a Hilbert-style proof system (sound), an algebraic semantics via E-algebras, and show that the category of E-algebras is …

Double-Valued Complex Neutrosophic Graphs, Suriyakumar G, V. J. Sudhakar, Takaaki Fujita

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

This paper introduces a novel graph-theoretic framework, called the double-valued complex neutrosophic graph, as an extension of double-valued neutrosophic set theory. Within this framework, we investigate several important classes of such graphs, including self-complementary, strong, and full double-valued complex neutrosophic graphs, and establish a number of their fundamental properties. To clarify the proposed concepts and demonstrate their structural behavior, several relevant illustrative examples are also provided.

A Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach For Sustainable Forest Fire Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Mohamed Eassa, Ahmed Abdelhafeez, Ahmad M. Nagm

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become an effective tool for forest fire monitoring. This study evaluates UAVs for forest fire management, addressing the challenges posed by ambiguous and uncertain factors. Single-valued neutrosophic sets (SVNSs) are employed to model complex uncertainties, as they incorporate three distinct membership values: false, true, and indeterminate. The evaluation of UAVs is a multifaceted task due to the variety of factors involved. To address this complexity, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are used. Specifically, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are integrated with SVNS to …

The Role Of Transformable Facade Technologies In Enhancing The Architectural Environment Quality In Educational Buildings, Waad Marawan Elashry, Ahmed Eltantawy Elmaidawy, Esraa Elazab

Mansoura Engineering Journal

In recent times, Educational Buildings development has become an increasingly important issue at all locations, even in the areas with the least means. Progress in the field of technology has impacted the development of architecture and modern technologies have provided for the architect enormous possibilities in the formation and design of buildings. The facade of a building plays a crucial role in providing environmental comfort, depending on the type of envelope and design. Architects and engineers need to consider many issues when working with facade designs, including environmental issues, aesthetic appearance, comfort of building occupants, and the view; these aspects …