Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Public Satisfaction And Transportation Choices During Winter Road Maintenance: A Case Study Of Utah, Shailendra Khanal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Winter road maintenance is essential to keeping people safe and mobile during snowstorms. In Utah, where winter weather is a regular part of life, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) plays a vital role in keeping roads clear and functional. While much attention is given to how roads are plowed and managed, there has been less focus on how the public experiences these efforts—and how the decisions to travel during storms are shaped by personal circumstances and perceptions.

This research sets out to understand two things: how satisfied people are with winter road maintenance, and what influences their transportation decisions …

Population Analysis Of Cyanobacteria In Rotating Algal Biofilm Reactors, Eric H. Matthews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Algal biofilms have numerous applications in wastewater treatment and bioproduct production. The Sustainable Waste-to-Bioproducts Engineering Center at Utah State University is working to develop rotating algal biofilm reactors (RABRs) to remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater effluent while producing biomass for downstream production.

Genetic analysis of algal biofilms on various RABRs was performed to gain improved understanding of the biofilm populations. This analysis focuses on a pilot-scale RABR and how it compares to several other RABRs. Additionally, old methods of genetic analysis filtered out important cyanobacterial populations. A new method was developed to identify the cyanobacteria within the biofilms. …

Building Services Engineering July/August 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Modeling Of Effects Of Tumor Location On Lung Function., Lamargaret Temukisa Johnson

Master of Engineering Theses

Lung cancer has the highest rates of incidence and mortality of all cancers. Most lung cancer tumors are Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC patients with lesions in the upper lobes are found to have better prognosis compared to those with lesions in the middle and lower lobes. Previous studies have suggested various causes for this discrepancy at both the organ-scale and tissue-scale. To model NSCLC growth in different locations within the lung, an organ scale lung model and tissue scale tumor model were coupled through the tissue pressure, and oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures. The coupling was used …

Feasibility Study On Using Blue Clay As A Supplementary Cementitious Material (Scm)., Clark Lemon

Master of Engineering Theses

An effective strategy for reducing CO₂ emissions in the global cement industry is replacing a percentage of cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). As the availability of conventional SCMs such as fly ash and slag is decreasing, alternative SCMs such as calcined clays have been studied for their use as effective pozzolans. The present work investigates the feasibility of using a waste product from the quarrying industry known as blue clay as a viable SCM. It is composed of multiple clay minerals, predominantly muscovite. Raw and calcined at four temperatures (500, 650, 800, and 950°C), blue clay was analyzed …

Low-Level Memory Attacks On Edge Assisted Robotic Applications, William Arnold

Master of Engineering Theses

This thesis investigates how low-level memory faults can undermine edge-assisted robotic systems that rely on memory optimization. As robots are utilized in real world applications, the ability to operate safely and successfully in mission critical deployment becomes important. To help achieve these goals, developers are increasingly starting to place computation nodes at network edges to meet latency and reliability requirements. Edge nodes, however, are resource-constrained and resources conservation techniques such as Kernel Same-page Merging (KSM) are enabled to deduplicate identical pages across processes or virtual machines. This thesis shows that this optimization technique quietly widens the attack surface and can …

Revealing Building Operating Carbon Dynamics For Multiple Cities, Winston Yap, Abraham Noah Wu, Clayton Miller, Filip Biljecki

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Achieving carbon neutrality is a critical yet elusive goal for many cities, hindered by limited understanding of the relationship between building emissions and their surroundings. To address this challenge, we present a generalizable open science framework that integrates building energy-consumption data, multi-modal geospatial inputs and graph deep learning to quantify building operating emissions and their links to urban form and socio-economic factors. Applying this approach to five cities with diverse climates and planning contexts—Melbourne, New York City (Manhattan), Seattle, Singapore and Washington DC—we demonstrate that our models explain 78.4% of the variation in building operating carbon emissions across cities, achieving …

International Comparison Of Weather And Emission Predictive Building Control, Christian Hepf, Ben Gottkehaskamp, Clayton Miller, Thomas Auer

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Building operational energy alone accounts for 28% of global carbon emissions. A sustainable building operation promises enormous savings, especially under the increasing concern of climate change and the rising trends of the digitalization and electrification of buildings. Intelligent control strategies play a crucial role in building systems and electrical energy grids to reach the EU goal of carbon neutrality in 2050 and to manage the rising availability of regenerative energy. This study aims to prove that one can create energy and emission savings with simple weather and emission predictive control (WEPC). Furthermore, this should prove that the simplicity of this …

An Injectable, Dual-Curing Hydrogel For Controlled Bioactive Release In Regenerative Endodontics, Meisam Omidi, Daniela S. Masson-Meyers, Jeffrey M. Toth

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Regenerative endodontics seeks to restore the vascularized pulp–dentin complex following conventional root canal therapy, yet reliable neovascularization within the constrained root canal remains a key challenge. This study investigates the development of an injectable, dual-curing hydrogel based on methacrylated decellularized amniotic membrane (dAM-MA) and compares its performance to a conventional gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). The dAM-MA platform was designed for biphasic release, incorporating both free vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for an initial burst and matrix-metalloproteinase-cleavable VEGF conjugates for sustained delivery. The dAM-MA hydrogel achieved shape-fidelity via thermal gelation at 37 °C and possessed tunable stiffness (0.5–7.8 kPa) after visible-light irradiation. …

Predictors Of Permanent And Temporary Motor Deficits In Patients Undergoing Glioma Resection: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Brian J. Conway, Stephanie A. Armstrong, Nada Botros, Sergey Tarima, Max O. Krucoff

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

To identify predictors of permanent and temporary motor deficits in patients undergoing glioma resection.

Methods

A literature search accessed the databases Ovid Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature/EBSCO, PsychInfo, Cochrane, and Wiley for studies reporting motor outcomes following surgical resection of glioma. Outcomes were stratified by patient/tumor characteristics, preoperative condition, and intraoperative factors for both permanent and temporary motor deficits. Generalized estimating equations were used to generate odds ratios.

Results

A total of 1332 titles and abstracts were reviewed resulting in the evaluation of 261 full-text articles. Data were extracted from 67 …

Anisotropic Object-Based Shifts Of Attention Arise From Unequal Influences Of Visual Field Meridians On Neural Attention Gradients, David H. Hughes, Adam J. Barnas, Adam S. Greenberg

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Object-based attention prioritizes the processing of information appearing within a selected object. We previously showed an object-based shift direction anisotropy (SDA) whereby horizontal shifts are more efficient than vertical shifts (Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Atten Percept Psychophys 78: 1985–1997, 2016; Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Vis Cogn 27: 768–791, 2019), an effect modulated by the visual field meridians (Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 77: 2516–2532, 2024). Our present aim was to understand how the functional brain mechanisms of attention give rise to the SDA. We hypothesized that the SDA arises from attentional resources being partitioned differently by …

Shape Memory Behavior In Medium To High Entropy Shape Memory Alloys: Design, Prediction, And Experimental Analysis, Hatim Raji

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provides a data-driven system integrating synthetic data generation and machine learning (ML) techniques to create multicomponent SMA compositions with specific transformation temperatures (TTs). Models were trained to represent the nonlinear dependencies influencing martensitic transformation behavior by using elemental, thermodynamic, and process-related aspects. The capacity of the ML models on medium entropy NiTiHfPd and high entropy NiTiHfZrCu systems accuracy was confirmed by experimental validation showing TTs closely matched with model outputs.

Growth And Characterization Of Thin Film Gase On Si(111) And Sio2/Si(001) Substrates By Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Christopher John Hocevar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gallium selenide (GaSe) is a thin-film semiconducting material with promising optoelectronic properties, including a tunable bandgap, high photosensitivity, and atomic-layer scalability. These characteristics make it suitable for devices such as photodiodes, FETs, MOSFETs, Hall effect sensors, and p–n diodes. In this study, GaSe thin films were grown on SiO2 and Si(111)-7×7 substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to compare growth behavior across different substrates. The films were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). RHEED confirmed the 7×7 reconstruction of the Si(111) surface and the amorphous nature …

Synthesis, Structural Characterization And Optical Studies Of Silver-Indium-(Zinc)-Chalcogenide Fluorescent Quantum Dots, Sujal Acharya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Developing a non-toxic, high-performance fluorescent nanomaterial is crucial for overcoming the environmental and health restrictions of current cadmium, and lead based quantum dots (QDs), which limit the application of quantum dots in optoelectronics and bioimaging. In this thesis, we synthesized environmentally friendly AgInS2 QDs by a colloidal method, systematically altering the In/Ag precursor ratio from 2 to 6 to study the impact on their optical and photophysical properties. Our goals were to find the optimal stoichiometry for maximum quantum efficiency and stability. We also investigated further improving optical and photophysical properties through shelling with ZnS. The emission spectra appeared broad, …

Polymer-Enhanced Nanopore Sensing, Eugene Gyasi Agyemang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The resistive pulse technique characterizes single analytes by detecting fluctuations in the ion current as they pass through a narrow orifice connecting two electrolyte-filled chambers, each containing a single electrode. The amplitude, shape, frequency, and duration of these fluctuations primarily provide information about the analyte’s size, shape, concentration, and net surface charge, respectively. One configuration for resistive pulse measurements is of an electrolyte-filled nanopipette immersed in a bath, where the nanopipette tip acts as the nanoscale orifice. It was previously shown that incorporating the large quantities polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG 8K, 50% w/v) into the external electrolyte bath dramatically enhanced …

Advanced Analytical Biosensing For Cancer Detection And Neural Diagnostics Using Tapered Optical Fiber (Tof), Protonic, And High Throughput Microplate –Based Technologie, Bayan Hassan Alharbi

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the development and application of advanced biosensing technologies to enhance early disease detection, neurological diagnostics, and bioactive compound evaluation. The research spans four key areas. First, it introduces tapered optical fiber (TOF)-based plasmonic biosensors for the non-invasive detection of prostate cancer, demonstrating high sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional diagnostic methods.

Second, it explores the use of fluorescent biosensors to test the Transmembrane Electrostatically Localized Proton (TELP) theory, shedding light on the role of localized protons in neuronal signaling and energy transfer. Third, the work presents a high-throughput, microplate-based biosensing platform for analyzing mitochondrial function under nanosecond …

Synergistic Enhancement Of Tribological Behavior And Colloidal Stability In Cuo Nanolubricants Via Ligand Tuning, Sherif Elsoudy, Sayed Akl Akl Dr, Sayed Akl A. Akl Dr, Esm Lane, Abas Hadawey, Philip D. Howes

Mechanical Engineering

Nanoparticle-based lubricants, or nanolubricants, can exhibit superior tribological properties compared to unmodified base oils. However, these performance gains are highly dependent on the nanoparticle surface chemistry, particularly in maintaining stable colloidal dispersions. This study explores the influence of oleic acid (OA) and oleylamine (OAm) functionalization on the tribological and colloidal properties of CuO nanoparticles dispersed in an SAE 20W50 base oil. We present a hybrid optimization framework combining Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Bayesian Optimization (BO) to identify the optimal OA to OAm ratio (OA–OAm) for CuO nanolubricants. Unlike prior studies that employed either RSM alone or trial-and-error approaches, this …

Applying Large Language Models For Surgical Case Length Prediction, Adhitya Ramamurthi, Bhabishya Neupane, Priya Deshpande, Ryan Hanson, Srujan Vegesna, Deborah Cray, Bradley H. Crotty, Melek Somai, Kellie R. Brown, Sachin S. Pawar, Bradley Taylor, Anai N. Kothari

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Importance Accurate prediction of surgical case duration is critical for operating room (OR) management, as inefficient scheduling can lead to reduced patient and surgeon satisfaction while incurring considerable financial costs.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of large language models (LLMs) in predicting surgical case length using unstructured clinical data compared to existing estimation methods.

Design, Setting, and Participants This was a retrospective study analyzing elective surgical cases performed between January 2017 and December 2023 at a single academic medical center and affiliated community hospital ORs. Analysis included 125493 eligible surgical cases, with 1950 used for LLM fine-tuning and …

Heat-Pipe-Based Thermal Management System Design For A 250-Kw Gan-Based Integrated Modular Motor Drive, Seyed Iman Hosseini Sabzevari, Salar Koushan, Armin Ebrahimian, Towhid Islam Chowdhury, Nathan Weise, Ayman El-Refaie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Integrated modular motor drive (IMMD) is an effective approach for realizing high-efficiency, high-power-density, and fault-tolerant electric machines. However, designing an efficient thermal management system (TMS) for the motor drive becomes a challenge, particularly due to space constraints. This article presents the design of a TMS based on 3-mm heat pipes for a 250-kW IMMD intended for aviation applications. The power electronics module is simulated using PLECS software where an electrothermal analysis is conducted. A simplified thermal resistance model of the system is developed to estimate the die junction temperature of gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors. The performance of the proposed TMS …

Seismic Performance Assessment Of Fatigue-Damaged Cantilever Overhead Sign Structures Using Near-Field Ground Motions, Yeasin Ahmed

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cantilever overhead sign support (COSS) structures are one of the most common features of transportation systems, providing navigational information to motorists. The slender geometry, lightweight design, and welded connection at the base make COSS structure susceptible to fatigue cracking under long term cyclic loading from wind-induced galloping, truck-induced gust pressure and so on. COSS structures are traditionally designed considering nominal wind conditions. However, rising incidents of seismic activity in regions like Dallas-Fort Worth related to industrial injection wells in the Permian Basin have created a serious concern regarding the seismic performance of potentially fatigued-damaged COSS structure. The interaction between already …

Mechanical Characterization Of M Plane (10-10) And C Plane (0001) Gallium Nitride Semiconductors Via Spherical Nanoindentation, Daniela Alejandra Duarte

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gallium nitride's (GaN) mechanical characterization is essential for evaluating its performance and long-term dependability, especially when subjected to mechanical stress and irradiation. The design and optimization of GaN-based devices, which are extensively employed in high-power electronics and optoelectronics, depend on an understanding of these characteristics. Mechanical characterization allows for the evaluation of key characteristics, including stress distributions, representing the spatial variation of internal stresses under applied loading, and pop-in events, which correspond to abrupt displacements associated with the onset of dislocation nucleation and slip. These features are essential for understanding the anisotropic (direction-dependent) response of the material to external forces …

Cellular And Noncellular Influences On Lipid Nanoparticle Tropism In The Liver, Mario Yomir Mata Corral

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently ranked as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, causing more than 700,000 deaths a year. The liver is important in blood filtration and metabolism, and for this reason is a prime target for drug delivery, with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) showing promise as carriers due to their natural hepatic tropism. However, LNP efficacy is decreased in HCC due to the limited understanding of liver physiology in cancerous environments. This project proposes to address this gap by using a tissue-clearing technique known as CLARITY along with a chemically tagged LNP for comprehensive visualization of LNPs …

Evaluation Of Salt-Free Electrodialysis Metathesis For High Recovery Inland Desalination Brine Management, Tayia Oddonetto

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Salt-Free Electrodialysis Metathesis (SF-EDM) is an emerging electro-driven membrane technology designed to minimize brine discharge while enabling selective ion separation and resource recovery. This dissertation presents an evaluation of SF-EDM, spanning bench-scale studies with synthetic brine from the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, NM, real reverse osmosis (RO) brines from the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Desalination Plant in El Paso, TX, and finally a weeklong pilot demonstration at the Yuma Desalting Plant in Yuma, AZ. Bench-scale experiments established process feasibility and performance trends, while pilot results revealed the value of pre-treatment and system configuration. SF-EDM demonstrated high hydraulic …

A Digital Engineering Framework For Ai-Driven Trade-Off Evaluation And Predictive Component Classification, Alejandro Silva Au

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis introduces a digital engineering tool designed to help engineers make smarter decisions when choosing actuators. At its core, the system brings together machine learning (specifically XGBoost) and a decision-making method called Multi-Utility Attribute Theory (MUAT). The goal is to support engineers in picking components based on what really matters for their designs, whether that's speed, cost, durability, or any other performance factor. What makes this tool stand out is its user-friendly interface that lets people interact with the system directly. It takes a set of actuator performance data, classifies each one into a relevant use category, and then …

Model-Based Systems Engineering For Aerospace Applications: Strategic Requirements Prioritization In Complex Adaptive Systems And Digital Integration, Iqtiar Md Siddique

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ineffective systems engineering practices continue to jeopardize aerospace missions, resulting in multi-billion-dollar losses, delays, and fragmented development outcomes. As complexity intensifies and timelines shrink, conventional document-based methods increasingly fail to support early validation, cross-domain traceability, and synchronized tool usage. This research presents an integrated approach that addresses three critical gaps: synchronizing executable and traceable MBSE models across structural, behavioral, and requirements domains; applying scalable requirements prioritization techniques tailored for Complex Adaptive Systems; and establishing automated simulation feedback loops through digital toolchain integration. Central to this strategy is the Digital Trinity, which connects system models, simulations, and lifecycle data through a …

Laser Scan Path Design For Controlled Microstructure In Additive Manufacturing With Integrated Reduced-Order Phase-Field Modeling And Deep Reinforcement Learning, Augustine Twumasi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a well-established additive manufacturing technique for fabricating intricate metal components with exceptional precision. A significant challenge in L-PBF is the formation of complex microstructures that influence final material properties. We propose a physics-guided, machine learning-aided approach to optimize scan paths for desired microstructure outcomes, such as equiaxed grains. We employed a phase-field method (PFM) to model the evolution of the crystalline grain structure. To reduce computational costs, we trained a surrogate machine learning model, a 3D U-Net convolutional neural network, using single-track phase-field simulations with varying laser powers to predict crystalline grain orientations based …

Multi-Material Cell Clipping On The Gpu, Melanie Cassidy Walsmith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The process of clipping a multi-material cell finds diverse applications across fields such as numerical simulations and computer graphics visualization. Computational fluid dynamics problem often combines multiple materials with different physical properties. The interfaces between those materials may be a part of the solution and evolve in time and can be non-aligned with the mesh. When volume conservation is crucial, interface reconstruction methods are used to approximate such material interfaces. They involve multiple steps, one of which is the process known as clipping. Clipping consists of intersecting and cutting a given cell with a material interface (represented by a line …

Mining Waste In Asphalt Pavements: A Critical Review Of Waste Rock And Tailings Applications, Adeel Iqbal, Nuha S. Mashaan, Themelina Paraskeva

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents a critical and comprehensive review of the application of mining waste, specifically waste rock and tailings, in asphalt pavements, with the aim of synthesizing performance outcomes and identifying key research gaps. A systematic literature search yielded a final dataset of 41 peer-reviewed articles for detailed analysis. Bibliometric analysis indicates a notable upward trend in annual publications, reflecting growing academic and practical interest in this field. Performance-based evaluations demonstrate that mining wastes, particularly iron and copper tailings, have the potential to enhance the high-temperature performance (i.e., rutting resistance) of asphalt binders and mixtures when utilized as fillers or …

Mxenes At The Forefront: Advances In Energy Storage And Nanofluidic Applications, Zafar Said, Maham Aslam Sohail, Hassina Tabassum, Imran Haider Sajid, Hafiz Muhammad Ali, Furqan Jamil, Yogendra Kumar Mishra, A. K. Pandey

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This review summarizes recent studies on MXenes and their composites regarding energy storage and nanofluidic devices. MXenes are a new family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides that have gained much attention in recent times due to their excellent physicochemical properties, such as its exceptionally high electrical conductivity, even more than that of metals, thermal stability, hydrophilicity, high energy and power densities, tunable structures, and large surface area along with abundant electrocatalytically active sites. These features, along with larger interlayer gaps compared with graphene, point to the emergence of MXenes as energy storage alternatives. Synthesis, properties, and applications of …

The Role Of Expansion Joints In Long Concrete Buildings, Salah Salem, Mohamed E. El Madawy, Basem S. Abdelwahed, Mohamed E. El-Zoughiby

Mansoura Engineering Journal

The use of expansion joints in lengthy concrete buildings aims to mitigate forces induced by temperature changes and is often derived through empirical methods. These methods lack the depth needed for universal application in any building. On the other hand, adopting a no-joint strategy necessitates a thorough thermal analysis of temperature changes, a subject that has not been extensively explored in existing literature. There are no methodologies available, and the current guidelines rely on approximate calculations; thus, there is a need for clear directives on these two matters. This paper produces a procedure for performing thermal analyses of long concrete …