Digital Commons Network^™

A Differential Equation Approach To Heat Flow In A Thin Rod, Alexandria Krol, David Cardona, Collin Petrie

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

A Differential Equation Approach to Heat Flow in a Thin Rod examines how differential equations can be used to model and understand heat conduction in a fundamental physical system. Heat transfer in solids is a key concept in physics and engineering, particularly in systems where temperature changes over time. A thin rod provides a useful one-dimensional model for studying how heat moves through a material and how temperature varies along the rod as time passes. The primary objective is to develop a mathematical description of this process using differential equations. The analysis begins with physical principles such as conservation of …

Mechanical Vibrations And Damping – Structural Analysis, Kelsey Hunsicker, Sarah Kraus, Sophia Muller Martinelli De Souza

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Mechanical Vibrations are crucial in understanding and structural analysis of engineering systems such as bridges and airplane wings. If not considered, these vibrations can lead to structural fatigue or failure. By using differential equations, structural vibrations will be examined. Researching the different kinds of vibrations and damping will help to find the vibration behavior of the system. For example, a mass-spring damper system will use second-order linear differential equations. The systems model can be shown to be underdamped, overdamped, or critically damped. These will compare the amplitudes and oscillation differences between the systems by using computational code. Analyzing these differences …

Numerical Investigation Of The Nonlinear Simple Pendulum And The Dependence Of Oscillation Period On Initial Angle, Kelly Wold, Aidan Hart, Patrick Gilliam

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Numerical Investigation of the Nonlinear Simple Pendulum and the Dependence of Oscillation Period on Initial Angle examines how the oscillation period of a simple pendulum varies with initial angular displacement and evaluates the accuracy of numerical methods in capturing this behavior. In classical treatments, the small-angle approximation simplifies the governing differential equation and predicts a constant period independent of amplitude; however, this assumption breaks down for larger angles, where the system exhibits nonlinear dynamics. The objective of this project is to model the full nonlinear equation of motion and quantify how the period depends on initial conditions. To achieve this, …

Engineering Path Trajectories With Gravitational Fields, Eliane Dean, Aidan Hart, Isabel Noot, Nathan Browning, Valeria Villazon Fito

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project explores how vector calculus concepts play a role in aerospace engineering though spacecraft trajectory design. In particular, the notion of vector fields is used to model the gravitational force, whose work done is expressed through line integrals. By taking the curl of the gravitational field and showing it is zero, the field is recognised as conservative, implying that the work done by gravity is path independent. This property is conceptually linked to gravitational potential energy and the principle of energy conservation. The results are then applied to spacecraft motion, where engineers use energy-base methods to determine efficient trajectories …

Visualizing The Invisible: Simulating Electromagnetic Field In 3d Space With Matlab, Aashman Gupta, Eliane Dean, Riley Esperanca, Hailey Grabinski, Jacob Summerhays, Ameya Sute

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Electromagnetic field behaviours in free space are defined by Maxwell’s Equations, which couple the temporal and spatial variations of electric and magnetic fields through partial derivatives. These derivatives quantify the rate of change of each field’s vector component with respect to position and time in a 3D lattice, forming the basis for numerical field analysis. This research will develop a mathematical and computational framework using multivariable calculus to model, simulate, and visualize electromagnetic wave propagation in free space using MATLAB. Gradient, divergence, and curl operations are implemented to compute local field variations and energy transfer. The resulting data are used …

Simulating Pacemakers And Heartbeat Recovery Through Mathematical Modeling, Thomas Estrada, Jayla Edwards

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Title: Simulating Pacemakers and Heartbeat Recovery Through Mathematical Modeling   This study utilizes the Fitzhugh-Nagumo model to simulate cardiac electrical activity and the regulatory role of pacemakers through ordinary differential equations (ODEs). By defining the rate of change for membrane voltage, 𝑑𝑣/dt, and a recovery variable, 𝑑𝑤/dt, the model captures the heart's excitability and resting states. Central to the analysis is the stimulus current parameter, which represents the "kick" provided by a pacemaker to correct flatline conditions or weak heartbeats. Using Euler’s method for numerical integration, the research compares unstable cardiac rhythms against corrected periodic oscillations. Additionally, the project implements vector …

Modelling Quadcopter Thrust And Torque Using Lu-Decomposition, Diya Patil

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

3 & 4 motor systems have been in the world of aviation in many different forms as the field grows and evolves. To understand the complexities of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and its stability, assessing the amount of thrust put into each motor can help generate the torque produced despite factors such as multidirectional movement. While a UAV does this multiple times a second, producing a simplified version of this calculation can aid in simpler models simulating UAV movement. Due to the popularity of the quadcopter drone, a simple algorithm depicting thrust through each spinning motor can aid in …

Bridging The Gap: Cybersecurity And Occupational Safety Frameworks In Ai Data Centers, Athena Leader

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Bridging the Gap: Cybersecurity and Occupational Safety Frameworks in AI Data Centers   As artificial intelligence infrastructure expands, AI data centers represent a critical and underexamined convergence of cybersecurity and occupational safety risk. Existing frameworks such as NIST, OSHA, and ISO standards were largely developed in isolation, leaving significant gaps in how organizations manage risks that are simultaneously digital and physical in nature. This study investigates the gaps and overlaps between cybersecurity and occupational safety frameworks as they apply specifically to AI data center environments. Drawing on a targeted literature review of established regulatory and standards-based frameworks, this research identifies where …

Simulations Of Phugoid Motion Of Jal 123, Dereth J J. Drake Scheuermann

Georgia Journal of Science

Airplanes rely on a balance between the four forces of flight: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. If these forces are balanced, the airplane will remain stable. However, if structurally or systematically compromised, the motion can rapidly become unstable. In the aviation industry, mistakes in repairs and aircraft design can lead to accidents causing the loss of life in some cases. In this article, we will be analyzing what happened 70 Japan Airlines flight 123 and how the flight’s motion deteriorated due to a defective repair. More specifically, we will discuss the aerodynamic effects of phugoid motion and how it developed …

Understanding The Long-Term Patterns Of Change Of A Tidal Marsh In Mission Bay, San Diego, California, Carrie A. Shuster, Theresa Sinicrope Talley Ph.D., Drew Talley Ph.D., Zhi-Yong Yin Ph.D., Kellie Uyeda Ph.D.

Theses

Coastal marshes are among California’s most productive ecosystems and the most impacted, having been extensively modified by dredging, filling, and urban development. This thesis investigates over a century of change for a marsh in Northern Mission Bay, San Diego, California using ecological and spatial analyses.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the environmental history and current land use of the Northern Mission Bay marsh, tracing changes from pre-contact Indigenous stewardship through colonial and modern urban development. It also introduces a restoration plant palette derived from historical and contemporary species occurrences, ecological functions, and documented cultural uses. By integrating ethnobotanical knowledge …

A Modeling Scenario For Cooling A Hot Vehicle In Florida, Jared Bunn, Bernadette Mullins, Elizabeth Hale, Jaeyoun Oh

CODEE Journal

This paper presents a group project assigned in a Calculus 2 course that has students work to develop, analyze, and draw conclusions about a modeling scenario for cooling a hot car. Using a modeling-first approach, instructors supported the students in class throughout the beginning of the project, enabling the groups to complete the remainder of the project on their own. Students used parameter estimation to tune their models to provided data: one for windows being up, and one for windows being down. This project provides an example of how modeling can be introduced early in a calculus course, rather than …

An Atmospheric Optical Turbulence Structure Parameter Measurements System Based On Direct Ri Sensing Using High-Resolution Fiber-Optic Sensors, Matej Njegovec, Simon Pevec, Vedran Budinski, Boris Macuh, Melissa K. Beason, Denis Onlagic

Faculty Publications

The paper presents a method to characterize the refractive index structure parameter (C_n²) associated with optical turbulence directly. The characterization system is based on miniature, high‑resolution, all‑fiber refractive index (RI) sensors. The refractive index sensors employ open‑path, low‑finesse Fabry–Perot interferometers that are approximately 8 mm long and 200 μm in diameter. The active part of the interferometers is made of ultra‑low‑expansion glass, which eliminates the influence of thermal expansion on the refractive index measurements. The proposed refractive index sensor, operating in a differential configuration, achieved a resolution of 2×10^-9 RIU using a custom‑designed spectral interrogation system …

A Graphical Approach To Isospectral Unfoldings, Dallin Seyfried

Theses and Dissertations

Isospectral reductions are mathematical techniques used to shrink a matrix, or a graph, into a smaller, dimensionally reduced form while preserving its spectrum. Simple graphs that share isospectral reductions also share quantum walk properties. As such we further develop the inverse process, isospectral unfoldings, to find graphs that share isospectral reductions. We first prove many conditions relating to isospectral reductions and unfoldings. Afterwards, we define two new unfolding processes: general unfolding which unfolds the graph one vertex at a time, and equitable partition unfolding which excels at larger graph unfolding. In particular, through equitable partition unfolding, we discover many graphs …

Vedic Mathematics And Mental Computation: Fast Multiplication Techniques, Algebraic Foundations, And Historical Perspectives, Rakesh Bhatia, Mrinal Kanti Roychowdhury

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Mental computation has fascinated mathematicians, educators, and students for centuries. Various computational techniques allow arithmetic calculations to be performed rapidly without the use of calculators or computers. Among these methods, several popular techniques are associated with what is commonly known as Vedic Mathematics. In this article, we examine a collection of fast multiplication techniques, including multiplication near powers of ten, multiplication by eleven, squaring numbers ending in five, and the vertical-and-crosswise method. For each technique, we provide elementary mathematical explanations based on algebraic identities and place-value representations.

The Use Of Machine Learning Models For Predicting The Dielectric Strength Of Gases, Matthew Mileski, Paul W. Groth, Timothy S. Wolfe, Adib J. Samin

Faculty Publications

Technological advancements in high voltage systems have pushed sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) to its operational limits. Furthermore, this gas has other drawbacks including a high liquefaction temperature and a high global warming potential. Therefore, there has been an urgent need to find alternative gases with high dielectric strength (DS). In this work, density functional theory (DFT) is used to calculate molecular descriptors that are fed into an artificial neural network (ANN) and a random forest (RF). These machine learning (ML) models are then used to predict the DS for hundreds of molecules. A finite element model (FEM) is also used to …

Effective Visibility In The Infrared Bands, Peter L. Dean-Erlander, Steven T. Fiorino, Ronald G. Driggers

Faculty Publications

Visibility is an atmospheric metric for the comparison of terrestrial imaging conditions and locations. A limitation of visibility is that it is defined for the visible spectrum only, and there is no simple infrared equivalent. This study compares three reflective infrared wavebands: near-IR (NIR), shortwave IR (SWIR), and extended shortwave IR (eSWIR), to the visible band across a global set of cities to develop three rule-of-thumb functions for IR effective visibility. To accomplish this, a radiometric sensor model is combined with the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) software package to calculate the visibility of a black-and-white contrast target …

Moss Biomonitoring And Isotopic Signatures Reveal Aviation Fuel As Local Lead Source Near Oregon Airports, Oluwaseyi E. Aderinboye, Alyssa E. Shiel, Lauren Stalford, Christina J. Murphy, Dean B. Atkinson

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lead emissions from piston-engine aircraft using leaded aviation gasoline (avgas) remain a significant source of environmental contamination near regional airports, posing potential health risks to nearby communities. Passive biomonitoring using the epiphytic moss Orthotrichum lyellii was combined with lead isotope fingerprinting to quantify lead concentrations and distinguish between legacy leaded gasoline and current avgas emissions near Hillsboro and Troutdale airports in Oregon. Here we show that lead levels are elevated by up to 50 times the rural background near airports, with isotopic signatures confirming avgas as a dominant local source. These findings indicate that avgas use contributes substantially to environmental …

Enabling Asl Digital Communication Under Poor Internet Access, Swann Thantsin

Student Theses

Video conferencing degrades asymmetrically. When bandwidth falls, a hearing caller loses picture quality and keeps the conversation; a deaf and hard of hearing signer, whose language is carried entirely in the visual modality, loses the conversation. This thesis asks whether signed video reduced to the rates at which commercial platforms fail can be reconstructed at the receiver well enough to keep signing legible. A twostage reduction pipeline crops to the signer and transmits the face and hands at higher fidelity than their surroundings, achieving a reduction of approximately 99%; reconstruction uses a recurrent bottleneck mixer architecture, trained both conventionally and …

Enhancing A Mid-Wave Infrared Fourier Transform Hyperspectral Imager For Explosions, James T. Stofel, Kody A. Wilson, Martin Larivière-Bastien, Anthony L. Franz, Michael L. Dexter

Faculty Publications

Capturing reliable hyperspectral imager data at a meaningful frame rate for explosions and other fast-changing scenes is not possible in the mid-wave infrared region under traditional sensor operating configurations and processing techniques, which typically have frame rates on the order of 0.5–2.0 Hz. To combat these shortcomings, the scene acquisition parameters were tailored for explosions and a new method for processing optical signatures of fast transient scenes with Fourier-transform infrared hyperspectral imagers was developed. For this technique, the instrument was first configured to collect asymmetric interferograms while optimizing the number of measurement points on the short side of the interferogram. …

Surface-Modified Zinc Oxide Nanostructures For Ammonia Detection, Gowri Shonali N Ms

Theses and Dissertations

The escalating demand for sustainable gas sensors with low-ppm detection has driven research on surface-engineered nanomaterials for portable air-quality and health screening. This thesis focuses on the fabrication of nanostructured ZnO films as chemiresistive sensors for NH3 detection at RT. This study investigates surface modification using GO, rGO, g-C3N4, Ti3C2Tx; (Se, and Te) ink using a drop casting technique over DC-sputtered ZnO films. Surface modification plays a vital role by providing plenty of active sites, enhancing defective oxygen vacancy, facilitating charge transfer, and synergistic interaction between adsorbed oxygen species to enhance the sensing performance at RT. Among them trGO/ZnO hybrid …

Building Agentic Ai Systems With Langgraph: From Llm Pipelines To Multi-Agent Decision Workflows, Mohammad Amin Kuhail

All Works

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated agentic AI systems capable of reasoning, planning, tool use, memory management, and collaborative problem solving. Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can autonomously pursue goals and execute tasks by combining reasoning, decision-making, memory, interaction with external tools, and adaptive workflows. Unlike traditional LLM applications that primarily rely on single-prompt interactions or fixed sequential pipelines, agentic AI systems can iteratively analyze problems, coordinate multiple steps, invoke external resources, refine intermediate outputs, and dynamically adapt their behavior in response to evolving context and feedback. Recent developments in …

Adaptive Phishing Url Detection Using Hybrid Fuzzy C-Means Clustering And Xgboost, Muntadher Mohammed Kareem, Rawaa I. Farhan

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Phishing attacks continue to evolve in sophistication, rendering static detection methods increasingly ineffective. Existing URL-based approaches suffer from limited adaptability to emerging phishing patterns, mislabeled training data, and insufficient validation protocols. This paper proposes a hybrid phishing URL detection system that integrates Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering with XGBoost classification, enhanced by a novel Micro Adaptive Feature Extractor (MAFE). The system employs a multi-stage pipeline: feature engineering generating 36 statistical and interaction features, MAFE producing 15 adaptive features through class-aware dynamic weighting, micro-pattern detection, and entropy analysis, and FCM with K=2 clusters providing soft membership features to XGBoost. A two-pass confidence-based …

Wip: Developing A Generative Ai Autoethnography Assistant, Jyoti Suhag, Jennifer Drewyor, Kathryn Bugbee, Michelle Jarvie-Eggart, Lynn Albers, Leo Ureel

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: Generative AI (genAI) is transforming educational research, offering new possi-bilities for conducting interviews while local sandboxing minimizes data privacy risks and hallucinations. Purpose: This work-in-progress presents the AI Autoethnography Assistant, a project investigating how large language models (LLMs) can support autoethnographic interview design and execution. Approach: Using prompt engineering grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Anal-ysis, paraphrasing techniques, and structured follow-up questions, we developed protocols that incorporate po-sitionality and prompt reflection on origin stories and pivotal life moments. Outcomes: Conversations conclude at the user’s discretion, with the AI generating a thematic summary. We tested refined prompts across four platforms (Gemini, Claude, …

Re: Approval Letter For Draft Final Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area (Sbcca) Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Air Monitoring For Interim Demolition Activities – Phase Ii Data Summary Report (Dsr) (Dated June 26, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Comment Letter For The Draft Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Butte Treatment Lagoons (Btl) Groundwater Treatment System Quarterly Operation And Maintenance Report – Quarter 1 2026 (Dated June 26, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Modeling And Simulation Of Solar Battery Charge Controller Using Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Mppt Algorithm, Mustafa Sacid Endiz, Göksel Gökkus

Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Simulation with Applications

Implementing an effective Maximum Power Point Tracking method is crucial for optimizing solar energy harvesting against environmental fluctuations like solar radiation and temperature. This paper introduces a novel approach for modeling and simulating a solar battery charge controller, using a modified Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm. The power stage of the system is based on a SEPIC converter, which is employed to manage the power conversion and improve the energy transfer to the battery. The developed circuit model is evaluated under various radiation levels at a constant temperature, as well as under different temperature levels at a constant radiation. Simulations are …

South Africa's Inclusive Six-Dimensional Generative Ai Readiness Framework, Keegan Steyn, Ojelanki Ngwenyama, Sibongiseni Tunzelana

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is transforming governance, knowledge systems, and economic activity, but current preparedness measures pay little attention to the socio-technical, institutional, and postcolonial contexts that shape country trajectories. To address this gap, the study employs a design science methodology to create the National Generative AI Readiness Assessment Framework (N-GAIRF), a six-dimensional diagnostic tool theoretically based on Sen's capability approach to development and incorporating Institutional Theory, Socio-Technical Systems Theory, National Innovation Systems Theory, and Postcolonial Information Systems critique. An example application to South Africa, compared to Zimbabwe and an indicative Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reference …

Secondary Water Saturation Of The Rock Mass And Quality Of Rocks In Active Mine Areas Bordering The Flooded Workings Of Closed Mines, Mirosława Bukowska

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The goal of this paper was to inspect the influence of capillary water saturation on the specific strain energy of sedimentary rocks. The relationships between the determined specific strain energies in an air-dried state and in a state of capillary water saturation for detrital rock were exponential, with a strong correlation among the variables. For silt, the relationships were described by a second-degree polynomial function, and the correlation was medium or weak. The relationships for kinetic and dissipated energy were described with a linear function. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a strong correlation among the variables for detrital rock and a …

65th Annual Rocky Mountain Conference On Magnetic Resonance

Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance

Conference program, abstracts, and information about the 65th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance. Held in the Snowbird Resort and Conference Center, Snowbird, Utah, August 2-6, 2026.

Rockin’ Rover On The Rainbow Road, Michael Kolta, Lawrence Burgee, Ying Yuan

Transformations

This paper presents a progressive series of age-appropriate lesson plans for grades K-12 that all use the same interdisciplinary activity to educate students about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) simultaneously. Technology from Texas Instruments (TI) was employed including a TI Nspire graphing calculator that can run Python programs, a TI Innovator Hub, and a TI Rover. The TI Rover is a small, robotic car that has sensors and is controlled by the calculator via the Hub hardware interface. A Python program was developed that uses the color sensor in the Rover to detect the color on colored paper …