Digital Commons Network^™

From Summer Institute To Action: Advancing Equity And Inclusion In Stem Classrooms, Sandie Han, Nadia Kennedy, Malgorzata Marciniak, Diana Samaroo

Publications and Research

This Editor’s Note provides background on the CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy Summer Institute for Equitable and Inclusive STEM Teaching and Learning and introduces the articles featured in this special issue.

Professional Development Workshops For Faculty On Addressing Implicit Bias In Computer Science Education, Sandie Han, Diana Samaroo, Janet Liou-Mark, Boyan Kostadinov, Johann Thiel, Suhua Zeng

Publications and Research

The "Understanding Implicit Bias" workshops were offered to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) faculty at an urban minority-serving undergraduate institution with a focus on addressing the gender gap in computer science. The workshops aimed to raise awareness of implicit (unconscious) biases and provide practical strategies for addressing them, fostering a more inclusive classroom environment. Analysis of pre- and post-survey responses indicated an increase in participants' awareness of implicit biases in their discipline and a greater openness to taking steps to address them, suggesting the workshops' potential impact on promoting inclusive teaching practices.

Csc36000 - Modern Distributed Computing Assignment, Saptarashmi Bandyopadhyay

Open Educational Resources

This assignment covers standard performance metrics for Distributed Systems and the basics of Multiprocessing for CSC36000 - Modern Distributed Computing at the City College of New York CUNY. It is an interactive coding assignment intended to be executed in a Python notebook.

Active Learning: Eight Models That Shape Instructional Practice, A.E. Dreyfuss, Ana Fraiman, Karmen T. Yu

Publications and Research

Developed since the mid-20^th century, several instructional models have provided practical means to shift the emphasis in learning from lecture to engagement by students. The snapshots of models presented in this paper include Cooperative Learning, Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Supplemental Instruction (SI) (also PALS, PASS), Team-Based Learning (TBL), Emerging Scholars Program (Mathematics Workshop, MathExcel), Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), and Learning Assistants (LA). These models have been well-disseminated, widely adopted, and incorporated in disciplines beyond their origins. For purposes of exploration and consideration of implementation, these “snapshots” provide an overview. Features of each model are …

Tutoring Online During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Use Of Critical Incidents To Improve Practice, A.E. Dreyfuss, Jose Armando Sanchez Diaz, Barakat Adigun, Helen Baraki, Thalyia Thompson

Publications and Research

Developing expertise in the practice of online tutoring is presented by peer tutors who provided support to students with synchronous sessions with the onset of COVID-19. The experiences and learning of peer tutors were probed through the use of critical incidents (Flanagan, 1954), and how weekly training meetings provided support to them, creating a collaboration among the tutors and the training manager.

Art Forms: Born Out Of Necessity, Urmi Duttagupta

Publications and Research

This collection of artworks expresses the artist’s profound passion for mathematics and life’s complex balance. As a female mathematician, she uses artistic expression and intricate patterns to evoke mathematical beauty and feminine strength, celebrating the presence and resilience of women in mathematics.

Msh 245 The American Musical Experience Fall 2025 Syllabus, Margaret Farrell

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus guided our exploration of the ways in which the musical cultures of those who arrived on our shores from Europe and Africa shaped the emergence of a distinctly American musical tradition. Links to relevant readings were provided on our LMS (Brightspace) page. Since this was an asynchronous online section, engagement was mainly through videos and slide presentations. Discussion assignments reinforced learning and encouraged critical thinking. In addition, students were required to submit a report on a live American music experience.

Edce 32204_How Children Learn Math_Syllabus, Colleen O. Oppenzato

Open Educational Resources

This course described by this syllabus will focus on the mathematical development and growth of children from birth through Grade 2, with an emphasis on preschool, kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2.

Open Educational Resources (Oer) Workshop Slides For The Center For Teaching & Learning Annual Seminar, Ian Mcdermott, Rena D. Grossman, Emma Handte

Open Educational Resources

LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York (CUNY) began receiving funds from a New York State Open Educational Resources (OER) grant in 2017. Since 2020 we have offered a spring OER Seminar through the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The seminar invites instructors and staff to explore their past, current, or desired use of OER at LaGuardia. Seminar co-leaders present and discuss a variety of experiences with OER, from authoring a textbook to implementing OER in high enrollment courses. The five workshops have been co-led by the library in collaboration with faculty in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, …

Major, Trace And Rare Earth Element Concentrations In Nist Standard Reference Material® 1646a Analyzed By Als Global Using Method Me-Ms61r, Jane L. Alexander

Publications and Research

This technical note compares analytical results obtained from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r with the certified and previously published results for NIST Standard Reference Material® 1646a, Estuarine Sediment. The results are grouped into major, trace and rare earth elements, and focus on elements used by sedimentary geochemists, for example in studies of sediment provenance. The results from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r are internally consistent and generally robust when compared with published analyses. However, acid digestion may not completely dissolve resistant minerals, leading to under-reporting of some elements such as Ti, Cr, Zr, heavy REE and Y.

Enjoyment In The Classroom: Reciprocal Student-Teacher Dynamics In Israeli Math Education, Yonaton Gutterman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Enjoyment is increasingly recognised as a keystone emotion in contemporary models of academic motivation and learning (Pekrun, 2006; Ryan & Deci, 2020). Grounded in Control-Value, Expectancy-Value, and Self-Determination theories, the present study tracked reciprocal affective processes in Israeli mathematics classrooms across ten lessons. Seven teachers and their 257 students (112 fourth-graders; 145 eighth-graders) completed parallel post-lesson questionnaires assessing feedback use, enjoyment, and perceived difficulty. Multilevel ordinal mixed-effects models, latent-growth curve models, and Bayesian random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were estimated to disentangle within-person fluctuations from between-person differences (Hamaker et al., 2015). Confirmatory-factor analyses supported scalar invariance of the key scales over …

The Weight Of Complicity: A Network Analysis Of Ecocide In Palestine, Marilyn Moy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper combines multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) with a network graph visualization to examine corporate and institutional involvement in ecocide in Palestine from 1917 to the present. Using a weighted sum model based on UN human rights principles and UNEP guidelines, actors are evaluated across three criteria: directness, scale, and duration of harm. A dataset of 50+ entities, including Caterpillar, Elbit Systems, and the Jewish National Fund, reveals a dense network of responsibility, with major enablers in the construction, tech, and military sectors. Findings highlight the severe impacts of the 2023–present assault on Gaza and demonstrate that ecocide is a …

The Density Distribution Of The Material Around Betelgeuse, Iman Behbehani

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star visible in the constellation Orion. Its windy and highly convective surface results in a complicated mass loss pattern difficult to understand and replicate in simulations. The ejected mass can form a shell around the star we consider the circumstellar material (CSM). In this study, we use ALMA interferometric observations to find the structure of Betelgeuse's CSM, and connect to the mass loss mechanisms that could form it. We measure a bipolar circumstellar structure with a position angle of 42.3$\pm 7.0^\circ$. We observe asymmetries in the form of hot spots in the north east of …

The Spaces Between: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Classical Music Performance Practice, Fifi Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In his theory of duration, the philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) asserts that the present moment is “both a perception of the immediate past and a determination of the immediate future…a joint system of sensations and movements.” In an ideal musical performance, this sensori-motor apparatus guides every one of the performer’s decisions on stage, resulting in an aural experience that is spontaneous, visceral, and deeply personal. In practice, much of today’s classical music performance culture, which relies heavily on visual notation and prioritizes fidelity to the composer’s intent, is antithetical to fundamental artistic values such as creativity, individual self-expression, and direct …

Origin And Maintenance Of The Andean Bird Fauna, Elkin A. Tenorio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The origin and maintenance of the tropical montane diversity have been evaluated over multiple decades using various techniques and perspectives. Despite major progress in understanding phylogenetic relationships, diversification patterns, distributional data, and general ecology in the Andean biota, large gaps in our understanding remain, particularly in the synthesis across scales. To fill these gaps, I aimed to explore patterns and processes that underlie species diversification in birds of the tropical Andes of South America by combining different approaches using phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genomic data in multiple temporal and spatial scales.

In the first chapter, I examined the macroevolutionary patterns of …

The Question Of Money: State, Protest, And Informal Currencies In The Wake Of Greece’S Economic Crisis, Helen Panagiotopoulos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Monetary unions are designed to foster political, social, and economic integration among member states by enabling the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. Yet when a member nation faces economic crisis, citizens may respond by creating monetary systems of their own. This research asks whether such practices are simply demonstrations of human resiliency and adaptability, or whether they also challenge the very idea of a shared market and currency that do not align with national identity. Greece offers a crucial case for this inquiry. Following the 2008 debt crisis, austerity measures led to economic depression, mass unemployment, and …

Nonlinear Diffusion, Hydrodynamic Cascades And Jamming In Kinetically Constrained Systems: Insights From Lattice Gas Models, Abhishek Raj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates non-linear diffusion processes and emergent dynamical phenomena in kinetically constrained lattice gases. Two central models are considered: a one-dimensional lattice gas exhibiting a diffusion cascade triggered by hydrodynamic nonlinearities and a triangular ladder exclusion model that undergoes a jamming transition. The former demonstrates stretched exponential decay consistent with non-perturbative long-time tails, while the latter illustrates how classical-quantum mappings yield insight into glassy dynamics and mobility constraints. Through a combination of numerical simulations, analytical perturbation theory, and mean-field approximations, the work uncovers mechanisms underlying anomalous transport, jamming transitions, and the breakdown of perturbative hydrodynamics.

Nonlinear Optics Through Femtosecond Light-Matter Interactions, Shah Faisal B. Mazhar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation offers experimental and theoretical insights into nonlinear light-matter interactions induced by intense femtosecond (fs) laser pulses. It investigates key phenomena, including stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) from phonon and magnon quasiparticles, supercontinuum (SC) generation via self-phase modulation (SPM), conical emission (CE) arising from four-wave mixing (4WM), and modulation instability (MI) driven by cross-phase modulation (XPM) between SRS and SC processes. These effects are studied in diverse media using state-of-the-art femtosecond lasers.

The interplay among SRS, SC, 4WM, and MI is examined to probe vibrational modes and temperature-dependent magnetic excitations in condensed-matter systems. Experiments are conducted on anisotropic uniaxial calcite …

Leveraging Stellar Chemistry For A Global View Into The Atmospheres Of Brown Dwarfs And Giant Exoplanets, Emily Calamari

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the era of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), it is now possible to examine substellar mass atmospheres in unparalleled detail and precision. However, unraveling the complicated thermodynamics and chemistry in these atmospheres remains a challenge. Atmospheric retrievals are a leading data-driven technique capable of recovering an object’s fundamental parameters such as mass, radius, effective temperature, gravity, cloud structure and composition and chemical abundances. However, in directly imaged or isolated worlds, constraining and/or interpreting these fundamental parameters can be difficult, particularly as retrieval models try to parameterize the overall impact of clouds.

For my dissertation, I turned to main …

Multi-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr) Characterization Of Novel Materials, Tawhid Pranto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The increasing reliance on batteries in commercial products, coupled with the environmental challenges posed by climate change and the limitations of fossil fuel consumption, has created strong financial and environmental incentives to explore innovative energy storage solutions. Renewable energy sources are being actively developed, but their intermittent nature necessitates efficient storage technologies, driving significant research into improving the performance of batteries, fuel cells, and capacitors.

This thesis focuses on the application of advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study and understand novel materials for energy storage applications, with an emphasis on electrolytes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and all-solid-state batteries. …

The Effect Of Tbi On Working Memory And Anxiety In Rats, Mariola Sobolewska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern, often leading to cognitive and emotional impairments. This study examined the effects of TBI on working memory and anxiety-like behavior in young male Sprague-Dawley rats using the Radial Arm Maze (RAM) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), which are behavioral assessments. The RAM tests spatial working memory by evaluating the animal’s ability to remember and efficiently navigate multiple arms to retrieve rewards. The EPM assesses anxiety-like behavior based on the animal’s preference for open versus closed arms. The study utilized young male Sprague-Dawley rats, a well-established rodent model known for its …

Text-Based Propaganda Detection, Vivek Sharma

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the digital age, the swift consumption of news and the widespread dissemination of propaganda significantly threaten democratic principles and informed decision-making. News organizations, often aligned politically, tailor their content to appeal to specific audiences, thereby perpetuating biases. Despite advancements in detecting propaganda through various computational techniques, including Large Language Models(LLM) and BERT-based approaches, significant challenges persist concerning data availability and the effectiveness of detection tools. This thesis explores the landscape of text-based propaganda and reviews related research in textual analysis. It introduces a novel method for collecting a social-media based dataset, which includes analysis of journalists' tweets to discern …

Re-Envisioning Digital Agency: From Representationalism To Interpretant-Driven Epistemology, Michael C. Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the epistemological and ethical foundations of digital technologies, particularly code and algorithmic systems, by considering their entanglement with representationalism. Arguing that code now functions as a dominant social agent and epistemic subject, through the concept of the Code’s-eye view, I explore how automated datafication reduces human experience to quantifiable inputs, reinforcing epistemic closure and social fragmentation. Drawing on pragmatist philosophy, including Peirce’s semiotics, Dewey’s democratic ethics, and Rorty’s conversational inquiry, I propose an interpretant-driven epistemology grounded in communal inquiry and interpretive openness. This alternative framework resists the binary logic of algorithmic rationality by emphasizing conflict and the …

Effect Of Equation Of State On The Formation Of Binary Black Holes In Active Galactic Nucleus Disks, Theodore Edwards

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Active galactic nucleus disks have been proposed as a possibly dominant location of the mergers of binary black holes detected by gravitational wave observatories. The nonlinear interactions between stellar mass black holes and disk gas determine when binaries will form from single objects on nearby orbits. Prior work has used smoothed particle hydrodynamics models in an isothermal disk to study this problem. However, the local equation of state near the midplane of an optically thick accretion disk is adiabatic rather than isothermal, even if the radiative equilibrium temperature is azimuthally isothermal. Therefore, we investigate the use of an adiabatic equation …

Wavelength And Luminance Interaction On Spatio-Temporal Contrast Sensitivity Function, Taylan S. Ergun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Contrast sensitivity (CS) measures the ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds under varying conditions(Campbell & Robson, 1968). Contrast sensitivity is important for navigating the real world and operating under different light conditions. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) reflects how the visual system performs under different conditions. This measure is crucial in assessing the health of the visual system (Chen & Gardner, 2021). CSF contributes to a deeper understanding of how the visual system processes and integrates properties of light to create visual sensation and perception. Human contrast sensitivity depends on the viewing conditions such as field size, luminance, color, …

Developments In The Lithographic Engineering Of Bi2sr2cacu2o8+Delta Mesa Terahertz-Emitting Devices, Sarah Elghazoly

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Devices microfabricated from the high-temperature superconducting cuprate Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+𝛿 (Bi-2212) are a promising source of coherent terahertz radiation within the ’terahertz gap’ (0.3- 1.5 THz). A current-biased mesa patterned into the surface of a single crystal will produce electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz regime due to the naturally occurring Josephson junctions formed by the stacks of superconducting cuprate oxide planes in the material separated by insulating BiO and SrO barrier layers. Previous research has shown that by fabricating these mesas such that the geometry supports resonant cavity Fabry-Perot modes, the junctions within the mesa …

The Role Of Water In Peptide Behavior And Peptide-Based Water-Responsive Crystals, Janel Jannette Rivera Cancel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Water plays a crucial role in shaping the behavior and function of biomolecules across the liquid, supercooled, and glassy states. This thesis presents a dual approach combining computational simulations and experimental investigations to explore the influence of water on biomolecular systems, particularly peptide-based materials. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to study the hydration-dependent structural dynamics of homopolymer peptides. Simulations were carried out across a range of temperatures and pressures to analyze changes in hydration and structural stability, shedding light on the behavior of peptides under supercooled and glassy conditions. These studies are especially relevant for understanding biomolecular stability in cryopreservation. …

Satellite-Host Galaxy Co-Evolution With Next-Generation Regulator Models, Austen Gabrielpillai

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The evolution of satellites galaxies is an unsolved problem in galaxy formation. Recent observations such as the SAGA and ELVES surveys find tension in HI contents and star formation of satellites around their central host galaxies when compared to our own local environment, the Milky Way. These processes are potentially highly influenced by the host's circumgalactic medium (CGM), and to constrain these cases requires accurate and fast modeling of satellites-host interactions. In this work, we present our methodology for evolving z = 0 surviving satellites alongside their central galaxy in sapphire, a CGM regulator co-evolution model of galaxy formation. …

Tradition, Individuality, And Innovation In Western Classical Music Performance: A Quantitative Analysis Of Bach’S Fourth Cello Suite Prelude, Clare Monfredo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Why do we seek out new performances of a commonly performed piece of music? An essential tradition of Western classical music (WCM) is the performance of canonical works by composers, an activity that requires the interpretation and execution of written scores by individual performers. In this practice, performers are not only expected to determine the composer’s “intentions,” but also somehow (paradoxically) share these in a “unique” performance interpretation. In musical education, performers are trained by teachers to create these “unique” interpretations by learning how to intuit composers’ intentions in a system that passes down interpretative traditions through master-apprentice one-on-one lessons. …

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Characterization For The Study Of Beyond Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes, Allen Zheng

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

To achieve a sustainable future, key issues in the energy and construction sectors such as the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and recycling of waste construction materials must be addressed. While fossil fuels offer a high energy density source of quick, consistent energy, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric offer intermittent energy output, requiring energy storage systems to maintain steady energy availability for consumers. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage due to their high energy density, low self-discharge, and rechargeability. However, they are limited by high …