Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Small-Molecule Inhibitors For Bacteroides, Naegleria, And Toxoplasma Microorganisms And Synthesis Of N-Heterocycles From Thiolated Ene-Ynes And Azodicarboxylates, Samuel Kwain

All Dissertations

Humans and microorganisms are intricately interconnected, with microbes constituting an essential component of human biology and ecology. This interdependence necessitates a delicate balance between leveraging beneficial microbes and mitigating the impact of harmful ones. The human gut microbiome, home to trillions of microorganisms, predominantly comprises commensal species that support health. However, dysbiosis within this ecosystem has been linked to serious diseases. For instance, an overrepresentation of Bacteroides species is associated with Type I diabetes mellitus (T1D) and various chronic gut disorders, including ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and colorectal cancer. Similarly, Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba, causes …

The Spectral Asymptotics Of Toeplitz Operators On Hilbert Spaces Of Analytic Functions, Trevor Camper

All Dissertations

Many physical systems, whether they are ocean waves or particles moving through space, can be described using the mathematical language of “partial differ- ential equations.” In many circumstances, it is useful to study how these equations amplify an input to the equation, in which case the amplification factor is called an “eigenvalue.” The usefulness of these amplification factors is that they can be used to describe properties of the physical system. In this dissertation, I have studied this amplification factor for a related set of equations called “Toeplitz operators.” In par- ticular, I have studied eigenvalues using statistical techniques. The …

The Math Doesn't Add Up: Gender Inequity In Service Responsibilities In Research-Intensive Mathematics Departments, Sarah Otterbeck

All Dissertations

Academic service responsibilities (e.g., committee work, mentoring), in the most informal definition, are those tasks faculty perform that are neither research nor teaching. However, the simplicity of this definition undercuts not only the tremendous impact service can have on faculty efforts but also the well-documented, disproportionately high service burden carried by faculty with marginalized identities. This study, grounded in the existence of gender inequities in service responsibilities, comprises three interconnected papers that collectively address the overarching research question: How do math faculty at research-intensive institutions perceive, describe, and navigate gender inequities in service responsibilities? Utilizing the framing of Intersectional Feminism …

A System And Method For Measuring Spatially Varying Surface Appearances With A Study Of Feathers, Jessica Baron-Lis

All Dissertations

Real-world materials, particularly biological structures such as feathers exhibit complex appearances that vary spatially across their surfaces. The field of computer graphics provides a means of understanding such surfaces through material modeling which uses both analytical models and data acquired from light-surface interactions. There are many efforts within the past decade in measuring materials for graphics, but common limitations in these works include not accounting for spatially varying properties and reliance on neural networks and synthetic datasets.

Feathers from modern birds present diverse appearances due to how light interacts with their unique hierarchical microstructures. Variations in those structures lead to …

A Systemic Approach To Maximize Heterogeneous System Performance, Thomas L. Randall

All Dissertations

Continuous increases in high performance computing (HPC) throughput have served as catalysts for industry and scientific advancement in countless manners that have fundamentally shaped our modern world. Our demands on compute resources continue to scale, but the limitations of Ahmdal’s law and Dennard scaling have proven increasingly difficult to overcome when approached solely through hardware or software design. Furthermore, many HPC applications fail to utilize the collective system’s performance, even on the most advanced supercomputers.

However, the resurgence of AI in the industry has promoted an explosion of hardware and software codesign that have fueled massive improvements in GPU design …

Domain Decomposition For Coupled Systems Of Fluid-Structure Interaction And Numerical Modeling For Thin Film Polymers, Amy De Castro

All Dissertations

We consider two primary areas of physical application in this work: fluid interaction systems with either linear elastic structures or with poroelastic structures, and thin film polymers, where the majority of the work focuses on the fluid-structure interaction systems.

In the first chapter, we present a strongly coupled partitioned method for fluid structure interaction (FSI) problems based on a monolithic formulation of the system which employs a Lagrange multiplier (LM). We prove that both the semi-discrete and fully discrete formulations are well-posed. To derive the partitioned scheme, a Schur complement equation, which implicitly expresses the Lagrange multiplier and the fluid …

Hydrothermal Synthesis Of Single-Crystal Magnetic Oxides, Bhakti Patel

All Dissertations

Multifunctional materials are systems that have two or more properties of interest. Some of these features are polar axes, chirality, magnetic ions, triangular arrangements, and/or magnetically silent building blocks. Various combinations of these properties can result in chiral ferromagnetism, multiferroic magnetoelectric behavior, antiferromagnetism, and quantum spin liquids and spin ices. By tuning these structure-property relations, quantum computing, memory, and sensors may be created. Large single crystals allow for a better understanding of the magnetic behavior of these crystals since they can be oriented in a magnetic field. Inorganic single crystals have a wide range of applications but growing high-quality single …

Biophysical Studies Of Nucleic Acid - Small Molecule Recognition, Andrea Conner

All Dissertations

The presented work is a collection of studies performed to examine small molecule recognition of nucleic acids. Recognition of nucleic acids was examined using two types of small molecules: aminoglycosides and Hoechst dyes. Chapter One focuses on established experimental techniques (i.e. absorbance, isothermal titration calorimetry, flow cytometry, cell microscopy, etc.) in small molecule recognition of nucleic acids. The emphasis of studies in the group has been on two focus areas. (i) Thermodynamic characterization of mixed A-form and B-form DNA or RNA conformation with aminoglycosides, particularly neomycin-class. (ii) Characterization of new Hoechst-morpholine (HT-MO) derivatives’ interactions with nucleic acids.

Focus area (i) …

Exploring The Pedagogical Impact Of Software Development Live Streams: Informal Learning Opportunities For Software And Game Developers, Ella Kokinda

All Dissertations

Live streaming is an increasingly popular medium for throwing back the curtain on software development where streamers and viewers share their knowledge and experiences. Popular platforms like Twitch and YouTube enable developers to stream live coding sessions where people around the world can engage in real-time collaboration, feedback, knowledge sharing, and skill development. This work investigates the pedagogical implications and learning opportunities present in software and game development live streaming while focusing on the role of streaming as a learning environment and collaborative community. We begin by exploring summer camps as an informal learning opportunity for STEM education, highlighting the …

Countering Deficit Narratives Through A Blackcrit Lens By Examining Case Studies Of Black College Mathematics Students’ Classroom Experiences, Akhenaton Wilbourn

All Dissertations

This dissertation examines the lived experiences of 11 Black college mathematics students at their predominantly white institution (PWI) through the lens of Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) to counter deficit narratives about the racial achievement gap (RAG) in mathematics education courses. Deficit narratives often attribute disparities between Black and white students’ mathematical performance to assumed deficiencies in Black students’ abilities rather than systemic inequities, historical marginalization, and ongoing anti-Blackness in educational settings (Cobb & Russell, 2015; Kress, 2021). Using multiple case studies, this study explores how anti-Blackness manifests in mathematics classrooms, how students navigate tensions between multiculturalism, neoliberal educational policies, and …

Probing The 'Mev Gap': Discovery And Characterization Of Persistent And Transient Mev-Gev Gamma-Ray Sources With The Fermi Large Area Telescoope, Scott Joffre

All Dissertations

The MeV Gap is a moniker for the energy regime E~0.1-100 MeV that has lacked sensitive observations for the last 20 years. This is not out of scientific disinterest, but observational challenges. The only instrument currently available to make observations in the MeV Gap is the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). For the first time ever, Fermi-LAT has been leveraged to push its observational capabilities to its absolute lower energy limit to end this 20-year observational gap. Observing the MeV sky is imperative for identifying some of the most luminous galaxies in the Universe known as blazars. The brightest blazars …

Real-Time Active Thermal Management And Degradation Forecasting Of Power Electronics Building Blocks In All-Electric Ships, Ali Moghassemi

All Dissertations

With advancements in semiconductor technology, power electronic devices play a critical role in modern power systems, enabling efficient energy conversion in applications such as renewable energy integration, electric vehicle drives, industrial automation, and Navy ship power systems. However, the increasing use of power converters presents challenges such as harmonic reduction, cost optimization, reliability improvement, and thermal management, especially in weight- and space-constrained environments like wind turbines and shipboard systems. High-frequency switching, while reducing passive filter size, increases thermal stress on semiconductor devices, impacting efficiency and longevity. Active thermal control, which regulates junction temperature through power loss management, and degradation forecasting, …

Synthesis Of Nanoparticles In Silicate Matrix And Stimuli Responsive Nanocomposite Polymer Films, Dimuthu Edirisinghe

All Dissertations

Interactions between aqueous metal ions and soluble silicates lead to the formation of insoluble metal silicate complexes that form nanoparticles via condensation polymerization. Metal silicates function as nanoreactors, effectively condensing metal ions into nano-sized particles that can undergo further chemical transformations. Core-shell nanostructures present an intriguing strategy for integrating materials with different properties. The silicate shell around the silver nanoparticles can be successfully infused with other metal ions, enabling subsequent reactions to tailor their properties. Silver nanoparticles exhibit strong interactions with light, surpassing other chromophores, including noble metal nanoparticles, due to their highly efficient surface plasmonic resonance. The unique optical …

The Effect Of Nuclear Isomers On S-Process Nucleosynthesis, Jaad Tannous

All Dissertations

s-Process nucleosynthesis is a process in which stars produce elements of mass range A = 57 to 210. Since the days of B2FH, immense work has gone into quantifying and computing s-process yields and pathways. We expand upon said work along two fronts. The first front sets up the framework for proper treatment of nuclear isomers in network calculations. We apply the framework to study 85Kr, which is a pivotal isotope in the s-process chain that affects the abundance yields of Strontium and Rubidium isotopes. In particular, we are interested in the ratio of 88Sr/86Sr and 87Rb which are important …

Effect Of Calculator Use On Algebra Progress Monitoring Slopes Among Students In Secondary Foundational Algebra Classes, Karon A. Burke

All Dissertations

Calculator usage has become commonplace in the secondary mathematics classroom, yet most progress monitoring studies using curriculum-based measurement tools have been completed without using calculators. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether using a calculator made a statistically significant difference in the depiction of students’ growth rates among student participants who were low performing in mathematics and were enrolled in a foundational algebra course. This study spanned the Fall semester and included 46 ninth-grade participants from five classes who were all considered at risk, including students diagnosed with a disability and/or as multilingual learners. To validate the …

Bridging The Gap In Rural Education: Exploring Solutions For Enhanced College And Career Preparedness Among Secondary School Students, Patricia Moultrie-Goldsmith

All Dissertations

This study investigates how to improve college and career readiness (CCR) among high school students in rural areas. The study focuses on creating effective strategies that cater specifically to the unique needs of rural students. Using a blend of both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study examines the effectiveness of specific interventions designed to raise students' readiness for college and careers.

The interventions tested include teaching methods and increased engagement with students. These were developed to tackle the common challenges that hinder educational outcomes in rural settings, such as limited access to advanced courses and extracurricular activities.

Findings from …

Decomposition And Coordination For Multiobjective Optimization: A Framework And Methodology, Philip J. De Castro

All Dissertations

In this work, we consider finding Pareto efficient solutions for complex multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs). Complex MOPs are unique in the literature because they have many more objective functions than is typically considered. In fact, such complex MOPs will have 30+ objective functions. This large problem size presents computational and coginitive difficulties. Computationally, standard techniques for solving MOPs are often ineffective and cognitively it is difficult for a decision maker (DM) to handle all of the information provided in such a large problem. To address these challenges, we develop a decomposition and coordination framework. This framework will allow us to …

Charge And Spin Transport In Nanowires With Spin-Orbit Coupling, Ryan Perrin

All Dissertations

Nanowires exhibiting Fermi-level pinning have strong radial electron confinement and thus can be modeled as a two-dimensional electron gas wrapped around the core. In III-V semiconductor structures, two forms of spin-orbit coupling are generated by breaking inversion symmetries in the crystal (Dresselhaus) and the overall structure of the nanowires (Rashba). The first goal of this thesis is to understand the single-particle energy spectrum in nanowires with variable cross sections and the quantum oscillations that can be driven in them by the application of a magnetic field parallel to the axis of the wire. To this end, the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues …

Spatial Variaiton In Host-Associated Microbiota, Daniel Malagon

All Dissertations

Many organisms rely upon the internal and/or external microbial communities they harbor. Microbial communities which depend upon other organisms for survival are known as host-associated (HA) microbial communities. HA microbial communities differ in diversity and composition from surrounding environmental microbiota and are generally less diverse than surrounding soil microbiomes. Although distinct bacterial profiles exist between host and environment, microbial scale dispersal often links the two. For this reason, host and environmental microbial communities can be correlated (e.g., dominant taxa in HA microbiota are dominant in the host microenvironment or vice versa). Eukaryotic hosts act as islands for HA microbiota. Unlike …

Strengthening The Bonds Between Us: An Empirical Investigation Of Morale In Human-Ai Teams And The Socially Supportive Ai Teammates Who Empower It, Rohit Mallick

All Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) can be designed to improve the collective emotion within a team. A team's collective emotion, or morale, describes how motivated, optimistic, and enthusiastic the group is in accomplishing its goals. We conducted four studies that compared different social support strategies that AI teammates can provide to the team. Study 1A found that AI teammates who communicate with emotions can better motivate human team members and promote awareness of team dynamics and environmental changes. Study 1B found that human teammates become more motivated and happier when their AI teammates express joy and are close …

The Role Of The Neutral Wind In Observations Of High-Latitude Ionospheric Energy Transfer, Andrew M. Pepper

All Dissertations

Joule heating results from the collisional interaction between ions and neutrals and serves as a crucial mechanism for energy transfer between Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere-thermosphere system, particularly at high latitudes. This dissertation investigates the modulation of Joule heating by altitude-resolved neutral winds, electric fields, and conductivity variations through multi-instrument observational analysis and modeling that incorporates both in-situ and ground-based sources to measure the main drivers of ion-neutral coupling. The observations presented consistently demonstrate a dual regulatory effect of the neutral wind on energy deposition that varies systematically with both geomagnetic activity level and proximity to auroral boundaries. In regions characterized …

Achieving Professional, Effective Graphics Efficiently With Available Clemson Resources, Stacie P. Powell, Brad Landon Walters, Yaswanth Mulakala

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Educational Policy Committee Minutes, Clemson University Board Of Trustees, 2025 April 24, Clemson University Board Of Trustees

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Changes In The Western Flank Of The North Atlantic Subtropical High Since 1140 Ce: Extremes, Drivers, And Hydroclimatic Patterns, Joshua C. Bregy, Justin T. Maxwell, Scott M. Robeson, Grant L. Harley, Valerie Trouet

Publications

Summer circulation and moisture patterns in the Southeast United States are controlled by the position of the North Atlantic subtropical high. In a warming climate, the subtropical high is projected to strengthen and expand west, but there remains uncertainty regarding its variability and linkages to natural drivers. Here, we use a tree-ring network across the Southeast United States to reconstruct the relative intensity of the pressure gradient across the subtropical high’s western flank over the past 870 years. Variations in the flank’s position and the pressure gradient have been a major driver of the hydroclimate—including creating a Southeast-Caribbean moisture dipole—since …

Metacognition And The 5cs Of Positive Youth Development Programs: A Review Of Metacognitive Interventions, Omolola A. Odejimi, Leslie F. Clark

Journal of Youth Development

Positive youth development (PYD) programs have increased positive outcomes for adolescents, however research on the underlying change processes in these programs remains limited. The 5Cs (Competence, Confidence, Character, Caring and Connection) of PYD are a framework of desirable outcomes for youth programs. Change to metacognition is proposed as a mechanism by which PYD programming accomplishes these outcomes. This review describes findings from metacognitive interventions with PYD-relevant outcomes in adolescents aged 10-24. Fifteen electronic databases were searched using keyword phrases related to “metacognitive intervention” and “adolescents”. Seventeen studies met inclusion criteria. Included studies addressed 2 of the 5 goals of PYD …

Evolution Of Teachers’ Perspectives On Family Engagement: Building Dual Capacity For Multilingual Learners, Lindsey W. Rowe, Hazel Vega, Emily Howell, Katie M. Crook, C C. Bates, Kavita Mittapelli, Amlam Banerjee

Publications

Family engagement in multilingual learner education offers benefits associated with improved academic performance, stronger parent-teacher communication, and more inclusivity of cultural and linguistic diversity. Responding to calls for professional development that enables teachers to meaningfully involve families, this paper draws from surveys and course assignments to examine how teachers expanded their perceptions about the incorporation of multilingual learner families in a graduate program. We conclude by discussing implications for teacher professional development with specific attention to how teachers can integrate multilingual learner families.

Clemson University Board Of Trustees, Educational Policy Committee, 2025 February 6, Clemson University Board Of Trustees

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Teachers’ Perspectives On Family Engagement: Building Dual Capacity For Multilingual Learners, Hazel Vega, Emily Howell, Lindsey W. Rowe, Katie M. Crook, C. C. Bates, Kavita Mittapalli, Amlan Banerjee

Publications

Family engagement in multilingual learner education offers benefits associated with improved academic performance, stronger parent-teacher communication, and more inclusivity of cultural and linguistic diversity. Responding to calls for professional development that enables teachers to meaningfully involve families, this paper draws from surveys and course assignments to examine how teachers expanded their perceptions about the incorporation of multilingual learner families in a graduate program. We conclude by discussing implications for teacher professional development with specific attention to how teachers can integrate multilingual learner families.

Foundational Robotics, Akshit Lunia, Ananya Nagabhushana Rao, Yue Wang

Robotics

This textbook is a product of Co-DREAM OER (Collaborative Development of Robotics, Mechatronics, and Advanced Manufacturing Open Educational Resources), a US Department of Education-funded initiative to develop Open Educational Resource textbooks on robotics, mechatronics, and advanced manufacturing processes. It has been created by a diverse team of scholars and graduate students from across the country and is intended for higher-level robotics courses offered by 4-year undergraduate programs.

Common Data Set 2024-2025, Clemson University

Common Data Sets

No abstract provided.