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Faculty Senate Monthly Packet April 2026, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 2026 monthly packet includes the agenda, appendices, and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments given in the meeting held April 6, 2026.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2026, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2026 monthly packet includes the agenda, appendices, and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments given in the meeting held February 2, 2026.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet January 2026, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The January 2026 monthly packet includes the agenda, appendices, and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments given in the meeting held January 5, 2026.

Coolies Of Shimla: Modern Slavery As Relic Of The British Raj, Priya Kapoor

Politics and Global Affairs Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coolie labor needs to be understood as a contemporary transnational practice rooted in local practices of feudal kings and the British Empire. When the British Raj established Shimla as its summer capital in 1864, they did not eliminate archaic labor practices; instead, they cleverly modified them to serve the Empire’s infrastructural needs. Under the guise of reform, the British introduced nominal pay to bypass anti-slavery laws, effectively rebranding the forced laborer as the "coolie"—a racialized linguistic construct that signified a state of permanent subalternity. This labor force was the veritable backbone of the Raj, manually carving the treacherous Hindustan-Tibet Road …

Applications Of Artificial Intelligence In Dental Malocclusion: A Scoping Review Of Recent Advances (2020-2025), Man Hung, Owen Cohen, Nicholas Beasley, Cairo Ziebarth, Connor Schwartz, Alicia Parry, Martin S. Lipsky

Institute on Aging Publications

Introduction:

Dental malocclusion affects more than half of the global population, causing significant functional and esthetic consequences. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into orthodontic care for malocclusion has the potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy, treatment planning, and clinical efficiency. However, existing research remains fragmented, and recent advances have not been comprehensively synthesized. This scoping review aimed to map the current landscape of AI applications in dental malocclusion from 2020 to 2025. Methods: The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The authors conducted a systematic search across four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and …

Mechanical Improvements And Control Implementation On A Biomimetic Quadruped Model, Matthew Jack Lutz

Dissertations and Theses

Robotic development started billions of years after earth first began biological prototyping. While the evolutionary process in animals is quite different from robotic prototyping, it still remains no surprise that animals remain more agile, more efficient, and more adaptable than even the most advanced engineered robots to date, simply due to the sheer length of their improvement process. While bridging this improvement gap between deficits in robots and the abilities of animals is difficult, a specific subfield of robotics engineering has attempted to do so using biomimetic robotics. At Portland State, the Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab (AARL) studies these …

An Integrated Multivariate Econometric Modeling Framework For Risky Driving Behavior Related Crashes: Evaluating Crash Risk And Severity Across Zones, Pabitra Kumar Roy

Dissertations and Theses

Rapid advancements in crash modeling have yet to fully integrate multiple behavior-driven crash types and their severity outcomes within a single, scalable framework, specially in a way that captures the sequential nature of these behaviors where one risky action may amplify another. This study proposed an integrated multivariate econometric framework to jointly model crash frequency and severity outcomes for three major behaviorally driven crash types: alcohol-related, distraction-related, and aggressive-driving-related crashes. Specifically, using Oregon's 2022 census block group-level crash data, we propose an Integrated Multivariate Negative Binomial – Generalized Ordered Probit Fractional Split (IMNB–GOPFS) model to analyze these dimensions simultaneously while …

Leveraging High-Performance Cloud Computing To Model Underwater Acoustic Propagation And Scattering From Time-Evolving Rough Sea-Surfaces Using The Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method, James Alexander Higgins

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation presents a two-dimensional (2D) Finite-difference Time-domain (FDTD) model for simulating underwater acoustic propagation and scattering from a one-dimensional (1D) time-evolving rough sea-surface. The techniques discussed are extendable to three spatial dimensions. Traditional acoustic modeling techniques often rely on a "frozen" sea-surface assumption, which proves inadequate for long-duration signals interacting with the time-evolving boundary at many different wave height displacements during its transit. To address this, a new FDTD update equation incorporating a variable subgrid is developed, significantly enhancing spatial accuracy at the boundary without increasing computational cost or compromising stability.

The model's accuracy is rigorously validated against established …

Lattice Thermal Transport Beyond The Quasiparticle Approximation: Nontrivial Spectral Competition Between Three- And Four-Phonon Interactions, Yi Xia

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The breakdown of the quasiparticle approximation (QPA) for phonons in strongly anharmonic materials necessitates advanced first-principles frameworks for accurate lattice dynamics and thermal transport predictions. We develop a comprehensive beyond-quasiparticle approximation (BQPA) approach incorporating both three- (3ph) and four-phonon (4ph) interactions and apply it to investigate lattice thermal conductivity (κL) in MgO, PbTe, and AgCl – materials that span a broad spectrum of anharmonicity, from weak to severe anharmonic regimes with overdamped phonons. We reveal that while BQPA consistently increases κL relative to QPA due to phonon softening when considering only 3ph interactions, the inclusion of additional 4ph interactions hardens …

Leveraging Social Capital For Value Creation In Public Procurement: The Role Of Strategic Purchasing Integration, Iryna Malacina, Jad El Bizri, Frederik G. S. Vos, Elina Karttunen, Aki Jaaskelainen

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose Although the integration of the purchasing function within strategic decision-making has been extensively studied in the context of the private sector, its significance for the effective functioning of public procurement (PP) remains underexplored. Effective PP is critical for suppliers, users of public services and society at large. This study investigates how the strategic integration of PP influences operational, environmental and innovative value creation by developing social capital in buyer–supplier relationships. Design/methodology/approach This study empirically examined how strategic purchasing integration contributes to the development of social capital in buyer–supplier relationships, which in turn affects value creation. It utilizes survey data …

Concerted Rattling-Induced Strong Anharmonicity And Phonon Coherence Lead To Ultralow Glasslike Thermal Conductivity In Tlagte, Shantanu Semwal, Yi Xia, Chris Wolverton, Koushik Pal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ordered crystalline compounds exhibiting ultralow and glass-like thermal conductivity are both fundamentally and technologically important, where phonon quasi-particles dominate their heat transport. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms that govern such unusual transport behavior is necessary to unravel the complex interplay of crystal structure, phonons, and collective excitations of these quasi-particles. Here, we use state-of-the-art first-principles calculations based on quantum density functional theory to investigate the origin of experimentally measured unusually low and glassy thermal conductivity in semiconducting TlAgTe that possesses disconnected chains of Tl atoms within its three-dimensional crystalline framework made up of distorted AgTe4 tetrahedra. Utilizing a unifying framework of …

From Cafes To Competitiveness: The Influence Of Amenities On Office Values And Suburban Economic Development In Portland, Or, Jihye Kang

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the spatial and economic implications of urban amenities in the formation of suburban office markets in the post-pandemic period. The research applies principles from agglomeration theory, spatial econometrics, and urban planning to analyze the statistical relationships between amenity distribution, rent formation, and location behavior across central and non-central submarkets.

The research consists of three integrated papers focused on the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The first paper employs spatial econometric modeling, specifically a Spatial Autoregressive Model with Autoregressive Disturbances (SARAR), to examine the relationship between proximity to cafés and office rent levels in Portland’s central business …

Online Decision Mamba, Trenton W. Ruf

Dissertations and Theses

Online in-context reinforcement learning enhances offline-trained policies through online fine-tuning. We introduce Online Decision Mamba (ODM), an architecture that replaces the attention mechanism in Online Decision Transformers (ODT) with the Mamba module to improve long-context sequence modeling and overall RL performance. We performed in-depth evaluations on MuJoCo (OpenAI Gym) and Atari benchmarks, comparing ODM against state-of-the-art offline and online baselines—including Decision Mamba (DM) and ODT. Our results show that ODM achieves competitive or superior performance, with particularly robust gains when initial datasets lack expert demonstrations. In the Qbert Atari environment, ODM shows context-length sensitivity similar to offline DM; however, we …

Spike Timing Depended Plasticity Produces Unsupervised Learning Of Synergistic Muscle Feedback In A Synthetical Neural Network, Mark Allen Pupkiewicz

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates how type Ia feedback from muscle spindles can be organized into groups representing agonistic muscle pairs through Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP). A single degree of freedom joint is actuated with four biologically modeled muscles forming two agonistic pairs. In order to emulate the sensory dynamics of biological muscle spindles, sensors in the model record the active length and velocity states of each muscle, the two primary factors eliciting type Ia afferent responses. In biological networks, synapses from Ia sensory neurons frequently activate interneurons representing agonistic muscle sources. This research investigates whether this organization can emerge in …

Adaptive Image Acquisition Algorithms For Resource-Constrained Single-Photon Cameras, Yeganeh Jalalpour, Wu-Chi Feng

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emerging single-photon camera (SPC) technologies have unique challenges in data acquisition and processing. Unlike conventional sensors that produce a single 8- to 16-bit brightness value per pixel, SPCs record photon arrivals with many more samples per pixel, using high floating-point precision for each photon collected. This means that they must handle potentially millions of timestamps, especially at higher spatial resolutions and in the presence of ambient light, creating bottlenecks within the pixel circuitry. To address these challenges associated with SPCs, this paper proposes adaptive algorithms designed to efficiently distribute hardware resources among groups of pixels. By selectively subsampling the data …

Demystifying The Plea Process: Investigating Attorney Communications And Client Misconceptions, M. M. Wilford, R. J. Difava, K. S. Henderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: to study issues related to the lawyer and client interaction regarding building a legal position on the case and the plea process.Methods: the article uses the universal dialectical method of cognition, as well as general (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) and specific scientific research methods (formal-legal method).Results: As the United States has shifted to “a system of pleas,” the role of defense attorneys has swung from trial litigator to plea negotiator. The study results indicated that defense attorneys spend a significant amount of time meeting with clients. Attorneys also cited substantial deficits in criminal defendants’ knowledge of the legal system, …

Signal Processing Of Ecologically Significant Signals For Transient Bedload Characterization, Nathan R. Sjullie, Quinn B. Morgan, David Burnett

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

When rivers achieve a great enough flow rate, sediment along their riverbed becomes mobilized and transported downstream. This process is known as bedload transport. As bedload transport initiates, micro-collisions of various sediments and gravel generate underwater acoustic signals that can be detected by hydrophones. While there is extensive research on underwater acoustic theory and surrogate methods for monitoring bedload transport, there is a lack of heuristic work that analyzes collected bedload samples in conjunction with underwater acoustic recordings. The aim of this work is to complete an analysis on collected bedload samples and the simultaneous underwater acoustic recordings via signal …

Human Evil (In The Weird), Lucas Ethridge

University Honors Theses

This paper examines a trending doom in speculative fiction: the post-human age. Many modern works have started to look past human civilization as humans surrender all hope and faith in a climate-doomed world. Honing in on core concepts in Weird fiction, this paper explores human merit through Old and New Weird. A good part spends time establishing the canon, looking at similar patterns across age, philosophy, war and genre. The chief question asks if humankind was ever worth saving.

Capstone Reflection: Developing A Muslim Prayer App For Psu Students, Jeremiah Su

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the development process of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) App, a computer science capstone project. The app strives to help the Muslim community at Portland State University (PSU) and the Portland area by consolidating essential information for prayers, such as local prayer times, nearby masjids, and the direction of Qibla. The team behind this project was developed by 6 computer science developers, a majority of whom were from the Muslim culture and background. This paper describes the entire capstone development process from the perspective of a developer who is not rooted in Muslim customs. It also describes …

An Innovative Hdm Model For Assessing Renewable Heat Energy Resources In Utility Energy Systems, Mark Alan Ryan

Dissertations and Theses

Renewable Heat Energy projects exhibit numerous unique, complex, and often conflicting characteristics, including varying project sizes, diverse energy resources, stakeholder demands, and significant challenges in energy conversion applications. Traditionally, cash flow analysis and return on investment are the most widely recognized metrics for evaluating remote energy projects. However, numerous quantitative and qualitative factors influence the overall performance and success of Renewable Heat Energy System (RHES) projects. A comprehensive approach using advanced tools is essential for assessing the factors and criteria that significantly impact these projects.

This research investigates the key quantitative and qualitative factors that contribute to the successful implementation …

Experience From A Distance: Improving Transparency For The Multnomah Athletic Club, Matthew Penner

University Honors Theses

Portland is home to the largest and one of the most prestigious athletic clubs in the world: Multnomah Athletic Club. In many ways, it is the pinnacle of luxury and innovation, and over time, it finds any way to entice prospective members to pay the expensive upfront fee of $6000 and monthly membership fees exceeding $300. Due to the previous technological barrier, which was not being able to see the full extent of what amenities the club had to offer, the club faced major challenges in recruitment and marketing. Over two academic terms, a team of six computer science capstone …

Introduction: The Time Is Now, Kimberly J. Pfeifer

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Student Data To Assess, Inform, And Develop Teachers Capacities, Nathan D. Koerber, Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This quantitative study analyzed 47 survey responses to gauge in-service, pre-licensed teacher, and paraprofessional perceptions of cultural competency. Participants responded to the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society’s Cultural Competence Self-Assessment Checklist (Alpha = 0.7) to explore their awareness, knowledge, and skills in cultural competency. Moreover, through the application of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as a theoretical framework, this study highlighted how these perceptions related to culturally responsive teaching and provided several implications for their future preparation to further develop their cultural competency through the tenets of CRT. The analysis identified participant unfamiliarity with privilege and its impact, as well as …

Undergraduate Stem Student Reflections On The Academic Support Ecosystem At A Rural Minority Serving Institution: The Importance Of Relationship, Stephany Runninghawk Johnson, Jessica L. Black, Karolynn Tom

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This paper presents a research project with a group of STEM majoring undergraduates attending a Hispanic Serving Institution participating in the CRESCENT program intended to support undergraduates through their basic math and science courses. The research questions addressed in this paper include: What part of CRESCENT were students utilizing the most and how were they helpful? How did CRESCENT support students through COVID? What can we learn from this data to make future programs more responsive and relevant to STEM majoring students? We found that during COVID students were missing in person contact, had heightened responsibilities and distractions at home, …

Linking Climate And Demography To Predict Population Dynamics And Persistence Under Global Change., Jennifer L. Williams, Amy L. Angert, Aldo Compagnoni, Ali Campbell, Megan L. Demarche, Margaret E K Evans, Joshua C. Fowler, Amy M. Iler, Jenna A. Loesberg, Allison M. Louthan, Scott W. Nordstrom, Multiple Additional Authors

Publications, Reports and Presentations

Predicting the effects of climate change on plant and animal populations is an urgent challenge for understanding the fate of biodiversity under global change. At the surface, quantifying how climate drives the vital rates that underlie population dynamics appears simple, yet many decisions are required to connect climate to demographic data. Competing approaches have emerged in the literature with little consensus around best practices. Here we provide a practical guide for how to best link vital rates to climate for the purposes of inference and projection of population dynamics. We first describe the sources of demographic and climate data underlying …

Realization Of Deterministic Quantum Circuits For Non-Deterministic Or Incompletely Specified Quantum State Machines, Manjith Kumar, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In classical logic design, there are machine learning methods based on converting a set of input-output traces to non-deterministic automata that are then converted to deterministic automata and synthesized using logic gates. This approach has not yet been extended to quantum automata. In this paper, we present a method to convert a set of input-output traces to a non-deterministic automaton, which is then converted to an incompletely specified multi-output Boolean function. The existing logic synthesis approaches for designing quantum circuits are insufficient to handle incompletely specified functions. So, we present a novel algorithm to synthesize logic functions with don’t cares …

The Distribution And Reproductive Success Of The Western Snowy Plover Along The Central And Southern Oregon Coast - 2025, David J. Lauten, Kathleen A. Castelein, Mary Lee, Jessica Burr, Marty R. Mccamant, Eleanor P. Gaines

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

We monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus) along the central and south coast of Oregon from 3 April – 10 September 2025. We surveyed and monitored plover activity in a project area that included, from north to south, Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes Overlook, North Tahkenitch Creek, Tenmile Creek, Coos Bay North Spit (CBNS), Bandon Snowy Plover Management Area (SPMA), New River Habitat Restoration Area (HRA) and adjacent lands, and Floras Lake. Our objectives for the project area in 2025 were to: 1) estimate the size of the …

Voting Under Contradictory News, Arnab Mitra, Quazi Shahriar

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

How much do opposing news sources distort private information and how do voters use distorted contradictory information regarding candidate quality? In a two candidate voting game, we derive and experimentally test an “average-opinion” hypothesis, where two opposingly biased sources, capable of forming an unbiased estimate of candidate quality as well as a distorted estimate within a bound, symmetrically distort their reported estimates in opposite directions, and voters split the estimate difference to decipher the unbiased estimate. Data support the hypothesis and show that voters benefit from sources’ competition, compared to a control treatment without competition. When sources are allowed to …

Security Vulnerabilities And Defense Tactics For Generative Ai Application Development, Kyle Klein

University Honors Theses

Generative AI (GenAI) applications such as OpenAI's ChatGPT leverage large language models (LLMs) trained on enormous amounts of data to accomplish tasks such as document editing, summarization, and query response. Chatbots and LLM programs that are equipped with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) have the ability to draw upon data provided by developers and users to improve the quality of the program's responses. LLM technology has even expanded to generate images, audio, and video from user instructions. Designed around unpredictable user input and typically composed of many opaque components, LLM software products face a paradigm shift of new, constantly evolving security challenges. …

Recognition Through The Algorithm: How Emotional Identification Shapes The Circulation Of Classics On Booktok, Olivia Carolyn Cowles

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores how classic literature circulates within the virtual community known as BookTok. Rather than making any definitive claims, this study offers a preliminary look at how and why certain classics surface within a digital space. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes three Zeeschuimer data pulls paired with qualitative analysis of thirty-four unique top-performing videos. This thesis examines the recurring patterns regarding top performing content of classics. Early findings suggest that these posts tend to gain traction on BookTok due to recognition and relatability. The top texts retain their prominence not necessarily because of their canonical status, but because …