Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Prefilmer Design On Atomization Behavior In The Pre-Vaporization Tube Of A Small-Scale Annular Gas Turbine Combustior, Amogh G. Natu, Antoine M. Fradet, Cohen Nunes, Daniel R. Guildenbecher

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This work investigates the influence of internal prefilmer geometry on fuel spray atomization in the prevaporization tube (PVT) of a small-scale reverse-flow annular gas turbine combustor. Four configurations are examined: a control with no prefilmer, a planar internal prefilmer, and two angled internal prefilmers at θ = 60◦ and θ = 45◦ . Double-pulsed digital in-line holography (DIH) is used to measure droplet size distributions, spray density, Sauter mean diameter (SMD), and droplet velocities at the PVT exit under conditions scaled to represent nominal ignition conditions. Results show the control design exhibits poor atomization characterized by large droplet diameters, low …

Project Rise Final Report, Jennifer Sdunzik

Evaluation and Learning Research Center Reports

Project RISE aims to address civic opportunity and achievement gaps faced by underserved populations by integrating engineering design thinking with civic education in US middle and high schools. The curriculum uses a focus on community-based problem-solving as a mechanism for inspiring and empowering students – particularly those from traditionally underserved backgrounds – to engage in activities aimed at addressing systemic inequities in their communities. The inaugural group of RISE teachers participated in a week-long professional development (PD) in the summer of 2024 and implemented the RISE curriculum over the 2024-2025 school year. A second group of teachers participated in a …

Digital Toolkit: Making Room For Partnership In Information Literacy Instruction, Samantha Legrand, Rachel Fundator

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This digital toolkit provides reflective and practical exercises, examples, and resources to explore how Students as Partners (SaP) pedagogy (Cook-Sather et al., 2014) can transform information literacy (IL) instruction. The toolkit was designed to accompany a workshop presented at LOEX 2026, but can be implemented independently, as well. This approach to IL pedagogy draws on a conceptual model integrating SaP with the Framework for Information Literacy (LeGrand, 2025). The toolkit guides the reader through practical design exercises to engage students’ knowledge and goals within the Frames. Reimagine instruction with asset-based, relational language and design learning for …

Critical Arteries: Prioritizing Economic Vitality And Emergency Access In Local Networks, Jeremy Hunter

Local Transportation Asset Management Conference

Standard Asset Management Plans (AMPs) often rely heavily on Pavement Condition Index, Paser ratings, and Bridge Condition Ratings to dictate repair schedules. However, a strictly condition-based approach may neglect the economic and safety criticality of specific routes. This presentation proposes a multi-variable evaluation framework for counties, cities, and towns. I will explore methods for overlaying industrial data—specifically for heavy-haul sectors like logging, masonry, and agriculture—to identify and fortify the "economic lifelines" that sustain local revenue. Furthermore, I will address the necessity of resiliency planning within the AMP. By integrating hydraulic data and flood-prone area mapping, agencies can ensure that routes …

Cineture: The Trans(Inter)Mediality And Socio-Cultural Mobility Between Iran And The Us, Naghmeh Esmaeilpour

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Literature and film have proven to be influential socio-cultural mediums, facilitating interactions and counteractions between nations where politics often fail to do so. Introducing cineture as a transmedial genre, this article is situated at the intersections of glocalized culture, and Iranian-American studies by considering literature and film as the contact zone between Iranians and Americans. Cineture, the combination of cinema and literature, refers to the circulation of cultures through its specification of film-text transmediation. The application of cineture demonstrates the combination and blending of literary and cinematic works leading to cross the “center and periphery dichotomy.” To study cineture …

Working At The Margins In Interwar Yugoslavia, Stefano Petrungaro

Central European Studies

Prostitutes, beggars, folk healers, peddlers, wandering artists, and bear-leaders: Working at the Margins in Interwar Yugoslavia shows how work shaped their relations with the state and the rest of their world. The protagonists of the book’s story lived on the fringes of society and engaged in activities that were only partially recognized, from a legal and social point of view, as proper jobs, while some of them had no job at all. This book looks at Yugoslavia’s disciplining and social engineering practices through the lens of socially marginal workers. The analysis shows that in this period the South Slav regions …

Applied Research In Field Crop Pathology For Indiana, 2020, Darcy E. P. Telenko

Purdue University Press Books

Applied Research in Field Crop Pathology for Indiana, 2020 serves as a summary of the applied field crop pathology research trials conducted in 2020 under the direction of the Purdue Field Crop Pathology program in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Purdue University. In Indiana, there are more than 57,600 farms, 16,000 crop producers, and 900 certified crop advisers, Extension educators, and crop-protection industry representatives who manage more than 11.4 million crop-production acres with a total value of $6.3 billion annually. There are more than twenty diseases affecting corn, soybeans, and wheat that may decrease crop production and …

Geology Education For Grades 3–12, Natalie J. Carroll, Theodore Leuenberger

Purdue University Press Books

Geology Education for Grades 3–12 guides and encourages youth to learn about the geological processes occurring all around them. Level 1 introduces basic terms and concepts, and is intended for youth in grades 3–5. Activities focus on understanding important topics such as the rock cycle, rock textures, and crystal formation. Designed for students in grades 6–8, Level 2 offers readers more concrete examples of advanced geological concepts, including fossilization, mineral formation, and rock classification. The exercises in Level 3, which is geared toward grades 9–12, includes additional information on the Earth’s varied landscapes, a variety of geological events, and the …

Convergence Education In A Stem-Focused University: An Ethnographic Study Of A Cross-College Design And Innovation Program, Greg J. Strimel, Sherylyn Briller, Jackson Otto, Rebecca Martinez, Douglas Pruim, Todd R. Kelley

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Background

Innovation often transcends the bounds of individual disciplines, yet undergraduate teaching is still largely organized today within single disciplines and respective academic units. Convergence education offers a promising organizational approach to bring transdisciplinary teaching and learning into undergraduate education by aligning institutional structures, pedagogy, and partnerships around meaningful, innovation experiences to address contemporary problems. However, longstanding academic silos in higher education hinder the adoption of convergence-focused pedagogies. Therefore, this study examined the three-year implementation of a novel convergence education initiative developed to foster design and innovation capabilities across multiple academic disciplines. By integrating faculty from the university’s engineering technology, …

Humanizing Engineering For Preservice Elementary Teachers Through Sustainable Engineering Stories, Jeffrey D. Radloff, Madison M. Morris, Jacob Pleasants

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Meeting the goals of US K–12 science education reform requires that preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) understand engineering as a specialized discipline and a human endeavor that addresses real-world issues. Yet in their formal education, few PSTs receive opportunities to learn about the humanistic dimensions of engineering: engineers’ personal values and motivations, the sociocultural nature of engineering work, and the societal significance of engineering. Storytelling about engineering offers a practical way to give PSTs access to these ideas. This study examines the impacts of integrating storytelling about engineering in a science methods course for future elementary school teachers. Over a two-year …

High-Speed Driverless Racing: Lessons For Autonomous Mobility, Justin Gan, Samuel Labi

Center for Connected and Automated Transportation

Driverless racecar competitions are often perceived as recreational. However, their academic, industry, and research benefits are potentially tremendous, as several significant lessons can be learned from these competitions to advance autonomous mobility. This study was motivated (and its conduction facilitated) by the active involvement of the authors in several autonomous racing initiatives in the United States. The study first synthesized and analyzed information from existing literature related to the key modules of autonomous vehicle (AV) operations as part of AV racing competitions and identified some lessons that could be learned in the context of each module – perception and sensing, …

Slender And Nonslender Delta Wing Simulation And Analysis, Aashish Gyawali, Brinda Bhattarai, Nishesh Bista, Sundeep Rao Dr

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Stability, controllability, and maneuverability are critical factors for aircraft with short takeoff and landing distances, such as modern fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Delta wings are commonly employed in these aircraft due to their efficient aerodynamics, enabling high maneuverability, and performance at both low and high speeds. Nonslender wings are used for low-speed performance and agility, while slender wings offer reduced drag and are suited for high-speed operations. In flight, an aircraft encounters different airflow patterns including vortices that circulate from the higher-pressure lower side of the wing to the lower-pressure upper side, contributing to lift generation. However, as …

Photoplethysmography For Measuring Cognitive Load In Xr Environments: A Systematic Review, Alya Alshehhi, Qammer H. Abbasi, Rami Ghannam

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a low-cost, low-power biosensing technology with growing applications in education, particularly for monitoring cognitive load in eXtended Reality (XR) learning environments. Measuring cognitive load is critical for preventing overload and optimising immersive learning, yet existing approaches such as self-reports or Electroencephalography (EEG) are often intrusive, costly or impractical for real-time use. This systematic review is the first to synthesize a decade of research (2015–2025) on the use of PPG for cognitive load measurement in XR. Twenty-three studies were identified and analysed according to PRISMA guidelines, with attention to sensor placement, integration with other modalities, research design, and …

Small Towns, Big Problems?, Meghan Hinkle, Emily Chen, Nicholas Parsons

Purdue Road School

Small-town projects can be incredibly rewarding, offering visible, immediate impacts for the community. However, they often come with unique design and environmental challenges. This presentation will explore transportation projects across small towns in Indiana and share key lessons learned to help you avoid common pitfalls on your next small-town project.

Making Stem Sexy: Solving Civil Engineering’S Workforce Challenges, Tim Anheuser, Dan Mccoy, Patrick Zaharako, Stephanie Wagner

Purdue Road School

A cultural change is necessary to address engineering’s primary workforce challenge: Fewer students are entering the profession as aging workforce is rapidly leaving, and 40% of STEM students switch majors or do not finish. This panel will include energetic discussions and solicit audience feedback with a focus on attracting new talent to the profession through Mentorship, developing Next Generation Leaders, and expanding STEM Curriculum to include New Technology.

Lessons Learned: Indiana’S First Hybrid Intersection, Nicole Minton, Emily Sprinkle, Jeff Whitaker, Tyler Price

Purdue Road School

This session will highlight Indiana’s first hybrid innovative intersection at TheLloyd4U and Stockwell Avenue, merging a Displaced Left Turn and Boulevard Left Turn. We will share lessons learned from design and implementation, including how collaboration and innovation shaped this unique solution to traffic challenges. A before-and-after perspective will offer practical takeaways for future intersection projects.

Public Speaking For Engineers And Public Officials: Revamped, Tim Jensen

Purdue Road School

The presentation will cover some key do’s and don’ts when presenting topics and ideas to the public as well as local councils or commissions. Learn how to be confident, tell stories, and engage an audience.

Building A Vitalizing Team Culture, Iris Bull, Andrew Cibor

Purdue Road School

Leaders in the public sector face unique challenges in the recruitment and retainage of productive employees. Administrative staff from the City of Bloomington Engineering Department present an analysis of the strategies they employ to shape a high performing team. They examine mutable and designed aspects of their processes for advertising, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and exit interviewing. Session participants will be provided tested strategies for stimulating professional growth, fostering intradepartmental collaboration, and building resilient culture.

The New 11th Edition Of The Indiana Mutcd, Joseph Bruno, David Boruff

Purdue Road School

The updated 11th edition of the Indiana MUTCD released in January of 2026 has many significant changes from the 2011 edition. This presentation provides an overview of the changes from the previous edition and significant variations between the federal MUTCD and the Indiana MUTCD.

We’Re Building A Roundabout For Just $1 Million?!??!, Jason Taylor, David Reamer, Clancy Sturgeon Mallott

Purdue Road School

This presentation will highlight an INDOT case study on converting a high-speed, signalized rural intersection at SR 45/SR 445 to a compact roundabout that leverages the existing pavement structure and shoulder capacity to minimize new work and maintenance needs. The design limits footprint growth, avoids new right of way, and targets safer operations with speed-management features, including a proposed reduction of the posted speed. We will share geometry, traffic, and maintenance of traffic considerations as well as development lessons from district and central-office coordination for constructible, low-cost safety improvements.

Sr 56 Emergency Slide Repair, Michael Flanagan, Bob Tally, Joey Franzino, Meghan Hinkle, Justin Anderson

Purdue Road School

This presentation will provide an overview of the design, emergency procurement, and construction of the SR 56 Slide Repair outside of Madison. Despite being planned for the November 2025 letting, this 300-foot-long slide site adjacent to the Ohio River was successfully repaired. In March 2025, slide movement accelerated and SR 56 was closed. The emergency construction contract utilized Stage 3 plans to procure a design-build soil nail wall. We will also discuss how environmental and permit documents were updated for the 600-foot-long repair.

Closing The Loop: How Public Comments Shape Projects, Summer Elmore, Marie Spitler, Andrea Langille, Matt Lee, Joann Wooldridge

Purdue Road School

Have you often heard from members of the public that nothing they say matters? This presentation will focus on how the project owner and designer collaborate to actively address concerns from the public. We will discuss several recent transportation project examples where extensive public participation was sought, evaluated, and utilized. Panelists will demonstrate how to prepare successfully for public involvement and incorporate feedback into final project plans.

History Of The Interstate System In Indiana, Steven Wuertz

Purdue Road School

A brief history of the Interstate System in Indiana and across the Nation— 1956–2026: 70 years of the Interstate System

Us 20.1 In Amish Community Corridor, Elkhart County, Jen Goins, Mike Koch, Mike Wigger

Purdue Road School

This presentation highlights a case study that covers a 4-mile rural road reconstruction from two to five lanes through poor soils, wetlands, and an Amish community. With 100+ driveways, endangered species, and limited drainage, the project required creative solutions to balance environmental, cultural, and engineering challenges.

You Want To Build What In The River?, Scott Schnell, Chad Hurm, Craig Knies

Purdue Road School

This presentation will highlight the construction of a toe-wood shelf built in the Patoka River in Jasper. Topics will include a brief history of local settings, issues to resolve, decisions to construct toe-wood shelf, design and construction of the toe-wood shelf, regulatory permitting, and a status update on project performance.

From Boomers To Zoomers: Closing The Communication Gap, Cassy Bajek, Mindy Peterson

Purdue Road School

Effective communications help pave the way for success inside (and outside) the workplace. What we say and how we say it matters. Understanding generational communication can make a real difference in reducing misunderstandings and improving collaboration. This short crash course in understanding Boomers to Zoomers can help improve teamwork, productivity, morale, and the work being produced. Improve your communication and improve your relationships!

Iconic Henry Street Bridge In Indianapolis, Marshall Lachecki, Keith Echternach, Mary Appel

Purdue Road School

The iconic new Henry Street bridge over the White River in Indianapolis is a connection to the west side of downtown Indy.  From the challenging hydraulics requirements to the bridge concepts, design, procurement and through construction and archaeology work, the City has worked with many stakeholders and the public to make this new crossing a success.  This presentation will focus on design elements of the bridge while touching upon other project elements.

Improvements In Waterborne Traffic Paint For Indiana, Joseph Bruno, Andrew Blackburn

Purdue Road School

INDOT has updated its specification for waterborne traffic paints that results in improved durability and the ability to apply traffic paint in colder weather. This presentation provides background on INDOT's waterborne traffic paint specification, a summary of the road trials that INDOT conducted to evaluate different paint specifications, future developments for waterborne traffic paint, and a maintenance perspective on INDOT painting operations.

Prioritizing Municipal Pavements With Data, Mark St. John, Jack Sinton, Peter Flynn

Purdue Road School

The Indianapolis Department of Public Works has developed a new data-driven approach to prioritize pavement resurfacing needs in Indianapolis. The approach considers pavement condition, traffic, citizen feedback, and safety, and it relies on both real-world and modeled data. This presentation will outline how the scoring process was developed, what these scores tell us, and how we can use them for real-world decision-making.

Management Of Roadway Network Restrictions, Philip Labrash, James Reitz, Ethan Black

Purdue Road School

Fort Wayne Public Works managed more than 2,100 requests to restrict its roadway network in 2024 and was projected to do so again in 2025. This presentation will provide an overview of the permitting system and describe common restriction requests such as construction, utility installations, building maintenance, festivals, and special events. The City has developed a multifaceted communications strategy to convey restrictions to the public which includes development of an interactive website, geographically customizable daily email bulletins, and interlocal coordination.