Digital Commons Network^™

Culvert Replacement In Karst Topography, Eric Plaiss, Alex Schwinghamer

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

Southern Indiana’s unique karst terrain presents both fascinating natural features and complex engineering challenges. This presentation explores the preliminary design and field reconnaissance measures of an active infrastructure project. The session will trace the project’s development from initial planning through Stage 1 design and field observation, highlighting how the team adapted standard practices to this distinctive geologic setting. Using pipe inspection footage, INDOT archive plans, and photos, we will demonstrate how the design team is addressing culverts discharging directly into karst features via chimney systems under the road. We will also discuss preliminary water quality treatment options being considered to …

30 Tips, Tricks, And Ways To Use Your New Intern Called Ai, Dave Thurston

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

A way to use Artifical intelligence in meaningful ways. The presentation will show a variety of different ways to “simply” use AI to get your first draft 80% there, to treat as a sounding board, and to look for patterns and “unnoticable items” in data, text, and designs.

Downdrag Defeated – The Neutral Plane Method, Kyle L. Zak, Min Sang Lee

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

The neutral plane method for evaluating downdrag on deep foundations has been gaining popularity over the past few years. It is a powerful tool that, in many situations, can all but eliminate downdrag concerns on deep foundations. INDOT has allowed its use recently and adapted its forms to accommodate this method. The presentation will cover the theory behind the method and how it can be applied in bridge design. We will then demonstrate how to incorporate the method into the INDOT workflow, and we’ll show a couple real-life examples where the neutral plane method saved the day.

Curbless By Design: Revitalizing Downtown Infrastructure For Pedestrians, Alex Duran, Steve Cherry

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

This presentation will discuss the design of a curbless, pedestrian-focused corridor as part of a small-town downtown reconstruction in Sylvania, Ohio. The project team will share how they balanced community goals, accessibility, and utility coordination, along with considerations for drainage, hardscape, lighting, and power. The session will also highlight early construction lessons learned from Phase 1.

Guardrail Design And Placement 101, Katherine Smutzer

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

Not all “guardrail” is created equal. Within the last 10 years INDOT has adopted the MASH-compliant Midwest Guardrail System (MGS). While similar to the previous standard w-beam guardrail, there are nuances that aren’t well understood by designers. The presentation would reinforce the fundamentals of guardrail as a safety barrier, explain the function of various components of a guardrail system, and review important design considerations.

Mass Timber Construction: Products, Performance And Design, Anthony Harvey

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

Due to their high strength, dimensional stability and positive environmental performance, mass timber building products are quickly becoming materials of choice for sustainably‐minded designers. This presentation will provide a detailed look at the variety of mass timber products available, including glue‐laminated timber (glulam), cross laminated timber (CLT), nail laminated timber (NLT), heavy timber decking, and other engineered and composite systems. Applications for the use of these products under modern building codes will be discussed, and examples of their use in U.S. projects reviewed. Mass timber’s ability to act as both structure and exposed finish will also be highlighted, as will …

From Mapping To Mitigation: New Geologic Mapping And Emergency Slope Failure Response Along Sr 56 In Madison, Indiana, Victoria Leffel, Joey Franzino

Civil Engineering Professional Development Seminar

This presentation will highlight recent geologic mapping efforts done by the Indiana Geological and Water Survey, including detailed bedrock mapping at a finer scale than previously available and updated landslide inventory mapping focused on southeastern Indiana. The second part of the presentation will cover the emergency response to a significant slope failure that occurred along SR 56 in Madison following heavy rainfall in March and April 2025. The reactivation of a known landslide led to a major road failure, creating a public safety hazard and forcing the closure of this heavily traveled route. Due to the critical nature of the …

Cybersecurity Risks Of Freight Rail As Critical Infrastructure, Kira Sun

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Our project implements simulated train engineers to operate model train engines on a hybrid twin of a freight rail system. We can then use the model and simulate cyber-security attacks to demonstrate the risks and effects of the attacks. Using existing model train hardware and an Arduino running open-source software, DCC-EX and JMRI, we can control the train engines and various track components and sensors. We program each engine to make safe decisions about what speed and direction to take, using information provided by the various sensors and light signals around the track. When attacks occur, the engines can have …

The Transitional Human Being: Literary, Journalistic, And Cinematographic Representations Of The Twentieth- And The Twenty-First-Centuries Italy, Ron Kubati

Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures

This book analyzes the crisis of the idea of human being based on timeless notions, in the Euroamerican context, as seen primarily through literature and cinema. It focuses on Italy, which has been and remains a crossroads for diverse cultural and political currents—open to Mediterranean cultural influences while remaining within a typically Western cultural context. The “new man,” defined by Corrado Alvaro during his trip in Russia in 1934 as “transitional,” implies a human being with a fundamental need for change. Instead of the “new man,” Italo Calvino in the 1960 preface to his I nostri antenati wrote about the …

Applied Research In Field Crop Pathology For Indiana, 2024, Darcy E. P. Telenko, Sujoung Shim

Purdue University Press Books

Applied Research in Field Crop Pathology for Indiana, 2024 serves as a summary of the applied field crop pathology research trials conducted in 2024 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 …

Rosen Center For Advanced Computing: Facilities, Equipment, And Resources, X Carol Song, Purdue University Office Of Research

University General Facility Boilerplate Descriptions

Overview of RCAC as the research computing arm of Information Technology at Purdue. Describes technical support services as well as collaboration resources in software development, integration, and hosting.

Leveraging Ai To Enhance Educational Opportunities In K-12, Katia Saintfort-Russ, Raji Sundararajan

Purdue AI in P-12 Education Conference

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing educational opportunities for K-12 students is grounded on the premise that AI technologies can significantly overcome traditional barriers that K-12 educators often encounter in the classroom. Despite those barriers, nearly a third of educators are leveraging AI in the classroom for teaching and or learning purposes. Findings from Kabudi et al. (2021) highlight that the rapid development of AI-adaptive systems has outpaced their implementation in real-world settings. This highlights the need to examine how educators use and interpret these systems in K-12 environments. This further demonstrates how AI is becoming a valuable …

Co-Creating Assessments With Colleague Ai, Virak Chan, Chen Li, Wayne E. Wright

Purdue AI in P-12 Education Conference

This study examines the experiences of in-service teachers in a graduate-level online 4-week English language learning (ELL) licensure course—Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students—in Summer 2025. The key assignment required co-creating formative assessment tools with Colleague AI, an AI-powered assistant for teachers to streamline lesson planning, formative assessment and other classroom tasks (https://www.colleague.ai). Specifically, this study explored how these educators leveraged AI capabilities while applying their professional learning and judgment to ensure fairness, validity, and cultural responsiveness when developing formative assessments for multilingual learners.

Semiconductors & Microelectronics In Middle School Technology & Engineering: Integrating Emerging Stem Workforce Contexts Into The Classroom, Greg J. Strimel, Deana Lucas, Yubin Lee, Victoria Constantine, Tamara J. Moore, Morgan Hynes, Selcen Guzey

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This case study explores the integration of microelectronics contexts and content into middle school classrooms as part of a workforce development initiative intended to address national labor force needs arising from increased investments in the semiconductor industry. The study follows four middle school technology and engineering teachers as they develop, implement, and refine an instructional unit designed to introduce students to microelectronics production and semiconductor-related careers. Through classroom observations and iterative curriculum development, this exploratory case study reviewed how emerging STEM workforce contexts, such as semiconductors and microelectronics, can be integrated into middle school instruction. The results provide a practical …

Bridging Cultures, Building Communities: The Role Of Academic Libraries In Fostering Multicultural Engagement And Digital Inclusion, Emily Chan, Catarina Lei

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

This paper explores the evolving role of academic libraries in small, multicultural settings. Using the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in Macao as a case study, we examine how the library acts as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration. By bridging the gap between diverse faculty departments—such as History, Sound Engineering, and Design—the library facilitates innovative projects that preserve local heritage and promote Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This document outlines two specific case studies: the "First Global Typhoon Macau 1874" exhibition and the "OttoSonic" sound installation.

Free-Dom In Creativity: Cost-Accessible Ai Tools For Makerspaces In Academic Libraries, Marvin Factor, Kate Lora Cruz, Yugosto Balbas

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into academic library makerspaces presents emerging opportunities for enhancing innovation, creativity, and user engagement. However, financial considerations often influence the adoption of advanced technologies, particularly in academic institutions located in developing regions. This study systematically reviews freely available AI tools applicable to makerspace environments in academic libraries, providing a descriptive and comparative analysis of their functionalities and potential applications.  By mapping the current landscape of open-access on a gratis level,  this research identifies key categories of AI applications such as design generation, image generation, language processing, and data visualization, highlighting the strengths, limitations, and …

Reimagining Library Services In The Age Of Ai: A Case Study From A Canadian Academic Library, Wei Xuan, Christine Shaw

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

As artificial intelligence reshapes higher education, academic libraries are reimagining their services to meet emerging challenges and opportunities. This article presents a case study of the University of Manitoba Libraries (UML), a Canadian academic library actively integrating AI to improve service delivery, enrich research support, and enhance user engagement while upholding core values of access, equity, and scholarly integrity.

Four key initiatives are discussed: (1) the development of an in-house AI chatbot built on Microsoft Azure services, offering real-time conversational assistance grounded in trusted library content; (2) the implementation of Ex Libris’ Primo Research Assistant to enhance discovery with GPT-based …

Generative Ai As Disruptor And Driver For Library Data Services, Shahira Khair

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Over the past decade, academic libraries around the world have focused on developing new services to support data-intensive research and open science. This shift has been driven by funder and publisher mandates emphasizing transparency, reproducibility, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) research l data. Just as these services are maturing, the rapid rise of generative AI tools and their application in research presents a disruptive l force, but also a transformative opportunity for library data services. This paper addresses the evolving impact of generative AI and library data services, contextualized by the experiences of researchers captured in a series of …

Ai Empowerment Of Medical Libraries For Promoting Accessible Reading Of Evidence-Based Health Guidelines, Wenjing Ding

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

In an age marked by overwhelming information and a rapidly aging global population, the need for accessible, comprehensible health information has never been more urgent. Although evidence-based health guidelines play a crucial role in supporting informed medical decision-making, their dense medical language and structural complexity often render them inaccessible to lay audiences. This study investigates the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enabling medical libraries to serve as dynamic platforms for promoting the accessible reading of such guidelines, thereby advancing public health literacy and equity.

A dual challenge emerges: on one hand, the expanding volume and sophistication of clinical …

Navigating Transformation: Staffing, Structure, And Strategy In The Ai-Integrated Academic Library, Renji Jacob, Beth Russell

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The rapid integration of AI, automation, and digital transformation necessitates a strategic evolution of academic libraries in staffing, structure, and strategy. At NYU Abu Dhabi, a global campus navigating a transient, multicultural environment, workforce development is paramount for sustained innovation, service excellence, and future readiness.

This presentation outlines our library's transition from a traditional repository to a dynamic knowledge facilitator and inclusive community hub. We are actively redefining roles to include AI competencies, creating professional development pathways that support AI literacy, and fostering hybrid positions that promote flexibility and growth. Key initiatives include cross-training, peer mentoring, and comprehensive AI literacy …

Field Test And Evaluation Of A Smart Sprayer For Precision Weeding, Boyang Deng, Yuzhen Lu, Mark Siemens, Daniel Brainard

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Weeds remain a major biological threat to agriculture, reducing crop yields and causing substantial economic losses. Conventional blanket herbicide applications are costly, environmentally damaging, and accelerate the evolution of herbicide resistance. Machine vision–based precision weeding offers a sustainable alternative by enabling site-specific weed localization and removal. This study advances plant perception through YOLOv10 detection models and leverages a 1-cm nozzle array to achieve precise weed targeting that maximizes treatment efficacy while minimizing crop contact. A dedicated weed–crop dataset curated from vegetable fields further enhances model performance. Field testing was conducted in a lettuce field, and it achieved an average 80.0% …

Advancing Soil Health Management Through Spatially Optimized Soil Sampling, Nelson O. Otieno, Keith Cherkauer, Shalamar Armstrong, Siddhartho S. Paul

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Accurately monitoring soil health across farms requires sampling designs that capture spatial heterogeneity without excessive cost. Our systematic review of digital soil mapping approaches screened 181 articles and retained 31 for detailed analysis. Most studies either did not optimize sampling spatially or did not report doing so. Four designs dominated: simple random sampling (SRS), stratified random sampling (StRS), spatial coverage sampling (SCS), and conditioned Latin Hypercube Sampling (cLHS). Only 7% of papers explicitly evaluated spatial representativeness before modeling, typically using Bhattacharyya distance (BD) and Kullback–Leibler divergence (KLD).

We validated insights from the review with two case studies using grid soil …

Site-Specific Mechanical Weed Management For Specialty Crops Through Ai-Driven Robotics, Sandesh Poudel, Sunoj Shajahan

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Weed management is one of the most urgent and unresolved challenges in specialty crops in most regions in the United States. For crops like horseradish, which are largely cultivated in Illinois and Wisconsin, the weed issue is magnified because of the crop’s long growing season and sensitivity to chemical applications. Farmers in these states are responsible for more than 80% of the US horseradish market. However, for the current weed control practice, they rely on expensive manual labor, which is in short supply, or repeated application of unlabeled herbicides that degrade soil and lead to a herbicide-resistant weed population. Therefore, …

Generalizing Yield Prediction And Evaluating The Common Factors Influencing The Models, Xiaoyu Zhang, Sunoj Shajahan

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

This study combines Sentinel-2 satellite images with yield monitoring data from fields to evaluate yield predictions from spatial, temporal, and modeling dimensions. Combining the Matern-Kriging method, vegetation index and machine learning models, four key aspects were studied: the influence of spatial resolution on ground truth interpolation, the influence of spatial proximity of training fields, single year and multi-year prediction performance, as well as the influence of spatial smoothing for yield map. Random forest is used as the main predictive model. The results show that a smaller Kriging grid size retains more spatial details, while larger grid leads to detail loss. …

Evaluating Cover Crop Performance: A Spatial Approach To Biomass And Nutrient Prediction With Uas Imagery, Sergio Rubiano Sosa, Daniel Quinn, Shalamar Armstrong

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Farmers and agronomists need accurate, efficient methods for evaluating cover crop (CC) biomass and nutrient content to optimize fertilization strategies and improve soil health. Traditional biomass assessments are labor-intensive and time-consuming, often delaying timely data-driven management decisions. While multispectral cameras, including near-infrared (NIR) and RedEdge sensors, provide high-accuracy data for this purpose, their high cost limits accessibility for many farmers. This study explores the potential of using regular RGB cameras on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as an affordable alternative to multispectral sensors for estimating CC biomass and key nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S).

Data was collected from …

A Simple Approach To Delineating Field Boundaries Using Satellite Imagery, Seth T. Van Hoveln

Symposium of Digital Agriculture

Accurate delineation of agricultural field boundaries is crucial for farm management, research, and policy development. However, publicly available boundary datasets are often limited in accuracy, very expensive, or use deep learning architectures that require extensive annotated data that are not available, limiting access. This project presents a simple, image-processing-based method for delineating field boundaries using openly available satellite images. Our method manipulates the images using a variety of image processing techniques and is able to generate an accurate boundary for a selected field. By providing a simple and accessible solution, this approach has the potential to transform boundary delineation practices, …

Tacscope: A Miniaturized Vision-Based Tactile Sensor For Surgical Applications, Md Rakibul Islam Prince, Sheeraz Athar, Pokuang Zhou, Yu She

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The lack of tactile feedback in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) limits surgeons’ ability to palpate tissues, a critical technique for locating abnormalities such as tumors. To address this challenge, we introduce TacScope, a novel, vision-based tactile sensor leveraging the magnification properties of a spherical-surface elastomer to provide tactile feedback for advanced clinical applications. TacScope features a robust, low-cost, and easyly fabricate design, enabling seamless integration into surgical robotic setups. It reconstructs high-resolution 3D geometry from variations in particle-density distribution across its elastomer surface, requiring only a single image for calibration. The curved elastomer membrane alters particle-density distribution under …

Exploring The Efficacy Of A Source-Based Writing Tutoring Intervention For Multilingual Students In The Writing Center, Dana Lynn Driscoll, Osman Ozdemir

The Writing Center Journal

Source-based writing skills, which include evaluating, synthesizing, and citing sources, are skills that students are expected to acquire as part of college-level writing. Unfortunately, many multilingual writers (MLWs), especially those in advanced degree programs, lack programmatic support and instruction. Thus, writing centers represent a critical site to offer MLWs tutorial-based support. Our study examined whether or not writing centers can help MLWs develop—and transfer—source-based writing skills in a sequence of three tutorials. We recruited five advanced student MLW participants from different cultural backgrounds who were uncomfortable with source use. Through pre-and postwriting samples, interviews, writing process recording videos, and a …

“I Just Need Another Set Of Eyes”: Understanding Students’ Idea Of The Writing Center, Isabelle M. Lundin, Neal Lerner

The Writing Center Journal

In this article, we describe writing center clients’ “idea” of the writing center based on interviews with 26 writing center users and qualitative coding of interview transcripts. Participants’ constructs of the writing center provide a lens to better understand how they perceive writing as an activity, the “writing culture” of the institution, the role of the writing center in their writing processes, and, ultimately, if they see writing centers in the way we would expect them to. The tensions we derived from our data are (1) between who and what tutors are and offer: discipline-specific expertise (including the disciplines of …

Insights From A Simple Mathematical Model Of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Charles F. Babbs

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Working Papers

This preliminary report explores insights about mechanisms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) gained from a mathematical model of interconnected clusters of excitatory neurons. This local, integrate-and-fire, spiking neural network is subjected to random noise from other populations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons outside the network. Its emergent behavior in response to different ratios of inhibitory to excitatory noise mimics several aspects of ASDs. The spiking neural network functions according to rules of classical neurophysiology, involving resting membrane potential, threshold potential, excitatory or inhibitory post-synaptic potentials, action potential, and refractory period. Key parameters include the incremental change in membrane potential, p …