Digital Commons Network^™

Neurodiversity In Workplace, Jacqueline L. Zindell

M.S. in Leadership

This research paper explores the intricate relationships between neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals within the workplace. Through an exploration of the literature, the research focuses on the specific challenges faced by neurodiverse individuals, including those with conditions such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia. The topic of neurodiversity will provide support to leaders in navigating interactions with neurodiverse individuals and fostering inclusivity in the workplace. This research serves as a foundational step towards creating a toolbox for the workplace. A survey was conducted using Survey Monkey to gauge respondents' familiarity with the concept of Neurodiversity and to identify effective strategies …

Global Analysis Of The Neutron Magnetic Form Factor, Joseph P. Jayne

Honors Theses and Capstones

Protons and neutrons, the nucleons, are made up of smaller particles called quarks. Nucleons have three valence quarks, which are the dominant contributors to its properties, as well as sea quarks (quark-antiquark pairs) and gluons. The distribution of the charge and magnetization of these particles is described by the electric and magnetic form factors. These form factors can be measured with scattering experiments since they directly affect the particle’s cross section. Neutron form factors are challenging to measure because a pure neutron target will decay very fast and is not viable for experiments. Instead, targets like 2H and 3H are …

Looking For The Answer: Exploring The Choice Between Ai And Search Engines, Joseph Driscoll

Honors Theses and Capstones

With the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence, consumers have found themselves faced with an abundance of options for information retrieval. This study is designed to explore when consumers choose to use an AI tool as opposed to a traditional search engine, as well as determining what the user segments look like for AI tools. The results of this study indicate that there are two AI user segments, along with a third segment of non-users that were not included in the study. One segment has fully embraced the use of AI, while the other has tested it and only uses it …

Evidence Of A Thick Heliopause Boundary Layer Resulting From Active Magnetic Reconnection With The Interstellar Medium, Drew L. Turner, Adam Michael, Elena Provornikova, Marc Kornbleuth, Merav Opher, Stefan Eriksson, Benoit Lavraud, Parisa Mostafavi, Matthew E. Hill, Pontus Brandt, Ian J. Cohen, Joseph Westlake, John D. Richardson, Nathan A. Schwadron, David J. Mccomas

Faculty Publications

Voyager 1 and 2 data from the vicinity of the heliopause and very local interstellar medium are reexamined to better understand the confounding lack of rotation in the magnetic field (B-field) across the heliopause observed by both Voyagers, despite their very large spatial separations (>100 au). Using three estimates for the orientation of the B-field in the pristine interstellar medium and four models of the heliosphere, we calculate draped interstellar B-field orientations along the model heliopauses and compare those estimates to the Voyager observations. At both Voyagers, expected draped B-fields are inconsistent with the observed B-field orientations after the boundary …

Assessing And Understanding Soil Characteristics​, Amy Papineau

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

2024 Directory Of Landscape Professionals Trained In Ecological Landscaping For Water Quality Protection, Julia Peterson

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

How Efficient Is The Ocean At Taking Up Carbon?, Rebecca Irelan

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Mechanistic Effects Of Surface Characteristics On Uv254 And Bl405 Disinfection Efficacy, Castine Annastasia Bernardy

Doctoral Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for more robust surface disinfection technologies. Photoinactivation efficacy for microbial pathogens and many surrogates has been well studied for water disinfection. However, there is a limited body of knowledge from research on surface disinfection applications of these technologies. The onset of the global pandemic resulted in a dramatic increase in surface disinfection devices being marketed to consumers, yet regulations for such devices have not been developed. This doctoral research studies the inactivation efficacy of two wavelengths, UV254 and BL405. The objective of this doctoral dissertation was to expand the body of knowledge required to …

Aspects Of Localizing Quantum Information In Diffeomorphism-Invariant Theories, Adam Dukehart

Doctoral Dissertations

Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is often formulated using local operators, i.e., operators defined at points on a fixed background spacetime. However, General Relativity (GR) requires that observables be fully diffeomorphism invariant. This includes invariance not only under passive diffeomorphisms, which change the coordinate system but also active diffeomorphisms, which imply background independence and a dynamical metric. Localizing such systems and observables in quantum gravity has been a long-standing problem. This dissertation makes progress on two facets of this problem. Part I shows that a typical quantum information paradox using local operators cannot be embedded in a self-consistent, low-energy prescription which …

Learning Trajectories From Human Demonstration Via Time Invariant Dynamical Systems, Paul Gesel

Doctoral Dissertations

Learning from Demonstration (LfD) is a powerful approach that enables users to program robots by simply demonstrating how to perform tasks. Rather than just mimicking the task, the robot should capture key characteristics of the task to adapt and generalize in various situations. Given that there is no explicit objective for each demonstrated task, optimal control methods cannot be directly applied. Two primary paradigms have emerged to overcome the limitation: 1) inverse learning and 2) imitation learning. In this dissertation, I formulate several time-invariant and stable dynamic system-based LfD models that leverage both inverse learning and imitation learning in the …

Potential Vorticity Dynamics Driving Variability In Mean Tidal Currents Flowing Through Bounded Estuarine Channels, Katherine Anne Kirk

Doctoral Dissertations

Tidally induced pressure gradients in sea level drive mean estuarine tidal currents that can have horizontal spatial variability across a bounded channel or inlet. Strong cross-channel gradients in along-channel mean velocity set up extremums in the background potential vorticity that can support instabilities of tidal currents flowing through narrow, bounded estuarine channels and tidal inlets. In addition, conservation of potential vorticity including frictional terms, results in intensification of along-channel tidal currents over shallow lateral shelves. In the first part of this dissertation (Chapter 2), the dispersion equation of barotropic instabilities of tidal currents is analytically solved for simple bathymetry defined …

Investigation Of Robust And Adaptive Control Methods For Systems With Uncertain Equilibrium States, Muhammad Hamad Zaheer

Doctoral Dissertations

Equilibrium states represent the natural resting point of dynamic systems in their state-space and provide vital information for the design of stabilizing feedback controllers for these systems. Stabilizing a system at an equilibrium state is desirable as it requires a zero steady-state control signal, resulting in lower energy consumption by the actuator. Mathematical models of real systems usually contain uncertainties that make it difficult to determine the exact values of these equilibrium states. Therefore, control methods requiring precise knowledge of the equilibrium state are ineffective in controlling systems when uncertainties make determining the exact value of the equilibrium state challenging …

Thoughtful Learning: An Investigation Of The Relationships Between College Students’ Achievement Appraisals And Thinking Patterns During Lecture, Shelby Lynn Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The current set of studies examined whether two common appraisals that students make during learning (whether they have control over their learning and whether they place value into learning the material) give rise to common types of thoughts students also experience (mind wandering, personal connections, and freely-moving thought). Study One naturistically examined students’ appraisals and thoughts while learning in a real classroom. Study Two attempted to experimentally manipulate students’ appraisals and thus their thoughts in an online learning environment. Overall, results suggest that appraisals do seem to influence the thoughts students report experiencing, although results differ between online and classroom …

Engineering Studies Of An Experimental Open Ocean Seaweed Farm Design, Zachary Moscicki

Doctoral Dissertations

An experimental seaweed cultivation system was designed for offshore and exposed locations. Novel features were incorporated to address major barriers to the expansion of seaweed, including limited nearshore and sheltered marine locations and risk of marine animal entanglement. A novel modular mooring geometry was developed to improve stability, reliability, and spatial efficiency to achieve an economical and robust structure viable in high wave energy environments. Stiff composite (e.g. fiberglass) rods were used to replace components typically made of rope, including mooring lines and seaweed growth substrate (cultivation lines), as a means to mitigate risk of marine animal entanglement.

This dissertation …

An Exploration Of Conventional Beamforming Applied To A Phase Measuring Sonar, Joao Celso Silva De Deus

Master's Theses and Capstones

Brazilian rivers are a particularly challenging navigation environment because of frequentchanges in bathymetry due to sediment transport. To accelerate the production of hydrographic information for these regions, the Brazilian Hydrographic Office has been investigating efficient ways of riverine surveying. In this context, Phase Measuring Bathymetric Sonars (PMBS) are being considered because of their potential to provide wider swaths than traditional Multibeam Echo Sounders (MBES) in shallow waters. Although these systems historically had severe limitations in sounding quality and nadir density, new models with multiple stave pairs are being built to overcome these issues, including the EdgeTech 6205, which claims to …

Bauer Recognized With 2023 Distinguished Professor Award, Unh Communications And Public Affairs

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Reply To: Beyond Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency, Feng Tao, Johannes Lehmann, Ying-Ping Wang, Lifen Jiang, Bernhard Ahrens, Kostiantyn Viatkin, Stefano Manzoni, Benjamin Z. Houlton, Yuanyuan Huang, Bruce A. Hungate, Serita D. Frey, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Markus Reichstein, Nuno Carvalhais, Philippe Ciais, Umakant Mishra, Gustaf Hugelius, Toby D. Hocking, Xingjie Lu, Zheng Shi, Ronald Vargas, Yusuf Yigini, Christian Omuto, Ashish A. Malik, Guillermo Peralta, Rosa Cuevas-Corona, Luciano E. Di Paolo, Isabel Luotto, Cuijuan Liao, Yi-Shuang Liang, Vinisa S. Saynes, Xiaomeng Huang

Faculty Publications

In their commentary, Xiao et al. cautioned that the conclusions on the critical role of microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) in global soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in a paper by Tao et al. (2023) might be too simplistic. They claimed that Tao et al.’s study lacked mechanistic consideration of SOC formation and excluded important datasets. Xiao et al. brought up important points, which can be largely reconciled with our findings by understanding the differences in expressing processes in empirical studies and in models.

Faculty Excellence 2023 Honors Outstanding Unh Educators, Keith Testa

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Schoolyard Sites Curriculum Workbook, Lara Gengarelly, Erik Froburg, Malin Clyde, Haley Andreozzi

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Crop Tree Management, Jim Frohn

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

What Is Microbial Dormancy, Mark D. Mcdonald, Carlos Owusu-Ansah, Jared B. Ellenbogen, Zachary D. Malone, Michael P. Ricketts, Steve E. Frolking, Jessica G. Ernakovich, Michael Ibba, Sarah C. Bagby, J. L. Weissman

Faculty Publications

Life can be stressful. One way to deal with stress is to simply wait it out. Microbes do this by entering a state of reduced activity and increased resistance commonly called ‘dormancy’. But what is dormancy? Different scientific disciplines emphasize distinct traits and phenotypic ranges in defining dormancy for their microbial species and system-specific questions of interest. Here, we propose a unified definition of microbial dormancy, using a broad framework to place earlier discipline-specific definitions in a new context. We then discuss how this new definition and framework may improve our ability to investigate dormancy using multi-omics tools. Finally, we …

Hypergroups From Fusion Subcategories And Their Integral Forms, Alice A. Hempel

Doctoral Dissertations

Fusion categories are generalizations of finite groups and are found in areas of mathematics that involve algebraic structures. They are also found in other fields, such as theoretical physics (quasiparticles) and computer science (quantum computing). Their ubiquitousness in these areas make them useful subjects to study.

As a generalization of finite groups, fusion category theory contains many analogs to the objects and constructions found in group theory. But an analog to an essential object of study in group theory, that of the quotient group, is relatively unexplored. In this work, we introduce quotients of braided fusion categories as certain hypergroups …

Acoustic Waveform Optimization For Three-Dimensional Object Geometries, Justin Ng

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, deep learning (DL) has become an increasingly important tool for many different types of classification, identification, and related problems including inverse radar and sonar applications. This thesis studies the degree to which radar and sonar systems may be optimized for DL algorithms in a theoretical setting. Most of the current existing literature found on using DL involve solving a full inverse scattering problem (ISP), that is to determine the properties and/or geometry of the scatter from nearly complete measurements of the scattered field. Methods suitable for use in two-dimensional space have been proposed and demonstrated with varying …

Affecting Martensitic Transformation And Residual Stress Development Through Stress Superposition And Incremental Forming, Elizabeth Marie Mamros

Doctoral Dissertations

Stress superposition is defined as the incorporation of additional stresses into an existing manufacturing process during a single operation. In this thesis, experiments, simulations, and modeling of stress superposition in sheet metal deformation were investigated. Stress superposition can be used in manufacturing to reduce forming forces, increase material formability, and tailor the final part properties of products according to their intended applications, creating so-called functionally graded materials. Austenitic stainless steels (SS) were the focus due to their susceptibility to strain-induced phase transformation from austenite to martensite based on the stress state applied. In the first chapter, a novel cruciform specimen …

Robust Behavior Cloning For Multi-Step Sequential Task Learning By Robots, Mostafa Abdallah Mohamed Hussein

Doctoral Dissertations

This research is about learning high-level policies of multi-step sequential (MSS) tasks – such as activities of daily living – from demonstrations in a sample efficient manner. This research does not assume access to a simulator or an expert to provide more demonstrations. Learning a task policy in such a setting using state-of-the-art end-to-end approaches is sample inefficient due to a reliance on deep learning frameworks, which are known to require a large amount of data. Besides that, most imitation learning frameworks in robotics assume that a domain expert’s demonstration always contains a correct way of doing the task. Despite …

An Analysis Of Fine-Scale Structure Within Ion Upwelling Processes, Niharika Godbole

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation showcases the projects that I have been involved with since I joined the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Research Laboratory (MIRL) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in August 2017, under the guidance of my research advisor, Marc Lessard. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of this dissertation are intended to provide the science background necessary to discuss the research projects presented in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 respectively.

The system that this dissertation addresses is complex and interconnected. In the most general sense, the Sun interacts with the Earth through the highly conductive, magnetized plasma that it emits, which directly shapes …

Symmetry, Bifurcations And Transition To Turbulence, Pratik Prashant Aghor

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis focuses on two wall-bounded shear flows, namely, plane Poiseuille flow, where a fluid is pushed between two infinite parallel plates and radially heated Taylor-Couette flow, where a fluid is sheared between two independently rotating cylinders maintained at different temperatures. An overarching theme of this thesis is understanding and exploiting the interplay between symmetries and dynamics.

Chapter 1 presents an overview of the field of transition to turbulence and introduces the dynamical systems viewpoint of turbulence. In particular, we discuss subcritical transition to turbulence, where flows are observed to be turbulent below critical thresholds predicted by linear stability analysis. …

Nonlinear System Identification And Motion Control System Design For Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles, Oguzhan Oruc

Doctoral Dissertations

Modeling and control of marine robotics have become a conspicuous research topic in the controlengineering community in the last decade. Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) are deployed and used in commercial, military, and scientific areas for many different purposes such as inspection and maintenance of submerged infrastructure, underwater surveillance/maritime, security, and ocean floor mapping most of which cannot be achieved effectively by human operators. However, to be able to operate these vehicles, an effective controller must be obtained, and an accurate dynamic mathematical model of the vehicle from which to design the controller is necessary. Although conventional modeling approaches are …

Rapid Retreat Of A Marine-Terminating Margin Of The Laurentide Ice Sheet In The Seacoast Region Of New Hampshire, Usa, Julia E. Brazo

Master's Theses and Capstones

A better understanding of the transition of marine-terminating margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) to land-based termini is instructive for monitoring modern glaciers that are currently undergoing a similar transition and influencing sea-level. Expanded knowledge of regional ice retreat rates and the timing of deglaciation of the LIS also provides insight on mechanisms of ice sheet retreat and collapse. Here we reconstruct the style and timing of ice recession and attendant marine regression in coastal New Hampshire during the last deglaciation. Our approach involves geospatial analysis of glaciomarine deposits to assess regional marine limit variability combined with 10Be surface …

The Under-Appreciated Roles Of Spatial Scale, Individual Variation, And Nonlinearity In Spatial Ecology, David Heit

Master's Theses and Capstones

Spatial ecology is a central component of ecological inquiry. In an ever-changing world facing threats including climate change, human sprawl, and novel zoonotic diseases, understanding how animals use space and make habitat decisions can be invaluable to research, management, and conservation of animal species. The techniques and technology used in spatial ecology have advanced continuously over time to provide increasingly detailed data and analyses and mitigate potential statistical biases. However, there remain many potential biases that warrant further attention in the discipline of spatial ecology. This is especially true for conceptual biases, or biases inherent to the ways in which …