Digital Commons Network^™

Information Theory Analysis Of Water Vapor Stable Isotopes From The Sail Campaign, Matthew John Rybecky

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Understanding the processes that control water vapor isotopic composition in mountain environ- ments is essential for interpreting isotope records and predicting water resource responses to cli- mate change. This thesis applies information theory to continuous, high-resolution water vapor stable isotope measurements from the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River watershed of Colorado’s Upper Gunnison Basin, spanning the winter- to-spring transition of 2022–2023. The analysis employs Shannon entropy, mutual information, transfer entropy, and joint transfer en- tropy (JTE) to quantify how environmental variables, including surface meteorology, radiation, tur- bulent fluxes, and ERA5 reanalysis products, transfer information …

On Food, Politics, And The Power Of Representation In The American History Museum, Mason A. Bright

Museum Studies Theses

This study explores the political implications of foodways-related interpretation at American history institutions, situating it within current partisan discourse. Using an “Anthropology of Museums” framework, I place literature from the fields of food history, human geography, and museum studies in conversation with interviews with three curatorial professionals from the National Museum of American History, the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, and the New Mexico History Museum. I understand the ways these professionals navigate politically engaged interpretation through the lens of ethnographic refusal, a phenomenon drawn from the anthropology subfield of resistance studies. I argue that the connections between food …

Gradients Of Abandonment, William Tatman

Geography ETDs

As urban-rural disparities drive depopulation in rural areas worldwide, local strategies emerge as pathways for resilience. Research on Ojika, a Japanese island that has lost 75% of its population since the 1960s, reveals an Abandonment Gradient: a nuanced pattern of disuse adapted to modern polycrises. Extending the concept of "lying fallow" to homes and infrastructure, this thesis focuses on abandonment practices that reflect complex realities of labor, capital, and climate uncertainty. Rather than viewing depopulating communities as passive victims of out-migration, this paper argues they are critical sites for generating crisis response. Communally crafted attitudes toward unused space and more-than-human …

Who Bears The Burden: Tax Incidence And Water Governance In The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (Mrgcd) Within Bernalillo County, Michael W. Wilson

Economics ETDs

This study examines how property-value-based assessments within a large western irrigation and flood-control district distribute fiscal burdens across property owners. The empirical analysis is restricted to Bernalillo County within the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), using parcel-level administrative data from fiscal year 2025 merged with 2021 irrigation service records and geospatial information. The analysis classifies 34,397 parcels by irrigation status, agricultural valuation enrollment, and primary use to evaluate whether non-irrigating residential and commercial parcels, including renter-occupied properties that lack direct irrigation access, bear a disproportionate share of financial responsibility for a district whose first listed priority under their primary …

West Coast Workshop To Southwest Institute, Hannah Marie Cerne

Art & Art History ETDs

This thesis considers Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico (originally established as Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, CA), and its contributions to collaborative printmaking. Originally founded in 1960 by June Wayne with Clinton Adams and Garo Antreasian, Tamarind Lithography Workshop (the precursor to Tamarind Institute) revitalized lithography through structured collaboration between artists and master printers, alongside rigorous training programs. This thesis provides an institutional history of the workshop during its relocation to the University of New Mexico, highlighting its transformation into a university-based institute that integrated education and professional production. Using social and labor-based methodologies, this study analyzes how …

A Contextual And Sonic Analysis Of John Coltrane’S First Meditations, Matt Lind

Music ETDs

This thesis presents a contextual and sonic analysis of John Coltrane’s album First Meditations recorded in 1965. I use methods based on Dora Hanninen’s A Theory of Music Analysis to examine sonic and contextual aspects of Coltrane’s playing, including varying timbres, rhythmic tendencies, and contextual relationships in musical material. I consider pitch material from the perspective of “outside” playing, rather than traditional harmonic analysis. Considering areas of pitch, rhythm, and timbre allows the visualization of these features across each track in the album in five musical “plots.”

Developing Simulation To Improve G3p3 Efficiencies, Andrew Gaudette

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems offer a promising method of renewable energy generation by using heliostats to focus sunlight onto a falling particle receiver. At the National Solar Thermal Testing Facility (NSTTF), particles absorb and store solar energy for later power generation. A major source of efficiency loss is wind-driven particle escape through the receiver aperture. This thesis develops computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to characterize wind flow around the G3P3 falling particle receiver and support future wind mitigation strategies. Numerical studies were conducted to establish an appropriate simulation methodology. Iteration studies showed that 2,000 iterations were sufficient for convergence, …

Control Of Reshock In A Shock Tube, Alexander Sweis

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Reshocks can pose a threat to the structural integrity of structures and buildings. While incident shock waves pose larger threats, the study of reshocks and reshock attenuation is important to consider. This thesis investigates methods for controlling and attenuating reshock strength within a shock tube through material-based damping and modifications to baffle box geometric configurations. Experiments are performed using a custom-built shock tube in the University of New Mexico fluid mechanics laboratory. Four baffle box configurations are examined: a foam-lined configuration, a foam-lined configuration with ”egg crate-like” textured foam, an empty (no foam) configuration, and a configuration which incorporates a …

Cbd's Impact On Learning, Memory, And Anxiety: A Dose Response, Audrey Camacho

Psychology ETDs

Cannabidiol (CBD) is widely utilized for its therapeutic properties, yet its impact on an unmanipulated model at baseline behavior remains poorly understood. This study investigates CBD’s dose-dependent behavioral profile on spatial learning, memory, and anxiety using Long-Evans rats. Subjects received a vehicle, 20 mg/kg, or 40 mg/kg CBD dose prior to assessment in the Morris Water Task (MWT) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM). MWT results indicated consistent Day 1 learning, but the 40 mg/kg dose induced a temporary disruption 24 hours post-treatment. Performance returned to baseline by day 6. On the EPM, traditional anxiety markers remained unchanged. While CBD did …

Assessment And Classification Of Idiosyncratic Behavioral Sequences In Rodent Navigation, Max G. Segal

Psychology ETDs

The Morris Water Task (MWT) has been the gold standard assessment of place learning and memory for over four decades, yet the processes that contribute to successful navigation are not completely understood. It is generally posited that rats learn to navigate directly to a place; however, navigation is not perfectly direct but contains variation in swim speed and trajectory resulting in efficient, yet suboptimal paths. Gonçalves-Garcia et al. (2024) demonstrated that path topography is quantitatively similar across trials within individual rats for a given start location, and dissimilar between rats and different start locations within rat. This suggests rats may …

Elucidation Of Micro/Nanoplastic Signature Of Human And Murine Lung Tissue Utilizing Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, Aerlin D. Decker

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Micro-and Nanoplastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous biological pollutants that have been identified throughout a variety of biological samples. MNPs have been detected in several human tissues, such as the brain, kidneys, and liver. Lung tissue remains understudied for MNP accumulation despite the large surface area and clear path for exposure. Using Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), human lung tissue was evaluated for 12 different polymers, enabling quantification of total plastic per gram of tissue to be identified. Further analysis was performed with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to investigate heavy metal accumulation in human lung samples and determine whether a …

Design And Feasibility Study Of An Air-Cooled Reactor Cavity Cooling System For Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors, Alexandra D. Martinez

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Licensing efforts for Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors (FHRs) are dependent on passive safety systems designed for decay heat removal, yet no prior study has evaluated an air-based Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) for this role. This thesis addresses that gap by determining whether an air-cooled RCCS can be designed to passively remove post-shutdown decay heat from the Mk 1 FHR. An RCCS configuration was developed and sized using a one-dimensional lumped-parameter design methodology, then evaluated through system-level thermal-hydraulic modeling in RELAP5-3D under a conservative, lower-bound post-shutdown transient. The analysis characterizes the radial heat-transfer pathways from the FHR core to the RCCS …

Development Of Dynamic Proof-Mass Configurations For Broadband Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, Nico E. Galarza

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and develop dynamic proof-mass configurations for broadband piezoelectric energy harvesting. Conventional piezoelectric energy harvesters are typically limited by narrow operating bandwidths, restricting their performance under variable-frequency excitation. This research presents the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of multiple proof-mass concepts intended to increase the usable frequency range of cantilever-based piezoelectric energy harvesters. Several dynamic mass configurations were developed using additive manufacturing techniques and integrated with commercially available piezoelectric cantilevers. Experimental testing was conducted under controlled vibration conditions to characterize voltage response, resonant behavior, and bandwidth performance. The results demonstrate that dynamic proof-masses …

Synergizing Crowd Collaboration: Enhancing Crowdsourcing Matching Via Integration Of Matching Theory And Coalition Games, Rowan Aengus Kinney

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This paper tackles the challenges inherent in crowdsourcing dynamics by introducing the CROWDMATCH mechanism. Aimed at enabling crowdworkers to strategically select suitable crowdsourcers while contributing information to crowdsourcing tasks, CROWDMATCH considers incentives, information availability and cost, and the decisions of fellow crowdworkers to model the utility functions for both the crowdworkers and the crowdsourcers. Specifically, the paper presents an initial Approximate CROWDMATCH mechanism grounded in matching theory principles, eliminating externalities from crowdworkers’ decisions and enabling each entity to maximize its utility. Subsequently, the Accurate CROWDMATCH mechanism is introduced, being initiated by the outcome of the Approximate CROWDMATCH mechanism, and employing …

Making Meaning Of Gendered Experiences: A Mixed Methods Analysis Among U.S. College Students, Andrea Bancroft

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Gender inequities rooted in patriarchal norms shape the experiences of college-going emerging adults across many domains, often to the detriment of young women. In this study, we applied a mixed-methods approach to analyzing how college students interpret and make meaning from gendered experiences, and how the meaning making process relates to these emerging adults’ sense of university belonging. Participants provided written narratives of a gendered experience and completed a survey about university belonging. Through our qualitative analyses of the narrative responses, we identified four themes that represent cultural socialization messages that these participants engaged with in their narratives: bioessentialism, expectations …

Investigating Light-Matter Interactions In Low-Dimensional Silicon Carbide, Nishan Shrestha

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Recent advances in materials science have transformed the study and application of low-dimensional materials, with two-dimensional (2D) systems and nanoscale structures exhibiting properties beyond their bulk counterparts. Despite significant progress in materials such as graphene and silicon, the nanoscale exploration of silicon carbide (SiC) remains relatively underdeveloped, despite its critical importance in photonics and electronics and high temperature applications. Motivated by the transformative potential of nanoscale material design and the technological importance of SiC, this dissertation investigates structure and properties of low-dimensional silicon carbide structures. It explores the synthesis and optical properties of SiC nanosheets and nanowires using a variety …

Simulations Of Atmospheric Pressure Streamer Discharges: Mechanisms Of Streamer Propagation And Related Physics, Dejan Nikic

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Gas discharge simulations are performed with particular focus on photoionization process in a positive streamer discharge. The effects of this process are investigated by isolating the change in photoionization mean free path (MFP) and keeping the additional processes constant. Furthermore, comparison are made between various effects of simulation parameters, such as initial conditions, geometry extent, simula- tion particle count etc. All of these simulations are performed using a modern Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Particle-in-Cell (DSMC-PIC) code developed by Sandia Na- tional Laboratories. Large scale simulations including 1 cm and 5 cm electrode gaps are performed under standard atmospheric condition air. …

Computationally Tractable Methods For Constrained Optimal Control And Reachability Analysis Of Nonlinear Stochastic Dynamical Systems, Karthik Sivaramakrishnan

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Autonomous systems operating in uncertain environments require methods that can rigorously quantify safety, predict future behavior, and compute optimal decisions tractably. The unifying challenge is reasoning about uncertainty propagation in constrained dynamical systems. Motivated by autonomous spacecraft inspection, this dissertation develops model-based and data-driven methods for stochastic optimal control and stochastic reachability. First, it studies optimal on-orbit inspection of an uncertain tumbling spacecraft in both single-agent and multi-agent settings, and derives computationally efficient reformulations for exploring trade-offs among sensing, trajectory deviation, and fuel use. Second, it develops a probabilistically safe penalty-based reinforcement learning method that preserves gradient information during training …

Exploring The Nature And Role Of Local Cation Ordering In Disordered Rock Salt Cathodes For Li- And Na-Ion Batteries, You Wang

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Cation-disordered rock-salt (DRX) cathodes provide a highly tunable platform for next-generation Li- and Na-ion batteries, but their electrochemical behavior is strongly influenced by local structural features hidden in average crystal structures. This dissertation systematically investigates local cation ordering in Li- and Na-based DRX cathodes to understand its effects on Li+/Na+ transport, redox activity, structural evolution, and electrochemical performance. In Li-based systems, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical analysis reveal that local layered cation ordering in Mn- and Fe-based DRX cathodes is closely correlated with electrochemical behavior. Over-stoichiometric Li-based DRX oxyfluorides further demonstrate that excess Li can regulate local cation ordering, improve Li+ …

Wildfire Impacts On Fluvial Hydrology From Watershed To National Scales, Paige G. Tunby

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfires alter the water quantity and quality in downstream river networks. Fires promote biodiversity, maintain habitat, and provide many ecosystem services in a fire-adapted landscape. However, changes in the natural fire regimes can alter ecosystem function and threaten the water security of impacted downstream communities. The magnitude, timing, and persistence of these impacts are difficult to predict due to the lack of high-resolution datasets with adequate coverage to evaluate spatiotemporal trends after a fire. This dissertation moves us beyond the status quo to evaluate post-fire fluvial responses across scales, from the event-scale impacts after the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon wildfire in …

Effect Of Geothermal Conditions On Silica Flour Modified Wellbore Cement, Travis Benjamin Broadhurst

Civil Engineering ETDs

Considerable work has been conducted on modified wellbore cements, but a knowledge gap exists in the effects of downhole conditions on cement, especially tensile strength. In this study, a pressure vessel simulates representative downhole conditions (200⁰C, 1.5 MPa) with a reference solution for geothermal brine and naturally occurring geothermal gases. Samples are removed after 28-days for unconfined compressive strength testing, Brazilian tensile strength testing, elastic moduli measurement, and chemical analyses by X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe. Aqueous chemical analysis suggests multiple active reactions between the geothermal fluid and cement that are exacerbated by higher temperatures, but do not …

Mechanisms Of Advanced And Energy Efficient Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Derek Belka

Civil Engineering ETDs

This dissertation combines meta-omics, microbial ecology, and hydrodynamic analysis to explore mechanisms of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS) in municipal wastewater treatment. Metagenomic and functional gene profiling of a laboratory sequencing batch reactor fed with amino acids and proteins, and with a low abundance of known polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs), revealed abundant Herpetosiphonaceae and Dermatophilaceae families possessed key PAO metabolic traits, including phosphate scavenging, anaerobic carbon pathways, and ppk2 gene variants aligned with established PAOs. These findings suggest amino acid-driven EBPR can occur via previously unrecognized taxa, challenging current engineering assumptions and highlighting the need for …

Investigating The Corrosion Behavior Of Stainless Steel 316 In Static Lead Lithium Eutectic Under Applied Stressed Conditions, Daniel E. Levario

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

As fusion power moves closer to feasibility, identifying structural materials compatible with breeding blanket environments remains a critical challenge. Lead-lithium eutectic (LLE) is a leading candidate breeder and coolant material due to its low melting point and combined tritium breeding and neutron multiplication capability. However, the corrosive nature of LLE toward structural steels at elevated temperatures must be characterized before these systems can be reliably deployed. This study investigates the corrosion behavior of Type 316 stainless steel in static LLE under applied stress conditions at 550°C using C-ring stress corrosion specimens. Post exposure analysis via optical microscopy, SEM, EDS, and …

Elucidation Of Spin-Hamiltonian Parameters Via Spectroscopy, Magnetization, And Computation, Joshua C. Mengell

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Molecular Quantum Information Science (QIS) is fundamentally concerned with using spin-systems as quantum bits (qubits) or as sensors. Prerequisite to using molecular systems for QIS applications, it must be understood how one can design molecules with bespoke magnetic characteristics. Herein we study various paramagnetic molecular compounds, describing their complex magnetic characteristics using a spin-Hamiltonian formalism. We utilize various (sometimes novel) methods for determining these spin-Hamiltonian parameters. Many of these molecules possess magnetic characteristics, which make them attractive as qubits or for sensing applications. These characteristics include higher total spin-states (qudits—S_T>1/2), forbidden interstate electronic transitions, systems of spatially distant …

Examining Conditional Indirect Media Effects Through Normative Perceptions: The Role Of Traditional Family Gender Role Expectations And Stigmatizing Beliefs In Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Moonsun Choi

Communication ETDs

This dissertation examines how indirect media effects operate through normative perceptions within a gendered and stigmatized health context of HPV vaccination. Specifically, this study investigates how these normative mediation processes are conditioned by traditional family gender role expectations at the norm formation stage and stigmatizing beliefs about HPV vaccination at the normative influence stage. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with mothers of children aged 9 – 12 in the United States in June 2025. The key findings show that while gendered perceptions of HPV vaccination persist, the underlying normative mechanism operated in similar ways across gender-referent contexts. Injunctive norms were …

Uv Damage Mapping Reveals Different Impacts Of Xpd Mutations On Global Genomic And Transcription-Coupled Dna Repair, Allyson Hoag

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) is a fundamental cellular process that removes bulky and helical distorting lesions from the genome through the separate responses of its two subpathways – global genomic (GG-NER) and transcription coupled (TC-NER) DNA repair. The pathways converge with the recruitment of the TFIIH complex, a key step that is mediated by the translocase and helicase activities of  its XPD subunit. Germline mutations in XPD result in the clinical disorders, Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) and XP combined with Cockayne Syndrome (XP/CS). The goal of this thesis was to understand if XPD XP and XP/CS mutations differentially impact GG-NER and …

Mapping And Modeling Threat-Evoked Brain States After Early Life Adversity, Taylor W. Uselman

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Early life adversity (ELA) increases lifelong neuropsychiatric vulnerability. Yet how ELA reorganizes brain-wide activity and circuit coordination across later experience remains unclear. This dissertation tests the hypothesis that ELA alters adult brain-wide activity and responses to threat through disrupted coordination among neural systems that regulate emotional experience, including prefrontal-limbic and monoaminergic systems. Longitudinal manganese-enhanced MRI of adult mice exposed to standard or fragmented early care, combined with computational processing and statistical modeling, quantified brain states before, during, and long after innate predator threat. These studies established that acute threat evokes large-scale, distributed brain activity that evolves over time. ELA potentiates …

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Induces Vulnerability To Mild Stress Through Heightened Limbic Glial Activation And Cytokine Release, Justine R. Zimmerly

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) results from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and is linked to development of mood disorders, which in turn are driven by dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system, the neuroendocrine hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and the central nervous system (CNS) neuroimmune response to stressors. PAE alters brain glial activation and proinflammatory cytokine expression through secondary challenges such as psychological stressors. The goals of the experiments presented in this dissertation were to 1) examine peripheral glucocorticoid receptor function following mild acute stress in adult PAE offspring, 2) characterize a sensitized cytokine stress response in the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, …

Co-Constructing The Common Ground: Responses In American Sign Language Conversation, Deborah Wager

Linguistics ETDs

Common ground between two people consists of the things they both know, that they know they both know. This body of knowledge grows in conversation, through both verbal and nonverbal responses. Responses communicate whether what has been said was accepted into the common ground, and return responses acknowledge this acceptance in turn (H. H. Clark, 1996). In addition to the semantic content of utterances, stance is communicated through a variety of means, and alignment with that stance is also communicated through responses.

This study explores ways in which responses are used in American Sign Language (ASL) conversation to co-construct the …

Documenting Regional And Individual Variation In Taiwan Sign Language, Devin Alexander Tankersley

Linguistics ETDs

Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) has been characterized by a north-south dialectal divide since the beginning of its development in the early twentieth century, further complicated by contact with Chinese Sign Language and with Mandarin. Considering increased interconnectivity across Taiwan, this dissertation asks: does the traditional north-south dialectal distinction still hold? To address this question, fieldwork was conducted across six areas of Taiwan to develop a data set consisting of word elicitations and sociolinguistic interviews. Findings from quantitative and qualitative analyses of these data suggest that TSL is not undergoing straightforward dialect leveling, but rather convergence towards a mixed variety shaped …