Digital Commons Network^™

Shared Roots: An Examination Of The Interconnectedness Of Cultures And Nations Manifest Through Art And Design, Hannah Baldwin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.— Robert L. Peters

The way that people influence their surroundings through art and design is a fascinating lens through which to view culture and history. Visual arts, including architecture, illustrate how cultures meld and shape one another’s histories and values as they come in contact. Pattern making, in particular, is found in every culture as a way of recording and making sense of the patterns of life. This project seeks to highlight the interconnectedness of cultures by examining the history and cultures of three European countries through the lens of …

The Two Types Of Society: Computationally Revealing Recurrent Social Formations And Their Evolutionary Trajectories, Lux Miranda

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Comparative social science has a long history of attempts to classify societies and cultures in terms of shared characteristics. However, only recently has it become feasible to conduct quantitative analysis of large historical datasets to mathematically approach the study of social complexity and classify shared societal characteristics. Such methods have the potential to identify recurrent social formations in human societies and contribute to social evolutionary theory. However, in order to achieve this potential, repeated studies are needed to assess the robustness of results to changing methods and data sets. Using an improved derivative of the Seshat: Global History Databank, we …

Literary Labyrinths: Reading Like A Detective, Emma A. Hallock

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studying literature is like walking through a labyrinth of interpretative possibilities. So, it is no mystery why an English major would be fascinated with detectives; they seem to show the way out of the literary labyrinth. Like detectives, literary critics look for clues in the texts they study and interpret them to find meaning. However, many critics argue that detectives make bad models, and that reading like a detective leads to interpretations that are at best boring and at worst dangerous. It is not clear whether detectives are the best literary critics or the worst. To make sense of this …

Get Out, Hiroki Tanaka: Asian-American Characters In Black Films And Black Activism, Naomi Yoko Ward

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship Asian-Americans have with black Americans in order to determine how Asian Americans navigate their role in American racial discourse. Additionally, this study considers the causes and effects of Asian-American participation in movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM). This topic is explored through the analysis of Asian-American characters in black stories told through four films: Fruitvale Station, Get Out, The Hate U Give, and Sorry to Bother You. To narrow the scope of this research, I placed focus on characters in works that have been published since 2013, when the …

Simplicity As A New Environmental Virtue, Justin Wheeler

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper argues for the addition of a new environmentally focused virtue, simplicity, to the virtue ethical framework developed by Aristotle. First, relevant background from Aristotle’s virtue ethics are developed including the crucial, “doctrine of the mean”, a balance between excess and deficiency of a specified character trait. The tenets of the new virtue simplicity are developed with practical examples based on Aristotle’s method of developing a virtue of character. Simplicity is proposed as a desire to take the appropriate amount from the natural world and an acceptance of one’s circumstances. Those possessing simplicity will not fall victim to the …

Maximizing Returns For Investors Using Modern Portfolio Theory And The Efficient Frontier, Charity Smith Parkinson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There exists an efficient frontier upon which there is an optimal point of allocation of an investor’s assets among different types of investment vehicles. Identifying this point and allocating a portfolio accordingly allow an investor to capture the highest market return with the least amount of risk. This research study offers a model which can be used to find this optimal investment allocation and discusses the challenges and assumptions associated with using it. Using techniques discussed in Markowitz (1952), we obtain the optimal allocation of wealth for two portfolios of 13 and 12 assets, respectively. Such a model is not …

Demystification Of Graph And Information Entropy, Bryce Frederickson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Shannon entropy is an information-theoretic measure of unpredictability in probabilistic models. Recently, it has been used to form a tool, called the von Neumann entropy, to study quantum mechanics and network flows by appealing to algebraic properties of graph matrices. But still, little is known about what the von Neumann entropy says about the combinatorial structure of the graphs themselves. This paper gives a new formulation of the von Neumann entropy that describes it as a rate at which random movement settles down in a graph. At the same time, this new perspective gives rise to a generalization of von …

The Impact Of University And Atelier Instruction On Classical Realism Art In America, Rebecca Chyenne Brock

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Students who aspire to become realism artists are faced with a difficult decision about where to learn classical drawing and painting skills. Where should they study and what type of education should they pursue? These students can attend a college or university and obtain a traditional contemporary art education. This choice will provide young artist with a basic education in painting and drawing. Students will also receive an education across different areas of art as well as a liberal arts education. However, students may select to attend an atelier, fashioned after the 19th century pattern for training classical artists. This …

Jefferson's Sensitivities: How Thomas Jefferson's Discussions Of Race And Slavery Are Influenced By Audience, Andrea B. Carlquist-Sagers

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Thomas Jefferson is often presented as an enigma. He who wrote that “all men are created equal” also owned over six hundred slaves during the course of his life. Jefferson was a man of immense complexity and intelligence and, as such, his beliefs cannot be presented in simplified terms. Although his contradictory positions on race and slavery were common during his time, his hypocrisy received critique from contemporaries. Jefferson was a famously sensitive man, and in order to avoid judgement from his peers, he often either censored himself or used eloquent but empty words to satisfy his disparagers. Some historians …

Characterization Of Rhodopseudomonas Palustrus Strains For The Production Of Fixed Nitrogen Fertilizer For Mars, Daniel Kade Derrick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to characterize the potential of various strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria for the production of fixed nitrogen fertilizers for the manned Mars missions. Six strains of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (CGA009, CGA010, TIE-1, NifA*, and PB23) were all investigated. Through initial growth trial experiments, R. palustris NifA* and PB23 were selected for their engineered nitrogen fixation and rapid growth respectively. Growth curves and ammonium concentrations were collected over time in pilot scale batch photobioreactors (200 mL). Biomass production was then scaled up to benchtop photobioreactors (1.5 L) and then 14 L total volume for both NifA* …

Using Imagery To Improve Program Quality In Computer Programming, Joseph S. Ditton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A common practice in sports is to review film footage of a game. This is done in the hope that individuals on the team or the a team as a whole might learning something about technique, form, process, or strategy that they either did well on or need to improve on. We believe that the benefits of doing this could extend to computer science, and more specifically, the process of writing a computer program. This has never been done in the past, as such this research is exploratory in nature. A new tool called Phanon can record someone writing a …

#Thisiswhatanxietyfeelslike: Twitter Users’ Narratives About The Interpersonal Effects Of Anxiety, Raechel B. Russo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tweets containing the popular hashtag #ThisIsWhatAnxietyFeelsLike were analyzed in this study. Six themes emerged from our phenomenological analysis of relational experiences with anxiety as conveyed by the Twitter users including: (a) deflated self in relation to others and their perceptions; (b) fear, worry and avoidance behaviors that influence relationships; (c) negative emotional responses leading to feeling misunderstood, lonely, and like a failure (self-fulfilling prophecy); (d) social triggers; (e) anxiety management strategies; and (f) things for others to avoid. This paper will highlight how anxiety symptoms affect relationships and interactions with others, and implications for clinical work and future research.

A Study Of Potential Security And Safety Vulnerabilities In Cyber-Physical Systems, Ali Al-Hashimi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The work in this dissertation focuses on two examples of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), integrations of communication and monitoring capabilities to control a physical system, that operate in adversarial environments. That is to say, it is possible for individuals with malicious intent to gain access to various components of the CPS, disrupt normal operation, and induce harmful impacts. Such a deliberate action will be referred to as an attack. Therefore, some possible attacks against two CPSs will be studied in this dissertation and, when possible, solutions to handle such attacks will also be suggested.

The first CPS of interest is vehicular …

Journeying Into A New World: Constructing A New Identity Through Language Acquisition, Hyrum Hansen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The following portfolio represents the author’s experiences and studies while he has participated in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program. It is the result of the author’s teaching experiences abroad and at Utah State University, his teaching observations of peers and colleagues, and insights from his studies in the MSLT program.

The portfolio is divided into three major sections, namely: teaching perspectives; research perspectives; and an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives demonstrate the author’s beliefs in regard to communicative language teaching and identity construction and their importance in the language acquisition process. The research perspectives further deal with …

Accuracy Of The Generic Equation To Convert Cci To Chlorophyll Concentration In The Apogee Model Mc-100 Chlorophyll Concentration Meter, Shuyang Zhen, Paul Kusuma

Techniques and Instruments

Chlorophyll strongly absorbs photons below 700 nm and transmits above 700 nm. Because of this property, chlorophyll concentration can be estimated by measuring the ratio of transmitted photons though a leaf at specific wavelengths. Chlorophyll concentration is then calculated using empirical relationships.

Electron Yield Of A Carbon Fiber Composite, Matthew Robertson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

As electron yield models continue to evolve and improve, a study of carbon fiber materials was conducted to try and understand more complex nanoscale structures and their influence on electron yield.

Fabrication Of Suspended Microbolometers On Soi Wafers, Isaac Maxfield

Physics Capstone Projects

A bolometer is a device to measure radiation energy by converting photon energy into heat on an isolated absorber. We plan to use carbon-nanotube (CNT) based absorber to enhance the photon absorption. The absorber is a few microns in size and is suspended with micron-sized bridges which also support metal lines for electrical measurements.

Monte-Carlo Methods And The Step-Back Kalman Filter For Orbital State Estimation, Louis Tonc

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This research assesses the performance of filtering schemes for tracking uncooperative satellites through space-based optical measurements, and identifies a simple and numerically stable methodology that ameliorates the poor performance of standard filtering schemes at a substantially reduced cost in comparison to nonlinear particle filter-based remedies. Traditional filtering schemes, such as the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF), both diverge when tracking a resident space object (RSO) in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) when there is a long time duration between measurements. This divergence is identified as a consequence of nonlinearity in the dynamics and nonlinearity in the optical measurements, …

One-Dimensional Turbulence Modeling Of Soot Formation And Transport In Non-Premixed Turbulent Flames, Victoria B. Stephens

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Soot modeling in turbulent flames involves tightly coupled problems of combustion chemistry, particle transport, compressible fluid dynamics, and turbulence behavior in addition to soot chemistry and transport. Significant uncertainties accompany soot modeling and transport in such systems, hindering progress toward accurate combustion models and predictive simulation tools. The one-dimensional turbulence (ODT) model, using a stochastic approach to turbulence modeling, captures the full range of length and time scales in a simulation and provides detailed statistical data of the flow con-figuration, chemistry, and particle transport. Previously, ODT has demonstrated accuracy and computational efficiency compared to direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent, …

Ultra-Low Power Adcs For Space Sensors And Instruments, Shea Smith, Wood Chiang

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A 28nm 0.1V 10-bit 2kS/s Successive Approximation Register ADC design is proposed. This design opens the doors to both low supply and low power space sensors and instruments. Due to the stringent voltage supply unique challenges arise that are met with innovation in the sample switch and comparator design. These components of the ADC architecture are optimized to perform successfully at a 0.1V supply with a sample rate suitable for most sensor applications.

Applying The Optimal Estimation Method For Retrieving Rayleigh-Scatter Lidar Temperatures In The Mesosphere, Jonathan Price, Robert Sica, Ali Jalali

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Rayleigh-scatter lidar (RSL) system at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory at Utah State University (ALO-USU) provided a rich database of absolute temperatures throughout the mesosphere from 45 km to above 90 km between 1993 and 2004. Recently, a new method for retrieving absolute temperatures from RSL observations has been developed by a group at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), Canada. The Optimal Estimation Method (OEM) uses machine learning to minimize a cost function by optimizing the temperature parameter in a forward model, in our case the lidar equation, to RSL data. This optimization provides some benefits over the existing …

An Examination Into The Defining Characteristics Of Flexible Solar Aircraft Configurations Through Optimization, Taylor Mcdonnell

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This paper examines the defining characteristics of various solar aircraft configurations through gradient-based multidisciplinary design optimization. We first present a general gradient-based solar aircraft optimization framework which accounts for nonlinear aeroelastic effects resulting from structural flexibility. We then apply this framework to several discrete SR-HALE aircraft geometric, structural, and propulsion system configuration choices to determine the defining characteristics of each configuration choice.

Improving Technologies In Anesthesia, Patrick Kolbay, Joseph Orr

Utah Space Grant Consortium

General anesthesia is well known to offer physicians access to a broad variety of invasive procedures otherwise deemed too risky. Anesthesia machines provides the means for anesthetizing patients safely in the hospital operating room. However, these devices are increasingly unable to meet the demands and needs outside of the hospital. Developing countries struggle to purchase and maintain these costly devices, leading to a 40-fold increase in anesthesia-related deaths compared to developed countries. Small-office practices in the United States experience significantly poorer anesthesia outcomes and increased legal claims versus their larger hospital counterparts, resulting in 60% more anesthesia-related deaths. Environmental impacts …

Masking And Detecting Radiation-Induced Errors In Sram-Based Fpgas Through Partial Circuit Replication, Andrew M. Keller

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Radiation found in terrestrial and space environments can induce errors into SRAM-based FPGAs. Replication of circuitry can be used mask and detect these errors to improve reliability or availability. This work advances the understanding and implementation of partial circuit replication in SRAM-based FPGAs. Partial circuit replication is the replication of a subset of the components in a circuit. A reliability model is presented that evaluates the reliability benefit of partial circuit replication. The model suggests that the reliability benefit is inversely related to the portion of the circuit replicated. A partial triple module redundancy case study is also presented that …

Model Reference Predictive Adaptive Control For Large Scale Soft Robots, Phillip Hyatt, Curtis Johnson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Past work has shown Model Predictive Control (MPC) to be an effective strategy for controlling continuum joint soft robots using rudimentary models, however the in-accuracies of these models often mean that an integration scheme must be combined with MPC. Presented in this work is a novel dynamic model formulation for continuum joint soft robots which is more accurate than the authors’ previous models yet remains fast enough for MPC. This model is based on the Piecewise Constant Curvature (PCC) assumption and a relatively new configuration representation and allows for computationally efficient simulation. Due to the difficulty in determining model parameters …

Influence Of Electrode Height On Carbon Nanotube Electrochemical Biosensors, Benjamin J. Brownlee

Utah Space Grant Consortium

High sensitivity of electrochemical sensors enables the detection of low concentrations of target analyte. Being able to quickly and accurately detect low concentrations of proteins at point-of-care allows for results to be analyzed more easily and effectively. Having high surface area allows for more analyte to be detected, possibly leading to increased sensitivity. Vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) were patterned into interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) and then functionalized with the representative protein streptavidin to demonstrate sensing of biotin. Three electrode heights were investigated to determine the influence of electrode height on sensor sensitivity. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to …

From Anecdotes To Data: Leveraging Our Assessment Toolkit To Determine How A New Curriculum Measures Up, Rachel Wishkoski, Alex J. Sundt, Katie Strand, Deanna Allred

Library Faculty & Staff Presentations

This presentation shared the design and results of a mixed-methods assessment of a new library curriculum for ENGL 2010, the required English Composition course at Utah State University. Piloted with two sections of the course in fall semester 2019, this new three-session curriculum was grounded in case-based problem-based learning (CBPBL), a specific type of problem-based learning (PBL) in which students work together to solve real life scenarios and immediately apply their skills to a relevant and complex problem. Student teams used case studies to practice source evaluation, topic development, and synthesis of research in writing. Multiple assessment methods afforded us …

A Reinforcement Learning Based Control Approach For Propofol-Induced Burst Suppression, Jason C. Huang, Scott C. Tadler, Brian J. Mickey, Keith Jones

Utah Space Grant Consortium

High-dose propofol is being investigated for its potential antidepressant effect. Propofol is titrated to induce burst suppression, a specific EEG pattern. However, propofol is difficult to dose due to uncertainty in each patient’s pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD), and the lack of a commercially available monitor of propofol concentration. Clinicians currently infer the proper drug dose after observing the EEG response to the given dose. In this report we share our development of an automated controller to optimally administer propofol-induced burst suppression. We designed a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) algorithm, which includes two deep neural networks and relates a …

Advanced Video Laryngoscope And Automatic Data Collection System, Gabrielle Hoyer, Sean Runnels, Samer Merchant

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Advanced Video Laryngoscope is designed to address the high stress situation of an inexperienced healthcare provider performing an intubation on a patient. The technology is superior to current video laryngoscopes in that it utilizes machine learning techniques to guide the healthcare provider in real-time, providing augmented reality cues to anatomical features, feedback to prevent critical levels of deoxygenation of the patient, and an automated system to assess the difficulty of airway and call on the assistance of other physicians if first-pass intubation is not successful. By providing real-time assistance to the operator, this device will increase the success rate …

Lunar Mining: Designing A Robust Robotic Mining System, Ted Goodell, James Ehlers, Rian Simpson, Tina Hayward, Ali Almiskeen, Logan Peterson, Joshua Miraglia, Alexander Charters, Palmer Clegg, Chandler Millar, Emerson Labon, Jonathan Warner, Matthew Cohen, Evan Cleveland, Jackson Dean, Todd Renner, Sergio Nunez, Pramit Chalise, Arthur Steur, Jake Erickson, Kenny Ho

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The annual NASA Robotic Mining Challenge: Lunabotics tasks teams with building robots capable of traversing and mining simulated Lunar terrain. The competition goal is to utilize automation and sensing alongside mechanical systems to harvest icy regolith (gravel) from beneath the satellite’s surface.

This year, Utah Student Robotics sought to improve upon the design from last year. The 2019-2020 rover is based on proven NASA concepts, such as the RASSOR 2.0 digging drum, and the Rocker-Bogie mobility platform.