Digital Commons Network^™

Discovering Strategic Behaviors In The Floor Using Reinforcement Learning, Kevin Parks

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This project investigates how a reinforcement learning (RL) agent can develop territorial strategies in a highly stochastic, grid-based approximation of the television game show The Floor. I design a custom Gymnasium-compatible environment that models the show’s core mechanics on a 10×10 board, including probabilistic duels governed by player skill, adjacency-constrained attacks, chain-attack rules, and a Randomizer mechanism for selecting new initiating players. A Maskable Proximal Policy Optimization (Maskable PPO) agent is trained under several reward configurations and evaluated against stochastic non learning opponents as well as random and “always pass” baselines.

Across experiments, the best-performing configuration achieves a win …

Open Space Management Planning: A Framework And Case Study From Eagle Mountain City, Utah, Nathan K. Shumway

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Open Space Management Plans (OSMPs) are increasingly used by municipalities to guide the long-term stewardship of natural lands; however, little formal guidance exists regarding how these plans are structured, developed, or organized in practice. While numerous OSMPs are publicly available, their compositional logic, procedural workflows, and thematic priorities remain largely undocumented within academic literature. This study addresses that gap through a qualitative document analysis of fifteen publicly accessible OSMPs from the western United States, published between 2015 and 2024.

Using manual matrix-based coding in Microsoft Excel, each plan was analyzed through three lenses: structural composition, procedural development, and thematic content. …

Sql Query Optimization - Human Vs. Chatgpt, Hailey Dennis

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT have become ubiquitous tools for working professionals in the software industry. Many engineers are finding new ways to increase productivity by offloading tasks onto LLMs, while others are finding it difficult to trust code produced artificially, even after review. Taking a look at both perspectives, this study aims to compare a human’s ability to optimize SQL queries to that of an LLM and assess the experience using both methods.

Manual query optimization is a tedious task that relies heavily on statistics, heuristics, and good intuition. The SQL developer must search for the optimal …

From The Hopf Fibration To Instantons: Geometry In Gauge Theory, Emily D. Wessman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper explores the relationship between topology, differential geometry, and gauge theory through the study of Yang-Mills theory and its solutions, known as instantons. Beginning with the Hopf fibration, we show how principal fiber bundles encode topological information and appear in physical contexts such as electromagnetism. In particular, we consider how the fibration of S³ over CP¹ ≅ S² represents the Dirac magnetic monopole, and how the Chern number associated with the bundle is exactly the winding number for the monopole.

We then develop the framework of gauge theory, focusing on connections on principal SU(2) bundles …

Utilizing Pine Needles To Compare Spatial Profiles Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Two Urban Areas, Autumn Jensen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important class of semivolatile air pollutants known for their adverse health impacts. This research used conifer needles as passive air samplers to create spatial maps of two Utah cities (Rose Park and Spanish Fork) to compare overall PAH exposure and identify any differences in their congener profiles or PAH “fingerprints”. Conifer needles were chosen due to their prevalence as a passive air sampler in previous research and their ubiquity in urban and suburban environments. Second year needles were collected and the concentrations are considered to be an annually averaged view of the PAH concentrations …

Inter-Government Communication– Transportation Options For Utahns, Andrew Nicholas Barber

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

As a growing Western state, Utah has ambitions for building more infrastructure, especially public transportation. The way it organizes its communication strategy for public transportation, however, represents a microcosm in a larger debate between political scientists and economists. Professionals have backed one of two models for inter-government communication: the decentralized or “fiscal federalism” model and the centralized model, and pros and cons have been theorized for both. Decentralization, on paper, is more democratic, can better represent the needs of its constituents, and can better navigate pesky bureaucratic red tape, but is less efficient. Centralization, on the other hand, is more …

Ngc - Torch Test Ablation Stand Improvements And Upgrades, Sarah Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This capstone project is sponsored by Northrop Grumman (NGC). The goal of the project is to redesign an ablation torch testing system to improve usability, safety, and versatility. Northrop Grumman relies on their ablation torch testing system to conduct quantitative evaluations of materials and high stress and high temperature conditions. The system provides essential data that supports product development, safety validation, and compliance with performance standards. By improving usability, safety, and versatility, NGC will be able to streamline testing operations, increase accuracy of results, and reduce operator risk. The system must allow testing using both a bent and straight torch …

Constraint-Aware Metaheuristic Optimization For Experimental Design, Benjamin N. Fuller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Designing experiments becomes much more challenging when many variables and strict constraints are involved, as is common in modern science and engineering. This thesis introduces a new computational and mathematical framework that efficiently searches for optimal experiments in complex, high-dimensional spaces where traditional methods fail. By combining geometric techniques with flexible optimization algorithms like particle swarm optimization, our methods handle difficult constraints while scaling to real-world problems. Built in the high-performance Julia programming language and released as open-source software, this work bridges advanced theory with practical tools, offering researchers a powerful and accessible way to design better experiments under realistic …

Exploring Cognitive Load Theory In The Post-Secondary Engineering Classroom, Gabriel Q. Van Dyke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Engineering programs often emphasize subject-matter expertise over pedagogical training, which can leave students struggling with course demands and contribute to retention challenges. This study applied Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) to examine how undergraduate engineering students experience the cognitive demands of their coursework compared to non-engineering classes. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, cognitive load surveys were followed by interviews to address two research questions: (1) What are the differences in intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load levels between engineering courses and non-engineering courses taken concurrently by undergraduate engineering students? (2) How do engineering students perceive the unique challenges or benefits …

Ionospheric Plasma Electron Density Measurement And Theory Using Impedance Probe Techniques, Justin Wellington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The ionosphere plays a critical role in how radio frequency (RF) signals, like those used in Global Position System (GPS) satellite communications, travel through space. Disturbances in the ionosphere, such as equatorial plasma bubbles (EPB), scatter these signals and cause communication dropouts or navigational errors. To study these conditions, spacecraft use instruments that measure the surrounding plasma directly. One of these instruments is an impedance probe, which applies a small electrical signal to a sensor and determines electron density from the measured impedance.

This thesis improves the modeling and interpretation of impedance probe measurements. A numerical method is developed that …

Aerodynamic Parameter Estimation For A Scaled F-16: A Simulation-Based Sensitivity Analysis, Kathle C. Tischner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The physical motion of an aircraft is determined by the resulting forces and moments acting on the aircraft. These forces and moments can be defined as a mathematical equation where the control deflections, rotation rates, and orientation of the aircraft are multiplied by individual constants and summed together to define the entire force or moment. This method results in a highly accurate model that defines the motion of the aircraft at low angles of attack and sideslip. Initial calculations of the aerodynamic model are created based on analytical estimations based on the physical properties of the aircraft. Additional refinement of …

Sequential Products Of Anaerobic Denitrification In Calcareous And Noncalcareous Soils By Use Of The Gas Chromatograph, Grant S. Cooper

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The sequential products of anaerobic denitrification were determined on seven Western soils (four alkaline, two acid, and one neutral) by soil and gas analysis. The soils with 1% alfalfa and added KNO3 were incubated at moistures slightly greater than field capacity and with an atmosphere of He. The soils and gases were periodically analyzed and balance sheets prepared. The sequence of NO3-->NO2-->N2O-->N2 operated in all soils. The rates of nitrogen interchanges and maximal amounts of nitrate, N2O2 and N2 were determined. From this data it was postulated that the rate-limiting process for denitrification in acid soils is …

Adversarial Heterogeneous Agent Learning For Robotic Systems: A Framework For Coordinated Competitive Behaviors, Christopher T. Allred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Autonomous robot teams must move reliably, explain their actions, and work together—even in changing or adversarial settings. We present a structured, three-stage pathway that builds coordinated team behavior from strong single-robot skills. First, we develop robust legged-robot locomotion and interpretability using only internal actuator signals. From these proprioceptive cues, robots learn to classify terrain and predict short-term power use, enabling energy-aware movement without external sensors. We further analyze learned behaviors with motif discovery to reveal recurring sensor–action patterns, which clarify how agility emerges and guide reward design. Second, we compose these skills into heterogeneous teamwork using centralized training with decentralized …

Beyond Morphology: Testing Molecular Assessment Of Macroinvertebrate Communities In Alpine Streams Of The Teton Range, Usa, Joshua Vollmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Alpine streams and the macroinvertebrate communities that reside within them are threatened by the rapidly changing climate. Long-term monitoring of these communities is required to understand how they are changing and to predict their future trajectories. Historically, stream monitoring and assessment has been performed by collecting and identifying individuals using their morphological traits. However, in alpine aquatic ecosystems, distinct macroinvertebrate species often lack the morphological differences that allow them to be distinguished. DNA metabarcoding, an alternative method for identification which uses genetics instead of morphological differences, is not impacted by this issue, and therefore, may be better suited for alpine …

Reconfigurable Antennas Using Varactors On A Planar Parasitic Layer And Pin Diodes On A Dome Parasitic Layer, Andrew J. Hendricks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This research explores two types of reconfigurable, steerable antennas. These antennas change their beam direction based on electric input signals. The antennas have a layer that overlays the main antenna circuit board. The layer has small copper rectangles (pixels) that may be connected using either varactor diodes (which behave as voltage-controlled capacitors) or PIN diodes (electronic switches). The first antenna can steer in the xz-plane in any direction within about 23° from boresight (straight up from the antenna) and in the yz-plane to about 29° from boresight. The antenna uses varactor diodes on a planar layer. The second …

Assessing Young Children's Computational Thinking: Validation Of Items And Item Design Features, And Diagnostic Approaches, Chungsoo Na

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The goals of this multiple-paper dissertation are to evaluate the psychometric evidence of the Computational and Spatial Thinking Assessment (CaST), designed and developed by the Coding in Kindergarten (CiK) research team (supported by NSF #1842116). In Chapter 2 (Paper 1), I evaluate the psychometric quality of the CaST assessment at the item level. The CaST has moderate item difficulty and high item discrimination, on average, with high reliability and no gender- or age-related item bias. In Chapter 3 (Paper 2), I identify seven item design features from the CaST assessment and examine their impact on item difficulty. All item design …

Unpacking Science Achievement: Institutional Alignment And Mediating Conditions In A High-Performing Charter School, Brenda L. Bennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examined how science instruction was sustained over time within a high-performing public elementary charter school. Rather than focusing on individual programs or teaching strategies, the research explored how schoolwide systems, relationships, and supports worked together to shape classroom practice.

The study focused on one public K–6 charter school in a western state with consistently strong science performance on state-reported measures and examined how institutional, organizational, and classroom conditions mediated the relationship between science instruction expectations articulated in state and charter policy and teachers’ enacted practice.

Results suggested that strong science instruction was not produced through strict mandates or …

Drought-Tolerant Plants Of Great Salt Lake: Determining Dormancy Break, Germination, And Seeding Timing Requirements To Improve Restoration Under Hydrologically Extreme Conditions, Montana Horchler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wetlands are declining worldwide, and those in arid regions are especially vulnerable to climate change, drought, water diversions, and other human pressures. As a result, land managers increasingly rely on active revegetation to re-establish native plant communities and their associated ecosystem functions. Restoration that utilizes seeds as the propagule source is often the most cost-effective way to revegetate large areas, but in highly variable environments such as exist at Great Salt Lake, Utah, drought and flooding regularly limit plant establishment. Restoration practitioners require science-informed strategies to reach their goal of establishing diverse native plant communities with high native species cover. …

Continuous Symmetry Discovery And Enforcement Using Vector Fields With Application To Time Series And Image Data, Benjamin D. Shaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Machine learning powers many technologies we use every day, from image classification in computer vision to analyzing time series data such as sensor readings or financial trends. One way to make these systems smarter and more reliable is by using symmetry, meaning patterns that remain unchanged under certain transformations, such as rotations for images or uniform changes in signal amplitude for time series. Discovering these patterns can improve understanding of data and help build models that perform well in new situations. 

Current methods for finding symmetry often rely on large neural networks and are limited to simple transformations like stretching …

Counterfactual Explanations For Time Series Through Local Pattern Mining And Generative Models, Omar Bahri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Machine learning systems increasingly make decisions that affect people’s lives, from medical diagnoses to loan approvals. When these systems analyze time series data—sequences of measurements collected over time, such as heart rhythms or sensor readings—users need to understand why a particular prediction was made. Counterfactual explanations address this need by answering “what-if” questions: what would need to change in the input for the system to make a different prediction? 

This dissertation develops methods for generating counterfactual explanations specifically designed for time series data. Time series often contain distinctive local patterns—short subsequences that distinguish one class from another. For example, a …

Social And Institutional Factors Influencing Restoration Decisions In Sagebrush Plant Communities In The Great Basin, Carmen Calzado-Martínez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Sagebrush landscapes of the Great Basin in the western United States have changed dramatically over the past century. Invasive grasses, repeated wildfires, and past land-use practices have made it increasingly difficult for native plant communities to recover once they are damaged. Most restoration efforts occur after disturbances such as wildfire, when ecosystems may already be severely degraded. An alternative approach is proactive restoration, which aims to strengthen ecosystems before major damage occurs. 

This dissertation examines whether proactive restoration strategies could realistically be used in sagebrush rangelands and what factors influence their adoption. The research combines three complementary approaches. First, interviews …

Comparing Strategies For Wetland Revegetation In An Uncertain Water Future, Hailey M. Machnikowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wetlands worldwide are expected to experience more frequent and intense droughts and floods due to climate change. These shifting water conditions introduce challenges to restoring wetland plants, especially using direct seeding. Seeding is cost and labor-efficient compared to planting, but seeds and seedlings are highly vulnerable to water stress, so restoration efforts often fail when conditions are too wet or dry. Understanding how to improve seed-based revegetation under these conditions is increasingly important. Therefore, we sought to understand the response, measured by percent canopy cover or dry biomass weights, of native plants to different durations of drought in greenhouse experiments, …

The Role Of Response Time In Math Anxiety, Christine K. Hartmann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Math anxiety is characterized by feelings of discomfort or distress that are triggered when an individual is tasked with using numbers. Math anxiety impacts people at all ages, from early elementary school into adulthood (for review see Ramirez et al., 2018). In these studies, we investigated the cognitive impact that math anxiety has on both children and adults by measuring their math anxiety and reaction time on two tasks. The first task was the arithmetic affective priming task (AAPT), which purportedly shows that those with math anxiety tend to complete math tasks more efficiently (faster) when they are primed to …

Advancing Context-Aware Detection Of Socially Harmful Discourse Using Transformer-Based Models, Santosh Chapagain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Social media platforms are a central part of modern communication, shaping how people share ideas, build communities, and discuss social issues. While these spaces can support connection and self expression, they also enable the spread of harmful language such as hate speech. At the same time, social media is an important place where members of marginalized communities, including sexual and gender minorities, express stress, discrimination, and emotional challenges in ways that are often indirect and context dependent.

This research examines whether modern artificial intelligence systems can better identify harmful language and expressions of minority stress in online posts. The study …

Analyzing The Influence Of Stem Project-Based Learning On Students' Perceptions And Career Interest In Stem, Melissa S. Barker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Although science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment programs aim to increase participation in STEM, the design features that meaningfully influence adolescents’ task values and career-related beliefs remain insufficiently specified. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether STEM PBL activities designed with an interest-focused theoretical lens of Subjective Task Value (STV) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) influence students’ perceptions of STEM courses, majors, and careers. Additionally, I sought to understand what elements of the STEM PBL experience were most impactful. I designed and taught STEM PBL activities for students from the Native American lands in southeastern Utah …

Post-Wildfire Erosion And Biogeochemistry: Integrating Aerial Imagery And Soil Testing To Assess Landscape Recovery, Justin A. Allred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

After a wildfire, land managers are required to monitor large tracts of land with limited time and budgets. Traditionally, tracking landscape recovery is a time intensive process. This research explored the effectiveness of using drones (UAVs), strategic soil sampling, and computer modeling as additional tools for land managers in order to monitor the recovery more efficiently.

By using drones to collect aerial imagery and using machine learning, plant regrowth was monitored in back-to-back years. The machine learning model performed well at telling broad groups apart (trees vs grass) but it struggled to identify differences between plant species. Because many plants …

Factors Affecting Mathematics Teachers’ Instructional Decision-Making: An Ecological Systems Theory Multiple-Case Study, Camille M. Lund

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Though research on effective mathematics instructional strategies is robust, there remains a gap between research and the instruction that takes place in mathematics classrooms. One such effective instructional practice—mathematical student discourse (MSD)—has been extensively researched, but little research has looked holistically at the ecological factors that interact to influence teacher decision-making for this practice. In this qualitative multiple-case dissertation study using Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a theoretical lens, I conducted semi-structured interviews with three elementary teachers who teach mathematics in districts across northern Utah. These interviews utilized the researcher-created Ecological Factors Map to explore how teachers described the …

Influence Of Coterie On Utah Prairie Dog Translocation Success, Bonnie Stokes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is a threatened species found in southwestern Utah. Utah prairie dogs are small, burrowing squirrels that live in family groups called coteries. Translocation, the intentional capture, movement, and release of animals from one location to another, has been widely used to aid in their recovery; however, post-translocation survival remains low. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of translocating Utah prairie dogs as intact coteries on post-translocation survival.

This study was conducted within the West Desert Recovery Unit in Iron and Beaver Counties, Utah, during July–October 2023 and …

Housing Markets In The American West: A Dynamic Time Warping Analysis Of Inter-City Relationships, Daniel Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Housing markets revolve around perhaps the most consequential good to the average person, yet the relationships between local housing markets remain understudied. While major American cities appear to follow similar patterns, the nature of these connections is not fully understood. This project looks at housing markets across the western United States, using Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) to identify which cities tend to lead or lag others in price movements, and look at the overall similarity of their market movements. We also explore whether geographic distance, population growth, and income growth help explain why some markets are more similar than others. …

A Mixed Methods Analysis On The Effect Of Active Learning On Extraneous Cognitive Load Within Undergraduate Statistics Courses, Michelle Brady Rich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Students enrolled in college-level statistics courses often lack the foundational skills of statistical concepts which can potentially lead to increased mental load. Additionally, the curricula within undergraduate classes often focus on traditional theory with little student exploration or participation. This combination of increased mental load and passive lectures can be explored through the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT). CLT examines how new information enters the limited capacity of an individual’s working memory and how exceeding this capacity affects the ability to transfer the information to long-term memory. This research focused on the extraneous cognitive load, or the load imposed by the …