Digital Commons Network^™

Globally-Attractive Logarithmic Geometric Control Of A Quadrotor For Aggressive Trajectory Tracking, Jacob C. Johnson, Randal W. Beard

Utah Space Grant Consortium

We present a new quadrotor geometric control scheme that is capable of tracking highly aggressive trajectories. Our geometric controller uses the logarithmic map of SO(3) to express rotational error in the Lie algebra, and we show that it is globally attractive without requiring a complicated hybrid switching scheme. We show the performance of our controller against highly aggressive trajectories in simulation experiments. Additionally, we present an adaptation of this controller that allows us to interface effectively with the angular rate controllers on an onboard flight control unit and show the ability of this adapted control scheme to track aggressive trajectories …

Large Earthquakes' Effect On The Ionosphere, Aaron Houston

Physics Capstone Projects

The ionosphere is a part of the Earth’s atmosphere that stretches from 80 – 600 kilometers. Gases in this area are ionized which creates a range of free electrons that make up the plasma of the ionosphere. A group of these electrons is known as Total Electron Content (TEC), which is responsible for signal delays between satellites in orbit and their GPS receivers on the surface. Using this delay, the TEC in a specific region can be calculated. This helps in GPS error analysis. During the earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, there was allegedly a noticeable jump in …

Improving The Efficiency Of The Preconditioning Of Iterative Solutions To The Kinetic Equation, D. Caleb Price

Physics Capstone Projects

To achieve the reality of fusion, a greater understanding of plasma is required. The kinetic equation can be evolved simultaneously alongside the fluid equations to solve for kinetic closures. NIMROD performs this with numerical solvers where the General Minimum Residual (GMRES) solver becomes more efficient with a preconditioning matrix as input. Using a GPU-enabled library, the efficiency of GPU offloading to the preconditioning step was tested. A significant decrease in the factoring time of preconditioning matrix was observed. This suggests that the allocation of GPUs is worth investigating for NIMROD’s own benefit, but also anyone seeking to improve the efficiency …

Indexer++: Workload-Aware Online Index Tuning With Transformers And Reinforcement Learning, Vishal Sharma, Curtis Dyreson

Computer Science Student Research

With the increasing workload complexity in modern databases, the manual process of index selection is a challenging task. There is a growing need for a database with an ability to learn and adapt to evolving workloads. This paper proposes Indexer++, an autonomous, workload-aware, online index tuner. Unlike existing approaches, Indexer++ imposes low overhead on the DBMS, is responsive to changes in query workloads and swiftly selects indexes. Our approach uses a combination of text analytic techniques and reinforcement learning. Indexer++ consist of two phases: Phase (i) learns workload trends using a novel trend detection technique based on a pre-trained …

Utah State University Commencement, 2022 - Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

2022 Commencement Ceremony for the Main Campus of Utah State University.

Seasonal Variations In Global Ionospheric Total Electron Content, Jason Knudsen

Physics Capstone Projects

As the Sun ionizes atoms and molecules in the Earth’s ionosphere, the region of atmosphere above approximately 100 km in altitude, the created ionization in this region affects many of the systems that we rely on in daily life. This includes cellular service, GPS navigation, weather forecasting, and credit card data. A good measure for the level of ionization in the ionosphere is total electron content (TEC), which is the number of electrons in a square column above a given geographic location. The TEC over a geographic location influences the propagation of radio waves that traverse that section of the …

Characteristics Of Mesospheric Temperature And Gravity Waves Over Chile In 2020-2021, Damien M. Devitt, Kenneth Zia

Physics Capstone Projects

Gravity waves (GWs) are often confused with gravitational waves in the fabric of space time. However, there is a clear distinction between them. Gravity wave is a term used by the atmospheric research field to describe perturbations in the atmosphere. Gravity pulls the perturbations down and causes oscillations, these present in the form of waves. The best visualization is to think of ripples on a pond, as the ripple reaches its peak gravity pulls the ripple down and creates an oscillating effect.

Visions Of Science: An Art Historical Exploration Of Medieval Scientific Manuscripts, Olivia Brock

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The late 16th century saw a new movement in the world of science to push scientific ideas and practice out of academia and into the hands of the layman. No longer were scholars the sole proprietors of science –everyday laborers, craftsman, and artists now had practical scientific principles at their fingertips that they could incorporate into their professions. This new spread of science was facilitated in several ways, including the publication of books incorporating detailed, explanatory images, new utilitarian instruments, and public lectures. Though science was disseminated through a variety of means, I have been particularly interested in the ways …

Using Experiments, 3d Scanning, And Computational Fluid Dynamics To Analyze Variance In Minor Loss Coefficients, Adam B. Pack

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As water moves through pipes, it loses energy. The energy losses are due to friction and the minor losses associated with various pipe fittings, which change the direction of flow. Pipe bends, or elbows, are a common pipe fitting and a significant source of energy loss in piping systems. This research was performed to better understand the variability of energy loss due to different pipe elbow designs and to investigate methods to replicate these losses using numerical simulations.

Eight pipe elbows, all 3-inch, 90-degree, schedule 40 PVC elbows that vary by radius of curvature and/or end connection type, were tested …

Regression Tree Predictive Filter, Jarren Worthen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Many algorithms have been developed to predict future samples of a signal. These algorithms, such as the recursive least squares predictive filter, rely on the assumption that the system generating the signal can be modeled as a linear system of equations. These systems perform poorly when used to predict signals generated by non-linear systems. To predict a non-linear signal, non-linear methods must be used. Regression trees are a simple form of machine learning that is non-linear in nature and can predict output based on a set of given input. The goal of this capstone project was to develop an algorithm …

A Sentiment And Content Analysis Of Facebook Posts Regarding Wild Horse Management, Libbie G. Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to better understand public sentiment and current conversations on Facebook regarding wild horse management practices, including adoption, roundups, and contraception, in the timeframe between the June 2021 BLM Wild Horse Advisory Board meeting and January 31, 2022. Social media monitoring and quantitative content analysis were used to examine the Facebook posts of four organizations communicating about the wild horse controversy. The research questions guiding this study included: (1) How many total mentions of “fertility control,” “contraception,” “roundup,” “gather,” “adoption,” and “management” as they pertained to wild horses occurred across Facebook from June 1, 2021 …

Margin Of Error, Aubrey Felty

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

According to Utah State University’s Office of Analysis, Assessment, and Accreditation during the Fall semester of 2020, about 18% of students enrolled were students of color. About 2.5% of students enrolled identified as two or more races. Margin of Error is a docudrama that elevates the voices of multiracial college students and promotes a better understanding of multiracial individuals. The project involves actor portrayals of interviews with multiracial college students who discuss navigating their multiple racial identities at often predominantly white universities. It also features reactions and commentary on the students’ experiences from faculty and students at Utah State University. …

Calibration Procedure For Dic Strain Measurements During Vibration-Based Fatigue Testing, Benjamin D. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Vibration-based fatigue testing is fast and effective method for determining failure characteristics of a material. Often, a small electrical device called a strain gage is bonded to a rectangular plate specimen to measure the deformation of the plate during a test. However, these strain gages break before the plate does, so an alternative method would improve the results obtained from the test. As an alternative to strain gages, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a non-contacting, camera-based technique that measures the deformation of an object by comparing digital images taken before and after the object is deformed. During a vibration-based fatigue …

Delivering On A Promise: A Longitudinal Cohort Study Of Emergent Bilinguals' Academic Achievement In A Utah Dual Language Program, J. Eric Campbell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Emergent bilingual (EB) students are a growing population in the U.S. school system currently comprising over 10% of the total population. U.S. school districts have educated EB students using a myriad of practices, including dual language immersion (DLI). Many studies have looked at the academic achievement of native-Spanish speaking EB students, yet there is a dearth of research on DLI in medium-sized school districts in rural settings. This study focused on native-Spanish speaking EB students in a DLI program in a rural Utah district. Specifically, the study compared student academic achievement in English acquisition, English language arts, mathematics, and grade …

The Gambler's Edge - A Theoretical Framework To Trading Securities, Matthew Haines

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Like gamblers, retail investors seeking excess returns in financial markets are prone to miscalculation and their models are often misspeciffied. Forecasting asset prices is extremely difficult in the long run and nearly infeasible in the short run. Additionally, retail investors are likely to be at a disadvantage both technologically and informationally—rarely will they be ahead of the curve. With these disadvantages and the difficulty of predicting future outcomes, retail investors may come to view prices as unpredictable and random in nature, like a roll of the dice. This theoretical research explores a possible investing methodology (derived from gambling principles) should …

A Computer Programming Intervention For Second Grade Math Students, Eric B. Bagley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The multiplication algorithms taught to elementary students are made to help students find answers quickly, but why the algorithm works and how it relates to multiplication is not widely known. For example, one intuitive meaning of multiplication is that of iterated, or, repeated, addition. In this paper, we look at the ways a visual, block-based, programming activity uses the concept of iteration to help second-graders learn multiplication. The results of the study observing second-grade students use visual programming and iteration to setup and solve multiplication story problems. We found that generally students enjoyed these activities and found them helpful during …

Artificial Intelligence And Deep Reinforcement Learning Stock Market Predictions, Andrew W. Brim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Billions of dollars are traded automatically in the stock market every day, including algorithms that use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, but there are still questions regarding how AI trades successfully. The black box nature of these AI techniques, namely neural networks, gives pause to entrusting it with valuable trading funds. This dissertation applies AI techniques to stock market trading strategies, but it also provides exploratory research into how these techniques predict the stock market successfully.

This dissertation presents the work of three research papers. The first paper presented in this dissertation applies a artificial intelligence technique, reinforcement learning, to candlestick …

Cultivating Agrobiodiversity In The U.S.: Barriers And Bridges At Multiple Scales, Kaitlyn A. Spangler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The diversity of crops grown in the United States (U.S.) is declining, causing agricultural landscapes to become more and more simplified. This trend is concerning for the loss of important plant, insect, and animal species, as well as the pollution and degradation of our environment. Through three separate but related studies, this dissertation addresses the need to increase the diversity of these agricultural landscapes in the U.S., particularly through diversifying the type and number of crops grown. The first study uses multiple, openly accessible datasets related to agricultural land use and policies to document and visualize change over recent decades. …

Yang-Mills Sources In Biconformal Double Field Theory, Davis W. Muhwezi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is a robust and unifying approach to unraveling the roiling mysteries of the universe. Our most compelling accounts of physical reality at present rest on symmetry arguments that are conspicuously geometrical!

105 years ago, Albert Einstein derived gravity from Riemannian geometry. In the general theory of relativity, the world of our experience is a pseudo-Riemannian manifold whose curvature represents the gravitational field. Encoded in the Einstein field equation is how matter sources (energy-momentum tensor) couple to gravity (spacetime curvature). Schematically, the Einstein equation exhibits a more general structure:

Curvature of Spacetime = Material Sources

On one side of the …

Dynamical Systems Analysis In Adaptive And Metapopulation Ecology With Applications To Conservation Management, Guenchik Grosklos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ability for a species to persist largely relies on how well they adapt to the environment and their interactions with local and global communities. Specifically, if adaptation occurs quickly enough or nearby communities sufficiently promote growth rates, populations at risk of extinction may persist. In this dissertation, we first develop a method that estimates and compares rates of change in time series data of population densities and measurable traits (phenotypes). Additionally, we compare between genetic (evolutionary) and non-genetic (plastic) trait change to determine whether phenotypes change faster when driven by evolutionary or plastic change. We then focus on metapopulation …

Children's Mathematical Engagement Based On Their Awareness Of Different Coding Toys' Design Features, Joseph S. Kozlowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tangible coding toys have been promulgated as useful learning tools for young children to learn computer science and mathematics concepts and skills. Although research shows coding toys can support mathematics for early childhood aged children, little is known about the specific design features of coding toys that afford mathematical thinking concepts and skills to young children. The purpose of this study was to examine kindergarten-aged children’s awareness of the design features in coding toys and to understand how those design features afford children’s engagement with mathematics. The dataset used for this study was collected as part of design-based research NSF …

Stability, Electronic Structure, And Nonlinear Optical Properties In Clusters And Materials: A Synergistic Experimental-Computational Analysis, Maksim Kulichenko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main objective of Chemistry as a science is an understanding of how and why certain atoms are bonded together and what effects these bonds cause. Modern computational chemistry offers a wide range of tools that greatly assist the exploration of vast chemical space replacing expensive trial-and-error experimental approaches. Computational chemistry may serve to characterize newly synthesized compounds and provide atomic scale insights inaccessible to experimentalists’ vision. Moreover, predictive power of computational chemistry may be used as a guidance for future experiments and for the rational design of new compounds with desired properties.

This dissertation demonstrates the capabilities of joint …

A Multi-Scalar Socio-Policy Analysis Of Resource Reallocation And Water Security In Twenty-First Century Utah, Usa, Clint P. Carney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As drought and a warming climate continue to impact the western United States, balancing the water needs of cities, agriculture, and natural systems is becoming increasingly more complex. One approach commonly promoted to address water supply issues is the transfer of water between users via markets. However, markets for water face multiple obstacles that can often be costly for participants due to constraints inherent in western U.S. water law. Coinciding with issues of cost, water markets must overcome disinterest among water rights holders in releasing their water rights for uses even if temporarily. Moreover, water transfers bring to light the …

The Influence Of A Course On Assessment For Inservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Natalie M. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many mathematics teachers are not prepared to design valid and usable measurements of their students’ mathematical achievements. There are relatively few opportunities for mathematics teachers to improve their assessment literacy. The purpose of this study is to (1) design a course on assessment for inservice mathematics teachers and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the course. This paper recounts the development of the course and its influence on 16 teachers. Teachers who completed the course submitted a unit outline with learning objectives, a test blueprint, and a unit test. These artifacts influenced my evaluation on the effectiveness of the course. All …

Evaluation Of Hydrograph Separation Techniques With Uncertain End-Member Composition, Eileen Page Lukens

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes to precipitation and temperature occurring as a result of climate change can influence water sources (such as groundwater or snowmelt) that contribute to stream flow in a watershed. This is significant, as shifts in the amount of water coming from different water sources can shape watershed management decisions. One technique often used to investigate changes in water sources is hydrograph separation, a mathematical tool that allows for the quantification of the amount of water that came from different water sources. However, it can be difficult to perform hydrograph separations in remote watersheds as there may be insufficient infrastructure, i.e. …

Shallow Composition And Structure Of The San Gabriel Fault, California In Drill Core And Geophysical Logs: Implications For Fault Slip And Energetics, Kaitlyn A. Crouch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthquakes are the sudden and intensive release of energy due to slip along faults. This energy may be felt on the Earth’s surface and may cause displacement of the Earth’s crust (seismic slip). As an earthquake ruptures, rocks in and around the fault are damaged and altered. When a fault displaces without earthquakes, it is referred to as aseismic creep. Faults may experience both seismic slip and aseismic creep throughout their cycles. In order to better model earthquake hazards and understand the cause of seismic slip versus aseismic creep in the shallow crust, we need to characterize the properties of …

Comparative Studies In Rangeland Management: Examining The Foundational Assessments Relationship To The Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Assessment Framework And Assessment Of Predicted Cattle Distributions Using Gps Collars In Rich County, Utah, Michael T. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is being used as an umbrella species to manage for 350 plant and animal species that also depend on rangeland communities. Sage-grouse habitat assessments have been carried out using multiple methods. Standard sage-grouse methods described by Connelly et al 2003, include line intercept (LI) and Daubenmire frames (DF) measuring canopy cover. These methods were adopted broadly among sage-grouse biologist and used to develop habitat objectives for greater sage-grouse. Federal land management agencies now use the Habitat Assessment Framework (HAF). Specifically, HAF employs line-point intercept (LPI), to assess foliar cover in sage-grouse habitat. While …

Fitting Physical Models To Spatiotemporal Observations: Discovering Developmental Regulatory Networks Of Drosophila, Dj Holt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Deep learning continues to solve significant scientific and engineering problems, but the solutions found are neural networks with thousands of parameters that provide no scientific or engineering insights. A solution to this problem, explored in this work, is to learn mathematical models that represent mechanisms that can be interpreted by scientists and engineers.

A challenging learning problem is to discover the genetic regulatory mechanisms that drive pattern formation during early biological development. Using known mathematical models of these processes, consisting of coupled ordinary differential and partial differential equations, we aim to identify the model parameters that describe the biological mechanisms …

Designing And Decoding Chemical Bonds: A Computational Pipeline Backed Up By Magnetic Criteria And Experiment, Nikita Fedik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

You may find plenty of definitions of chemistry but all of them, explicitly or not, are centered around chemical bonds. When we say “chemical properties”, “reactivity”, “stability”, “structure” etc., we have in mind chemical bonds and their reorganization which almost completely defines the behavior of the matter. Why some materials are ultrahard and can cut through steel while others are so soft that you can form them with your bare hands? You probably have already guessed that it occurs because their chemical bonding is very different. Although the elemental composition could be the same! In this Dissertation, we report results …

Measuring Changes In Motivation In Response To An Online Repeated Reading Intervention With Self-Monitoring, David N. Longhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Reading is a complex cognitive process that is integral to learning, achievement, and future life outcomes. Students with reading disabilities struggle to obtain information and develop specific interests. Unfortunately, many students in the United States do not meet expected reading benchmarks. Also due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has presented multiple challenges for student academic reading growth. Motivation beliefs, such as self-efficacy, interest, and goal-directed behavior, play an important role in students’ education and development. This study examined whether motivational constructs change throughout the course of an online repeated reading intervention with self-monitoring. Five elementary students were selected …