Digital Commons Network^™

Satellite Navigation With Earth Islands For Scope-1, S. Anand Agrawal, Brandon A. Jones

Small Satellite Conference

Spacecraft optical navigation can deliver autonomous navigation onboard when Earth-based tracking is saturated, obstructed, or impractical. Optical navigation relies on the correspondences between detected and known or mapped features in imagery to extract position and/or velocity, and data-driven methods, which directly leverage collected data to learn, can improve detection performance. This paper presents an initial data-driven Earth-based detection system using islands as landmarks for the SpaceCraft for Optical- based Position Estimation-1 (SCOPE-1) 3U CubeSat, which will be paired on board with a physics-based estimation framework. The system consists of an island detector trained on Earth observation imagery of islands, an …

Rosisat - The Radiation Orbital Shielding Investigation Satellite, Steven Insignares, Jacob Blanton, Colson Walker

Small Satellite Conference

• The Radiation Orbital Shielding Investigation Satellite (ROSISat) is an ongoing 1U CubeSat project designed to study the effectiveness of various materials as shielding against single-event upsets and effects on computer memory modules in Earth orbit.
• ROSISat is a student project managed under the Embry-Riddle Orbital Research Association (ERORA), a registered student organization at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
• It is one of three projects from ERORA presented at this conference, alongside tBEARR and SATLASS.
• ROSISat aims to be the first of ERORA’s projects to be launched and operational in LEO, serving to develop CubeSat flight heritage at ERAU.

An Inexpensive, Open, And Extensible Hardware-In-The-Loop Cubesat Test And Simulation Infrastructure, Andrew Greenberg, Glenn Lebrasseur, Max Eltzroth, Rose Edington, Anna Meneely, Maxwell Millar

Small Satellite Conference

We have developed an inexpensive, open source, and extensible hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test and simulation system to allow even small CubeSat teams to dramatically improve their testing infrastructure to increase reliability during flight.

Enhancements And Improvements Of The Radiation Probe - Compact Radiation Probe (Crp), Yihsuan Chou, Loren Chang, Yichung Chiu, Tzuwei Hung, Sinyu Tsui

Small Satellite Conference

As space missions venture beyond Earth's magnetic field, spacecraft face elevated risks from solar energetic particles (SEPs) and galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). Taiwan's first lunar payload—the Deep Space Radiation Probe (DSRP)—was developed to measure radiation dose, dose rate, and SEU rates during Earth–Moon transit. However, flight data revealed limitations in SEU detection and system operation. To address these issues and support CubeSat-class missions, the Compact Radiation Probe (CRP) was developed for the upcoming COSPAR-1 mission.

Northern Arizona Ecological Conservation: Assessing Quaking Aspen Health In Northern Arizona Using Earth Observations, Ikram Morso, Luke Collins, Margaret Cox, Melissa Schwan

Aspen Bibliography

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) forests in Northern Arizona provide critical habitat for endangered bird species and support regional tourism and recreation. However, aspen populations are declining due to a combination of abiotic and biotic stressors. In response, land managers implemented strategies, such as ungulate exclusion fencing, prescribed burns, and stand thinning, but efforts are constrained by limited data on where and when to intervene. This project worked in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and Northern Arizona University School of Forestry. The team utilized Earth observations …

Evaluation Of Diet Quality, Physical Health, And Mental Health Baseline Data From A Wellness Intervention For Individuals Living In Transitional Housing, Callie Millward, Kyle Lyman, Soonwye Lucero, James D. Lecheminant, Cindy Jenkins, Kristi Strongo, Gregory Snow, Heidi Leblanc, Lea Palmer, Rickelle Richards

All Current Publications

Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate baseline health measurements among transitional housing residents (n = 29) participating in an 8-week pilot wellness intervention. Methods: Researchers measured anthropometrics, body composition, muscular strength, cardiovascular indicators, physical activity, diet quality, and health-related perceptions. Researchers analyzed data using descriptive statistics and conventional content analysis. Results: Most participants were male, White, and food insecure. Mean BMI (31.8 ± 8.6 kg/m2 ), waist-to-hip ratio (1.0 ± 0.1 males, 0.9 ± 0.1 females), body fat percentage (25.8 ± 6.1% males, 40.5 ± 9.4% females), blood pressure (131.8 ± 17.9/85.2 ± 13.3 mmHg), and …

Tremblings, August 2025, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

Small-stand Challenges in the Northern Rockies

Brytten Steed, PhD, USFS Forest Entomologist (retired) Forest Health Protection - Missoula Field Office

Aspen in the Northern Rocky Mountains exist more often as small, scattered patches or “stringers” than the iconic landscapes of aspen found elsewhere. Like early-season fireflies, they dot the landscape where moisture is present, ringing potholes, lining streams, or clinging to topographies rich in subsurface moisture. Their rarity belies their importance to wildlife, livestock, fire movement, and humans. Aspen are preferred browse for large herbivores, a hotspot for birds, and home to a diversity of plants. People, too, gravitate …

Sustainable Master Planned Gateway Communities: The Kamas Valley Case, Zachary Sannar

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Gateway communities (towns and cities located near public lands and natural amenities) are experiencing significant and often disruptive change as they transition from economies historically rooted in natural resource extraction to those increasingly driven by tourism and amenity-based migration (Howe et al., 1997; Stoker et al., 2020).

In the Intermountain West, places like Jackson, Wyoming; Springdale, Utah; and West Yellowstone, Montana exemplify this trend, and Kamas Valley is emerging as part of this broader pattern.

Although these communities share a deep cultural and economic connection to their landscapes, they now face mounting pressures from population growth, changing land uses, and …

Living Pantry: Affordable Housing And Traditional Agriculture, Alanna S. Nafziger

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Utah is a beautiful and unique landscape with a vibrant food history that is, as I write this in 2025, undergoing some dramatic changes in both climate and population.

The population is projected to almost double by 2065, increasing by 2.8 million people over a 50-year period. Cache Valley, in the Northern part of the state, is projected to increase its population by 93% in that same time frame (Perlich et. al., 2017).

This population growth represents a huge increase in demand for housing, but while demand grows, the market becomes less affordable, with the median home price 6.26 times …

Challenging The Gaze: A Feminist Interpretation Of The S.M.S. Mail Art Collection, Karissa A. Krievins

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In the late 1960s, many people called for radical, immediate change to America’s political, societal, and cultural structures. The artistic practices of the time reflected the social and political realities of the moment and played a crucial role in advocating for change. The title of the 1968 S.M.S. (Shit Must Stop) subscription art portfolios was a bold and urgent call for action, challenging artists and audiences alike to confront the pressing injustices of the era and inspire a collective awakening to the necessity of transformative change across the United States. Despite a fifty-six-year gap, today we are …

Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems In Southeastern Utah: An Integrated Analysis Of Hydrology, Ecology, And Landscape Change, Colten Lay

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In Southeastern Utah, springs play a critical role in sustaining groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in a semi-arid environment. However, they remain understudied and face growing threats from climate change, land use modifications, and hydrologic alterations. This study addresses knowledge gaps in spring occurrence, hydrologic function, and ecological condition by integrating field surveys, remote sensing, and geospatial analysis across multiple spatial scales. It provides a comprehensive assessment of spring hydrology, water quality, and ecological conditions using field surveys, remote sensing, and GIS analysis to establish a foundational baseline of GDE resources in the region. I applied a multi-scale monitoring approach across the …

Selected Projects In Scenic Design And Technical Direction, Ky Trupp

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

A selection of projects in scenic design and technical direction produced by Utah State Theater involving Ky Trupp and others. Each chapter studies the design process and production process of three individual shows where Ky was the Scenic Designer or Technical Director.

A Study Of Complex Analysis After Whittaker And Watson, Crystal Steed

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The goal of this report is to provide solutions to the exercises found in chapter five of the book titled, A Course of Modern Analysis: An Introduction to the General Theory of Infinite Processes and of Analytic Functions with an Account of the Principal Transcendental Functions by E.T. Whittaker and G.N. Watson. The fifth chapter is titled, "The Fundamental Properties of Analytic Functions; Taylor's, Laurent's and Liouville's Theorems." This report solves the end-of-chapter exercises in addition to providing details for some in-chapter exercises, which are left to the reader. Many of these exercises are results from famous mathematicians.

Professional Portfolio: Collaboration To Support Inclusion Of Students With Extensive Support Needs, Sasha A. Lockhart

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This project focuses on the importance of collaboration between the special education teacher and general education teacher to better support inclusive practices for students with extensive support needs. Inclusion is an important part of education for a student with disabilities. Research has indicated several benefits of inclusion. Inclusion of students with extensive support needs requires effective collaboration between special and general education teachers. This professional portfolio includes a review of the literature about collaboration to support inclusion of students with extensive support needs, as well as two reports. Report one focuses on the collaboration between special education teacher and general …

Validation Of Head Above And Head Submerged Hydrostatic Weighing Equations And Air Displacement Plethysmography, Axel M. Miller

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Traditional hydrostatic weighing (HW) involves full body submersion at residual volume (RV), which may be uncomfortable. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate a more comfortable way to perform this method. HW with the head above water (HW_HAW) was compared to the traditional method of HW with head below water (HW_HBW) and to another method that also measures density by displacement, air displacement plethysmography (ADP). Equivalence was tested by comparing the body fat percentage (BF%), body volume (Vb), and body density (Db) of 27 subjects (15 M, 12 F) between the three methods. Results …

Dream Pilot Project: Analysis Of Groundwater Development At Six Villages In Ethiopia, Lindsay K. Gordon

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

This study presents a hydrogeologic assessment of the Distributed Renewable Energy Agriculture Modalities (DREAM) pilot project, an ongoing groundwater development initiative in rural Ethiopia. This project integrates solar-powered groundwater infrastructure across six villages to improve water access, agricultural productivity, and economic stability.

Fourteen production wells were installed at Murche, four at Dalle, and additional test wells at Murche, Dalle, Chefe Kora, and Huluku. Transmissivity values and the number of wells at Murche suggest that local water needs are currently being met. In contrast, fewer wells were drilled at Dalle. This reflects the high cost of well construction relative to yield, …

Development And Application Of Novel Apparatus For Ocean Spray In Turbulent Atmospheres, Alicyn S. Koldewyn

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Ocean spray droplets can have significant effects including reducing surface heating from the sun, degrading air quality, and intensifying tropical cyclones. However, quantifying these effects has been challenging due to the multiscale, chaotic nature of wave breaking and turbulent flow. This research presents the development of a novel apparatus designed to combine bubble column droplet generation with synthetic jet actuators for turbulence generation. The purpose is to demonstrate reliable bubble formation and droplet generation, air turbulence effect on droplet dynamics, and quantitative measurement and analysis of these effects. The primary goals of the apparatus include optical accessibility for high-resolution imaging, …

Evaluating Uplift At The Leading Edge Of The Yellowstone Hotspot - A Study Of The Shoshone River Drainage, Emma Tombaugh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The stationary mantle plume (or hotspot) underlying the Yellowstone region has caused parts of the surrounding landscape to rise as the continental plate migrates over it. However, scientists do not fully agree on the spatial pattern of this uplift and few measurements of the landscape have been made to provide estimates of uplift rates. To better understand uplift patterns and rates, this study examines the Shoshone River, which flows across the predicted zone of highest uplift at the northeastern, leading edge of the hotspot. Digital-terrain analysis is used to measure channel steepness and field and imagery approaches are used to …

A Computational Study On Impact Performance Of Concrete Barriers For Protecting Transportation Assets, Ashesh Pokhrel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Highway safety is a major concern as roads accommodate increasing numbers of vehicles, including large trucks and tractor-trailers. Concrete barriers are commonly used along highways and bridges to prevent accidents by redirecting vehicles and protecting important structures like bridge piers. However, their effectiveness depends on how well they withstand vehicle impacts, how they perform after being damaged in previous crashes, and how they protect bridge piers when space is limited. This research examines these issues using advanced computer simulations to better understand barrier performance and improve roadway safety.

The first part of this study reviews how researchers and engineers use …

Unveiling Insights From Complexity: Advanced Computational Techniques For High-Dimensional Medical Data, Devin P. Eddington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Healthcare generates vast amounts of data daily, from genetic profiles to hospital records, but much of it remains untapped due to its complexity. This dissertation develops new computational tools to unlock this data’s potential, aiming to improve patient care and medical research. Five projects tackle different challenges: Project 1 creates Deep MAGIC, a method to fill in missing genetic and image data accurately, vital for understanding diseases like cancer. Project 2 analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted surgeries, finding a 27% drop and temporary complication rises in 2020, guiding future crisis planning. Projects 3 and 4 study kidney disease trials, …

An Optimization Study Of Multi-Orifice Synthetic Jets, Rhett T. Parry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

From the mixing of creamer into coffee, to the dynamics of a dust storm, or smoke rising from a chimney—everything is driven by turbulent fluid motion. Experimentalists bring the complex driving mechanism that is turbulence into a laboratory setting to fundamentally understand its behavior in response to certain test parameters. Researchers may choose various drivers, or “actuators”, of fluid motion to start the turbulent regime for their applications. However, in building an entire experimental apparatus, they miss the step of ensuring that an individual driver is performing as best as possible. A common actuator used in experimental studies is a …

Metaheuristic Planning For Vehicle Fleets With Kinematic, Uncertain, And Battery Constraints, James Swedeen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The planning of vehicle actions and movements is becoming increasingly important in daily life. With the growing list of potential and current applications of autonomous planning, the field is faced with an ever-growing list of complications. These complications make the task of producing efficient plans increasingly difficult. This research studies and develops solutions for a few of the most important vehicle planning applications in recent years.

First, there is the planning of vehicle motion while considering the physical limitations of the vehicle. For many vehicles, for example, cars, airplanes, and boats, the biggest limitation is the inability to pan directly …

Geochemical And Stratigraphic Characterization Of The Morrison Formation And Cedar Mountain Formation Contact In The Island Park Quadrangle, Uintah County, Utah, Emily Mcdermott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation and Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation are among the richest sources of dinosaur fossils. Despite a 24-million-year gap in time (the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformity), these formations are difficult to distinguish due to their similar rock types and colors. In Utah's Island Park quadrangle (IPQ), these formations are not separated on existing geological maps. This study focuses on identifying and understanding the formational boundary between them using field observations, stable isotope analysis, clay mineralogy, and chemical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF).

Unlike other areas where a conglomerate layer marks the boundary, the …

Risk Perceptions And Water Governance: Experiences Of Irrigation Companies In The Great Salt Lake Basin Of Northern Utah, United States, Bailey M. Holdaway

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Irrigation companies are important water management entities in the Western US. However, these companies often face barriers when managing water. Particularly as the state of Utah grows and water resources are drying, there is much finger pointing at those in irrigation and agriculture for better water management. However, pointing fingers without the participation of these companies often does not lead to effective water management outcomes. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of these irrigation companies, and particularly how they are approaching water management.

I set out to understand the role of these irrigation companies, specifically in the Great …

The Validation Of The Patient’S Endorsement Of The Biopsychosocial Model Of Chronic Pain (Peb) Scale In Young Adults, Mathias M. Sanyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This research examined a new tool designed to measure how patients view their chronic pain. While healthcare providers increasingly recognize that chronic pain involves biological, psychological, and social factors (a "biopsychosocial approach"), no previous tool existed to assess whether patients share this perspective. This study tested the reliability and effectiveness of the Patient's Endorsement of a Biopsychosocial Model of Chronic Pain (PEB) Scale in young adults with chronic pain. Results confirmed the scale accurately measures a single, consistent concept and correlates with patients' willingness to consider new pain management approaches. Unlike in older adults, the scale didn't predict active maintenance …

Efficacy And Social Validity Of A Modified Good Behavior Game, Milad Najafichaghabouri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Teachers regularly face challenging behavior from students in their classrooms. Research shows that the good behavior game (GBG) is a strategy teachers can use in their classrooms to improve student behavior. However, in practice, very few teachers choose to use this strategy in their classrooms. One reason why teachers may not use this intervention regularly is that they find some parts of the intervention to be difficult to implement in the long-term. The purpose of this study was to modify the procedures of the GBG to reduce implementation effort for teachers and assess if the intervention continues to be effective. …

Intra-Stand Movement Of Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Piceae) In The Intermountain West, Michael S. Wayman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Balsam woolly adelgid (BWA, Adelges piceae (Ratz.)) is an invasive insect of true firs (Abies spp.). BWA has spread from initial introductions on the west coast of North America in the 1920s through the Intermountain West and has recently invaded Utah. White fir (A. concolor) and subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa) are the two main species of concern in this region; however, subalpine fir has been found to be more susceptible to attack and subsequent damage. While long-range dispersal mechanisms and patterns are of interest for spread across regions and for predicting new infestations, very little …

The Effect Of Voter Education On Behaviors In Ranked Choice Voting, Ethan G. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The appeal of ranked choice voting has led to its recent meteoric rise throughout America, leading to adoption in a number of cities and a handful of states, but some critics and political scientists worry about its higher difficulty potentially leading to more errors and undesirable behavior. Utilizing an experiment, I find that a short voter education video is all that is required to reduce rates of errors and ideologically inconsistent behavior, while finding null results for undervoting, possibly due to its low occurrence in the sample.

As ranked choice voting’s adoption is considered in each election cycle for jurisdictions …

Role Of Quartz Grain Size And Saturation On Fault Strength And Frictional Healing, Sapana Regmi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Rocks near the Earth's surface (less than 5 kilometers deep) often break and grind against one another to create crushed rock materials known as fault gouge. These fault gouges are filled with fragmented particles and broken rocks, which vary in grain size over time and space due to repeated earthquakes. This variation in grain size distribution along fault gouge can affect the strength of the fault, how it slips during an earthquake and how it 'heals' or recovers strength between earthquakes. Further, fault gouges often contain water from underground sources, which can influence how they slip. Previous studies have examined …

Breaking Up In The Digital Age: Examining The Relational Dissolution Model On Instagram, Alana Haupert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Breakups can be an emotional time as individuals experience breakup distress and begin to explore the options and potential actions that are associated with relational dissolution on social media. This study seeks to explore how certain online behaviors, as they relate to stages of relational dissolution, affect breakup distress, relational uncertainty, social media engagement, and overall attitudes towards singlehood. Findings suggest that social media engagement plays a key role in exploring the phases of relational dissolution. Higher social media intensity linked breakup distress and behaviors of the social phase, or when individuals share information about a potential breakup. Grave-dressing behaviors …