Digital Commons Network^™

The Last Five Years: An Innovative Theatre Project, Bailee Miner, Grave Garner

Student Research Symposium

The purpose of this project is to gain further knowledge in theatrical production of a full-length musical. We will work creatively as an artistic team of two Actors and a Director, building our own personal craft to contribute to the show as an entirety. Then, as a group, we will experience the financial side of producing Theatre. We will learn the business side of production; applying and paying for rights, cooperating with house management, ticket sales and proceeds, and management of volunteer recruitment.We have chosen to produce the musical, The Last Five Years written by Jason Robert Brown. This musical …

Advances In Alkaline Water Electrolysis And Way Forward: A Review, Manjur Basnet

Student Research Symposium

Low cost and large stack manufacturing have favored the commercialization of low temperature Alkaline Electrolyzers (AEL). However, due to the nature of its operation at lower current density and temperature, AEL systems have a lower hydrogen production rate and efficiency as compared to its counterparts, PEM (Proton Exchange Membranes) and SOE (Solid-Oxide Electrolysis). Studies related to the use of higher temperature and use of advanced materials for diaphragm and electrocatalysts have been conducted. These studies are aimed at improving the performance of AEL systems without significantly increasing the cost. This study focuses on a review study of the existing technologies …

Improving Intersection Safety With Geographically-Targeted Crash Prediction Models In Utah, Atul Subedi

Student Research Symposium

This project aims to improve intersection safety in Utah by developing geographically-targeted crash prediction models. The lack of research investigating active mode crashes at signalized intersections in different geographical regions calls for this study. The objective of this research is to understand the factors associated with the frequency of active mode crashes at signalized intersections. Exposure variables such as AADT, pedestrian and bicycle volumes, and intersection-level variables such as crossing distance, speed limit, and presence of street lights were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model.

A Unified Approach That Makes Online Taxi Service More Effective, Jiyao Li

Student Research Symposium

We propose a unified approach for scheduling taxis across a city. Balancing the supplies and demands on a city scale is a challenging problem in the field of online taxi services. To tackle the problem, we design a unified approach considering two important processes: Taxi-Rider Matching and Taxi Guidance. In the Taxi-Rider Matching, with the help of Lottery Selection (LS) and smoothed popularity score, the approach can balance supplies and demands well, both in the local neighborhood areas and hot places across the city. Regarding Taxi Guidance, we propose Q-learning Idle Movement (QIM) to direct vacant taxis to the most …

New Rocket Fuel Blend For Hybrid Rocket Ignition Enhancement, Ryan Thibaudeau

Student Research Symposium

This work describes and compares different methods of ignition for hybrid rockets using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as the fuel and high-test hydrogen peroxide (HTP) as the oxidizer. Additionally, the work provides an overview of the current state of the art regarding ignition of HTP hybrid rockets. The approach to ignition methods using gaseous oxygen (GOX) pre-lead and catalytic ignition configurations are presented. The manufacturing process and testing results of a unique catalyst-infused fuel grain is presented as the optimal solution to overcome ignition latencies present in HTP-ABS hybrid rockets.

Civic Education, School Climate, And Gender In Latin American Countries: A Path Analysis Using Iccs 2016 Data, Lorissa Nelson, Kalie Chamberlain

Student Research Symposium

This multilevel path analysis of data collected from the International Civic and Citizenship Study investigates how differing civic education experiences between girls and boys predict notions of citizenship across five Latin American countries. Findings show statistically significant differences by gender, in the perception of civic education. Generally, classroom activities including the value of civic learning in the classroom, willingness to participate in classroom activities, and an open classroom climate were positively related to notions of engagement, while student experience with abuse had a negative relationship. Additionally, evidence suggests that civic learning at school had a stronger impact on male students. …

Understanding And Minimizing The Effects Of Propellant Mean Bulk Temperature Changes In Solid Rocket Motors, Thomas Sorensen

Student Research Symposium

Solid rocket propellant typically contains the geometry of an extruded annulus. This propellant, when ignited, burns radially at a rate called the “burn rate”. This rate dramatically affects important motor performance characteristics such as pressure, thrust, and specific impulse. Each different mixture of solid rocket propellant has a sensitivity to initial propellant temperature. The relationship between burn rate and initial temperature sensitivity function are each determined experimentally. This literature review will analyze existing experimental data. The objective of the research is to see if there is a reliable way to predict the burning rate’s temperature sensitivity prior to obtaining new …

Analyzing The Effects Of American Versus British Theatrical Education, Ashlynn Rober

Student Research Symposium

Over the summer, with assistance from the money granted to me by URCO, I was able to spend four weeks at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts studying Shakespeare and the art of acting. Over these four weeks, my confidence in technique, self assessment, and overall skills improved abundantly. I was able to fully examine and research all of the techniques I had previously been taught in my time here at Utah State in comparison with not only LAMDA’s technique, but also the technique of my classmates from around the world. My time there was spent gaining an …

Reclaiming Fault Resilience And Energy Efficiency With Enhanced Performance In Low Power Architectures, Noel Daniel Gundi

Student Research Symposium

Shrinking technology node and the massive increase in data workloads has witnessed a swift migration of the system towards the Low-Power Computing (LPC) paradigm. Additionally, to accelerate the redundant yet mammoth AI instructions, novel ASIC design architectures have been explored. Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) is one such architectural innovation deployed in the commercial space to speedup the processing of AI workloads. In an effort to achieve a superior energy efficiency, Near-Threshold Computing (NTC) has been marginalized to be an efficient LPC paradigm. Due to an underscaling of voltage, NTC offers quadratic savings is power consumption in comparison to operating …

Controlling Oxidizer-Fuel Ratio With Vortex Injection In Hybrid Rockets, Max Francom

Student Research Symposium

Hybrid motors have existed as a hypothetical propulsion system for decades in a wide range of upper stage rocket motors due to their simple, robust, non-toxic, and versatile nature. However, inherent to hybrids is oxidizer:Fuel ratio (O:F Ratio) shift over time, the elimination of which would remove many potential barriers to hybrid rocket motor usage in most spaceflight applications. The most important and difficult part of analytical models of hybrid rockets is the regression/combustion rate of hybrid fuel. O:F Ratio control is fully dependent on the ability to manipulate this regression independently of Oxidizer mass input. One potential method of …

In-Situ Optical Measurements Of Combustion Plumes, Cara Frischkorn

Student Research Symposium

The exhaust plumes of rocket and jet propulsion systems feature highly-oxidizing, potentially corrosive, extremely high temperature flows. The hostility of these environments makes obtaining in-situ thermal flow measurements extremely difficult. The conventional method for these measurements uses Gardon heat-flux gauges requiring complex and highly invasive installations which cannot be used for flight applications. More recent work has used fiberoptic cable installations to sense internal flow conditions of hybrid and solid fuel rockets. In this configuration, fiber optic cables inserted through the fuel and into the flow are consumed by the flame as the fuel surfaces pyrolyze, but the cable tips …

A New Framework To Assess The Individual Fairness Of Probabilistic Classifiers, Muhammad Fawad Akbar Khan

Student Research Symposium

Fairness in machine learning has become a global concern due to the predominance of ML in automated decision-making systems. In comparison to group fairness, individual fairness, which aspires that similar individuals should be treated similarly, has received limited attention due to some challenges. One major challenge is the availability of a proper metric to evaluate individual fairness, especially for probabilistic classifiers. In this study, we propose a framework PCIndFair to assess the individual fairness of probabilistic classifiers. Unlike current individual fairness measures, our framework considers probability distribution rather than the final classification outcome, which is suitable for capturing the dynamic …

#Blacklivesdomatter: Critical Counter-Storytelling At A Harlem Charter School, Kalie Chamberlain

Student Research Symposium

Purpose: This discourse analysis (Gee, 1999) addresses the moderating effect of school climate on student achievement. It seeks to concretize methods of cultivating an environment that promotes high achievement among traditionally at-risk populations. Both through the inclusion of photographs and descriptions, the visual discourse analysis (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1996) suggests ways that school design may contribute to student achievement, even for schools functioning in borrowed public spaces.Design/Methodology/ApproachBuilding on quantitative analyses (Uline & Tschannen-Moran, 2008) and qualitative descriptions (Castillo-Montoya et al., 2019), this project applies a critical visual discourse methodology to both describe and analyze a visual liberatory curriculum (Freire, …

Progress Report On The Effect Of Introducing Biological And Environmental Discipline-Themed Problems In Engineering Mechanics Statics On Students’ Self-Efficacy And Perceived Value Of The Course, Yemisi Oyewola

Student Research Symposium

This study extends the previous research which examined the effect of introducing biological and environmental discipline-themed problems in Engineering Mechanics Statics on students’ Self-Efficacy (SE) and perceived value (PV) of the course. The previous research was carried out using pooled data from 133 participants over 3 semesters. Additional data from 126 participants were collected over the next two semesters making it a total of 262 participants. The result from the previous study showed a statistically significant increase in the perceived value of the students even though their self-efficacy did not significantly change. However, despite an increased sample size, the result …

Plastic Photochemistry: Determining How Weathering Impacts Phototransformation Rates, Anna Fabiszak

Student Research Symposium

It is a scientific certainty that plastics do exist and will continue to exist in the environment for many years, but exactly how long? Photochemistry can be a major degradation pathway of plastics. Many studies have been performed using microbial activity, heat, and light. However, the question of which wavelengths have the greatest effect on the plastic phototranformation remains. This question was answered by irradiating weathered and pristine plastics under monochromatic LEDs lights from wavelengths 275-445 nm, and measuring the amount of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC).

Relating Throttled Hybrid Motor Performance To Oxidizer-To-Fuel Ratio, Trevor Coombs

Student Research Symposium

A hybrid rocket motor's ability to throttle and restart, along with other desirable traits, drives its potential to be an emerging technology in spaceflight applications. However, the current lack of an ability to maintain an optimal mixture ratio of oxidizer to fuel propellants, O/F ratio, during combustion limits the hybrid motor's overall efficiency. This study quantifies how variations in O/F ratio and combustion chamber pressure, which a throttle valve can indirectly manipulate upstream of the chamber, affect the characteristic velocity (c * ) and specific impulse (Isp) of the motor. The researcher uses an analytical hybrid rocket combustion model and …

Energy Storage Can Increase The Value And Flexibility Of A Nuclear Power Plant But Makes Plant Economics More Subject To Uncertainty In Electricity Price, Jacob Bryan

Student Research Symposium

Regional electricity markets currently rely heavily on coal and natural gas resources to meet electricity demand. Intermittent renewable resources like wind and solar power are location-dependent and are not dispatchable resources. Flexible nuclear power, achieved through the use of integrated thermal energy storage, may be able to complement these renewable resources to provide clean, predictable power in an evolving electricity grid. This study considers such a flexible nuclear plant and seeks to address a fundamental modeling question: which uncertain model inputs have a significant effect on the economics of the system, and to what degree? These questions are addressed by …

Investigation Of Different Equations Of State (Eos) To Calculate Thermodynamic Properties Of Methanol In Sub-Critical And Supercritical Regions, Md Sajedul Islam Sakir

Student Research Symposium

The Equation of State (EOS) is a relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature that describes the properties of fluids under different conditions. Fluids can exist in various phases, including gaseous, liquid, critical, and supercritical states, each with different properties. The characteristics of critical and supercritical fluids are notably different from those of sub-critical fluids, and their properties change abruptly. To determine fluid properties in different regimes, various equations of state (EOS) are utilized.This research project aims to examine the different equations of state used for specifying fluid properties in various fluid regimes. Methanol has been selected as a working fluid …

Bullying In Sport Harms Athletes Mentally And Physically And Impairs Their Performance, Jessica Hamilton

Student Research Symposium

While bullying in sporting contexts is thought to be highly prevalent (Parent & Fortier, 2018), it is understudied and not well-defined within the sport psychology literature. Bullying is defined in the general peer aggression literature as repeated, intentional harm of a person across an interpersonal relationship with an asymmetric power balance (Olweus, 1994) and often occurs across peers. Furthermore, the literature highlights how bullying in academic settings is associated with detrimental outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance abuse (Armitage, 2021), so the effects that bullying in sport might have on victims and perpetrators are of particular interest. The …

Discovery And Characterization Of A Prophage Encoded Anti-Crispr Against The Type Iv-A Crispr System, Andrew Williams

Student Research Symposium

CRISPR Systems are adaptive immune systems in bacteria used to defend against mobile genetic elements such as bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses, and plasmids. They use a protein complexed with a guide RNA to target the protein to a foreign invader and neutralize it by cleaving its genetic information. In order to survive and keep infecting bacteria, bacteriophages likewise have developed machinery used to inhibit CRISPR immunity in the form of anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins. The type IV-A system is a recently discovered and characterized system by the Jackson lab. It has been shown to defend against plasmids, but further data on …

Does Fiber Reduce Weight Gain And Improve Metabolism?, Sky Jones

Student Research Symposium

Dietary fiber has a large impact on the microbiota composition and metabolic activity via the provision of fermentable substrates, yet, to date, there has been very little attention paid to modeling the fiber composition of rodent diets to that of humans. We propose to use nutrient density, a form of allometric scaling, to formulate metabolically stressful diets with fiber intake levels at the US average (50% AI), the IOM recommended level (100% AI), and a higher level (150% AI). The primary endpoint we focus on in this study is oral glucose tolerance, as high-fiber diets have been shown to prevent …

Native Plant Bacteria Significantly Enhance Plants’ Growth, Ty Wilson, Katie Hewitt

Student Research Symposium

Microbes are among the planet's most diverse organisms and influence plant growth and development. Plant-microbe interactions enable plants to survive in many different environments, particularly in harsh climates where climate factors and nutrient availability stress plants. Microbes help plants acquire nutrients, assist in pathogenic repulsion, and increase drought tolerance. Plants native to the Intermountain West region are drought-resilient and are acclimatized to dry and arid climates. We are isolating plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) from various native plants of the IW region. Ceanothus velutinus is one such plant. We isolated several PGPBs from this plant and tested 18 bacteria for plant …

Selecting Salt Tolerant Penstemon Plants For Landscape Use, Ziuri Wang

Student Research Symposium

The Intermountain West is currently experiencing extreme drought, which escalates in severity due to warmer temperatures resulting from climate change, less predictable precipitation patterns, and rapid population growth. Additionally, landscape irrigation consumes a significant portion of portable water, for example, in Utah, landscape irrigation accounts for 50-65% of urban water demand. For water conservation, local green industries found a great alternative water for landscape irrigation, which is reclaimed water. However, the reclaimed water usually has high salt levels, which negatively impacts plants growth and survival. Penstemon is a native plant to North America, it has long-lasting bloom, colorful flowers, and …

A Community In Context: Assessing The Needs Of Lgbtq+ Youth And Families In Box Elder County, Utah, Jaylee Cox, Kaitlin Welsh, Maureen Boyle

Student Research Symposium

LGBTQ+ youth experience significant health disparities as a marginalized population yet their service needs are understudied in rural Utah communities. This research project seeks to assess current health and social support services for LGBTQ+ youth and families living in Box Elder County, Utah. This project is coordinated by the Transforming Communities Institute and takes a community-based approach involving the collaborative efforts of community partners, graduate students and their faculty supervisors in the Department of Social Work, and TCI staff. Using the Theory of Change as a framework, the research process started with a community-identified issue followed by developing a context …

Dramaturgy - Pinocchio Teatrale, Natalie Lingardo

Student Research Symposium

Dramaturgy is a rising profession in the world of theatrical productions. The dramaturg's role is to compile research relating to the play or musical, present the information to the team of actors, directors, designers, playwrights, and others in order to create a cohesive, accurate representation of the work across the board. My work as a dramaturg for the world premiere of Pinocchio Teatrale by Nicole B. Adkins involved studying The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (the book on which this musical adaptation was based) and providing the playwright and creative team with feedback and information throughout the writing, rehearsal, …

The Effectiveness Of Housing First In Improving Mental Health Outcomes Among Homeless Individuals: A Rapid Review, Nya Harper

Student Research Symposium

Objective: The purpose of this study was to review primary research regarding the efficacy of a Housing First (HF) intervention compared to existing treatments for improving mental health outcomes in homeless adults with mental illness.

Methods: A rapid review was conducted from the PubMed database using a predetermined search protocol and inclusion criteria to identify eligible articles.

Results: HF was significantly more effective at helping homeless adults with mental illness become stably housed. HF groups’ subjective measures of mental health were not consistently higher than usual treatment groups.

Conclusion: Evidence supports the efficacy of HF over existing treatments in a …

Comparative Analysis Of Feature Selection And Machine Learning Models For Breast Cancer Risk Prediction, Tonmoy Roy

Student Research Symposium

The comparative analysis of feature selection and machine learning models for breast cancer risk prediction aims to develop accurate and efficient models for diagnosing breast cancer. In this analysis, we explore different feature selection techniques and machine learning models to identify the most effective feature combination for breast cancer risk prediction. Our study provides valuable insights into the importance of feature selection and model selection in developing accurate breast cancer risk prediction models. Using the three features provide high accuracy to detect breast cancer. Overall, this study highlights the importance of combining feature selection techniques with machine learning algorithms to …

Mapping Of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (Crf) Receptors In The Coyote Brain, Rachel Tong

Student Research Symposium

Forming strong social bonds is essential to our everyday life and is part of what makes us human. The loss of a loved one often results in grief, stress, and loneliness, and the stress response system of the body has been implicated in the physiological symptoms associated with grieving. The hormone that initiates the stress response in the body is called corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which acts via binding to CRF receptors (CRFR). Coyotes are an appropriate animal model to study social bonds and social loss because they display monogamy and pair bonding, which is a trait seen in human …

Machine Learning In Analyzing Atmospheric Gravity Waves, Anastasia Brown

Student Research Symposium

The ANtarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network (ANGWIN) is an international collaboration aimed at investigating the upper atmosphere dynamics over a continent-size region, using a network of all-sky imagers. In an effort to streamline the identification of “clean” windows in the extensive database of all sky-imager data obtained since 2012, we have developed a machine learning algorithm that sorts “clean” (marked as 0) images from “obscured” (marked as 1) images. Already, we have successfully created a LightGBM (Light Gradient-Boosting Machine) model that accurately sorts through images taken at the Davis and McMurdo research stations in Antarctica. The LightGBM model for the …

The Water To Land Transition: Changes In Frog Skin Across Development, Kayla Hancey

Student Research Symposium

Amphibians are vulnerable to changes in the environment due to their permeable skin. As the climate changes, the resilience of different species can be illuminated by traits that vary across clades. Skin changes during metamorphosis provide details that may help us anticipate desiccation risk. It is useful to understand histological details in a relatively successful species, such as the American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) when determining species survivorship. Documentation of skin changes including gland development in H. cinerea has never been done.