Digital Commons Network^™

Confirmation Of A New Geometric And Kinematic Model Of The San Andreas Fault At Its Southern Tip, Durmid Hill, Southern California, Daniel K. Markowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study explains the origin of the deforming structures between the San Andreas fault and the Salton Sea within the Salton Trough in Southern California. ShakeOut simulations and other studies model shaking resulting from a large rupture on the San Andreas fault. These models simulate a start at the southern fault tip of the San Andreas fault that propagates to the northwest. A secondary strand of the San Andreas fault called the East Shoreline fault is located at the southern tip of the San Andreas fault near the shoreline of the Salton Sea. Between the East Shoreline fault zone and …

Interference Mitigation In Multi-Hop Wireless Networks With Advanced Physical-Layer Techniques, Yantian Hou

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the ever-growing number of wireless systems, the problem of spectrum scarcity is becoming more important than ever. Many devices coexist in the same frequency band, e.g., IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), 802.15.4 (ZigBee), 802.16 (WiMax), and Bluetooth in the ISM bands. Coexisting in the crowded spectrum bands inevitably leads to mutual interferences. For a wireless network, the interference could be from external sources such as microwave oven and cordless phone, or from internal nodes within multi-flow and multi-hop wireless networks. All these interferences can be detrimental to the performance of co-locating networks if they are not properly mitigated. In my dissertation, …

Quadrotor Uav Path Following Using Trajectory Shaping, Parwinder Singh Mehrok

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The propose of this research is to develop a path following control law known as Trajectory Shaping. The approach is to develop a three- dimensional (3D) version of it from an existing two-dimensional (2D) model. Apart from research on this 3D control law, a multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform, having four rotors and known as quadrotor is designed from the ground up for validating the concept of path following. Several pre-defined paths like the circle and figure-eight trajectories are used to apply the newly developed version of this control law. The existing 2D concept of Trajectory Shaping guidance …

A Risk-Based Assessment Of Agricultural Water Scarcity Under Climate Change In A Semi-Arid And Snowmelt-Dominated River Basin, Hossam Moursi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water shortage is a crucial concern in the semi-arid areas that have relatively low precipitation. Given the current situation in semi-arid areas where the water supply
already does not meet the water demand, climate change is one of the important factors that is expected to exacerbate the water shortage problem and make the situation even worse in the future. There are many indicators that prove climate change is happening, like the increasing land temperature, sea level rise and decreasing snow cover. Therefore, studying climate change impacts is a vital issue, especially its impacts on water resources systems.

In this research, …

Laboratory Modeling Of Piping Initiation Behavior Through Constricted Outlet, Ibrahim Ahmed Abdelmotelb Ibrahim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Backward erosion piping is a type of internal erosion. It occurs beneath water structures as a result of seepage force. It needs two conditions to take place; 1) sufficient hydraulic head to drive the seepage force, and 2) cohesive layer overlies the sand layer and this will lead to concentration of flow. Many researches were done in the past in an attempt to predict the critical gradient. But it was just taking into account the buoyant unit weight which found in recent research that piping can occur at much lower values than was predicted. And other researches were too conservative …

Fluorescent Probes To Investigate Homologous Recombination Dynamics, Eric Parker Davenport

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the average cell’s DNA undergoes roughly 1 million molecular lesions per day, learning about one of the repair mechanisms which fixes damaged DNA is a worthwhile endeavor. Such work may provide insights into how to treat or prevent diseases such as cancers and associated genetic disorders. Homologous recombination (HR) is one pathway which is used by cells to repair a specific type of DNA damage, double-strand breaks. While HR is a complex process involving over 25 different proteins, exactly how HR works, including its regulation, is largely unknown. One protein in particular, Rad51, forms a filament on the damaged …

Refining Methods For Quantifying Macroinvertebrate Estimates Of Preference For Use In Stream Bioassessments, Ellen F. Wakeley Tomlinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two-thirds of United States stream length is in either fair or poor biological condition. However, we do not yet have reliable, quantitative tools to diagnose site-specific causes of biological impairment. One way to diagnose causes of impairment is to compare the environmental tolerances or preferences of the taxa expected at a site to those of the observed community. Stream ecologists have derived tolerance values (TVs) from field data for use in causal analysis, but inconsistencies across studies cast doubt on the accuracy of these TVs. Published TVs may not agree with one another for several reasons, including: differences in the …

Cryostat System For Spacecraft Materials Testing, Justin Dekany

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An existing space environment simulation test chamber used in the study of electron emission, sample charging and discharge, electrostatic discharge and arcing, electron transport, and luminescence of spacecraft materials now has extended temperature control capabilities. By incorporating a two-stage, closed-cycle helium cryostat, it is now possible to simulate the temperature typical spacecraft will experience when in orbit, ranging from < 40 K to > 450 K. The system was designed to maintain compatibility with an existing ultrahigh vacuum chamber that can simulate diverse space environments. This vacuum chamber can simulate space environment conditions by producing the same pressure, amount of electrons, electromagnetic radiation and temperature …

Structural And Lithological Influences On The Tony Grove Alpine Karst System, Bear River Range, North-Central Utah, Kirsten Bahr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Caves are access points into the subsurface for humans, water, and, in many cases, contaminants. Many caves are connected via a series of conduits that carry water from one cave to another and, eventually, to a spring. However, because most of these conduits are inaccessible, it is difficult to determine the pathway groundwater takes on its way to the spring. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of folds, fractures, and rock type upon the formation and orientation of cave passages as well as groundwater flow patterns in the Tony Grove alpine karst system.

Although water …

Ground Vehicle Platooning Control And Sensing In An Adversarial Environment, Samuel A. Mitchell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the past few years, automated cars have ceased to be part of science fiction, and have instead become a technology that has been implemented, with partially automated systems currently available to customers.

One benefit of automated vehicle technology is the consistent driving patterns due to automation, instead of the inconsistency of distractible humans. Passengers of automated vehicles will be exposed to much less danger than the passengers of human-driven vehicles.

These statements will only be true as automated vehicle systems are scrutinized by experts to find flaws in the system. Security enthusiasts have already hijacked control of an automated …

To Dot Product Graphs And Beyond, Sean Bailey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We will introduce three new vector representations of graphs. These representations are based on relationships between the vectors that are used. Specifically, we will examine scenarios where we ignore specific relationships, where we consider if information is missing, and where we look for when the information in common is not of a specified amount.

Investigation Into Regional Climate Variability Using Tree-Ring Reconstruction, Climate Diagnostics And Prediction, Daniel A. Barandiaran

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This document summarizes research conducted to develop and apply climate analysis tools toward a better understanding of the past and future of climate variability in the state of Utah. Two pilot studies developed analysis tools through the investigation of natural variability in precipitation systems in Africa, and research into long-term changes and trends in spring rainfall over the U.S. Great Plains. Our third study used tree-ring data to estimate snowpack in the state of Utah to 1850, doubling the length of record and offering a better understanding of the history of snowpack in the state. Our final study looked at …

Quantum Mechanical Studies Of Charge Assisted Hydrogen And Halogen Bonds, Binod Nepal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Like cement bridges one brick to another, noncovalent forces also bridge two or more molecules together to form a molecular crystal or molecular cluster. Although weaker than the covalent bond, the existence of noncovalent forces can be seen everywhere from liquid water to construction of complex biomolecules like DNA, RNA, proteins etc. An introduction of suitable charge; positive or negative, on the binding units can increase the strength of noncovalent interaction by several orders of magnitude. The primary aim of this dissertation is to explore some fundamental properties of such charge assisted noncovalent interactions which will be helpful for the …

Sagebrush Ecology Of Parker Mountain, Utah, Nathan E. Dulfon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On Parker Mountain located in south central Utah, management actions such as controlling mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. vaseyana), with mechanical and chemical treatments can increase forage for livestock and benefit wildlife such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Tebuthiuron treatments were applied on Parker Mountain from 2000-2012 with assistance from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, the Utah Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Treatments applied to mountain big sagebrush on Parker Mountain provide an important opportunity to evaluate the value of mountain big sagebrush treatments in …

Classification Of Spacetimes With Symmetry, Jesse W. Hicks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spacetimes with symmetry play a critical role in Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Missing from the literature is a correct, usable, and computer accessible classification of such spacetimes. This dissertation fills this gap; specifically, we

i) give a new and different approach to the classification of spacetimes with symmetry using modern methods and tools such as the Schmidt method and computer algebra systems, resulting in ninety-two spacetimes;

ii) create digital databases of the classification for easy access and use for researchers;

iii) create software to classify any spacetime metric with symmetry against the new database;

iv) compare results of our …

Definition And Construction Of Entropy Satisfying Multiresolution Analysis (Mra), Ju Y. Yi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper considers some numerical schemes for the approximate solution of conservation laws and various wavelet methods are reviewed. This is followed by the construction of wavelet spaces based on a polynomial framework for the approximate solution of conservation laws. Construction of a representation of the approximate solution in terms of an entropy satisfying Multiresolution Analysis (MRA) is defined. Finally, a proof of convergence of the approximate solution of conservation laws using the characterization provided by the basis functions in the MRA will be given.

Plasma Velocity Vector Instrument For Small Satellites (Pvviss), William Smith Hatch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Low-earth orbit (LEO) contains plasma which can impact satellite charging and radio frequency (RF) communications. Quantifying both the composition and movement of ions in LEO can improve efficiency of the forecasting models that predict the impact plasma will have on satellite communications and accuracy of global positioning satellite measurements.

Two instruments known as the Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) and the Ion Drift Meter (IDM) have been used in tandem to measure ionospheric properties including ion temperature, velocity, and density. These instruments are costly and occupy large areas on a spacecraft. In recent years, space mission budgets have diminished. This change …

Exploring Trends In Middle School Students' Computational Thinking In The Online Scratch Community: A Pilot Study, Kevin N. Lawanto

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We live in a century in which technology has become part of our lives, and it is crucial that we become active creators and not merely passive users of technology. One characteristic that might distinguish someone who uses the ideas of others from one who innovates his own ideas is the ability to computer program. Computer programming is more than just learning how to code; it also exposes students to computational thinking (CT), which involves problem-solving using computer science (CS) concepts, such as decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithm design.

The rationale for introducing computing in K-12 in order to …

Crystallization Behavior Of Waxes, Sarbojeet Jana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) has no longer GRAS status. However, PHO is one of the important ingredients in bakery and confectionary industry and therefore the food industry is seeking for an alternative fat to replace PHO. Waxes have shown promise to fulfill that demand because of its easy availability and cheap in price. Waxes with high melting points (> 40 °C) help in the crystallization process when mixed with low melting point oils. A crystalline network is formed in this wax/oil crystallization process where liquid oil is entrapped in wax crystal network. A new material is formed which is neither …

Diversity-Related Experiences And Academic Performance Among Ethnic Minority College Students, Amanda K. Blume

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Students of color experience numerous educational disadvantages compared to White students. These disadvantages begin in elementary school and continue into college and adulthood. Ethnic minority students typically have less resources available to them than White students and are typically less prepared for college—academically and financially. Once students of color enroll in college, they face additional barriers due to discrimination and negative attitudes towards diversity. These factors play a key role in student engagement and persistence. The campus racial climate of a university, defined as the overall racial environment of the campus, has been shown to strongly influence students’ feelings of …

Crustal Architecture Of The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Through Geochemical Investigation Of Crustal Sill And Shallow Subvolcanic Xenoliths, Douglas James Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snake River Plain (SRP) in southern Idaho is one of the most well-preserved examples of continent-hotspot interaction available today. Geophysical studies have imaged a feature ~10 km thick at the base of the upper crust. This feature, termed the “mid-crustal sill complex” is likely a layered mafic intrusion. The study of layered mafic intrusions is important because it provides a link between deep plutonic processes and shallow volcanic processes. Investigation of the mid crustal sill complex will provide better understanding of the evolutionary process of SRP basalts.

This thesis investigates three xenoliths sampled from the Kimama drill core collected …

Oxidative Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage Reactions Of Metal Flavonolato And Chlorodiketonate Complexes, Sushma L. Saraf

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The research presented in this dissertation focuses on the oxidative cleavage of chemical bonds between two carbon atoms. This type of reactivity is of significant interest due to its potential application toward the development of ways to convert chemical feed stock into useful products such as pharmaceuticals, polymers and fuels in an environmentally benign and cost-efficient manner. Reactions that cleave specific carbon-carbon bonds, are catalyzed by earth-abundant metals, and involve O₂ as the terminal oxidant, are of particular interest.

Our strategy has been to study the oxidative carbon-carbon bond cleavage reactivity of metal complexes containing components similar to structures …

Computational Fluid Dynamic Modeling Of Natural Convection In Vertically Heated Rods, Mahesh Surendran

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Natural convection is a phenomenon that occurs in a wide range of applications such as cooling towers, air conditioners, and power plants. Natural convection may be used in decay heat removal systems such as spent fuel casks, where the higher reliability inherent of natural convection is more desirable than forced convection. Passive systems, such as natural convection, may provide better safety, and hence have received much attention recently. Cooling of spent fuel rods is conventionally done using water as the coolant. However, it involves contaminating the water with radiation from the fuel rods. Contamination becomes dangerous and difficult for humans …

An Automatic Algorithm For Textured Digital Elevation Model Formation Using Aerial Texel Swaths, Taylor C. Bybee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The process of creating a 3D terrain map of an area is a challenging, computationally intensive task. There are two main camps of established methods doing this, with varying degrees of accuracy and cost. Using the established methods, there is a trade-off between accuracy and cost. The first method involves using many aerial images to detect disparity between points in the images. This is a difficult task as it requires a lot of computer processing with varying degrees of reliability. In addition, this method does not make any direct distance measurements. Secondly, using high-precision and high-cost lasers and positioning equipment, …

Family And Center Childcare Providers: Correlates Among Mathematics Anxiety/Attitudes Toward Mathematics, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Other Factors, Shawnee M. Hendershot

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous experiences with mathematics, particularly negative ones, can influence an individual’s attitudes toward mathematics. Children’s first experiences with mathematics are often in their childcare settings. Elementary teachers appear to have more mathematics anxiety than other professionals, but the level of mathematics anxiety among childcare providers is not known. The presence of mathematics anxiety correlates with lower teacher self-efficacy or the teacher’s belief of how effective he/she is in influencing a student’s learning. Grounded in Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, this study examined the level of mathematics anxiety and teacher self-efficacy among 122 licensed Utah childcare providers in center and family home …

Making Statistics Matter: Using Self-Data To Improve Statistics Learning, Jeffrey L. Thayne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has demonstrated that well into their undergraduate and even graduate education, learners often struggle to understand basic statistical concepts, fail to see their relevance in their personal and professional lives, and often treat them as little more than mere mathematics exercises. Undergraduate learners often see statistical concepts as means to passing exams, completing required courses, and moving on with their degree, and not as instruments of inquiry that can illuminate their world in new and useful ways.

This study explored ways help learners in an undergraduate learning context to treat statistical inquiry as mattering in a practical research context, …

Family And Consumer Sciences Teacher Needs Assessment Of A Stem-Enhanced Food And Nutrition Sciences Curriculum, Cathy A. Merrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has long taught abstract science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts in contextualized settings. In 2014, a new CTE Food and Nutrition Sciences curriculum was written by a pilot group of CTE family and consumer sciences teachers, enhancing the STEM education teaching opportunities available in a food and nutrition course. This study is a teacher needs assessment of the implementation of the new STEM-enhanced curriculum.

The curriculum objectives were measured for perceived importance and self-perceived ability to teach by the teachers. Curriculum feedback, educational background and general demographics were also gathered. The curriculum objectives data …

Synergistic Timing Speculation For Multi-Threaded Programs, Atif Yasin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Timing speculation is a promising approach to increase the processor performance and energy efficiency. Under timing speculation, an integrated circuit is allowed to operate at a speed faster than the rated speed specified by its vendor. However, doing so might result in an incorrect execution. Consequently, as long as the processor is equipped with an error detection and recovery mechanism, its performance can be increased and/or energy consumption reduced beyond that achievable by any other conventional operation.

While many past works have dealt with timing speculation within a single core, in this work, a new direction is being uncovered by …

Computational Chemistry Of Non-Covalent Interaction And Its Application In Chemical Catalysis, Vincent De Paul Nzuwah Nziko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Known to be weaker than conventional covalent bonds, non-covalent bonds, especially hydrogen bond, has shown to be of great importance in molecular structures such as DNA, RNA, proteins and other organic frameworks. In this dissertation, we looked at non-covalent interactions other than the hydrogen bond. Replacement of the bridging hydrogen atom in a typical hydrogen bond by other atoms such a halogen, chalcogen and tetrel lead to the formation of interactions which are comparable in strength to the hydrogen bond. Unlike the hydrogen bond which arises mainly from electrostatics, these unconventional interactions mostly result from induction. Besides studying the fundamentals …

Impact Of Mass And Bond Energy Difference And Interface Defects On Thermal Boundary Conductance, Changjin Choi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many portions of energy generated in the U.S. are not used and take the form of wasted heat due to a poor heat transfer efficiency. This fact leads research communities to focus on thermoelectrics as a means for using waste heat through direct thermal to electrical energy conversion. One way to enhance thermoelectric efficiency is to reduce thermal conductivity through nanostructuring. In nanostructures, understanding energy transport across the interface of two materials is important because interfaces dominate the resistance to overall thermal transport of the system and can be described by thermal boundary conductance (TBC). Also of note, an understanding …