Gpu-Accelerated Point-Based Color Bleeding, Ryan Daniel Schmitt

Master's Theses

Traditional global illumination lighting techniques like Radiosity and Monte Carlo sampling are computationally expensive. This has prompted the development of the Point-Based Color Bleeding (PBCB) algorithm by Pixar in order to approximate complex indirect illumination while meeting the demands of movie production; namely, reduced memory usage, surface shading independent run time, and faster renders than the aforementioned lighting techniques.

The PBCB algorithm works by discretizing a scene’s directly illuminated geometry into a point cloud (surfel) representation. When computing the indirect illumination at a point, the surfels are rasterized onto cube faces surrounding that point, and the constituent pixels are combined …

A Conservation Plan For Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve, San Luis Obispo, Ca, Brian M. Provenzale

Master's Theses

My thesis project is to create a conservation plan for the Reservoir Canyon Natural Reserve (RCNR) in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a professional project for the City of San Luis Obispo with the goal of eventual adoption by the City Council. The plan was motivated by City policy, which advises creating conservation plans for open spaces, and by a particular need to address management issues in RCNR that include plant and wildlife conservation, trail access, erosion, electrical utility easements, and other legal matters. The project consists of two main components: the conservation plan and a companion paper. The …

A Kinetic Study Of Anti-Vegf-A Polyclonal Antibodies And Anti-Vegf-A Ssdna Aptamers, Heather A. Hedeen

Master's Theses

A new detection reagent that could possibly augment or replace antibodies research and diagnosis methods are aptamers. Aptamers are ssDNA, RNA or polypeptide constructs that function like active antibodies. Antibodies and aptamers both specifically bind to selected target molecules, and as such they enable the detection or targeting of the presence or absence of a specific antigen.

In order to ensure that ssDNA aptamers perform similarly to antibodies, anti-VEGF-A polyclonal antibody and anti-VEGF-A ssDNA aptamer were evaluated against vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). It was hypothesized that the anti-VEGF-A aptamer had the same, if …

Hard Drive Command Capture And Sequential Stream Detection, Adam David Miller

Master's Theses

This thesis explores hardware command capture as a viable means of analyzing real world hard drive usage. Hardware command capture provides insight into the IO stack where current tools fail to reach. A software platform is presented which provides trace conversion and analysis capabilities. This platform is written in Python and designed to handle traces of arbitrary size while being easily extensible for future projects to build upon. A novel Sequential Stream Detection algorithm built upon the software platform is then presented. This algorithm detects application level sequential streams and provides interesting insight into the sequential nature of the applications …

Suffix Trees For Document Retrieval, Ryan Reck

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a look at the suitability of Suffix Trees for full text indexing and retrieval. Typically suffix trees are built on a character level, where the tree records which characters follow each other character. By building suffix trees for documents based on words instead of characters, the resulting tree effectively indexes every word or sequence of words that occur in any of the documents. Ukkonnen's algorithm is adapted to build word-level suffix trees. But the primary focus is on developing Algorithms for searching the suffix tree for exact and approximate, or fuzzy, matches to arbitrary query strings. A …

Uniting The Nation's Power Grids: Opening Markets To Integrate Large Scale Renewable Power, Jeffrey Kenneth Wilkinson

Master's Theses

As renewable energy becomes increasingly cost competitive and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) push states to produce more and more of their steadily growing power demands from renewable sources, the need to solve the problems associated with renewable penetration becomes a priority. The intermittent nature of solar and wind power generation require additional cost that inhibit their implementation as penetration levels grow. Reliability remains power utilities' top priority while they struggle to upgrade their systems. Old generation facilities will be decommissioned, renewable energy projects will come on line and transmission upgrades become inevitable. Variability on the grid is currently mitigated through …

The Future Of Red Hook, Brooklyn: Learning From Evolving New York City Neighborhoods, Robin Lynne Wachen

Master's Theses

This master’s thesis identifies the potential impacts of planning policies and key stakeholder groups on Red Hook, Brooklyn given current development trends and the neighborhood changes such as gentrification. The premise of this thesis is that through understanding the catalysts and impacts of social and economic change in similar neighborhoods, together with the analysis of current zoning, planning policies, and neighborhood culture and demographics in Red Hook, it is possible to identify how future changes may generate positive outcomes for the neighborhood. A review of planning literature provides a perspective on the disinvestment to reinvestment process seen in many New …

Teaching Introductory Programming Concepts: A Comparison Of Scratch And Arduino, Anne Beug

Master's Theses

Computing has become an integral part of modern America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2008 and 2018, the United States will have 1.4 million job openings in computing fields [1]. Since the early 2000's (just after the "dot com bust"), the number of students enrolled in computing majors (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, etc.) dropped precipitously by over 50%, only starting to rise again in 2009 [2]. One way to rectify to this gap between demand and supply is to start training students in computational thinking during high school. While the Computer Science Advanced Placement AB test has …

Design Of Dc Light Bulb For The Dc House Project, Kent Chin Liang

Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of an economical and energy efficient DC Light Bulb for the DC House Project. For the DC lighting system, emphasis is on the DC-DC LED driver, dimmer circuit, LED lighting array, and physical packing design. In this paper, a DC Light Bulb is designed, simulated, and tested to operate at a wide input voltage ranging from 24 VDC to 72 VDC, to be fully dimmable using pulse-width modulation technique, and to produce lumination intensities equivalent to a standard 100 W A19 incandescent light bulb at one-tenth the total power consumption. The DC …

Synthetic Aperture Radar (Sar) Raw Signal Simulation, Amin Shoalehvar

Master's Theses

Abstract

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Raw Signal Simulation

Author: Amin Shoalehvar

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) raw signal simulation is a useful tool for SAR system design, mission planning, processing algorithm testing, and inversion algorithm design. This thesis explores a SAR raw signal simulation. The raw signal simulation is the simulated received signal before any processing with exception of the down-converter. The simulation plays a significant role in studies concerning noise and clutter rejection and contributes toward optimizing SAR system parameters. To simulate SAR raw data, a Chirp Scaling (CS) method is used. This method [3] first stretches the input surface …

Nitrocellulose Paper Based Microfluidic Platform Development And Surface Functionalization With Anti-Ige Aptamers, Jennifer Guerin Ward

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis project was to demonstrate the ability to utilize the capabilities of aptamers so that they may act as capture reagents for paper microfluidic devices. Several characterization experiments were conducted as a precursor before the final experimentation was performed. Paper characterization, manufacturing protocols for printing and heating, as well as 3D chip fabrication were all performed and analyzed. The results confirmed that the control of fluid through a 3D microfluidic device based in nitrocellulose is possible.

For the biochemistry portion of this thesis report, antibodies and aptamers were chosen to react with IgE, an antibody that …

Energy Harvesting From Elliptical Machines: Dc-Dc Converter Design Using Sepic Topology, Martin Kou

Master's Theses

Cal Poly’s ongoing Energy Harvesting from Exercise Machines (EHFEM) project is a very convenient and cost-effective way for generating DC power from physical exercise and sending it back to the electrical grid as AC power, providing a renewable energy source for the future. The EHFEM project consists of numerous subprojects involving converting different types of exercise machines for power generation. This project is a continuation of one of the previous subprojects, specifically involving an elliptical machine, and focuses on improving system functionality at different machine settings without altering the elliptical user’s experience by selecting a new DC-DC converter design, while …

Permitting And Interconnection Of Solar Pv Generators For The Marin Energy Authority Feed-In Tariff Program, Stephen Daniel Rogers

Master's Theses

Lack of access to information on the cost and timeframe for the permitting and interconnection of distributed renewable energy generation facilities may hinder renewable energy capacity development. This issue is examined within the specific context of solar photovoltaic systems developed for participation in the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program hosted by the Marin Energy Authority (MEA). A guide on the permitting and interconnection of solar PV generators for participation in the program was produced for the host agency. This guide seeks to assist property owners and solar developers in overcoming existing informational challenges. By providing an overview of the procedural requirements …

Mid-Twentieth Century Residential Development In San Luis Obispo, Allison Dean Zike

Master's Theses

San Luis Obispo’s mid-century spanned the years beginning in the Great Depression and ending during the post-World War II housing boom. During this time the City grew in population and in size, adding several acres of land and thousands of single-family residential parcels. This research presents a chronological representation of the City’s growth, as well as key events in the City’s history. Residential development in the mid-century brought several new styles of architecture to the City including Mid-century Modern and Prairie homes among others. These architectural styles are detailed and presented in order to identify and guide the preservation of …

Improvement Of Statistical Process Control At St. Jude Medical's Cardiac Manufacturing Facility, Christopher Lance Edwards

Master's Theses

Sig sigma is a methodology where companies strive to reproduce results ending up having a 99.9996% chance their product will be void of defects. In order for companies to reach six sigma, statistical process control (SPC) needs to be introduced. SPC has many different tools associated with it, control charts being one of them. Control charts play a vital role in managing how a process is behaving. Control charts allow users to identify special causes, or shifts, and can therefore change the process to keep producing good products, free of defects.

There are many factories and manufacturing facilities having implemented …

Impedance Sensing Of N2a And Astrocytes As Grounds For A Central Nervous System Cancer Diagnostic Device, Fraser Traves Smith Grove

Master's Theses

This thesis utilizes previously described manufacturing and design techniques for the creation of a PDMS-glass bonded microfluidic device, capable of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). EIS has been used across various fields of research for different diagnostic needs. The major aim of this thesis was to capture cancerous and non-cancerous cells between micron sized electrodes within a microfluidic path, and to complete analysis on the measured impedances recorded from the two differing cell types. Two distinct ranges of impedance frequency were analyzed – the α dispersion range, which quantifies the impedance of the membranes of the cells of interest, and the …

Form-Based Codes, Design Guidelines And Placemaking: The Case Of Hayward, Ca., Cindy Ma

Master's Theses

Throughout history planning codes and standards have been used to regulate the built environment for health, power, order, and economic reasons. More recently, in the urban design and planning field, planning codes and standards have emerged to become tools in the process of “placemaking”. The concept of placemaking builds from the desire of humans to create places, not spaces, which are unique, attractive, identifiable, and memorable. It is a concept that is comprised of visual and social components, recognizing the need for both in the creation of successful places. In the field of urban design and planning, form-based codes (FBCs) …

Lottery Scheduling In The Linux Kernel: A Closer Look, David Zepp

Master's Theses

This paper presents an implementation of a lottery scheduler, presented from design through debugging to performance testing. Desirable characteristics of a general purpose scheduler include low overhead, good overall system performance for a variety of process types, and fair scheduling behavior. Testing is performed, along with an analysis of the results measuring the lottery scheduler against these characteristics. Lottery scheduling is found to provide better than average control over the relative execution rates of processes. The results show that lottery scheduling functions as a good mechanism for sharing the CPU fairly between users that are competing for the resource. While …

A Proposed Control Solution For The Cal Poly Wind Energy Capture System, Kent R. Burnett

Master's Theses

The focus of this thesis is to research, analyze, and design a reliable and economical control system for the Cal Poly Wind Energy Capture System (WECS). A dynamic permanent magnet generator model is adopted from [1] and [2] and combined with an existing wind turbine model to create a non-linear time varying model in MATLAB. The model is then used to analyze potentially harmful electrical disturbances, and to define safe operating limits for the WECS. An optimal operating point controller utilizing a PID speed loop is designed with combined optimization criteria and the final controller design …

Policy And Practice Audit And Ghg Reduction Strategy Recommendations For The City Of Arroyo Grande, Cheryl Lynn Cochran

Master's Theses

In preparation for a Climate Action Plan, this policy and practice audit provides an overview of current city policies and practices with the potential to impact greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals. The audit builds upon information previously collected in a GHG emissions inventory report to identify policies that are consistent or inconsistent with emissions reductions goals. Preliminary GHG emissions reductions recommendations address policy gaps and opportunity areas in suggesting strategies to achieve GHG emissions reductions.

A Model Predictive Control Approach To Roll Stability Of A Scaled Crash Avoidance Vehicle, Nikola John Linn Noxon

Master's Theses

In this paper, a roll stability controller (RSC) is presented based on an eight degree of freedom dynamic vehicle model. The controller is designed for and tested on a scaled vehicle performing obstacle avoidance maneuvers on a populated test track. A rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm is used for the vehicle to execute a trajectory around an obstacle, and examines the geographic, non-homonymic, and dynamic constraints to maneuver around the obstacle. A model predictive controller (MPC) uses information about the vehicle state and, based on a weighted performance measure, generates an optimal trajectory around the obstacle. The RSC uses the …

Small-Scale Solar Central Receiver System Design And Analysis, Daniel Murray

Master's Theses

This thesis develops an analytical model of a small-scale solar central receiver power plant located at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California at 35.28° N, 120.66° W. The model is used to analyze typical energy output at any time during the year. The power plant is designed to produce an output of 100 kW electrical power, and is supplemented by the combustion of natural gas. Methodologies for determining the proper size and layout of heliostats, optimal tower height, receiver size, and turbine engine selection are developed. In this specific design, solar shares of up to 73.2% …

Coupled Surface Water-Groundwater Model To Analyze Sustainability Of The Atascadero Subbasin, Matthew Timothy Klinchuch

Master's Theses

The Atascadero Subbasin, located on the central coast of California, is a small, hydraulically separated sub-region of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. Three local cities operate approximately 40 wells to pump the Subbasin for their entire water supply needs. Past studies have questioned sustainability of the Subbasin as the combined pumping rate by the three cities is nearing the perennial yield of the Subbasin. The studies have been inconclusive as some areas of the Subbasin have seen increases in water table elevation thus questioning the assessment that consumption is nearing perennial yield. The objective of this research was to perform …

Cuda Web Api Remote Execution Of Cuda Kernels Using Web Services, Massimo J. Becker

Master's Theses

Massively parallel programming is an increasingly growing field with the recent introduction of general purpose GPU computing. Modern graphics processors from NVIDIA and AMD have massively parallel architectures that can be used for such applications as 3D rendering, financial analysis, physics simulations, and biomedical analysis. These massively parallel systems are exposed to programmers through in- terfaces such as NVIDIAs CUDA, OpenCL, and Microsofts C++ AMP. These frame- works expose functionality using primarily either C or C++. In order to use these massively parallel frameworks, programs being implemented must be run on machines equipped with massively parallel hardware. These requirements limit …

Cubesat Mission Planning Toolbox, Brian Castello

Master's Theses

We are in an era of massive spending cuts in educational institutions, aerospace companies and governmental entities. Educational institutions are pursuing more training for less money, aerospace companies are reducing the cost of gaining ight heritage and the government is cutting budgets and their response times. Organizations are accomplishing this improved efficiency by moving away from large-scale satellite projects and developing pico and nanosatellites following the CubeSat specifications. One of the major challenges of developing satellites to the standard CubeSat mission requirements is meeting the exceedingly tight power, data and communication constraints.

A MATLAB toolbox was created to assist the …

Growing Gardens: Botanical Gardens, Public Space And Conservation, Terra Celeste Colburn

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the history of botanical gardens and their evolution

from ancient spaces to the modern gardens of the 20th century. I provide a brief

overview of botanical gardens, with a focus on the unique intersection of public

participation and scientific study that started to occur within garden spaces during

the 20th century, which still continues today. I reveal the history of gardens that

influenced the uses of gardens today, with a focus on: the first ancient gardens

and the dependency societies had on them, the influence of science in gardens

starting in the Enlightenment period, the shift away …

Assessment Of Site And Soil Characteristics Of Rill Erosion Following The Lockheed Fire In The Little Creek Watershed, Swanton Pacific Ranch, Lynette Kristine Niebrugge

Master's Theses

The Lockheed Fire occurred in August 2009, burning 7,819 acres of the coastal mountains north of Santa Cruz, California. The fire burned a large portion of the Scotts Creek watershed, including over 90 % of the Little Creek watershed, much of which is on Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR). After intense winter rains in 2010 there was a significant amount of hillslope-derived sediment deposited on the roads and in the creek. A large portion of this material was derived from two chaparral hillslopes. These hillslopes were identified as the only two hillslopes within the Little Creek subwatershed where an …

Prediction Of Articular Cartilage Remodeling During Dynamic Compression With A Finite Element Model, Kevin Akira Yamauchi

Master's Theses

First, an in vitro growth experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that applying dynamic unconfined compression during culture produces het- erogeneous remodeling in newborn bovine articular cartilage explants. Het- erogeneous measures of cartilage microstructure were obtained by biochemical assays and quantified polarized light microscopy. Significant differences were measured between the GAG content in the inner and outer portions of the sam- ples stimulated with dynamic unconfined compression. The COL fiber network was found to be more highly aligned in the inner portion of the sample than in the peripheral region.

Next, a poroelastic finite element model with a remodeling …

Application Of A Heuristic Method To A Water Distribution System For Determining Optimal Water Quality Monitoring Locations, Lawrence David Johnson

Master's Theses

Although regulations and requirements for water quality source monitoring have increased, drinking water distribution systems can still be considered vulnerable to purposeful or accidental contamination.

This study analyzes the transport of the hypothetical contaminant Cryptosporidium through the distribution system of a city with a population of 30,000 to 50,000 in an attempt to locate the optimal monitoring locations in the distribution system. Cryptosporidium was selected due to its resistance to chlorine and it’s conservative properties for vulnerability assessments. The method for selecting the optimal monitoring locations was taken from Chastain (2004) which developed and examined the method for a virtual …

A New Computational Model To Augment The Design Of Microfluidic Separations: Electric Field Assisted, Hydrodynamic Chromatography, Jeffrey D. Wells

Master's Theses

This project encompasses the implementation of a computational model to simulate the microfluidic separation of like-charged particles in a continuous flow environment. By accomplishing this task the model can be used to optimize future fractionations by tailoring the process parameters to the properties of the target particles. The primary goal of this project is to develop a vectorized code within Matlab® that captures a sufficient quantity of the physics in separations to assist with the optimization and design of microfluidic systems.

This project differs from other computational models in that it utilizes a personal computer to run the simulation in …