Digital Commons Network^™

On Your Own, Tianyi Wang

Theses

My thesis On Your Own is an 18-minute short fiction film focusing on the relationship between a daughter and her dying father. After his wife was killed in a car accident, Frank, as a single father, raises his daughter Giana who has Down syndrome on his own. Frank becomes informed that he is in the terminal stage of lung cancer. He teaches Giana how to live on her own and tries different ways to find a suitable facility to take care of Giana after his death.

The film was shot in HD format using Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera with …

Dancing In Silence, Moyu Zhang

Theses

I seek to create objects that reveal their essential quality and simplicity as a means to convey my attitudes toward life. I intend to capture the essence of emotion by looking deeply into the spiritual and the invisible through my pieces.

I intend to apply two very different visual logics: minimal simplicity and a richness of color and form. I hope to create contrast, tension, and a sense of discovery. I want to experiment with materials, such as different wood species, stained wood, and acrylic painted wood; I also want to experiment with colors, textures, patterns and graphics. I see …

Life Structures, Melissa M. Pepin

Theses

The following document defines my creative journey as a fine arts graduate student at Rochester Institute of Technology. Through a series of personal life experiences I have selectively visualized a meaningful collection of prints on butcher-block paper.

In addition, I have described positive print experiences at a previous school. This MA studies ultimately directed my search for a MFA program that would provide breath to my research investigations. Creative problem solving in Fine Arts Studio New Forms also contributed to my exhibited work in the Bevier Gallery at RIT. By rendering stills, I was able to capture my personal environment …

Finger Lakes Interactive Play Assessment Of Implementation, Jessica Kernan

Theses

In 2014, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo launched Path Through History, a project connecting New York’s historical and cultural heritage sites. This effort aimed to benefit New York State by promoting the important historical past of New York, as well as highlighting the tourism industry and economic development throughout the entire state as a whole. One million dollars in funding was distributed among ten tourism regions throughout New York State, in an effort to assist each region in creating a unique tourism-marketing plan. This paper focuses specifically on the Finger Lakes Region and its use of the Path Through …

Parking In The Urban Core, Matthew Simonis

Theses

This paper explores parking policy as it relates to the creation of densely populated downtown city centers. The impacts of careful parking planning, correlated with other factors such as streetscape and building design, dictate how people move around their community. This topic is even more important as cities across America have seen a resurgence in their population and are for the first time in decades, laying out new plans and goals of what they are seeking to achieve as it relates to land use. The City of Rochester is one city that is working to create lively streets as stated …

Hybrid Statistical Data Mining Framework For Multi-Commodity Fixed Charge Network Flow Problem, Anurag A. Ladage

Theses

This paper presents a new approach to analyze the network structure in multi-commodity fixed charge network flow problems (MCFCNF). This methodology uses historical data produced from repeatedly solving the traditional MCFCNF mathematical model as input for the machine-learning framework. Further, we reshape the problem as a binary classification problem and employ machine-learning algorithms to predict network structure. This predicted network structure is further used as an initial solution for our mathematical model. The quality of the initial solution generated is judged on the basis of predictive accuracy, feasibility and reduction in solving time.

Performance Evaluation Of Iii-V Hetero/Homojunction Esaki Tunnel Diodes On Si And Lattice Matched Substrates, Paul M. Thomas

Theses

Understanding of quantum tunneling phenomenon in semiconductor systems is increasingly important as CMOS replacement technologies are investigated. This work studies a variety of heterojunction materials and types to increase tunnel currents to CMOS competitive levels and to understand how integration onto Si substrates affects performance. Esaki tunnel diodes were grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) on Si substrates via a graded buffer and control Esaki tunnel diodes grown on lattice matched substrates for this work. Peak current density for each diode is extracted and benchmarked to build an empirical data set for predicting diode performance. Additionally, statistics are used as …

Forma Naturalis, Patrick Kana

Theses

Mankind’s fascination with natural form is undeniably long-lived. From collecting and preserving specimens for evolutionary research, to documenting and expressing natural form through artistic practice, Mankind continues to embrace for scientific and aesthetic benefit that which surrounds us. I believe that botany, marine biology, and environmental phenomena—all areas of influence and study from my childhood—are sources that illustrate perfection in form and utility. The sheer beauty evident in these scientific forms continues to inspire me, and I will celebrate them and explore my relationship with them through an experimental making process in wood.

Carved objects, form studies, and functional furniture …

Hand Operated Tabletop Letterpress Assembly Instructions 1.0, George Chiu, Brendan Domos, Spencer Herzog, Nathan Sandidge, Kevin Weinstein

Theses

A group of RIT Mechanical Engineering students spent the 2014-2015 academic year in their senior design class collaborating with the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection to design and fabricate a 21st century hand-operated platen press.

The press that was designed during this engineering exercise met several requirements:

• be under 30 lbs
• fit in a 24 inch square table top space
• be manufactured with a majority of components which could be purchased from a standard parts supplier
• be able to print with commonly manufactured ink rollers, ink, letterpress chases, spacing and furniture
• the platen and packing had to be adjustable to …

Graduate Student Profile Of Saudi Arabian Students Enrolled In The Hospitality And Tourism Management Program At Rit, Saleh Aljubaili

Theses

This research explores the experience of Saudi students at RIT who are enrolled in the Hospitality and Tourism Management graduate program. It focuses on investigating the educational needs and expectations of the students for the purpose of program development in regard to the courses offered and the teaching methods used. The data of this study were collected using interviews, which resulted in a large amount of data being collected. The key areas that the interviews sought to explore were reasons for choosing the US and RIT, learning and educational experiences, and social and cultural interactions with faculty. It was found …

Biological Significance Of Dual Oriented P6 From Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae: Assessing Surface P6 Levels In Different Strains Of Nthi, Cultured Under Various Physiologically Relevant Environmental Conditions, Casey Reulbach

Theses

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) or nonencapsulated Haemophilus influenzae has been connected to such diseases as pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis and sepsis in adults. NTHi is also linked to 25-35% of the roughly 25 million annual cases (within The United States) of acute otitis media (ear infections) in children. Vaccines against encapsulated strains of Haemophilus influenzae have been proven effective; yet, no vaccines have been produced to protect against NTHi infection. The 16-kDa outer membrane lipoprotein P6 has been shown to be nearly homologous between NTHi strains, making it one of the leading vaccine candidates for NTHi. However, it was recently demonstrated, …

Power Analysis Attacks On Keccak, Xuan D. Tran

Theses

Side Channel Attacks (SCA) exploit weaknesses in implementations of cryptographic functions resulting from unintended inputs and outputs such as operation timing, electromagnetic radiation, thermal/acoustic emanations, and power consumption to break cryptographic systems with no known weaknesses in the algorithm’s mathematical structure. Power Analysis Attack (PAA) is a type of SCA that exploits the relationship between the power consumption and secret key (secret part of input to some cryptographic process) information during the cryptographic device normal operation. PAA can be further divided into three categories: Simple Power Analysis (SPA), Differential Power Analysis (DPA) and Correlation Power Analysis (CPA). PAA was first …

Phylogeographic Study Of Ctenosaura Similis, Hasret Ozturk

Theses

The genus Ctenosaura (spiny-tailed iguanas) represents the most diverse group of iguanas with 18 currently recognized species. Ctenosaura similis has the most widespread ranges of all the Ctenosaura species, and extends from southern Mexico to Panama including many coastal islands. The purpose of this study is to explore the genetic diversity within C. similis and look for correlations between genetic relationships and biogeographic patterns related to the spread of the species. This study sequenced and aligned 1140 bp from the cytochrome b (cytb) locus for 159 individuals and 847-878 bp from the rhodopsin locus for 127 individuals. A total of …

Evaluation And Assessment Of Zigbee Wireless Sensor, Kai Lei

Theses

The research evaluated a type of widely used smart wireless sensor - ZigBee sensor. This article explained the significance of monitoring key indexes of merchandise (temperature, humidity, shock and vibration - g value) during its transportation, introduced methodologies and involved equipment of evaluating an existing ZigBee sensor, and shown the analysis methods as well as the conclusions and suggestions for future researches. All data presented in this article was originally captured in Dynamics lab and APC innovation Center of the Packaging Science Department at RIT and a local company warehouse. As result of my research, the testing ZigBee sensor was …

Characterizing Alma For Solar Observation, Yi Chai

Theses

ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) is an antenna array of 66 antennas located in northern Chile at 5000 meters altitude. It is the largest ground-based array operated at millimeter/submillimeter wavelengths. In this thesis, the advantages of using ALMA for solar observation are presented, together with the introduction of a campaign to commission ALMA for solar observations. Observation modes of the solar campaign are reviewed in Chapter 2. Methods for constructing images from single dish data as well as the procedure for processing interferometer data, including calibration and imaging, are given in Chapter 3. The CLEAN algorithm that is used for …

Computational Studies Of Electronic Structure Of Doped Graphene, Yan Chu

Theses

In the literature, extensive studies have been performed to study the electronic properties of doped graphene. This is due to the potentially large number of applications of graphene in p-n junctions, transistors, photodiodes and lasers. By utilizing single heteroatom chemical doping method or electric field-induced method, one can introduce a band gap, ranging from 0.1eV to 0.5eV, in graphene. A tunable bandgap is highly desirable because it would allow significant flexibility in the design and optimization of such devices, particularly if it could be tuned by adjusting the doping configurations. Here, we demonstrate the realization of a widely tunable electronic …

Hollow Cathode Sputtering System - Installation, Operation And Theoretical Background, Sebastian Falk

Theses

The objective of this work was to assemble, install and operate a hollow cathode sputtering system (HCSS). Therefore a complex vacuum system was built to create the right sputtering environment. The purpose of the HCSS is to develop advanced thin conducting oxides (TCOs) as well as high resistivity transparent (HRT) layers which are used for thin film photovoltaic technology, particularly cadmium telluride based and copper indium gallium selenide based solar cells.

A theoretical background of the thin film technology and a comparison of different deposition methods in regards to the sputtering process is provided. Thereby, an in-depth investigation of zinc …

Exact Genome Alignment, Nandini Ghosh

Theses

The increase in the volume of genomic data due to the decrease in the cost of whole genome sequencing techniques has opened up new avenues of research in the field of Bioinformatics, like comparative genomics and evolutionary dynamics. The fundamental task in these studies is to align the genome sequences accurately. Sequence alignment helps to identify regions of similarity between the sequences to establish their functional, evolutionary and structural relationship. The thesis investigates the performance of two sequence alignment programs LASTZ, a hash table based faster method and SSEARCH, a slower but more rigorous Smith-Waterman based approach, on whole genome …

Structural Health Monitoring Of Bridges Using Wireless Sensor Networks, Seyed Behrad Ghazi Sharyatpanahi

Theses

Structural Health Monitoring, damage detection and localization of bridges using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are studied in this thesis. The continuous monitoring of bridges to detect damage is a very useful tools for preventing unnecessary costly and emergent maintenance. The optimal design aims to maximize the lifetime of the system, the accuracy of the sensed data, and the system reliability, and to minimize the system cost and complexity

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is carried out using LUSAS Bridge Plus software to determine sensor locations and measurement types and effectively minimize the number of sensors, data for transmission, and volume of …

Development Of A Finite Element Method For Light Activated Polymers, Craig Hamel

Theses

Traditional Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) belong to a class of smart materials which have shown promise for a wide range of applications. They are characterized by their ability to maintain a temporary deformed shape and return to an original parent permanent shape. The first SMPs developed responded to changes in temperature by exploiting the difference in modulus and chain mobility through the glass transition temperature. However, in recent years, new SMPs have been developed that respond to other stimuli besides temperature; these can include electricity, magnetism, changes in chemical concentration, and even light.

In this thesis, we consider the photo-mechanical …

Simulation Of Electronic And Optical Properties Of Graphene, Biao Leng

Theses

Graphene is a recently discovered two-dimensional crystal. Due to its excellent electronic properties, transport properties, optical properties, and many other features, it has tremendous potential for applications in many areas. This thesis discusses the structure and properties of graphene using several different models of graphene and carries out detailed theoretical studies and calculations of its electronic and optical properties. Using two modules of Materials Studio, CASTAP and Doml3, four graphene models have been constructed. Their electronic and optical properties have also been calculated via these two modules. By comparing the results of calculations with experimental results and the literature, the …

Differentiation Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Into Insulin-Producing Cells: Optimization To Enhance The Overall Differentiation Efficiency, Xiaotang Ma

Theses

Embryonic stem cells have the potential to differentiate into multiple cell types including insulin-producing cells (IPCs), which is becoming one of the promising cell sources for treating type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, in order to achieve functional stem cell-derived cells, it is important to generate more mature IPCs and to keep long-term viability post differentiation process. In this study, we varied several factors including different embryonic body culture conditions, digested cells seeding density and various coatings required for differentiation to optimize a previously established protocol to enhance the overall differentiation efficiency. Moreover, a three-dimensional in vitro collagen tissue culture system …

Tendon Reflex Protocol For Exploring The Mechanisms Associated With Whole Body Vibration, Ikechukwu Okeke

Theses

Whole body vibration (WBV) machines have in recent years been widely used as rehabilitation equipment. Whole body vibration has been shown to have positive effects on muscle response. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurodevelopmental condition that includes a group of non-progressive, but often changing, motor impairment syndromes arising in the early stages of human development. The aim of this project was to design a protocol and related instruments to assess the tendon reflex in response to WBV. Both a press pedal used for measuring the force exerted by the foot and a hammer used for measuring the stimulating force were …

Review Of Steganalysis Of Digital Images, Xinlei Pan

Theses

Steganography is the science and art of embedding hidden messages into cover multimedia such as text, image, audio and video. Steganalysis is the counterpart of steganography, which wants to identify if there is data hidden inside a digital medium. In this study, some specific steganographic schemes such as HUGO and LSB are studied and the steganalytic schemes developed to steganalyze the hidden message are studied. Furthermore, some new approaches such as deep learning and game theory, which have seldom been utilized in steganalysis before, are studied. In the rest of thesis study some steganalytic schemes using textural features including the …

Processing And Characterization Of Graphene And Graphene On Silicon, Cheng Peng

Theses

Graphene has become a promising material for applications in many areas including electronic devices, batteries and space crafts. Although it has a bright future, the commercial production of graphene has not yet been realized. In this thesis, an overview of the properties and applications of graphene is presented. The early research of preparing graphene and its composites is summarized, which gives the basis to synthesize graphene and improve the process. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) and graphene have been successfully made using graphite; graphene layer has been coated on the surface of a silicon wafer. The resulting specimens are …

Design, Construction And Characterization Ofa Magnetic Augmented Rotation System (Mars) Based Wind Turbine, Da Li

Theses

Magnetic Augmented Rotation System (MARS) works by magnetic field coupling, to transfer torque from the driver to the rotor without contact. This characteristic has significant applications to the wind turbine but research in combination of MARS and wind turbine has not been done in the literature. In this thesis, a small-scale wind turbine is designed, built and characterized in a prototype wind tunnel. The test results are analyzed and computer-aided software simulation is used as an auxiliary method to understand the mechanism of MARS. The power coefficient of this new wind turbine is estimated to be about 40%. The “gear …

Effects Of Onsite Stretching Exercise On Employee Musculoskeletal Discomfort And Wellbeing, Kellie L. Caldwell

Theses

To fight high incidence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort complaints among the maintenance workers in a large transportation company, this pilot intervention study of an on-site stretch and flex exercise program was implemented. The participants (n=62) were maintenance workers; whose age ranged from 26 to 69 years.

A 4½-minute video was created which included still images of human figures performing stretches, while a voice recording instructed how to perform each stretch. Exercises targeted the neck, shoulders, triceps, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The exercise program was conducted 5 days a week for 5 consecutive weeks, during daily shift meetings.

The results of …

Experimental Determination Of Solids Suspension With Angled Impeller In A Pharmaceutical Mixing Vessel, Yingxi Tang

Theses

Angled-mounted impellers are commonly used in a number of pharmaceutical industry applications, from laboratory reactors to full-scale tanks. In these systems, the impeller is not centrally and vertically mounted, as in most stirred vessels, but it enters the vessel, and is therefore immersed in the fluid, at an angle from the vertical. This arrangement provides some baffling effects that would not otherwise exist if the impeller was centrally mounted.

One common requirement for such systems is that they are capable of suspending small solids dispersed in the liquid. Therefore, it is critical to know the value of the minimum agitation …

Mining News Content For Popularity Prediction, Moayad Alshangiti

Theses

The problem of popularity prediction has been studied extensively in various previous research. The idea behind popularity prediction is that the attention users give to online items is unequally distributed, as only a small fraction of all the available content receives serious users attention. Researchers have been experimenting with different methods to find a way to predict that fraction. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the previous work used the content for popularity prediction; instead, the research looked at other features such as early user reactions (number of views/shares/comments) of the first hours/days to predict the future …

Authorized Access And The Challenges Of Health Information Systems, Ryan Shelc

Theses

The need for an interconnected health network has reached its peak. Using electronic health records dramatically increases the quality of care for patients and the efficiency of the health care systems. With the rapid development and integration of health care technology, standardization and interoperability has become a paramount problem. Looking at electronic health systems independently presents an array of security related issues, which are then compounded as they are connected together. This paper focuses the issues surrounding authorized access systems used within these networks and solutions to bridge the gap that currently exists.