Digital Commons Network^™

From Village Core To Urban Impact: A Method For Assessing Community-Centered Design Across Scales, Jessica Randise

Theses

By utilizing pioneered urban planning principles and design strategies that focus on creating human centric spaces, this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of intentional urbanism and the importance of place-based design. The built environment to which surround us plays a key role in impacting a community’s development and civic pride amongst its community members. By understanding and pinpointing the successful design strategies utilized in both the villages of Fairport and LeRoy, NY, other regionally similar places with lesser success can be revitalized. This will be accomplished through the understanding of key development categories across all three villages which …

Dark Current And Persistence In Hgcdte-On-Si Infrared Detectors, Lazar Buntic

Theses

This thesis investigates the performance of Raytheon’s mercury-cadmium-telluride-on-silicon (MCT-on-Si) infrared detector arrays, with particular emphasis on the impact of the heteroepitaxial silicon growth process on dark current and persistence characteristics. Infrared detectors have been the cornerstone of astronomical discovery for the past four decades and remain essential for current and future flagship observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Traditionally, the highest-performance HgCdTe (MCT) arrays are grown on lattice-matched cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) substrates, which are costly and limited in size. To enable low-cost, large-format arrays, Raytheon developed a process for growth of MCT on …

Mathematical Models Of The Kinetic Release Of Therapeutics From Contact Lenses And Their Effects On The Ocular Immune System Response To Allergic Conjunctivitis, Narshini D. Gunputh

Theses

Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) is one of the most common ocular disorders caused by exposure to airborne allergens such as pollen. It is typically treated with eye drops, but only about 5% of the drug in an eye drop reaches the target tissue. Drug-eluting soft contact lenses have been proposed as an alternative delivery method, but one limitation of a contact lens is the burst-release. In this thesis, we develop multiple mathematical models to support the design and evaluation of drug-eluting contact-lenses for the treatment of SAC. In the first part of the thesis, we build a diffusion-based model to …

Towards Effective And Efficient Robot Learning From Demonstrations Via Human-Robot Interaction, Xiwen Dengxiong

Theses

Robot learning from demonstrations is critical in industrial and service robotics applications, where robots must acquire diverse skills and adapt to human workflows in complex, unstructured environments without relying on exhaustive manual programming. Although robots have been widely deployed in industrial settings, acquiring new skills and adapting to novel tasks remain significant challenges due to (1) the large volume of demonstration data typically required, (2) the limited reusability of previously learned knowledge, and (3) the high cost of collecting high-quality demonstrations.  This dissertation aims to address key challenges in robot learning from demonstrations in complex and unstructured environments by making …

Indiana Bat Population Dynamics In The Midst Of Climate Change And White-Nose Syndrome, Lexie Ann Schwartz

Theses

Climate change and emerging diseases are altering species distributions and ecosystem dynamics worldwide. For temperate insectivorous bats in North America, food availability and winter climate influence hibernation energetics and survival. As climate warming alters insect phenology, these changes are likely to have an impact on hibernating bats. Many cavernicolous bats in North America are also threatened by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a newly emerged fungal disease devastating bat populations. This study examined the distribution of hibernating Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) over time throughout their range. I used long-term weather data to simulate seasonal insect availability, the spring and autumn transitory periods, …

User-Centered Design For Public Financial Services: A Federal Student Loan Management App Case Study, Carmen River Christopher

Theses

Researchers have studied several facets of federal student loans, such as the impacts it has on borrowers’ finances, mentality, and life goals, plus the history of the federal student system and potential changes. There has been little research conducted on how borrowers make decisions regarding repayment, including choosing plans, navigating the repayment system, and understanding the long term implications of their choices. Since this research largely does not exist, there are few tools and resources to help guide borrowers as they manage the large, complex, and dynamic landscape that is navigating the federal loan system and repaying their debt. I …

Abigail Sarai: A Neuroaesthetic Approach To Fashion Brand Development, Abby Martos

Theses

This thesis project presents a comprehensive direct-to-consumer business plan for an independent women’s fashion brand, Abigail Sarai, strategically positioned around the commercial value of aesthetic design. The project is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical framework integrating neuroaesthetics and consumer behavior research. Existing literature demonstrates that visual principles such as symmetry, harmony, and proportion activate neural reward systems associated with pleasure, while consumer research identifies happiness and emotional well-being as central drivers of purchasing behavior. Building upon these findings, this project proposes that aesthetic beauty can function as a deliberate and measurable value proposition within fashion entrepreneurship. By aligning brand design …

The Investigation Of The Digital Divide: Government Literacy With African American Seniors, Jenettie Pirtle

Theses

My thesis, The Great Divide: An Investigation of Digital Literacy with African American Seniors, explores how race, age, and income shape access to technology and digital learning. Many African American seniors continue to face barriers to digital literacy due to limited resources, lack of exposure, and social inequalities. Using a qualitative approach, I conducted a focus group to hear directly from seniors about their experiences with technology, what challenges they face, how they feel about using it, and what support they need. Guided by Critical Race Theory and the concept of digital inequality, my analysis highlights the gap between access …

Edvard Munch And The Feminine Sublime, Saralyn Goodspeed

Theses

This paper explores the theory of the sublime in relation to Edvard Munch’s depictions of women. Departing from the common view that Munch was simply anxious about the “New Woman” that emerged in the late nineteenth-century, I argue that Munch’s conflicting emotions regarding women were sublime in nature, rooted in his childhood relationship with his mother. A formal analysis is conducted on three of Munch’s works: Inheritance (1897), Three Stages of Woman or Sphinx (1894), and Madonna (1895). These analyses link Munch’s representations of women to a maternal sublime.

Analyzing Comparisons Of Seascapes By Caspar David Friedrich And Fitz Henry Lane Through A Digital Gallery Show, Adrianna Murphy

Theses

This project focuses on a comparative digital exhibition and analysis between Caspar David Friedrich and Fitz Henry Lane’s seascape artwork. Both artists have not been shown together in a gallery; thus this research into common themes in their works reveals a new perspective on early- to mid-19th-century seascape art. This perspective shows how their different geographies and historical contexts converge through the shared visual language of contemplation, morality, and reflecting in the mystery of life through nature. The project aims to create a digital gallery that showcases an ideal layout and a comparison of the artists, with curated works that …

Staging Collapse: Anita Berber’S Cocaine And Morphium As Disability Aesthetic Performance, Blair Summers

Theses

This thesis examines Anita Berber’s performances Cocaine and Morphium within the cultural climate of Weimar Germany, where the body became closely tied to ideals of health, productivity, and national renewal. Through the framework of disability aesthetics as defined by Tobin Siebers, this study argues that Berber transforms addiction, collapse, and bodily decay into a visual and affective language of artistic and political critique. Rather than present the body as disciplined or morally ideal, Berber stages instability, excess, and death through gesture, costume, set design, and music. In doing so, she reimagines the stigmatized female body as a site of agency …

Integrating Embodied Expertise Into Dress History Academia Through Practice-Led Actualistic Recreations: A New Methodology And Test Thereof, Rowan Paramour

Theses

This thesis examines the usage of practice-led methodology for historic dress recreation projects and how to implement and objectively analyze the findings from such research in an academically rigorous fashion. In section one, I examine the distinction between different types of recreation practices, the establishment of embodied practice within historic dress research, address concerns centering practice-led methodology, and develop a methodology for practice-led historic dress recreation projects and rubric for assessment of that methodology. In section two, I fully test the methodology and rubric by utilizing it in my own recreation and present this process using the methodology’s proposed deliverables …

Historic Churches Of Sheboygan, Erin Brehmer

Theses

This project focuses on the histories and architecture of six nineteenth- and early twentieth-century churches in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and developing a museum program about them. The aim of the project is to add to the art historical knowledge of Midwest architecture by researching the Greek Revival architecture used by First Baptist Church of Sheboygan; the Gothic Revival styles used by Grace Episcopal Church, St. Luke United Methodist Church, Hope Reformed Church, and St. Clement Catholic Church; and the Byzantine ornamentation used by St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. Furthermore, this project uses the historical findings to create a museum public program …

Unveiled Voices: An Ode To Black Brides A Digital Resource Guide For Black Brides And Inclusive Bridal Design, Jaslyn A. Banks

Theses

This project examines the lack of inclusivity within the bridal industry, with a specific focus on the absence of skin-tone appropriate illusion mesh and diverse representation for Black brides. Through a combination of scholarly research and visual analysis, this study identifies how Eurocentric design standards continue to influence fabric development, marketing practices, and overall bridal aesthetics.

In response to these findings, this project introduces a digital lookbook titled Unveiled Voices: An Ode to Black Brides A Digital Resource Guide for Black Brides and Inclusive Bridal Design, which serves as a curated resource highlighting Black bridal designers who prioritize inclusivity, cultural …

Representative And Preferred Skin Color Rendition Of Photos And Avatars In Optical-See Through Augmented Reality, Dara Dimoff

Theses

Human skin color is embedded with information about mood, health, and age. While facial color is widely studied in dermatology and cosmetics, there is limited data available to map the subjective experience of skin color to measured data. The ability to derive the color that best represents a person’s skin would be valuable in a wide range of applications, from identifying an appropriate makeup foundation to achieving white balance in a video. When displaying skin tones, it is well-known that preferred renderings are different from accurate renderings. Rendering skin tones becomes more nuanced with complex rendering technologies such as augmented …

Green Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Dots From Date Seeds For Antimicrobial Applications, Mariam Rami Hamdan

Theses

This thesis focuses on the synthesis and functionalization of Carbon Dots (CDs) derived from date seeds, followed by their conjugation with different antibiotics for antimicrobial applications. Carbon dots have gained increasing popularity due to their unique optical characteristics, surface properties, and biocompatibility. On the other hand, the utilization of date seeds offers a sustainable route towards obtaining value-added nanomaterials from agricultural waste. The central aim of this project is to develop and characterize CDs from date seeds and investigate their possible use as antibiotic carriers to improve antibacterial efficacy. The CDs were prepared using a green, cost-effective method and characterized …

Traumatic Stress Recruits An Excitatory Orbitofrontal-Amygdala Pathway To Drive Maladaptive Aggression, Mikaela Aholt

Theses

Traumatic stress is a reliable predictor of heightened aggression, yet the mechanisms linking stress exposure to aggression remain poorly understood. The Nordman lab previously found that traumatic stress activates the posterior ventral segment of the medial amygdala (MeApv) to drive persistent increases in aggressive behavior. However, why traumatic stress would engage an aggression-promoting pathway is unclear. To address this, the inputs to the MeApv were mapped and a population of excitatory, but not inhibitory, neurons in layer 5 of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) were identified. The OFC is classically viewed as an inhibitory brake on amygdala-driven impulses, yet emerging …

Evaluation Of Otolith Microchemistry For Identifying Walleye Stocked As Fry Or Fingerlings, Joshua Fluur

Theses

Walleye (Sander vitreus) is a popular sport fish whose populations are often supported by maintenance or supplemental stocking, with most fish stocked as fry, fingerlings, or advanced fingerlings. Evaluation of stocking efficacy is important to inform decisions regarding fish stocking rates and sizes and allocating hatchery fish to locations where maintenance or supplemental stocking is most needed. Several types of artificial tags or marks have been proven useful in the identification of stocked fish, but they often have various drawbacks. Natural chemical markers in otoliths offer several advantages compared to conventional tags or marks and can be used to identify …

The Making Of Shi'a Resistance In Afghanistan: Historical Roots, Communist Rule, And Soviet Occupation, 1978–1989, Sayed Sajjad Hojet

Theses

This thesis examines Shi'a political mobilization in Afghanistan from the 1978 Saur Revolution through the Soviet occupation, ending in 1989. It argues that Shi'a resistance was not simply a religious reaction to Marxist rule but a complex movement shaped by long-term marginalization, influenced by rival political ideas, and connected to cross-border networks in Iran. It traces how persecution under Amir Abdurrahman Khan created a system of political exclusion that shaped Shi'a collective identity before the communist takeover, and how ideologies such Marxism and Political Islam further politicized Shi'a youth in the mid-twentieth century. The PDPA's coercive policies after 1978 helped …

Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Equitable Post Disaster Resource Allocation Incorporating Social Vulnerability, Trevor John Mogaka

Theses

Prior Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approaches frame post‑disaster recovery as a sequential decision-making problem over infrastructure elements, using graph-based system models and resilience-oriented rewards. This thesis builds on an existing DRL framework by introducing a modified CDC Social Vulnerability Index (mCDC-SVI), developed using Max-min scaling, to quantify social vulnerability.A synthetic interdependent infrastructure testbed is divided into four socio‑economic regions using federal poverty and SNAP eligibility guidelines. The DRL simulation and Deep Q‑Network architecture are retrained under a multi-objective reward function that is efficiency-equity weighted (α:β). Agents are evaluated across unconstrained and constrained budget scenarios to examine how varying α and …

The Houston Eclipse, Korey Hans

Theses

The Houston Eclipse is a sports branding project for a fictional WNBA team, built on the idea that design can shape the fan experience. In a market where consumer attention is constantly being fought over, the brands that stand out are the ones that make people feel something. Sports already carries that emotional weight, but most fan-facing products don't take full advantage of it, often reducing team identity to a logo placed on top of a product without regard for the form it's applied to. This project approaches branding as a full system rather than a single mark. Drawing on …

Dissolved Nostalgia, Mckenna Ludmilla Brazie

Theses

No memory is eternal, no nostalgic experience is entirely authentic. This mantra is the catalyst for my thesis work, propelling the hunt for truth within my mind. I search through dissolving recollections and misplaced emotion in order to obtain some semblance of my life and how I feel about such experiences. While acknowledging my childhood, GenZ zeitgeist, metaphor, and surrealism through the ages, I strive to represent these findings in my large scale oil paintings. I refer to Fauves, surrealists, and landscape painters, among others to assist in my quest for personal truth. My paintings exist in the context of …

Automatic Modulation Classification On Satellite Communications Across Orbital Domains, Lorraine (Raina) Freeman

Theses

In recent years, the space domain has exploded with both commercial and government activity, making situational awareness critically important. In this work, we highlight the need for signal intelligence capabilities that can transfer gracefully from terrestrial systems to space networks. This already difficult task is additionally complicated by the fact that satellites operate at multiple different orbits. Geostationary (GEO) satellites face significantly different channel conditions than their Low Earth Orbit (LEO) counterparts, meaning that any cross-orbital signal analysis tool must be able to handle widely varying conditions. Such tools may soon be critical for identifying satellites and detecting malicious cyber …

3d Infographic Animation Series Unleashing The Mechanism Of Disease (Mod) Of Ventricular Tachycardias In Cellular And Molecular Levels: Afterdepolarization Subtypes And Triggered Activity, Yan Ning ‘Harmony’ Wong

Theses

Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) account for 75-80% of sudden cardiac deaths, causing 184,000 to 450,000 deaths annually in the U.S. VAs commonly occur in individuals with structural heart diseases, but idiopathic ventricular tachycardias (VTs) caused by delayed afterdepolarizations (DADs), early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and triggered activity, can also arise due to calcium ion discrepancies without apparent structural abnormalities. Despite advances in understanding abnormal impulse conduction, there is a paucity of visual aids that explain impulse formation anomalies of VTs. There are no 3D animations that link ECG interpretation to molecular dynamics in the cardiac EC coupling process. Moreover, ECG interpretation skills are …

Exploring Eating Behaviors And Dietary Patterns Among Adolescents And Emerging Adults With Adhd: A Scoping Review, Annika Waller

Theses

Objective     To map global evidence on eating behaviors and dietary patterns among adolescents and emerging adults with ADHD, with attention to executive function, medication-related appetite timing, and gender. Introduction     Adolescents and emerging adults with ADHD gain increasing autonomy over food choices during a developmental period marked by heightened executive-function demands and irregular routines. Research examining ADHD and diet is fragmented across disciplines and uses heterogeneous eating and dietary outcomes, limiting synthesis. Inclusion Criteria Studies were eligible if they included adolescents or emerging adults aged 12 to 25 years with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and reported at least one eating behavior, dietary pattern, …

Dynamic Control Of Active Optical Structures Using Fea-Derived State-Space Models, Damian Suarez

Theses

Active optical systems commonly use influence coefficient methods to map actuator commands to surface deformation, but these static models only describe steady-state behavior and do not capture transient or frequency-dependent structural dynamics. This work develops a finite element analysis (FEA)-derived state-space framework for active optical control by reducing an ANSYS deformable mirror model into modal coordinates and mapping structural deformation into optical Zernike space. The framework is used to compare three control strategies: static feedforward inversion, LQI feedback tracking, and a combined LQR–feedforward controller under steady-state and time-varying Zernike setpoints. The results show that feedforward control provides rapid static correction, …

Thermal And Reactive Transport Phenomena In Plasma With Numerical Modeling, Nitish Kumar Singh

Theses

As semiconductor node technology advances to below 5 nm, it is vital to control Non-uniformity, Line Edge Roughness (LER), and Line Width Roughness (LWR). These factors are crucial for meeting performance, reliability, and yield goals. This study presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for optimizing Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) processes, focusing on the synthesis of thin films such as Silicon Dioxide from precursor gases like Silane and Nitrous Oxide. The model is designed to accurately simulate the complex transport and reaction dynamics within the low-pressure, non-equilibrium plasma environment. The transport of neutral radical species (which form the bulk …

What If You Were My Fucked Up Dad And I Was Your Fucked Up Boy And We Cried Together, Ferris Ramirez

Theses

When I was six, maybe seven, my father said I would be disowned if I ended up a faggot. Twenty years have passed since I learned to perform as someone else around my father. As I come to terms with our irreparable estrangement, I present a question to the father I fail to connect with and to an imagined man: What if you were my fucked up dad and I was your fucked up boy and we cried together? This line of inquiry is the very title of my multimedia series, framing concepts of projection, queer desire, fatherhood, role-playing, and …

Crave Nothing More Fervently, Jesse Gwilliam

Theses

Crave Nothing More Fervently is an expressionistic journey that struggles with my fear of time’s ceaseless advance towards death. Through the establishment of a personal visual style I call psychedelic perception, I look for a future that struggles against my personal fears of loss and death. This strategy aestheticizes the world as a strategy of pursuing a creative life that stands against fatality.  In Crave Nothing More Fervently my concept of psychedelic perception is a framework that extrapolates from the late cultural theorist Mark Fisher’s manuscript Acid Communism defined as a political ethic of adaptive creativity. Besides simply revealing the …

Expedited Internet Bypass Protocol (Eibp) For Inter-As Routing, Tejas Ramakant Mhadgut

Theses

Inter-AS link failures in conventional routing architectures are recovered through a combination of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) hold-timer expiry, Link State Advertisement (LSA) flooding, and network-wide Forwarding Information Base (FIB) recomputation, a process that produces data plane outages measurable in seconds and affects every routing node in the involved Autonomous Systems (AS) regardless of topological relevance. This report presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a failure recovery mechanism for Expedited Internet Bypass Protocol (EIBP), a label-based routing protocol in which forwarding decisions are derived from structured tier addresses rather than distributed routing tables. The implemented mechanism comprises three components: …