Uvm Verification Of A 4-Stage Asynchronous Risc-V Processor, Yashaswini Suresha

Theses

Functional verification often takes more effort than designing the system itself, especially when the design departs from the synchronous, globally clocked style that verification tools assume. Asynchronous or clockless circuits are an example of this. They use local request and acknowledge handshaking instead of a global clock, which reduces dynamic power and eliminates clock-distribution and skew problems. However, this also means that standard verification methods that rely on a single periodic clock no longer apply. This thesis introduces a constrained-random, coverage-driven verification environment for a four-stage asynchronous RISC-V processor. The environment is built in SystemVerilog using the Universal Verification Methodology …

Engineering Materials Function With Reconfigurable Colloids, Laura Galeano Tirado

Theses

The function of a material is defined not only by its chemical composition, but also by the structural organization of its constituents across multiple length scales, from the architecture of individual building blocks to their collective arrangement. Developing strategies to access, engineer, and reconfigure that structure on demand represents a central opportunity in the design of adaptive materials. Here, we present a thermoresponsive polymer-colloid platform that enables high-precision tuning of colloidal structures using only thermal stimuli. Rather than adsorbing to the surface, our polymers diffuse inside organosilica colloids to reshape them from within, allowing continuous modulation of their size, shape, …

Carbon Credits, Capture And Storage Markets In The Uae, Fatema Adnan Majed

Theses

The growing urgency to address climate change has placed carbon markets and carbon capture technologies at the core of global climate strategies. This thesis looks into whether the United Arab Emirates can develop its emerging carbon credit framework into a platform that supports viable private investment and national sustainability goals. While systems that are established, such as the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) and voluntary schemes, such as Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), provide mature models, the UAE shows a unique case: a market still in its early stages yet backed by ambitious climate commitments and world-class hydrocarbon infrastructure. …

Ikaros: See Through Time, Aisha F. A. Alnouri

Theses

Conventional heritage interpretation often relies on static signage, creating an "information void" where physical ruins sit uncontextualized. This thesis addresses this issue by proposing an interactive spatial information system designed to dynamically display, and contextualize architectural heritage in real time. Designed as a global framework, Failaka Island in Kuwait serves as the primary case study, driven by a personal cultural connection and the need to bridge the island's post-war generational disconnect. Positioned at the intersection of information design, interactive media, and spatial visualization, the system, Ikaros, utilizes Hellenistic Temple B, a 3rd-century BCE sanctuary, as its core testbed. The touchscreen …

The Interactions That Shape Us: An Investigation Of The Supernova Engine’S Effect On Bbh Mergers, And Of Stellar Encounters In The Disks Of Active Galactic Nuclei, Zoe A. Rosenberg

Theses

Mergers and other close interactions between astrophysical objects such as black holes and stars are powerful and energetic occurrences, capable of creating heavy elements, forming intriguing remnants, and shaping the populations of stars and compact objects around them. In this thesis, we describe two studies which examine two types of close gravitational events: isolated binary black hole mergers and dynamic stellar interactions in a dense environment. For our first study, we investigate how modifying the speed of convection in the engine behind core-collapse supernova explosions affects the population of merging binary black holes. To get an accurate picture of this …

Beyond Conventional Construction A Sustainability Assessment Of 3d-Printed Concrete For Multi-Family Housing, Jennifer Candelier

Theses

The construction industry continues to face significant challenges, including labor shortages, increasing housing demand, rising material costs, and pressure to reduce environmental impacts. Three-dimensional printed concrete (3DPC) has emerged as a potential alternative to conventional construction methods by improving automation, material efficiency, and construction productivity. However, existing research has focused primarily on single-family applications, leaving limited understanding of its feasibility for multi-family residential construction. This study evaluates whether 3D printed concrete can become a standardized construction method for multi-family residential buildings by comparing it with conventional concrete masonry unit (CMU) construction. A comparative, performance-based methodology was developed using two equivalent …

Modeling Active Galactic Nuclei Spectra Of Supermassive To Hypermassive Black Holes, Priti Finavia

Theses

It is generally believed that most massive galaxies host supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers, with masses ranging from 10^6 -10^{10} M☉. During phases of rapid accretion, these SMBHs emit electromagnetic radiation across the entire spectrum, resulting in luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN). An open question is whether SMBHs can grow to exceed 10^{10} M☉ through continued accretion and successive mergers, potentially forming hypermassive black holes (HMBHs).  The broad line region (BLR) consists of dense gas clouds located within sub-parsec distances of the central SMBH. The clouds are photoionized by continuum radiation emitted by the accretion disk and hot …

Comparing Initial Data For Binary Neutron Star Mergers With Different Equations Of State, Aarati Nandre

Theses

Binary neutron star (BNS) mergers are an important tool for studying nuclear matter at extreme densities inaccessible to laboratory experiments. The equation of state (EOS) of this nuclear matter affects the inspiral dynamics, remnant properties, and the resulting gravitational-wave signal, but remains only weakly constrained at supranuclear densities. The observation of  GW170817 provided observational constraints on the EOS and established multimessenger astrophysics as a probe of dense matter. Simulating BNS mergers across a range of EOSs and comparing the resulting observables against detections helps narrowing this uncertainty further, and is the broader motivation for this thesis. General relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations …

Radical Regionalism: Integrating Historical Vernacular Wisdom With Modern Building Science For Resilient Envelope Design, Barbara Patricia Montano

Theses

This thesis investigates how vernacular environmental knowledge can be integrated with contemporary building science to inform climate-responsive residential building-envelope design. In response to the limitations of standardized construction approaches across diverse climatic regions, the research proposes Radical Regionalism, a framework that combines vernacular environmental principles, passive design strategies, sustainable material selection, building-envelope science, and resilience considerations within a performance-based design methodology. A comparative climate-based modeling methodology is applied to a representative single-family residential prototype across four contrasting United States climatic contexts: Miami, Florida (hot-humid); Phoenix, Arizona (hot-dry); Boston, Massachusetts (cold-humid); and Denver, Colorado (cold-dry). Representative conventional code-minimum wall assemblies are …

Puzzles & Frames: Exploring Motion Graphics In Thriller Movie Poster Design, Xingyu Xiao

Theses

This thesis explores how motion graphics can expand the role of traditional movie posters and create more engaging visual communication experiences. The project began with an observation that static posters displayed in busy campus environments can easily be overlooked. This led to the central question of how motion graphics can make traditional movie posters more visually engaging and effective in campus environments. To investigate this question, I developed a series of dynamic thriller movie posters that combine traditional graphic design elements—including typography, composition, imagery, abstraction, and visual hierarchy—with motion. The design process developed through several stages of experimentation. Early studies …

Detecting Eccentric Kozai–Lidov Imprints On Gravitational Waves From An Intermediate–Stellar-Mass Binary Black Hole Around A Supermassive Black Hole, Zainab Mangi

Theses

The gravitational-wave signal of a compact binary carries the imprint of its environment. In a galactic nucleus, the tidal field of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) drives Kozai--Lidov (KL) oscillations in the eccentricity of an orbiting binary, modulating the emitted signal. As a proof of concept, previous work showed that for an IMBH--stellar-mass black hole binary, this modulation is detectable with LISA out to about a megaparsec (Deme et al. 2020). This detectability depends on the parameters of the triple; among them, the outer eccentricity plays a special role: it switches on the octupole order of the secular approximation, …

Harnessing Airborne And Spaceborne Lidar For Large-Area Assessment Of Canopy Structural Complexity, Tahrir Ibraq Siddiqui

Theses

Forests play a vital role in global carbon cycling, biodiversity conservation, and the provision of ecosystem services. Accurate quantification of forest carbon sequestration rates – or forest production – therefore is essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics and informing sustainable forest management practices. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, as an active remote sensing modality, have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing detailed structural information of forests. Studies employing terrestrial LiDAR demonstrated that canopy structural complexity (CSC) metrics are strongly correlated with forest production at stand to landscape scales. While terrestrial LiDAR systems provide highly detailed maps of internal canopy …

Analysis Of Gwtc-3 With Multiple Quasicircular Next-Generationwaveform Models, Noah M. Manning

Theses

The interpretation of gravitational wave sources depends on the specific choice of model used to interpret signals. For example, previous analyses of GWTC-3 event candidates using the SEOBNRv4PHM, IMRPhenomXPHM, and NRSur7dq4 models have arrived at sometimes notably di!erent conclusions about event properties. Unfortunately, subtle analysis settings and code di!erences can also produce notable di!erences in event properties. Previous work on GWTC-3 has not yet used a consistent analysis framework to reassess all events with state-of- the-art models. In this work, we revisit GWTC-3, reassessing every event using three waveform models: two state-of-the-art models (SEOBNRv5PHM and IMRPhenomTPHM) and one older waveform …

Population Inference Of Compact Binaries With Eccentricity, Muhammad Zeeshan

Theses

Gravitational waves opened a new window to study the properties of compact binary systems, providing insights into their astrophysical formation and evolution. Initially, population studies relied on mass and spin distributions to distinguish between isolated, dynamical, and hierarchical merger channels; however, orbital eccentricity offers a complementary probe of binary formation scenarios. Historically, eccentricity received limited attention due to the lack of eccentric wave- form models and the absence of strong observational evidence within the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA sensitivity band. A growing catalog, recent advances in eccentric waveform modeling, and analyses reporting candidates consistent with non-zero eccentricity motivate a systematic population-level study with …

Factors Influencing Employee Engagement And Performance In Hybrid Work Environments, Saif Alblooshi

Theses

The widespread adoption of hybrid work arrangements, in which employees divide their working time between remote and office-based settings, has fundamentally altered how organisations manage, measure, and sustain workforce engagement and performance. While hybrid models offer tangible benefits such as increased autonomy, reduced commuting burden, and greater scheduling flexibility, they simultaneously introduce a set of organisational challenges that conventional management frameworks were not designed to address. Chief among these challenges is the difficulty of maintaining consistent levels of employee engagement across distributed work settings, where informal communication, social connection, and direct managerial oversight are structurally constrained. The absence of robust, …

Analyzing The Effects Of Biodegradable Plastic Fragments On Maize Development And Defense Signaling, Ulysses Hampton

Theses

As plastic use shifts from non-degradable to biodegradable materials, the effects of biodegradable plastic fragments on crop physiology remain unclear. This study investigated how biodegradable plastic fragments influence maize development, transpiration, and defense signaling. Among five plastic types tested, poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS). PBAT and TPS showed the most significant effects and were selected for further oxylipin analysis. Results indicate that biodegradable plastic fragments can alter oxylipin signaling pathways in subtle but meaningful ways, suggesting that these materials are not inherently risk-free alternatives to conventional plastics.

Biochar-Derived Ethylene Scavengers For The Preservation Of Bananas, Morgan Samson

Theses

Ethylene regulates the rapid ripening of numerous climacteric fruits (e.g., banana, tomato, mango, and avocado). Minimization of ethylene formation and action in fruits during harvest or at any stage along the supply chain has become an important approach to prolong storage periods and minimize postharvest losses. Active packaging with ethylene scavengers has been proven to extend the shelf life of climacteric fruits; however, a cost-effective and sustainable solution is needed. Biochar-derived ethylene scavengers offer a promising approach to minimize postharvest losses, along with the valorization of abundant organic residues. This study produced and characterized biochars from two different feedstocks (i.e., …

A Hyperpipeline For Joint Inference Of The Equation Of State And Population Of Binary Neutron Stars, Marc Ebiri

Theses

The extreme environment within neutron stars presents the opportunity to probe the nuclear equation of state at high densities and study the nature of stellar remnants near 1 solar mass. Parameter inference for the equation of state has received abundant attention in previous studies, but only a fraction of those have employed nontrivial population models in their priors. In this work, we introduce an upgrade to the generalized version of the popular RIFT algorithm known as HyperPipe, enabling the inclusion of flexible, user-provided priors within preexisting likelihood marginalization scripts that will facilitate joint inference of the equation of state and …

Effects Of Disorder On The Magnetic And Electronic Structure Of Kagome Alloy Fe2mnsn., Thayne Dean

Theses

Iron-based magnets with the Kagome lattice are a rich set of materials due to their non-trivial topology combined with high magnetic ordering temperature (Tc). Previously, we identified and synthesized Fe2MnSn as a promising material with high magnetic anisotropy characterized by a high Tc. The desirable magnetic properties of ternary alloys are controlled by atomic-level antisite disorder and are sensitive to stoichiometry as well. To illustrate the role of disorder in Fe2MnSn, we performed DFT calculations using 64-atom supercells, which enabled us to probe changes in the density of states and magnetic moments by design. Our data show that substitution of …

Radiometric Dating And Isotope Analysis To Determine The Source And Timing Of Rare Earth Element-Bearing Fluid Mineralization At Hicks Dome, Hardin County, Illinois, Kristina M. Kohl

Theses

The Hicks Dome structure of Hardin County, Illinois, located within the Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar District (IKFD), is one of the most perplexing geological features in the mid-continental U.S. Composed of uplifted Devonian strata intruded by a Ca-rich magma and ultramafic dikes, the dome is recognized as part of the Wauboukigou Igneous Province (WIP) and has been shown to host an abundance of rare earth element (REE) mineralization, particularly Dy, Y, and Sc. Despite extensive prior studies on REE concentrations and the link between fluorite mineralization in the IKFD and igneous activity at Hicks Dome, the absolute timing and relationship among REE …

Combining Citizen Science And Machine Learning: The Blueprint For An Emission Line Detection Algorithm, Alex Kiely

Theses

Extragalactic spectroscopy provides us with information about the properties of galaxies and the fundamental nature of the universe. By analyzing galaxy spectra, we gain insight into a galaxy’s evolution through measures of its star formation rate (SFR), metallicity (Z), ionization parameter (U), gas pressure, dust extinction, electron density, and redshift (z). Redshift, in particular, can provide us with information about a galaxy’s velocity and distance, the formation of baryonic matter, dark matter halos, and the variation of galaxy properties with redshift. The analysis of these spectra is often an incredibly demanding, time-intensive, and potentially inaccurate process, further complicated by the …

Building A Multiwavelength Catalog Of Active Galactic Nuclei For The Cosmos Field, Thresa Kelly

Theses

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are capable of producing highly luminous emission across the entirety of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each waveband has characteristic features that can be used to separate AGNs from typical, inactive galaxies. However, each AGN has a unique combination of physical characteristics--such as the black hole mass, accretion rate, obscuring column density, orientation angle, and/or presence of relativistic jets--that create a unique spectral shape. Thus, a single AGN identification technique using a single wavelength will fail to find all types of AGNs. The resulting sample will bias the results of larger statistical studies. Therefore, it is critical to …

Capital Cities: The Intersection Of Power And Protest Urban Planning And Civic Design In Brasília And Washington, D.C., Noah Benjamin Gill

Theses

The physical environments of capital cities play a critical role in shaping how citizens interact with governmental power, particularly during moments of political unrest, protest, and democratic conflict. As both symbolic representations of national identity and functional centers of government, these urban landscapes influence how citizens approach, occupy, and confront civic institutions through their planning, architectural form, circulation networks, and spatial organization. Government buildings, public plazas, monumental landscapes, and civic axes do more than provide settings for political activity; they actively shape patterns of movement, visibility, accessibility, and control. The design of these spaces influences not only how democratic institutions …

Deep Analog: Open-Set Film Emulation With Reference-Conditioned 3d Luts, Yitong Mu

Theses

Film emulation reproduces the look of an analog film stock on a new digital photograph. We target its open-set form—matching the look of any reference film frame from a single example—with a 3D lookup table (LUT) predicted from that reference. Real-time image enhancement has converged on one recipe for the color step: predict per-image weights over a fixed bank of 3D LUTs and blend them. We show this construction is a gated mixture of experts—specialist tables chosen per image by a learned gate—and it inherits the corresponding failure: trained end-to-end against reconstruction, the gate collapses onto a single expert, so …

The Impact Of Built-Environment Walkability On Obesity Among Women In Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Using Demographic Health Surveys (Dhs) Data, Areej Arshad

Theses

Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world, with a population of over 247 million people in 2023. According to the World Health Organization, 23% of Pakistan’s population is obese, with higher prevalence among women (26%) compared to men (19.9%). Recent research in high-income countries has identified built-environment as an important factor impacting physical activity, as well as health outcomes like obesity rates. However, work linking built-environment and health outcomes is scattered for low- and middle- income countries. This study, therefore, aimed to construct a consistent and simple built-environment walkability score for Pakistan using Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) …

Pixel Weave: Explore The Craft, Share The Story, Janki Akbari

Theses

Traditional craft practices are often preserved as finished objects rather than experienced as active systems of knowledge. As a result, the techniques, visual logic, and cultural meaning behind these crafts become less accessible to broader audience. Pixel Weave addresses this challenge by translating the double ikat (a premium, highly complex weaving technique in which both the warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) yarns are individually resist-dyed to a preplanned pattern before being placed on the loom, so that the design only fully emerges once the two dyed yarn sets are woven together) weaving logic of Patan Patola, a centuries old textile …

The Mediating Role Of Moral Disengagement In The Relationship Between Facets Of Empathy And Aggression, Romiere J. Horace

Theses

Aggression is a major social and public health concern with economic, psychological, and interpersonal implications. Extensive research has examined the potential antecedents for aggressive behavior, with many different environmental, biological, and intrapsychic factors being significantly associated with aggression. Researchers have also focused on cognitive mechanisms, like empathy, as a protective factor for aggression. More specifically, research has linked lower levels of empathy to higher levels of aggression; however, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remain underexplored. A potential explanatory mechanism is moral disengagement, which allows individuals to justify harmful behaviors and avoid self-sanctions. However, limited research has examined these constructs …

Bridging The Gap: Using A Regional Pediatric Intensive To Improve Rural Nursing Students’ Self-Efficacy, Hannah J. Sasser, Will Brewer

Theses

Abstract

Introduction: Valuable clinical learning opportunities is essential, yet often an unmet goal in nursing education, especially within rural associate degree nursing (ADN) programs, where access to high-acuity and diverse clinical experiences is limited.

Background: Nursing students in geographically isolated areas face limited access to specialty clinicals, including pediatrics, creating inadequacies in clinical learning and preparedness (Institute of Pediatric Nursing, 2021).

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of a two-day pediatric intensive, incorporating simulation scenarios and micro-learning activities, on the self-efficacy and satisfaction with learning of students in a rural ADN program. …

Machine Learning For Practical Quantum Computing: Adaptive Mitigation And Data-Driven Noise Characterization, Steven Szachara

Theses

Quantum error mitigation (QEM) is essential for reliable near-term quantum computing, yet practical deployment requires balancing mitigation strength against runtime overhead under nonstationary noise. This work introduces GSC-QEMit, a telemetry-driven context–forecast–bandit framework that adaptively selects mitigation intensity using unsupervised context discovery, uncertainty-aware Gaussian process forecasting, and a cost-aware contextual bandit. Evaluated on benchmark quantum circuits under drifting noise in simulation, the approach improves logical fidelity while reducing unnecessary intervention cost. Complementing this systems-level contribution, we apply unsupervised machine learning to broadband cryogenic transient dielectric spectroscopy data to analyze two-level system (TLS) noise mechanisms. Through clustering, dimensionality reduction, and spectral analysis, …

Prototyping Of A Spectropolarimetry Module For Lenslet-Based Integral Field Spectrographs, Manasa Lakshmi Narasimhan

Theses

Integral-field spectropolarimetry enables simultaneous spatial, spectral, and polarization measurements. Observations of polarized light allow researchers to map magnetic fields, distinguish scattering from intrinsic emission, and characterize the geometry of sources illuminating the large-scale dust distribution within and around galaxies. In tandem with spectral information, polarized emission can be used to detail the kinematics of dust expelled from galaxies and to probe the underlying spectrum of scattered light—measurements that help constrain key open questions such as the missing baryon problem and the role of feedback in galaxy evolution. However, spectropolarimetry is a rare capability among ground-based observatories. This thesis showcases a …