Digital Commons Network^™

Package Access Platform, Tyler Connor Moyers, Austin Sien, Brooke Almaraz, Aiden Montano

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) presents the completed package access platform project following fabrication, assembly, and verification testing of the final prototype. The project focused on the development of an adjustable and modular access platform capable of adapting to varying workspace requirements while maintaining operator safety and structural stability. The finalized design incorporates adjustable platform dimensions, modular frame expansion, integrated OSHA-compliant handrailing, and adjustable support legs to accommodate uneven surfaces and changing operational needs.

Water Turbine Dynamometer For Low-Power Turbomachinery Testing, Carmen Alaichamy, Yosef Huynh Torres, Michael Duperly, Michael Thomas Duff

Mechanical Engineering

Students in ME 443: Introduction to Turbomachinery compete to design and build efficient small impulse turbines. The course lacks a standardized method to experimentally calculate turbine power output and mechanical efficiency from accurate measurements of torque and speed, for example. To support the learning goals of ME 443, a dedicated water-turbine dynamometer is needed to provide controlled hydraulic power, accurate mechanical and electrical measurements, and clear data for performance evaluation.

Our proposed system delivers a safe, repeatable, and educational testing environment that can be integrated into the Fluids Lab or used as a standalone instructional tool. Key stakeholders include Professor …

Me443 Turbine Timing System, Jacky Liang, Michael Ayman Habib, Julio Cesar Gutierrez Jr., Eric Tran

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Composite Carrier, Thomas W. Clarke, Kaden T. Guevarra, D'Anna M. Jennings, John F. Tomas

Mechanical Engineering

The Composite Carrier project developed and tested a proof-of-concept system to improve safety and accessibility in the Cal Poly Composites Lab. The system enables users to retrieve composite material rolls from elevated storage racks without using ladders, reducing fall hazards and improving material handling. The final design integrates rack-mounted rotary latches, a ground-level pulley release mechanism, and a custom Genie dolly attachment with a foldable cradle. Verification testing demonstrated that the prototype could securely retain representative roll loads, support repeated retrieval and placement, and improve operator safety, while also identifying future refinements such as reducing attachment width for improved rack …

Hpv Speed Bike Landing Gear, Nathan Walker, Dylan Hyde, Mark Spohn, Trey Barber

Mechanical Engineering

This report presents the development of a retractable landing gear system for Cal Poly’s human-powered speed bike. The system is designed to support the bike during low-speed operation, especially during launch, when the vehicle is unstable and typically requires assistance from a support crew. The landing gear uses spring-driven extensions controlled by handlebar-mounted Bowden cables, allowing the rider to retract the system while maintaining control of the bike. By fitting within the fairing and retracting after launch, the design aims to improve takeoff stability and rider safety while preserving the aerodynamic performance required for high-speed competition.

Golf Ball Marking Machine, Isabella Brinkman, Erin Maxwell, Benjamin Nash, Matthew Nicacio

Mechanical Engineering

The Golf Ball Marking Machine was designed, manufactured, and tested to provide a compact and cost-effective solution for applying durable identification markings to golf balls. The system integrates a gravity-fed hopper, singulation mechanism, motorized marking chamber, and automated discharge system to process golf balls with minimal operator intervention. A computer control system coordinates the marking cycle, enabling consistent application of a circumferential stripe. Verification testing demonstrated compliance with requirements for size, weight, power consumption, safety, and marking durability while maintaining a tabletop size footprint. The prototype achieved an average throughput of 5.43 balls per minute and successfully validated the feasibility …

Redesigning Rhapsody In View's Website For Improved Storytelling And Navigation, Christine Ha

Graphic Communication

Rhapsody in View is a family-owned and operated hotel boutique in Morro Bay that offers bespoke rooms and warm hospitality. Their current website has the opportunity to improve the layout design for ease of navigation and improved storytelling. This project aims to deliver a high-fidelity interactive prototype that showcases a visually appealing website design, improved user journey and expression of Rhapsody in View’s story, and refined navigation flow.

Designing Trustworthy Ai For Skincare Recommendations, Sofia Moretti

Graphic Communication

This project explores how UX design can improve transparency and trust in AIpowered systems through the design of a skincare recommendation experience. I designed and tested a high-fidelity prototype that incorporated explanation layers and user-controlled adjustments to help users better understand how recommendations were generated and how their inputs influenced the results. Through usability testing, I found that clear recommendation reasoning and visible user control improved user trust, understanding, and confidence when interacting with AI-powered systems.

Let's Talk Twenties, Yuwa R. Tennen

Graphic Communication

“Let’s Talk Twenties” is a senior design project that explores what it really feels like to be in your twenties...the highs, the lows, and everything in between. It focuses on creating an open, relatable space where conversations about identity, relationships, and personal growth feel honest and normalized. The goal is to break away from the pressure of having everything figured out and instead highlight the shared experiences that define this stage of life.

Through thoughtful short-form content, branding, and storytelling, the project combines engaging visuals with real, meaningful content to connect with young adults. It emphasizes authenticity, inclusivity, and emotional …

Independent Apparel Brand Launch Campaign Strategy, Nick S. Schottenfeld

Graphic Communication

Soleil Lune is an independent California apparel brand with an established visual identity, a growing social media following, and a live product collection but lacks a coordinated marketing system to connect those pieces into a unified launch. Without that structure, the brand’s Instagram, Shopify store, and print materials were operating independently, making it difficult to build consistent customer trust or drive sales. This project developed a full launch campaign producing a print and digital lookbook, 10 Instagram campaign assets, a printed poster, and a branded care insert card all designed to work together to tell the brand story, grow the …

San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market Mobile App & Rebrand, Joelle To

Graphic Communication

The San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market, a five-block downtown event featuring nearly 100 vendors, currently lacks a centralized platform for visitors and vendors to easily access information, navigate the market, and communicate efficiently.

This project addresses that opportunity through the design of a mobile app that streamlines vendor information, provides interactive market navigation, delivers real-time event updates, and enhances connections between vendors and attendees.

In addition, the project includes a rebrand and comprehensive brand guidelines integrated into the app design, creating a cohesive visual identity that improves user experience, operational efficiency, and long-term engagement for the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ …

Enhancing The Downtown Slo Farmers’ Market Experience, Nicole D. Cung

Graphic Communication

The Downtown San Luis Obispo Farmers' Market is a popular weekly event that attracts residents, students, families, and visitors. However, attendees often face challenges such as locating vendors, accessing product information, and navigating crowded areas.

This senior project builds upon a previous team project completed alongside Sameeha Siraj and Michelle Kim. The original project focused on identifying user needs and developing a mobile application concept to improve the market experience. For this senior project, the concept was expanded and refined through additional design development, user experience improvements, and usability evaluation.

Using research gathered through surveys, interviews, and observations, the project …

Kcpr 25-26 Production Handbook, Evan P. Cork

Graphic Communication

The KCPR Production Handbook serves as a resource for the production team when putting on live events for the station. It provides a brief history of the production team and context for why I decided to create this handbook. It is broken down into seven chapters, including sections that cover live event production, KCPR’s Club 91, and a list of important contacts.

Creating A Music Festival For The San Luis Obispo Community, Claire Filby

Graphic Communication

This project explores the development of a visual identity and promotional campaign for the proposed Juniper Folk & Rock Music Festival, a conceptual event designed to address a gap in the local festival landscape. While existing music festivals in San Luis Obispo primarily focus on electronic and dance music, this festival is intended to serve audiences interested in rock, alternative rock, indie rock, and folk genres. The project aims to create a cohesive brand system that communicates the festival’s identity while fostering community engagement and cultural connection.

A series of branded deliverables were developed, including a festival logo, lineup poster, …

Designing A Mobile App For Mr. Turtle: Increasing Membership And Building Sustainable Refill Habits, Mira Pinto

Graphic Communication

Mr. Turtle is a sustainable soap and detergent refill station service. Instead of buying new plastic bottles, customers bring containers to a Mr. Turtle refill station and fill them up with products like dish soap and laundry detergent.

The stations are located inside local retail partner stores and on the Cal Poly campus, making it easy to refill. In the SLO area, Mr. Turtle has locations in the SLO Food Co-Op, Market Poly Canyon, and Swish & Swirl. Mr. Turtle’s mission is to reduce single-use plastic waste by making refilling simple and convenient.

For my senior project, I created a …

Glassjelly: Designing A Skincare App Built Around Understanding, Tracy Le

Graphic Communication

Skincare apps today are built around selling products, not building knowledge—and for beginners, that gap is real. Without clear explanations of ingredients or routines, users are left to figure it out alone, often in ways that don’t account for their skin tone, skin type, or cultural backgrounds. Glassjelly was created to fill that gap, offering a skin assessment and ingredient education experience that puts understanding before promotion, and the individual before the trends.

2nd Summer Music Festival: Branding A Small-Scale Music Festival, Scout Corpuz-Carr

Graphic Communication

2nd Summer is a fictitious music festival created to address a gap in the live music event market for Cal Poly students. Existing festivals are often too expensive, poorly targeted toward students, or lack opportunities for student musicians. This project focuses on developing a festival’s branding and marketing, including the visual identity, promotional materials, and overall brand strategy. Designed as an affordable and community-driven event, 2nd Summer emphasizes inclusivity, student culture, and the promotion of emerging student artists. Through cohesive branding and targeted marketing, the project aims to create a recognizable festival identity that resonates with college students and strengthens …

Advertisement Recognition And Recall In Urban Environments, Carson L. Ambrose

Graphic Communication

Why is it that certain advertisements are so much easier to remember than others? And how can places like Times Square actually be communicating effectivly through the dense amount of different ads? This project aims to get closer to finding out how design and environmental ad density effect advertisement recognition and recall. To capture the real-world feeling of a dense city, a 3D printed one was created to allow for custom testing and various locations meant for displaying custom advertisements. These ads would be created using a variety of design characteristics such as color, hierarchy, composition, typography, and over all …

Cor(E) Brand Direction, Jake T. Tokatlian

Graphic Communication

COR(E) is a new record label founded by an artist named Lil Uzi Vert, and for my project I have taken the initial steps to develop their brand identity and create physical products for the label. To achieve this, I made a brand book to help define COR(E) and provide a set of design guidelines, a Spring issue of a quarterly magazine that provides news and behind the scenes of the label’s artists, and a CD design including a cover and tracklist. I believe there is a gap in the market for bringing physical media into the music industry and …

Disability Experiences Of University Students: An Interview Study, Cece Austin

University Honors Theses

This thesis explores the experiences of college/university students with disabilities within the educational system. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who identify as disabled or having disabilities in order to explore impacts of disability on their lives, with a focus on experiences navigating academic environments and accessing accommodations. Findings revealed two recurring themes: 1) the importance of both registered accommodations and accessibility efforts from faculty, and 2) difficulties with accommodations, internalized ableism, and disclosure. This research contributes to broader discussions on disability, inclusion, and educational equity by highlighting the lived experiences of students with disabilities …

Hillslope Aspect And Other Potential Controlling Factors On The Spacing Of Periglacial Stone Stripes In Se Oregon, Blue Hansen

University Honors Theses

Stone stripes are a type of patterned landscape that can be polygenetic in origin, but in the High Lava Plains province are interpreted to be relict periglacial features based on similarities to active stone stripe formation in current periglacial settings. Periglacial stone stripes are hypothesized to form via frost process, including ice-driven cracking and soil heave which is dependent on temperature, long-term differences in temperature may contribute to differences in stone stripe patterns or density. Stone stripes in Oregon and Idaho have previously been studied using field techniques, but there is room for reexamination of temperature controls on hillslope density …

Agile In The Age Of Ai: Considerations And Improvements For Streamlining Developer Workflows, Stephen Feng

University Honors Theses

This paper examines the integration of AI language models into Agile developer workflows during a six-month software development project. Using the development of SagacityWall, a mindfulness-based social media application built by a team of eight undergraduates, it identifies three key areas in Agile processes where AI provided meaningful leverage: translating business requirements into actionable developer work tickets, accelerating framework research and technology stack decisions, and reducing onboarding friction through AI-assisted code scaffolding and Behavior-Driven Development story formatting. The study finds that AI meaningfully boosted productivity across these stages – not by replacing developer judgment, but by reducing overhead at each …

Design And Parametric Study Of A Mems-Based Reservoir Computer For Reinforcement Learning, Andrew P. Carr

Master's Theses

Single-node reservoir computing (RC) is a hardware-efficient approach to machine learning, leveraging the dynamics of physical systems. In this work, two reinforcement learning algorithms, Q-learning and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), are applied to a simulated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based reservoir computer to solve both discrete and continuous control tasks. MEMS-based reservoirs are low-power, compact, and their natural frequencies (kHz to MHz) pair well with real-time control loops. To explore the relationship between reservoir dynamics and learning performance, a parametric study is conducted on two reservoir hyperparameters, reservoir size and neuron separation, using CartPole-v1 and MountainCar-v0. The RC successfully learns multiple tasks …

Design For Repairability: Analyzing The Evolution Of Smartphone Repairability To Generate Design Insights, Pranav Peddinti

Master's Theses

Smartphones are a major part of daily life, allowing people to communicate, browse the internet, shop, and enjoy entertainment. However, smartphones tend to be replaced quickly and therefore contribute to the growing electronic waste problem. The lifecycle of a smartphone can be extended by designing them to be more repairable, making it easier for owners and users to perform the repairs themselves. By only replacing failing components, the device can be in use longer, reducing the waste and pollution generated by replacing the device entirely. Therefore, product designers and engineers must focus on designing smartphones to be more repairable. Design-for-repairability …

Alford Loop Antennas For Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Detection, John K. Kimura

Master's Theses

The neutrino is a fundamental particle of matter emitted by high energy phenomena, such as supernovae and black holes. Detecting neutrinos can give scientists information regarding the frequency of high-energy cosmic events, as well as point them towards specific high-energy events. Ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrino interactions in Greenland ice result in electromagnetic pulses between 200MHz and 800MHz. The Radio Neutrino Observatory - Greenland (RNO-G) seeks to observe the resultant electromagnetic waves. The Alford Loop antenna is proposed to detect these emissions, because of its dipole-like radiation pattern, horizontal polarization, and adequate dimensions to fit in a 10" diameter ice borehole. …

Towards Auto-Evaluation For Large Language Models, Jiahao Ying

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The rapid advancement of large language models (LLMs) has created an urgent need for evaluation methodologies that are timely, scalable, reliable, and informative. Conventional evaluation benchmarks, although essential for measuring model capabilities and guiding model development, are often constructed and maintained through labor-intensive human annotation. As LLMs continue to improve through increases in model scale, training data, and computational resources, static benchmarks may quickly lose discriminative power. Moreover, the growing use of large and diverse training corpora increases the risk of benchmark leakage, which can inflate evaluation results and obscure the true capabilities of models. These challenges call for a …

Crab: A Novel Clustering Score Using Clustering With Rivals And Buddies For Unsupervised Learning, Allen Choi

Master's Theses

Unsupervised clustering algorithms today are used across a wide variety of fields such as biology, engineering, and industry in order to classify observations into groups where labels are not provided. This can provide important latent information regarding the observations within groups, as well as insight regarding the groups themselves. In order to judge the optimal number of clusters for an unsupervised clustering algorithm, many methods exist such as the Elbow Method and Silhouette Score; however, these methods come with drawbacks and are not necessarily flexible across many unsupervised methods. We present a novel clustering score framework relying on a resampling-based …

Contribution Of Slotted Web To The Cyclic Behavior Of Bare And Composite Beam-To-Hss Column Connections, Pablo Ulargui Ramos

Master's Theses

Slotted web connections produce consistent and meaningful improvements in the cyclic behavior of bare and composite beam-to-HSS column connections. Across the eight connections investigated in this thesis, the introduction of a slotted web increased rotational capacity by approximately 7% to 37% and increased cumulative energy dissipation at the strength-degradation limit by approximately 37% to 81%. These improvements were accompanied by only a small reduction in ultimate flexural resistance on the order of 3% to 8%, attributable to the loss of web cross-section at the slot and, for the more flexible H/t = 16 columns, to increased out-of-plane deformation of the …

Practical Multimodal Wearable Sensing For Functional Upper Extremity Primitive Classification With Application To Stroke Rehabilitation, Nicholas Weiss

Master's Theses

Stroke often causes long-term weakness and impaired motor control in the upper extremity (UE), making everyday tasks such as reaching, grasping, and moving objects more difficult. Restoring functional arm use is therefore a central goal of post-stroke rehabilitation. Measuring affected arm use continuously and objectively is important because isolated clinical assessments may not fully capture how the affected arm is used during therapy or daily life. Wearable sensors offer a promising approach for monitoring, but raw sensor signals are difficult to interpret directly. Functional movement primitives address this issue by describing UE behavior as smaller, task-agnostic movement units.

This thesis …

Rf Fingerprinting: Neural Networks For Device Identification, Pranav Chainani, Maxwell Gertner, Genevieve Patmore

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Conventional cybersecurity protocols authenticate devices using digital credentials that can be stolen, copied, or extracted from compromised hardware. Radio frequency (RF) fingerprinting offers a complementary physical-layer authentication mechanism that binds device identity to the unforgeable manufacturing variations present in every transmitter’s analog hardware. This thesis explores the application of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to RF fingerprinting, focusing on the identification of nominally identical IoT transmitters from raw I/Q samples of the LoRa preamble’s turn-on transient.

We developed an end-to-end system consisting of a modular data collection testbench using a USRP B210 software-defined radio, a 1D CNN trained directly on raw …