Digital Commons Network^™

Plugging The Rabbit Hole: The Supreme Court's Decision In Alice, Steven Swan

Utah Law Review

The two-step analysis in Mayo is insufficient to objectively analyze and make consistent determinations on patent eligibility. The effects of Alice are prime exhibits of this conclusion. Uncertainty and confusion in the realm of patents and software technology have risen to such a level that there is a telling impact on the economy and perhaps far greater devastation to the economy on the horizon. At the same time, the patent prosecution process has become increasingly expensive and difficult for both the client and drafting attorney provided the sheer number of Section rejections that are challenging to overcome. Consequently, this Note …

A Verified Information-Flow Architecture, Arthur Azevedo De Amorim, Nathan Collins, André Dehon, Delphine Demange, Cătălin Hriţcu, David Pichardie, Benjamin C. Pierce, Randy Pollack, Andrew Tolmach

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

SAFE is a clean-slate design for a highly secure computer system, with pervasive mechanisms for tracking and limiting information flows. At the lowest level, the SAFE hardware supports fine-grained programmable tags, with efficient and flexible propagation and combination of tags as instructions are executed. The operating system virtualizes these generic facilities to present an information-flow abstract machine that allows user programs to label sensitive data with rich confidentiality policies. We present a formal, machine-checked model of the key hardware and software mechanisms used to dynamically control information flow in SAFE and an end-to-end proof of noninterference for this model. We …

Are Asian Americans Now White?, Frank H. Wu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Experimental Validation Of The Distributed Drag Method For Simulating Large Marine Current Turbine Arrays Using Porous Fences, D. S. Coles, L. S. Blunden, A. S. Bahaj

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Watershed-Scale Environmental Risk Assessment Of Accidental Water Pollution: The Case Of Laoguan River, China, R. Z. Liu, K Zhang, Zj Zhang, A. G.L. Borthwick

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Classical And Quantum Particle Dynamics In Univariate Background Fields, T Heinzl, A Ilderton, B King

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Development Of Kinect Based Teleoperation Of Nao Robot, Chunxu Li, Chenguang Yang, Peidong Liang, Angelo Cangelosi, Jian Wan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

A Video Game Design Based On Emotiv Neuroheadset, Rijin Raju, Chenguang Yang, Chunxu Li, Angelo Cangelosi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Bsmbench: A Flexible And Scalable Hpc Benchmark From Beyond The Standard Model Physics, E Bennett, B Lucini, Debbi L Del, K Jordan, A Patella, C Pica, A Rago

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Vacuum Birefringence In High-Energy Laser-Electron Collisions, B King, N Elkina

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Interpretation Of Plasticity Effects Using The Cjp Crack Tip Field Model, Mn James, Colin J. Christopher, Garrido Fa Díaz, José M. Vasco-Olmo, Toshifumi Kakiuchi, Eann A. Patterson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Preservice And Practicing Teacher Science Inquiry Projects: An Analysis Of Their Understanding Of The Inquiry Process, Benjamin D. Olsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Student conducted inquiry is an essential component of the Next Generation Science Standards and considered to be a core goal of teaching science methods. Teachers need to understand what student inquiry entails, to be able to successfully conduct their own inquiry investigations, and to understand this process well so as to guide original student inquiry investigations. Some suggest that, as a result of No Child Left Behind legislation, an entire generation of students have missed out on inquiry-based elementary science instruction. Research indicates that many preservice teachers find it difficult to bridge knowledge of subject matter with pedagogy – making …

Examining The Potential Impact Of Swot Observations In An Ocean Analysis-Forecasting System, Matthew Carrier, Hans E. Ngodock, Scott R. Smith, Innocent Souopgui, Brent Bartels

Faculty Publications

NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, scheduled for launch in 2020, will provide observations of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) at a significantly higher spatial resolution than current satellite altimeters. This new observation type is expected to improve the ocean model mesoscale circulation. The potential improvement that SWOT will provide is investigated in this work by way of twin-data assimilation experiments using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model four-dimensional variational data assimilation (NCOM-4DVAR) system in its weak constraint formulation. Simulated SWOT observations are sampled from an ocean model run (referred to as the "nature" run) using an observation-simulator program …

Satellite-Based Global Volcanic So2 Emissions And Sulfate Direct Radiative Forcing During 2005–2012, Cui Ge, Jun Wang, Simon Carn, Kai Yang, Paul Ginox, Nickolay Krotkov

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

An 8 year volcanic SO₂ emission inventory for 2005–2012 is obtained based on satellite measurements of SO₂ from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) and ancillary information from the Global Volcanism Program. It includes contributions from global volcanic eruptions and from eight persistently degassing volcanoes in the tropics. It shows significant differences in the estimate of SO₂ amount and injection height for medium to large volcanic eruptions as compared to the counterparts in the existing volcanic SO₂ database. Emissions from Nyamuragira (DR Congo) in November 2006 and Grímsvötn (Iceland) in May 2011 that were not included in the …

A Comprehensive Model Of The Transport Phenomena In Gas Metal Arc Welding, Junling Hu, Zhenghua Rao, Hai-Lung Tsai

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A comprehensive two-dimensional gas metal arc welding (GMAW) model was developed to take into account all the interactive events in the gas metal arc welding process, including the arc plasma, melting of the electrode, droplet formation, detachment, transfer, and impingement onto the workpiece, and the weld-pool dynamics and weld formation. The comprehensive GMAW model tracks the free surface using the volume of fluid method and directly modeled the coupling effects between the arc domain and the metal domain, thus eliminating the need to assign boundary conditions at the interface. A thorough investigation of the plasma arc characteristics was conducted to …

Geometric Consideration Of Nanostructures For Energy Storage Systems, Jonghyun Park, Jie Li, Wei Lu, Ann Marie Sastry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Battery performance and its fade are determined by various aspects such as the transport of ions and electrons through heterogeneous internal structures; kinetic reactions at the interfaces; and the corresponding interplay between mechanical, chemical, and thermal responses. The fundamental factor determining this complex multiscale and multiphysical nature of a battery is the geometry of active materials. In this work, we systematically consider the tradeoffs among a selection of limiting geometries of media designed to store ions or other species via a diffusion process. Specifically, we begin the investigation by considering diffusion in spheres, rods, and plates at the particle level, …

Ionic And Electronic Conductivities Of Atomic Layer Deposition Thin Film Coated Lithium Ion Battery Cathode Particles, Rajankumar L. Patel, Jonghyun Park, Xinhua Liang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

It is imperative to ascertain the ionic and electronic components of the total conductivity of an electrochemically active material. A blocking technique, called the “Hebb-Wagner method”, is normally used to explain the two components (ionic and electronic) of a mixed conductor, in combination with the complex ac impedance method and dc polarization measurements. CeO₂ atomic layer deposition (ALD)-coated and uncoated, LiMn₂O₄ (LMO) and LiMn_1.5Ni_0.5O₄ (LMNO) powders were pressed into pellets and then painted with silver to act as a blocking electrode. The electronic conductivities were derived from the currents obtained using …

Silicon-Wall Interfacial Free Energy Via Thermodynamics Integration, Wan Shou, Heng Pan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We compute the interfacial free energy of a silicon system in contact with flat and structured walls by molecular dynamics simulation. The thermodynamics integration method, previously applied to Lennard-Jones potentials [R. Benjamin and J. Horbach, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 044707 (2012)], has been extended and implemented in Tersoff potentials with two-body and three-body interactions taken into consideration. The thermodynamic integration scheme includes two steps. In the first step, the bulk Tersoff system is reversibly transformed to a state where it interacts with a structureless flat wall, and in a second step, the flat structureless wall is reversibly transformed into an …

Teaching Substantive Environmental Law And Practice Skills Through Interest Group Role-Playing, Karl S. Coplan

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Most law students take their first introductory course in environmental law during their second year of law school. The traditional first-year curriculum does little to prepare students for the complex statutory and regulatory models for most environmental regulation. Law students at the end of their first year often have had little exposure to statutory interpretation. Further, they often have no exposure to administrative law and regulatory implementation. These students may expect statutes to provide clear statements of rules rather than guidelines for administrative rulemaking. They also tend to view the lawmaking and interpretive process through the traditional lens of congressional …

The Relationship Of Savings And Economic Growth In Developing Nations, Zachary Westner

Empirical Economic Bulletin, An Undergraduate Journal

The aim of this paper is to analyze the cause and effect relationship between economic growth and savings in developing countries. In this paper I used the co-integration model and the granger causality test which are typically used in finding the relationship between savings and economic growth. Before estimating the model, it was essential to determine the stationaries of the time series. To do so I used the ADF test (augmented dickey-fuller). The results confirmed the existence of a one-way causal relationship between Gross Domestic Savings and economic growth in developing nations.

Tridiagonal Matrices And Boundary Conditions, J. J. P. Veerman, David K. Hammond

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe the spectra of certain tridiagonal matrices arising from differential equations commonly used for modeling flocking behavior. In particular we consider systems resulting from allowing an arbitrary boundary condition for the end of a one-dimensional flock. We apply our results to demonstrate how asymptotic stability for consensus and flocking systems depends on the imposed boundary condition.

Signal Velocity In Oscillator Arrays, Carlos E. Cantos, David K. Hammond, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate a system of coupled oscillators on the circle, which arises from a simple model for behavior of large numbers of autonomous vehicles. The model considers asymmetric, linear, decentralized dynamics, where the acceleration of each vehicle depends on the relative positions and velocities between itself and a set of local neighbors. We first derive necessary and sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability, then derive expressions for the phase velocity of propagation of disturbances in velocity through this system. We show that the high frequencies exhibit damping, which implies existence of well-defined signal velocities c+>0 and c−f(x−c+t) in the direction …

The Interconnections Between Entrepreneurship, Science, And The Patent System, Amy Landers

Utah Law Review

This Article considers several related points about the recent changes to the patent system and the opportunities for entrepreneurship. The concern about the adverse effect of the recent changes to patent law on innovation may be overstated. As a practicalmatter, the concept that patents are a necessary input to innovation is built on a model that does not account for the complex relationship between this legal system, science, and innovation. Although it can be expected that there may be some adverse impacts from these decisions, this trend opens up the opportunity for entrepreneurship. By releasing more foundational information into the …

Alice Was No Rabbit Hole: Why Software Inventors Should Be Neither Surprised, Nor Alarmed, Sherman Helenese

Utah Law Review

Trade secrets offer an alternative to patent - ineligible innovations and to the problems and perils of protecting, defending and enforcing patents. Although there is currently limited trade secret legislation on the national level, nearly all states have adopted, with little substantive variation, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Unlike patent - eligibility requirements that precluded software in Gottschalk, Diehr, Alice, and Tenon from patent protection, no trade secret is automatically deemed out of scope. Trade secrets encompass anything of value, so long as it is not generally known and reasonable steps are taken, such as the use …

Introduction To Model Spaces And Their Operators, William T. Ross, Stephan Ramon Garcia, Javad Mashreghi

Bookshelf

The study of model spaces, the closed invariant subspaces of the backward shift operator, is a vast area of research with connections to complex analysis, operator theory and functional analysis. This self-contained text is the ideal introduction for newcomers to the field. It sets out the basic ideas and quickly takes the reader through the history of the subject before ending up at the frontier of mathematical analysis. Open questions point to potential areas of future research, offering plenty of inspiration to graduate students wishing to advance further.

Efficient Modeling And Simulation Of Wavelength Division Multiplexing Dual Polarization Qpsk Optical Fiber Transmission, Siva Kumar Raju Nadimpalli

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Due to enormous growth in communications, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems are popular because these systems allow us to expand the capacity of the networks without laying more optical fiber cables. In this thesis, we have systematically derived the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (CNLS) equations, including a consistent definition of the complex envelope, Fourier transform, the state of polarization, and derivation under the engineering notation. After a discussion of coarse step based second order symmetrized split-step Fourier (SSSF) simulation method, which is applicable to the numerical solution of the CNLS equations, an analytical step-size selection based local error method is applied …

A 2x2 Polarization Switchable Patch Antenna Array For Polarization Modulation, Pengfei Ji

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis introduced and investigated a new concept in the development of a 2X2 polarization switchable patch antenna array for polarization modulation. Polarization modulation is a technique to modulate digital information using different polarization of the electromagnetic wave. The existing waveform based modulation techniques are well developed and start approaching to their performance limits. Polarization modulation provides a new modulation dimension for wireless communications and can further increase data throughput. A four-port circular patch antenna is presented and investigated for the implementation of polarization modulation. It has four ports, each excites radiation of a different polarization. A single pole four …

Effects Of Hydrology On The Growth And Recruitment Of Stream Fish In The Eastern Broadleaf Province Of Minnesota, Eric J. Krumm

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Agricultural practices and urban development have altered streamflows within the Eastern Broadleaf Province of Minnesota. Stream-flow alteration can produce significant changes in native freshwater communities. Therefore, knowledge of streamflow effects on representative freshwater populations and communities within the province are needed to maintain ecological integrity. Fish community and population dynamics often display predictable responses to flow regimes, which can make fishes model organisms for examining flow-ecology relationships.

In lotic systems, annual variation in streamflow can influence the annual growth and recruitment of fishes. Understanding the growth and recruitment of fish populations is essential for management and conservation efforts. Growth can …

Development And Evaluation Of A Habitat Suitability Model For White-Tailed Deer In An Agricultural Landscape, Eric Anstedt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are an ecological, economical, and socially significant species that occupy a variety of ecoregions. White-tailed deer are mobile habitat generalists that prefer habitats containing woody cover. Deer have successfully adapted to habitat-fragmented, agricultural landscapes. As a result, deer are not uniformly distributed across intensively cultivated areas, which make field surveys difficult with often highly variable spatial data. To increase sampling efficiency (deer observed / sampling effort), the landscape can be stratified based upon preferred habitat types. Habitat suitability models (HSI) have been used to represent hypothesized wildlife-habitat relationships, and therefore the likelihood of deer being observed …

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The realm of competitive forensics is filled with challenges including written and unwritten rules and norms, multiple categories with different guidelines for each, a distinct culture only people intimately connected with the activity can navigate without conscious effort, and a basic knowledge of the ever-changing world of communication. For competitors who struggle with physical disabilities, the challenges are beyond daunting. Using the method of autoethnography, this paper investigates how students with physical challenges can successfully participate through accommodation and how speech coaches can advocate for their physically-disabled speakers and request and implement the best accommodations.