Digital Commons Network^™

Nearshore Wind Estimation From Buoy Wave Spectra Via Physics-Guided Machine Learning: A Framework For Offshore Wind Applications, Jiaxin Chen, Martyn Hann, Robert Rawlinson-Smith, Munira Raji, Deborah Greaves

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Reliable real-time wind estimation in nearshore zones is critical for offshore wind energy development, especially in regions lacking direct meteorological observations. This study presents a physics-guided machine learning framework for estimating 10-m surface wind speed and direction from wave buoy spectra. The model incorporates frequency- and wavenumber-based energy parameters, directional Fourier coefficients, directional fetch, and normalised wave number–depth indicators to account for local wind–wave dynamics.Trained on six long-term buoy–mast station pairs along the UK southwest coast, the model outperforms two established empirical methods, reducing wind speed and direction RMSE by over 50%. Sensitivity analyses confirm the value of directional and …

Grayscale Image Encryption Using Generalized Lucas Matrices And Hillcipher, Putri Zalia Megat Johar, Faridah Yunos, Ji-Jian Chin, Muhammad Asyraf Asbullah

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Secure and effective methods of image encryption are increasingly important in protecting sensitivedigital content from being attacked by today's increasingly knowledgeable and aggressive adversaries.This is no exception to attacks carried out on the secret content generated by grayscale images.Stemming from this problem, this research introduces a new approach to encrypt grayscale images usinga combination of the Generalized Lucas Matrix and Hill Cipher (GLMHC) with a self-invertibleencryption key. This type of encryption key eliminates the need to find the inversion key during thedecryption process and reduces the computational burden. Encrypted image quality is measured usingentropy, Mean Two-Dimensional Error (MSE), Signal to …

Social Development Dynamics Of Students In Inclusive Education In Indonesia, Nur Hidayat Nh

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This narrative review analyses the social development of students with special needs in Indonesian inclusive schools by synthesising five high-quality empirical studies (indexed SINTA 1–3) published between 2018 and 2023. Addressing three research questions, the synthesis reveals heterogeneous and generally limited social development trajectories shaped primarily by ecological interactions rather than inherent disability characteristics. Key barriers include symbolic inclusion, inadequate teacher training in multimodal strategies, low peer acceptance, and systemic resource deficits, whereas facilitators encompass contextualised multimodal communication, active family involvement, and supportive institutional leadership. Effective interventions depend on coordinated teacher–parent–peer triangulation, leveraging local sign language, structured peer-mediated activities, and …

Simulating Sustainability: How Resorts Can Balance Freshness And Waste In Produce Supply Chains, Isabella M. Camberos

Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Resorts face increasing pressure to reduce food waste while maintaining high levels of service quality and produce freshness. This study examines how discrete-event simulation can be used as a decision tool to analyze and improve produce supply chains in the hospitality industry. A simulation model was developed in Simio to compare local and global produce sourcing strategies under identical demand, storage capacity, and spoilage conditions. The model captures key system characteristics, including batch-based deliveries, cold storage constraints, perishability, and probabilistic guest waste. Results indicate that while both sourcing strategies exhibit efficient flow and minimal congestion, global sourcing generates significantly higher …

Smart Pireps: Leveraging Technology To Simplify Pilot Weather Reporting In General Aviation, Emma Hellwege

Honors Projects

This honors project examines how emerging aviation technologies can support or automate components of Pilot Weather Reports (PIREPs) to improve reporting accuracy, reduce pilot workload, and increase participation within the general aviation (GA) community. PIREPs provide essential real-time weather observations—such as turbulence, icing, and visibility—that supplement automated systems and enhance situational awareness for pilots, air traffic control, and meteorologists. However, reports are vastly underutilized due to workload constraints, inconsistent training, voice-only submission methods, and technological disparities across the GA fleet.

Through a structured analysis of federal aviation documentation, sensor capabilities, human factors research, and recent advancements in automation, this study …

Buffer Vs. Swabs: Efficacy Of Carrier Nucleic Acids In Robotic Extractions, Shawn Cecil

Honors Projects

This study compared the efficiency of two carrier nucleic acid methods, specifically using salmon sperm DNA (spDNA), in robotic solid-phase extractions of cotton swab samples. Robotic extractions reduce processing time and workload but result in substantially lower DNA recovery than manual organic extraction. This research tested 10 µg of spDNA being added to the lysis buffer or pre-treating the swabs with it before DNA was added. Both methods showed a significant increase in recovery compared to extractions with no carrier. In the buffer extractions, recovery ranged from 69.4% to 117.5% and the swabs being pre-treated ranged from 84.2% to 125.8% …

Understanding Enso Through Mathematical Models, Maria I. Sanchez Muniz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment introduces students to conceptual models of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and guides them through a structured investigation of their physical and mathematical foundations. Students analyze the recharge–oscillator and delayed–oscillator frameworks, explore how differential equations capture ocean–atmosphere interactions, and evaluate parameter-driven changes in oscillatory behavior. A key component of the work is the guided use of generative AI as a research tool: students employ AI models to locate peer-reviewed literature, interrogate model extensions, and refine their understanding of complex mechanisms, while synthesizing all final explanations in their own words. By blending classical climate modeling with modern AI-supported inquiry, …

Systematics And Systems Theory: Reconstructability Analysis Of The Tetrad, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This talk discusses the relationship between systems theory, specifically Reconstructability Analysis, and Systematics, a systems theory-like framework of number symbolism developed by John G. Bennett, which he presented in his four-volume magnum opus, The Dramatic Universe. The talk, given to a community of people interested in Bennett's ideas, focuses on Martin Zwick's paper "Ideas and Graphs: the Tetrad of Activity" archived at https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/36249.

Examining The Intersectional And Structural Issues Of Routine Healthcare Utilization And Access Inequities For Lgb People With Chronic Diseases, Shiya Cao, Mehreen Mirza, Sophia Silovsky, Nicole Tresvalles, Lucia Qin, Sarah Susnea

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the United States, although the gaps in health insurance coverage by sexual orientation have been closing since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and legalization of same-sex marriage, the LGB group (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual) continues to report healthcare utilization and access inequities such as more delayed or unmet care. The extant research has often examined healthcare utilization and access inequities due to affordability (e.g., out-of-pocket costs). However, healthcare utilization and access inequities are only partially explained by cost reasons; there are non-cost reasons that have not been adequately empirically examined. The present study innovatively includes discrimination structural …

Dynamic, Reconfigurable, And Hierarchical Biosynthetic Composites Via Collagen Self-Assembly Within Highly Crowded Microgel Pastes, Elif Narbay, Abbygail Caine, Sanika Pandit, Gabrielle Montgomery, Marion Harper, E. Daniel Cárdenas-Vásquez, Hatte Hamilton, Megan Hicks, Daniel Mattar, Kyle Choy, Marco Bisoffi, L. Andrew Lyon

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

The fabrication of a new class of biomimetic biomaterials is reported using nanostructured microgel pastes formed from “overpacked” assemblies of ultrasoft poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) microgels and their composites with collagen. Despite the solid-like nature of microgel pastes, collagen fibrillogenesis is robust and rapid, with a 3D collagen network forming throughout the paste volume. Structural organization within the composite is interrogated via a suite of microscopy methods, while rheological characterization provides insight into the static and dynamic mechanical properties of the materials. Long-range fibrillogenesis is enabled by local crowding, dynamics, and spatial reconfigurability of pastes at the …

Ract: Ranking-Aware Chain-Of-Thought Optimization For Llms, Haowei Liu, Xuyang Wu, Guohao Sun, Hsin-Tai Wu, Zhiqiang Tao, Yi Fang

Computer Science and Engineering

In information retrieval, large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable potential in text reranking tasks by leveraging their sophisticated natural language understanding and advanced reasoning capabilities. However, conventional supervised fine-tuning approaches for specializing LLMs in ranking tasks often lead to significant degradation of the models' general-purpose abilities. To address this fundamental challenge, this paper presents a novel methodology that strategically combines Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting techniques with an innovative two-stage training pipeline consisting of Supervised Fine-Tuning followed by Ranking Preference Optimization (SFT-RPO). The Chain-of-Thought prompting component encourages models to explicitly articulate their reasoning process during ranking decisions, creating a transparent pathway …

Stream Behavior Characterization Of Marin County Coastal Watersheds And Their Influence On Salmonid Habitat, Ellie L. Murdoch

Master's Theses

Coastal watersheds in California are increasingly affected by climatic variability, threatening stream behavior, ecological function, and salmonid habitat suitability. This study evaluated streamflow behavior of seven watersheds in Marin County, California, with detailed analysis of Corte Madera, Olema, and Redwood watersheds, which are not influenced by reservoir releases. Using USGS stream gauge records, PRISM climate data, SSURGO soils, and geologic and vegetation information, streamflow metrics critical to salmonid life cycles were quantified for water years 2014 to 2023. Watersheds with greater storage capacity, such as Redwood, exhibited muted hydrologic responses, including delayed flow activation, lower peak flows, slower recession rates, …

Adaptive Image Acquisition Algorithms For Resource-Constrained Single-Photon Cameras, Yeganeh Jalalpour, Wu-Chi Feng

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emerging single-photon camera (SPC) technologies have unique challenges in data acquisition and processing. Unlike conventional sensors that produce a single 8- to 16-bit brightness value per pixel, SPCs record photon arrivals with many more samples per pixel, using high floating-point precision for each photon collected. This means that they must handle potentially millions of timestamps, especially at higher spatial resolutions and in the presence of ambient light, creating bottlenecks within the pixel circuitry. To address these challenges associated with SPCs, this paper proposes adaptive algorithms designed to efficiently distribute hardware resources among groups of pixels. By selectively subsampling the data …

Hint-Guided Video Frame Interpolation For Video Compression, Pan Tan, Wu-Chi Feng

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditional video compression continues to advance, but the gainsin efficiency are diminishing and come at the cost of higher compu-tational complexity. Despite achieving competitive rate-distortionresults, current neural video codecs (NVCs) generally lack sup-port for a wide range of quality levels, often requiring multiplemodels to achieve flexible rate control, which increases both train-ing cost and deployment complexity. To address the limitations ofboth traditional codecs and current NVCs, we propose a hybridvideo compression framework that integrates traditional codecswith hint-guided video frame interpolation (VFI), a learning-basedtechnique for synthesizing intermediate frames. By using decodedreference frames and leveraging compressed-domain hints to guideinterpolation, our method improves …

Sec. 531 Tax—Working Capital Needs And The Operating Cycle, Mario P. Borini, Stanley L. Malaga, John P. Sullivan

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

A Universal Evaluation Framework For Visual Noise In Contained Systems, Temirzhan Mukhambet, Duong Mai, Jacqueline Hausman, Yu Sun

Bellini College REU Symposium (BCREUS)

In many robotics or computer vision contained systems, regulating the quality of captured input data (e.g., point clouds or videos) is critical for preserving the integrity and accuracy of downstream tasks. In practice, this process requires mitigating various forms of noise specific to the domain (2D vs. 3D) and the intended application, such as object detection and scene understanding.

However, a unified framework addressing noise across a holistic system remains underexplored, as current surveys typically isolate specific modalities i.e., examine either 2D or 3D methods exclusively. The 2D domain covers two main areas: static image denoising, which prioritizes sensor noise …

On-Device Measurement Of Impact Of Artificial Intelligence Tools On Productivity, Navid Kagalwalla, Tom Piacentini, Jacques Mouton

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes techniques to measure the net productivity impact of AI-assisted workflows on user productivity. Metadata regarding user activity on a user device is obtained with user permission, using a private, on-device architecture. The data is analyzed on-device to determine whether an AI-assisted workflow is in process and the impact of the use of AI on productivity. In an example implementation, an Activity Sensing and Filtration Layer (ASFL) and a Cognitive Workflow Engine (CWE) are implemented and used to calculate the true net time saved using AI assistance. This metric takes into account the hidden cost of the user …

Dynamic Management Of Virtual Lanes And Buffer Zones For Autonomous Traffic, Sumukh Shevde, Kamran Mustafa, Abhijit Adsule

Defensive Publications Series

Static assignment of roadway lanes can result in inefficient traffic flow, where congestion may develop in one direction while opposing lanes remain underutilized. To address this, systems and methods for dynamic traffic management are described. A computational system, such as a central server or an in-vehicle computer, can treat a roadway as a single, partitionable surface, creating and modifying virtual lanes in near real-time. The number, width, and direction of these lanes can be adjusted based on current and predicted traffic demand. Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles can be assigned to these virtual lanes, and a dynamic virtual buffer zone may …

Estate Planning: Accumulation Trusts—After The Tax Reform Act, Bernard Barnett

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

A (Mini) Mathematics Research Experience In A Math Teachers’ Circle Session, Michelle Manes, Linda Venenciano, Seanyelle Yagi

Journal of Math Circles

We describe a single Math Teachers’ Circle session during which a group of teachers collectively engaged in a “mini mathematics research experience.” This provides a model for providing research experiences for mathematics teachers through content-based professional development programs. We conjecture that these experiences will have many of the same benefits as research experiences for teachers in lab sciences.

Timss 2023 – Infographic: Future Pd Needs Of Maths Teachers, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

The IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a global assessment measuring student achievement in years 4 and 8. Teachers from participating schools also complete a questionnaire. Today’s infographic looks at the topics that mathematics teachers reported needing professional development on in the future.

Model For Calculating Impact Force For Individualized Hip Fracture Prediction During A Fall, Alisha Agarwal, Daniel Kargilis, Nishtha Gupta, Michael Chang, Rui Feng, Gregory Chang, Chamith S. Rajapakse

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Osteoporotic-related weakening of bone is a common cause of hip fractures. The standard of care for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis is the dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry bone mineral density T-scores. Many individuals considered nonosteoporotic, however, still sustain fractures since these tools do not incorporate vital bone parameters and subject-specific characteristics. The purpose of this work was to (1) develop a simple analytical model for estimating the force exerted on the femur during a fall (i.e., impact force) based on measurable patient metrics and (2) define a quantifiable fracture risk index by comparing finite-element-derived bone strength and impact force, which …

Exploring Healthcare Providers' Perceptions Of Virtual Reality In Lung Cancer Treatment Preparedness: A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study For The Development Of Everybreathmatters, Safa Elkefi, Rongyi Wu, Steven K. Feiner, Lanyi Chen, Guy Hembroff, Alicia K. Matthews

Michigan Tech Publications

This study examined healthcare providers' perceptions of the benefits, challenges, and design preferences for Virtual Reality (VR)-based interventions to support treatment preparedness in lung cancer care. Our study involves 50 surveys and 10 interview responses, in a mixed-method design. We conducted descriptive statistics and thematic analysis through a hybrid inductive-deductive approach. Analysis of the quantitative data helped us capture demographic characteristics, VR familiarity, and perceived VR usefulness. Qualitative analysis gave us a deeper understanding of the VR tool design and Implementation. Descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact tests were used to assess associations, while thematic analysis was conducted on interview transcripts. …

Manual Annotation Protocol And Geometric Feature Classification For 3d Plant Point Clouds Data, Angel A. Barrera, Inhwan Jung, Luke Hussung

Faculty Open Access Works

We created a procedure for hand annotating LiDAR scans of York Poplar trees to segment them based on plant organs and background. These annotated labels were then used to train the classification models capable of distinguishing the plant and its individual organs from the surrounding background.

2025-12-05 Minutes & Appendices, Longwood University

Board of Visitors Meeting Minutes 1964-

No abstract provided.

Human Evil (In The Weird), Lucas Ethridge

University Honors Theses

This paper examines a trending doom in speculative fiction: the post-human age. Many modern works have started to look past human civilization as humans surrender all hope and faith in a climate-doomed world. Honing in on core concepts in Weird fiction, this paper explores human merit through Old and New Weird. A good part spends time establishing the canon, looking at similar patterns across age, philosophy, war and genre. The chief question asks if humankind was ever worth saving.

Capstone Reflection: Developing A Muslim Prayer App For Psu Students, Jeremiah Su

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the development process of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) App, a computer science capstone project. The app strives to help the Muslim community at Portland State University (PSU) and the Portland area by consolidating essential information for prayers, such as local prayer times, nearby masjids, and the direction of Qibla. The team behind this project was developed by 6 computer science developers, a majority of whom were from the Muslim culture and background. This paper describes the entire capstone development process from the perspective of a developer who is not rooted in Muslim customs. It also describes …

A Study Of The Stratigraphic And Petrological Characteristics Of Section (10,323-10,325 Ft), Prevost 1- 11, Bay County, Michigan, Hajir Al Harthi

Honors Theses

This study presents a detailed petrological characterization of a short core section (10,323-10,325 ft) from the Prevost 1-11, Bay County, Michigan. This work is part of a broader carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project to determine whether the Glenwood Formation could be an effective confining unit (CU) for carbon dioxide (CO2) injection in the underlying St. Peter Sandstone. The methods used to collect petrological data include standard core description, Xray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thin section microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) including backscattered electron (BSE), energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and secondary electron (SE) modes. These …

Early Warning Detection Of Gravitational Waves With Sgnl, Megan Norris

Honors Theses

Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a whole new spectrum with which to observe astrophysical events. Multi-messenger observations including GWs are of particular interest, and these are best facilitated by early warning searches of GWs, which are typically aimed at detecting binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. This work provides an introductory overview of gravitational waves and summarizes the origins and basic physical properties of neutron stars and black holes in binary systems, focusing on BNS mergers and the detection of gravitational waves with LIGO using a modeled search. We assess the performance of a new GW search pipeline called SGNL to evaluate …

The Role Of Sustainability In Family And Consumer Science Curricula, Emily Hill

Honors Theses

As climate change intensifies and global food systems face growing environmental pressures, there is an increasing need to prepare younger generations to respond to these challenges. Sustainability education is increasingly recognized as essential for helping students understand the connection between human actions, environmental resilience, and their overall well-being. This form of education already has a foundation in the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) curriculum. This study examines the effects of integrating sustainability lessons into secondary Family and Consumer Sciences food and nutrition courses in a rural Michigan high school. It was hypothesized that if students participate in sustainability presentations and …