Digital Commons Network^™

Photonic Crystal Devices For Chip Scale Sensing Systems, Yudong Chen

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This thesis investigates the design and integration of photonic crystal (PC) structures for compact, high-performance optical platforms, with a focus on applications in gas sensing, on-chip lasers, and flat optics. Chapter 1 introduces the fundamental principles of PC design and simulation, highlighting their potential to replace bulky components in micro-gas chromatography (µGC) systems through miniaturization and integration. Chapter 2 explores PC-based nanobeam lasers, including the Lambda-Scale Embedded Active-Region Photonic Crystal (LEAP) laser, which demonstrates strong optical confinement and energy-efficient operation, with energy consumption as low as 8 fJ/bit. These laser designs are evaluated for their suitability in low-power, high-speed on-chip …

Temperature-Tuned Multi-Segment Hybrid Hnlf For Enhanced Sbs Suppression And Broadband Parametric Amplification, Hamed Rabbani

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) presents a fundamental challenge in the practical use of highly nonlinear fibers (HNLFs) for optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs), especially in systems requiring broad bandwidth and high spectral purity. Traditional SBS suppression techniques, such as pump phase dithering, can mitigate this nonlinear effect but often compromise the phase quality of the idler wave, making them unsuitable for coherent or phase-sensitive applications. This thesis introduces an alternative approach that suppresses SBS while preserving critical dispersion characteristics of the fiber by combining both structural and thermal optimization strategies.

The proposed method involves constructing a five-segment, 250-meter hybrid HNLF composed …

Optimizing Architecture And Software For Next-Generation Memory Systems, Lingfeng Xiang

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The rapid advancement of memory technologies presents new challenges and opportunities for system software and architectural design. This dissertation investigates how to optimize modern computing systems for next-generation memory, mostly focusing on persistent memory and Compute Express Link (CXL)-based memory. First, we conduct a detailed characterization of Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory, identifying the distinct behaviors of its on-DIMM read and write buffers and analyzing their impact on application performance. These insights motivate optimizations that decouple read and write paths, revealing that random read latency—especially in pointer-chasing workloads—is a dominant performance bottleneck. Second, we present NOMAD, a page management framework …

Medical Ai: Solving Healthcare Challenges And Inspiring Ai Innovation, Xiaowei Yu

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare by enabling large-scale analysis of medical data and integrating multimodal information for more comprehensive diagnostics. I present my work addressing fundamental and challenging problems in developing state-of-the-art AI models for medical data analysis, including multimodal brain data and other medical datasets. Additionally, I design brain-inspired AI models by integrating insights from organizational principles of brain networks. Specifically, my research tackles three critical aspects: (1) AI in Computational Neuroscience, where I design deep learning models for brain network analysis to uncover the organizational principles of brain networks; (2) Brain-Inspired AI, where I integrate superior brain …

Breaking Granularity Barriers: Overcoming I/O Abstraction Limitations For High-Performance Storage Systems, Chen Zhong

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Modern storage hierarchies exhibit performance differences spanning eight orders of magnitude. Each tier in the hierarchy presents fundamentally different optimal access sizes and patterns. Most systems read and write data in fixed-size units across different tiers, typically power-of-2 sizes. It simplifies data management but also suffers from large write amplification when handling small accesses in many real-world workloads. This fundamental disconnect between fixed-size I/O design assumption and real-world usage patterns represents the core challenge.

The storage community has recognized the limitations of fixed-size I/O abstractions and is exploring alternatives, like the new emerging NVMe-KV interface and object-based storage, which aim …

Environment And Intention Awareness For Navigation And Collaboration, Bhaskar Chandra Trivedi

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have become increasingly popular as versatile platforms for tasks such as surveillance, inspection, delivery, and maintenance. In many applications, UAS operate in environments frequented by people or containing sensitive infrastructure, which introduces physical risks in case of vehicle failure, as well as psychological and privacy concerns that may limit their acceptability. Ensuring safe and efficient operation thus requires that UAS consider these risks when planning navigation strategies. While prior information, such as city maps and building layouts, can partially inform risk assessment, such data is often incomplete, necessitating real-time augmentation of risk maps using sensor information. …

Scalable, Secure, And Adaptable Perception Systems Through Adversarial Analysis And Federated Fine-Tuning, Arkajyoti Mitra

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Perception systems are fundamental to intelligent machines, enabling them to sense, understand, and interpret complex environments. However, as perception increasingly underpins critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, IoT healthcare devices, and smart trading platforms, challenges related to security, scalability, and environmental understanding have become more pressing. This work addresses three core research questions: (1) How can we identify, analyze, and mitigate adversarial vulnerabilities in perception systems to ensure reliable operation under adversarial conditions? (2.1) How can AVPS models be efficiently scaled and fine-tuned across decentralized and resource-constrained environments while preserving privacy and performance? (2.2) How can we scale generative models …

Complexity Machines: New Histories Of North American Automobile Production, 1900-1950s, Kevin A. Moskowitz

History Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation examines the design and manufacture of the mass-produced automobile in North America from its inception at the start of the twentieth century through the height of production in the late 1950s. This network of producers constituted the single largest industry in North America. The success of this market required producing a product that was desirable to consumers in design, affordable to purchase, and could be built in high enough quantities to justify the realignment of the rest of North American society to serve this new method of transportation. This dissertation is a shift away from demand studies concerned …

Reversal And Visualization Of Guitar Stomp Box Effects Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques, Zayaan Sharif Chowdhury

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

This project presents an approach that develops a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) system that analyzes, and reverses audio effects produced by a custom-built multi-effect guitar stomp box. Using real-time input from the stomp box, the DSP system digitizes the audio signal through an analog-to-digital converter and processes it in Python using NumPy and SciPy libraries. It visualizes parameters such as frequency spectrum, modulation rate, depth, and total harmonic distortion (THD) to evaluate the quality of analog effects like tremolo, delay, vibrato, and reverb. Beyond visualization, the system explores reversing these effects through digital filtering and signal reconstruction, aiming to approximate …

Parsimony, Parallelism, And Presentation: The Impact Of Presentation On Evaluation, Peter Mclemore

Psychology Theses - Archive

In professional and academic settings, support for creative ideas often hinges on how effectively those ideas are communicated in writing. This study examined how two sentence-level rhetorical features—parsimony and parallelism—influence the evaluation, support, and recall of written proposals featuring creative restaurant concepts. Using a 2×2 within-subjects design, 211 undergraduates reviewed proposals manipulated to vary in parsimony (high vs. low) and parallelism (high vs. low). Participants rated each proposal on quality, originality, elegance, support, and completed a recall task. Contrary to expectations, proposals with low parsimony and low parallelism received the highest evaluations across all three creative indicators (i.e., quality, originality, …

Burnout Among Nurses In The United States, Faheem Ohri

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Burnout is an exhausted state of the body, mind, and emotions, characterized by feelings of “depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment” resulting from prolonged and continuous occupational stress. Burnout among nurses in the United States (U.S.) is a growing concern with significant implications for healthcare professionals and patient outcomes. Nurse burnout compromises patient safety and workforce stability, but pre-pandemic national correlates remain understudied. This dissertation examined employment settings and demographic correlates of burnout among U.S. nurses using the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) secondary datasets. Compared inpatient burnout odds pre-/post-pandemic using national twin surveys. Jackknife complex survey logistic regression …

Graphene-Polymer Nanocomposite For Electromagnetic Interference Shielding, Ravi Venkata Surya Sai Mogilisetti

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Polymers have widespread usage in most industries, such as aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, and medicine, mainly because they have a positive lightweight nature and excellent mechanical properties. One significant advantage of polymeric materials is their ability to combine nano-fillers, greatly enhancing their mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. In the category of polymer matrices, polypropylene (PP) is notable for its low cost, ease of processing, and balanced mechanical properties. However, its relatively lower modulus and strength limit their applications in high-performance engineering. This research explores the addition of graphene into polypropylene to improve its mechanical properties and establish a conductive network for …

Materials Reliability In Direct-To-Chip Cooling: A Systematic Study Of Aluminum Corrosion In Next-Generation Data Center Coolants, Fnu Harish Gangadhara

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Data centers are rapidly scaling to support artificial intelligence, cloud platforms, and other high-performance workloads, driving a sharp increase in chip and rack power densities that are now approaching, and in some cases surpassing, 50–100 kW per rack. In response, direct-to-chip liquid cooling has become a key enabling technology for managing these extreme thermal loads, yet the durability of materials in contact with the coolant remains a major reliability concern over system lifetimes. Copper has traditionally been used for cold plates and cooling-loop components, but its relatively high cost, mass, and supply-chain uncertainty are motivating a shift toward aluminum as …

Discrete Time Risk Processes With Stochastic Premiums And Dividends, Enoch J. Dangbe

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Risk processes typically emerge in insurance and finance and are concerned with stochastic representation of uncertainties of real-world events. Main objective amounts to quantifying the chances of both desirable and undesirable events and balancing their mutual impact for the purpose of developing models that in some sense optimize the outcome from the business perspective. Our research is concerned with studying the evolution of the surplus process in which time and assets are integer-valued. Initial capital, random premiums, random claims, dividend payments based on assets’ performance constitute the components of our model. Our findings established recursive formulas for the total expected …

Examining Student Understanding Of Series Convergence Using Script Writing, Eduardo Torres Manzanarez

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

This exploratory study investigates second-semester calculus students’ understanding of series convergence using both nonscripting and scripting-based tasks. Researchers recognize that students encounter difficulties with learning series, including series convergence, and that there is a need for more meaningful tasks that aid students’ learning of series. Script writing, used mainly with prospective mathematics teachers, can be used to explore mathematical understandings. Thus, this study examines how script writing, in the form of a scripting task, elicits students’ understanding of series convergence in contrast to nonscripting-based tasks to determine the potential of script writing in assessing this student understanding. We examine students’ …

Enhancing Inquiry-Based Science Instruction: The Role Of Professional Learning Communities And Instructional Coaching For Elementary Science Teachers, Marc T. Sager, Karen Pierce, Jessica Murillo

Publications

Inquiry-based science instruction fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and scientific literacy by engaging students in exploration, questioning, and reflective learning. However, implementing inquiry-based practices presents significant challenges for elementary teachers, who often balance multiple subjects and may feel less confident facilitating open-ended investigations. This study examines how school-based coaching and professional learning communities (PLCs) support teachers in adopting inquiry-based science instruction. Grounded in distributed cognition theory of learning, this research draws on qualitative data from classroom observations and artifacts from coaching sessions and PLC meetings. Using a multiple case study design, this study identifies four case studies to illustrate varying levels …

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Conventional Open-Cut Pipeline Replacement With Trenchless Cured-In-Place Pipe Renewal Method For Wastewater Applications Using Midpoint Approach, Eesha Nilesh Karkhanis

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Underground infrastructure development has a significant impact on society, leading to continuous technological advancements. With the rising environmental concerns, novel technology is leaning towards adapting to sustainable practices for pipeline rehabilitation. Conducting a comparative study of environmental impacts produced by pipe renewal and replacement processes is a vital step towards sustainable development of underground infrastructure. Open-cut Pipeline Replacement (OCPR) is the conventional method used for pipeline rehabilitation, which involves the excavation of the ground surface to place a new pipe underground or replace an existing one. This process includes the trenching of ground, followed by surface reinstatement through backfill. The …

Legal Expertise And The Litigation Risk From Carbon Emissions, Mahmud Rahman

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

The increasing frequency of climate-related litigation presents significant risks for high-emitting firms, leading many to adopt strategies that reduce legal exposure and associated costs. General Counsel (GC), due to their legal expertise, are increasingly integrated into top management to help firms navigate this complex regulatory environment. Using an ordered logit model, this study finds that firms with higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are more likely to have a GC to their executive team. The presence of a GC in top management leads to a lower likelihood of the firm being fined for violations as well as lower penalties of federal …

Case Study Examining The Effects Of Mentorship On The Attrition Of Novice Principals In Urban School Districts, Nikia Barnett

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

The evolving role of school principals has undergone a significant transformation, shifting from traditional teacher management to a multifaceted leadership position that balances managerial and instructional responsibilities with a primary focus on enhancing student achievement. As principals now face increasingly complex challenges, including heightened school accountability, widening student achievement gaps, diminished community support, and fluctuating parent engagement, state programs and school districts struggle to provide adequate support to ensure the retention and longevity of these pivotal educational leaders in their roles.

This study examined how eight novice principals (with 0–5 years of experience) in urban school districts perceived mentorship influenced …

The Commuter Student Experience: Challenges And Impacts On Student Success, Seth A. Ressl

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations - Archive

Commuter students at large public universities often face barriers to engaging in campus co-curricular activities, primarily due to off-campus commitments, which can affect their academic success and retention. Drawing on student engagement theory, this qualitative narrative study explores commuter students’ experiences with co-curricular involvement and its perceived impact on their academic performance, skill development, social connections, and persistence at a large public four-year university. Data collected through in-depth interviews with commuter undergraduates were analyzed to identify common themes regarding students' perspectives, challenges, and impact related to co-curricular activities. The findings suggest that active involvement in student organizations and campus events …

From One Prison To Another: The Inordinate Criminalization Of Women Who Kill Abusive Partners And A Proposed U.N. Response, Annalie Buscarino

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Paradoxically, criminal justice systems around the world punish women who kill abusive partners with inordinate sentences despite explicitly recognizing the victimization that led them to homicide. This Note examines how universally entrenched gender stereotypes lead to such overcriminalization and amount to a violation of women’s rights to equality before the law. This Note then proposes a U.N. resolution offering guidelines for criminal justice systems to craft appropriate judicial responses to women’s survival strategies.

Abundance And Other Food Fixations, Margot J. Pollans

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Although most people in the United States no longer devote the majority of their time to food production, processing, and distribution, food remains a daily fixation. This Article explores three driving food fixations--abundance, thinness, and health--and situates each against an inverse fear--scarcity, fatness, and illness, respectively. Mapping these threats onto U.S. food policy, this Article examines, among other policy arenas, food waste policy, nutrition and health claim labeling law, and food additive regulations. Across food policy, these fixations feed what this Article calls the “politics of abundance.” This politics helps to insulate the food industry from deeper systemic reform aimed …

A Supreme Sidestep: The Justices' Artful Dodge On Platform Immunity, Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The foiled ISIS plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts, coordinated by teens on social media platforms with a significant US presence, illustrates the dangerous consequences of unchecked online content. This incident, coupled with other tragic cases such as the sexual exploitation of a minor lured through Facebook and Tyler Clementi 's suicide following a privacy violation on Twitter highlights the urgent need to reassess 47 U.S.C. § 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Enacted in 1996, this law provides broad immunity to interactive computer services, including social media platforms, shielding them from liability for user generated content. While initially celebrated …

Perioperative Surgical Site Infection Reduction Bundle In Colorectal Patients, Flatasha A. Roland

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects - Archive

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a common and preventable complication after colorectal procedures, significantly impacting patient morbidity and increasing healthcare costs. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to lower SSIs in adult colorectal surgery patients by implementing a perioperative SSI reduction bundle at a large acute care facility in North Texas. The intervention targeted three modifiable risk factors: perioperative hypothermia, hyperglycemia, and incorrect antibiotic timing. Despite established protocols, institutional data revealed subpar compliance with active warming (46%), blood glucose control (52%), and antibiotic stewardship (75%), all of which fell below national benchmarks. A gap analysis and literature review guided the …

Expanding “Brain Games”: What Have We Learned From A Program Designed To Support Healthy Brain Aging For Older Adults?, Ella Mckinney

CURE Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Orchestrating Brilliance In The Recording Studio: Mixing Music To Record Music, Adrian D. Carroll

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This paper is a report on a heuristic inquiry into music recording practice and workflow to arrive at the essence of experience. Through professional reflection on a music recording, we investigated the recording process and student experience; this was used to identify, explore and expose tacit professional practice. The central theme that unfolded revealed benefits in mixing music during a recording session. Other themes of workflow efficiency, and emotional expression, also emerged from the data collection. The research culminated in a creative synthesis in the form of a research question: Can live studio recordings be a viable option for artists, …

No Longer Invisible: 2025 Massachusetts Asian And Pacific Islander American (Apia) Community Survey Report, Watanabe P. Dhaurali S.

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

The first Massachusetts Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Community Survey gathered opinions from 1,414 APIAs across the state in March 2025 on issues such as economic stability, political engagement, safety and sense of belonging, healthcare access, as well as recent executive actions by the federal administration. The survey was offered in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer languages in addition to English.The resulting data was disaggregated by the three largest APIA subgroups in MA: Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese Americans.
Key findings include that housing affordability and cost of living are the top economic concerns for APIAs across Massachusetts; both citizens and non-citizens …

Critical Approaches To Climate-Induced Migration Research And Solutions, Rosalyn Negrón, David Hernández, Hossein Ayazi, Pablo Shiladitaya Bose, Nyingilanyeofori Brown, Elora Chowdhury, Janelle Knox-Hayes, Rajini Srikanth, Banu Subramaniam, Farhana Sultana, Patrick Sylvain, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Charles Venator-Santiago

Sustainable Solutions Lab

In this commentary we explore the confluence of factors shaping climate-induced migration and the need for comprehensive solutions grounded in historical and systemic understandings. We argue that climate change, colonial legacies, and geopolitical policies significantly influence migration patterns, particularly for historically marginalised communities. We call for scholars to develop holistic frameworks that consider environmental, political, historical, and economic factors while advocating for the legal recognition and protection of migrants and people displaced by climate impacts. Drawing on examples of internal migration and displacement in the United States and refugee camps globally, we highlight the complexities of resettlement. We propose integrated …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Rights: The Human Toll Of New York's Guardianship Crisis, Quinn Decicco, Sarah Michelle Smith

City University of New York Law Review

New York’s Article 81 guardianship system, intended as a last-resort protection for individuals unable to manage their personal or financial affairs, has become a default intervention that too often strips people of autonomy and dignity. Overburdened guardians, minimal training requirements, and inadequate judicial oversight leave incapacitated persons vulnerable to neglect, exploitation, and “civil death.” This Comment uses Cody’s Story to humanize the systemic failures and evaluates Resolution 561, recently adopted by the New York City Council, which calls for a statewide public guardianship system. While the Resolution represents a critical step toward reform, it lacks the structural safeguards necessary for …

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine 2025, Fall (Volume 30), Noel T. Manning

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine

Gardner-Webb, The Magazine, previously titled The Webb Magazine, focuses on alumni news and campus events from Gardner-Webb College; now Gardner-Webb University. This issue includes articles celebrating 60 years of the GWU Nursing program, updates from interim president Nate Evans, stories from GWU Alumni (Alana Dagenhart, Keon Williams Jr., and Caroline Leitten), and Dr. Steve Harmon's coverage of the installation of Pope Leo from Rome.