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The Known Unknown, Tevvon Hines May 2025

The Known Unknown, Tevvon Hines

Theses - ALL

Understanding that artists are not obligated to reflect a faithful reality is a realization that is both freeing and intimidating. My graduate filmography is identifiable by its affinity towards fictional narratives that depict the resolution of internal conflicts through intimate relationships and spiritual connections. This thesis investigates my practice by paying close attention to the psychology and philosophy of my screenplays. This is followed by an inspection of my aesthetic approach in order to distinguish their narrative importance and examine subtext. The completed film is then properly defined against the fantasy genre in order to distinguish my narrative choices from …

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Decisions From Experience: Beyond The Gap, Nicholas Ryan Pappas May 2025

Decisions From Experience: Beyond The Gap, Nicholas Ryan Pappas

Dissertations - ALL

Across the risk and uncertainty literature, a particular focus has been made on the description-experience gap (DE Gap). The DE Gap creates figurative and literal gaps between description and experience-based choices. Researchers claim that these DE Gaps are problematic for classic models in decision-making research, such as Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT; Kahneman & Tversky, 1992). This has led to a focus on experience-based models instead. However, following a literature review on CPT and the DE Gap, I aimed to test these claims. In fact, throughout three experiments, I demonstrate that the description-based theories need not be tossed away wholly. Instead, …

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Towards The Next Generation Of Storage Stack For Nand Flash Memory-Based Systems, Ziyang Jiao May 2025

Towards The Next Generation Of Storage Stack For Nand Flash Memory-Based Systems, Ziyang Jiao

Dissertations - ALL

The explosive growth of data has led to increased attention on NAND flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs), which offer high performance, low power consumption, and significant capacity per unit volume when compared to traditional hard-disk drives (HDDs). However, as NAND flash memory density continues to scale, modern SSDs suffer from what is known as fail-slow symptoms, and their performance degrades over time as they wear out. In this dissertation, we focus on understanding and addressing the performance, reliability, and sustainability challenges of modern flash-based storage systems by modeling key metrics, analyzing the design tradeoffs between these metrics, and optimizing existing storage …

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Quasiparticle Poisoning And Mitigation Strategies In Superconducting Qubits, Clayton Larson May 2025

Quasiparticle Poisoning And Mitigation Strategies In Superconducting Qubits, Clayton Larson

Dissertations - ALL

Quantum computers promise to solve currently intractable problems of great interest for a diverse range of applications. For a quantum computer to solve these problems, it must handle occasional errors with quantum error correction, which distributes the quantum information across many physical qubits, increasing resilience. A promising technology for implementing such a system uses superconducting circuits as physical qubits. Standard quantum error correction schemes can accommodate random, local errors, but errors that are correlated across multiple qubits are fatal. Correlated errors can arise from ionizing radiation impacting the device substrate, which creates free charge that can be sensed by the …

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Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices In The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens May 2025

Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices In The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens

Student Theses 2015-Present

The glitter of the beauty industry creates an undeniably attractive fantasy. Cosmetics and dermatology allow for finding a new sense of self through beauty. However, is beauty's fantasy world accessible to everyone, specifically the Black dance community? The beauty industry, historically and presently, has disproportionate effects on people of color communities like the Black dance community. The unsustainable practices and toxic products in the beauty industry hinder the health of Black individuals at different rates than other racial counterparts. There is still work to be done in deconstructing the racist practices of the beauty industry and in facilitating environmentally sustainable …

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Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices Within The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens May 2025

Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices Within The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens

Student Theses 2015-Present

The glitter of the beauty industry creates an undeniably attractive fantasy. Cosmetics and dermatology allow for finding a new sense of self through beauty. However, is beauty's fantasy world accessible to everyone, specifically the Black dance community? The beauty industry, historically and presently, has disproportionate effects on people of color communities like the Black dance community. The unsustainable practices and toxic products in the beauty industry hinder the health of Black individuals at different rates than other racial counterparts. There is still work to be done in deconstructing the racist practices of the beauty industry and in facilitating environmentally sustainable …

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Computational Imaging And The Shifting Ground Of Digital Journalism Ethics, Wasim Ahmad May 2025

Computational Imaging And The Shifting Ground Of Digital Journalism Ethics, Wasim Ahmad

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation investigates how United States-based professional photojournalists are using computational imaging technologies in their smartphones from a diffusion of innovations perspective. Computational imaging can be considered “on-the-fly” photo manipulation, performing tasks such as blurring out the background the way a larger Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) or Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera can, or simulating lighting that didn’t exist on the scene. As image manipulation was previously viewed as taboo in photojournalism (Reaves, 1992), the increased usage of smartphones with computational imaging embedded in software could have wide-reaching implication for ethics research regarding the industry. In-depth interviews with newspaper and …

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Automated Flaw Discovery In Decentralized Systems Via Semantic Fuzzing Tools, Yibo Wang May 2025

Automated Flaw Discovery In Decentralized Systems Via Semantic Fuzzing Tools, Yibo Wang

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation studies the security challenges of blockchain transaction processing before consensus. While prior work has focused on consensus protocols and smart contract bugs, the pre-consensus infrastructure, such as the mempool and off-chain batching, remain underexplored. This dissertation aims to bridge that gap by systematically analyzing both transaction processing in the mempool and off-chain transaction batching for cost-optimization. This dissertation focuses on two core contributions. First, it presents MPFUZZ, an automated software fuzzing tool designed to uncover denial-of-service vulnerabilities in Ethereum mempools. This work is the first to formally define the mempool fuzzing problem and introduce bug oracles that detect …

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Predicting Crisis: Using Computational Methods To Forecast Crisis Conditions, Michelle Marie Johnson May 2025

Predicting Crisis: Using Computational Methods To Forecast Crisis Conditions, Michelle Marie Johnson

Dissertations - ALL

The vast scale of digital information generated daily provides unprecedented opportunities to analyze human behavior in ways that can improve crisis prediction and response. This dissertation introduces PREDICT, a theoretical framework that reconceptualizes crises as predictable phenomena rather than unknowable disruptions. Grounded in chaos theory and complex systems theory, PREDICT operationalizes crisis prediction through three constructs: Perceived Rupture of Equilibrium (PRE), Dynamic Interactions (DI), and Crisis Trajectory (CT). These constructs enable a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive crisis forecasting by identifying early signals of instability, modeling stakeholder interactions, and mapping potential crisis trajectories. To test PREDICT, this study …

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Managing Happiness In The Mexican Maquiladora Industry: A Turnover Management Challenge, Claudia M. Burgos Cruz, Reyna Virginia Barragan Quintero, Angel Contreras Cruz May 2025

Managing Happiness In The Mexican Maquiladora Industry: A Turnover Management Challenge, Claudia M. Burgos Cruz, Reyna Virginia Barragan Quintero, Angel Contreras Cruz

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores a turnover management case by implementing exploratory Human-Centered Design (HCD) strategies, combining a collaborative tool in a Mexican maquiladora in Tecate, Baja California. To reduce turnover, the tool was designed, prototyped, and tested to foster the emotional well-being of employees, enhance employee engagement, and promote a sense of belonging in the workplace. The company leaders and managers were trained to use the HCD prototypes, such as the Happiness Dashboard, a visual feedback system using emojis to collect data during regular shifts, and the Gemba Walks, a method for collecting information through observing and interacting with workers. Organizational …

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Essential Knowledge For Serving Bilingual Youth: The Perspectives Of Adult Former English Learners, Maneka Deanna Brooks May 2025

Essential Knowledge For Serving Bilingual Youth: The Perspectives Of Adult Former English Learners, Maneka Deanna Brooks

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study, framed by dignity-focused language policy and intersectional anti-adultism, investigates how 74 adults misclassified as English learners (ELs) during U.S. K-12 education conceptualize essential knowledge for educating bilingual students. Through semi-structured interviews, participants stressed two key areas for schools that serve bilingual students: recognizing students’ nuanced linguistic histories and acknowledging students as education partners. The findings emphasize centering impacted individuals’ perspectives, advocating for eliminating racial bias in EL policy implementation, and addressing institutionalized adultism in EL policy. Implications include the need for professional learning, policy, and practices prioritizing EL youths’ perspectives.

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Identifying Strategies In Moral Decision Making, Ilaria Siriner May 2025

Identifying Strategies In Moral Decision Making, Ilaria Siriner

Theses - ALL

This study explored the strategies used in moral decision-making, within the context of selfdriving car scenarios. Our goal was to uncover the strategies people use when faced with moral dilemmas, using methodological approaches previously applied to the study of decision-making. The strategies that we were interested in were those that align with the ethical frameworks of utilitarianism, deontology or a blend of the two. In this study, participants were confronted with a series of moral dilemmas involving self-driving cars. Their choices and decision-making processes were analyzed using Machine Learning Strategy Identification (MLSI), which incorporated features related to the information participants …

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Predicting Detection Threshold Performance With Modality-Specific Sensory Profile Scores, Marie Shuter May 2025

Predicting Detection Threshold Performance With Modality-Specific Sensory Profile Scores, Marie Shuter

Theses - ALL

Research on tactile psychophysics among autistic people has examined inhibitory pathways within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Both adults and children with autism are equally able to detect vibrotactile stimuli in dynamic and static task conditions. In contrast, typically developing peers find dynamic tasks harder than static tasks due to pre-stimulus inhibition. Task performance has been linked to sensory overresponsivity in children with autism (McKernan et al., 2020); however, recent literature suggests that sensory processing (e.g., overresponsivity) in autism may be better defined within sensory modalities. Here, I utilized a cross-sectional design to 1) replicate findings of similarities and differences …

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Disparate Patterns In U.S. Emergency Medical Services And Data Missingness As A Socio-Technical Determinant Of Health, Mary Elizabeth Helander May 2025

Disparate Patterns In U.S. Emergency Medical Services And Data Missingness As A Socio-Technical Determinant Of Health, Mary Elizabeth Helander

Dissertations - ALL

Understanding health disparities is fundamental to population health and is essential for design and promotion of health policies that protect individuals from inequitable access, unfair treatment, and discrimination. However, despite broad reliance on technology and digital data, missingness is a common issue in patient health records. This research aspired to increase understanding of health outcome divergence through the lens of emergency medical events in the United States. Retrospective study focused on outcome missingness in the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) years 2017 through 2023, a voluminous public research dataset consisting of roughly a quarter billion patient events. Only …

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How Toxic Communications In Chinese Online Fan Groups Affect Fan Engagement, Tian Xia May 2025

How Toxic Communications In Chinese Online Fan Groups Affect Fan Engagement, Tian Xia

Theses - ALL

Abstract The study used a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) theoretical framework to explore how toxicity impacts fan engagement in online fan groups in China. An online survey method in China with a sample size of 205 participants was used to measure the hypotheses 1)Toxicity causes fans to feel less autonomy in online groups, 2) Toxicity causes fans to feel less skilled (competence) in online groups, 3) Toxicity causes fans to feel less relatedness in online groups and research questions and the research questions 1) How will autonomy, competence, and relatedness relate to specific fandom behaviors? 2) What is the difference between …

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Flexible Rate: A Motor-Learning Based Treatment For Childhood Stuttering, Jenna Renee Sherry May 2025

Flexible Rate: A Motor-Learning Based Treatment For Childhood Stuttering, Jenna Renee Sherry

Theses - ALL

Abstract Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of a novel teletherapy speech restructuring treatment, Flexible Rate, grounded in motor learning principles and delivered within the Challenge Point Framework. The following variables were evaluated: stuttering frequency (percentage of stuttered words), perceived stuttering severity (rated by participants, parents, and the researcher), perceived speaking control, and communicative attitudes. Methods: A series of single-case studies utilizing an ABA design was used to examine the effects of Flexible Rate treatment in two children who stutter, ages 10 and 13. During treatment (B), participants completed two 30-minute virtual sessions per week for eight weeks. Participants were …

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The Idiot's Asylum: What Better Place To Do It Than From My Own Grave?, Kara Stallings May 2025

The Idiot's Asylum: What Better Place To Do It Than From My Own Grave?, Kara Stallings

Theses - ALL

The Idiot's Asylum: “What better place to do it than from my own grave?” is an essay that examines how vulnerability and collaboration operate as the throughlines of collective creativity. By utilizing live performance, large-scale installation, video, food, and humor, I explore how immersing my audience in a unique experience encourages them to bear witness to or physically engage in a social and vulnerable act of trust – especially within a state of uncertainty. I consider historical and cultural movements centered around radical play, humor, and participation such as Dada, Surrealism, Fluxus, Situationism, and feminist performance art to be foundational …

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The March Towards A Totalitarian Ecology: Making Sense Of 'Ecofascism' Through The Political Ecology Of German Nazism, Cassidy Glen Thomas May 2025

The March Towards A Totalitarian Ecology: Making Sense Of 'Ecofascism' Through The Political Ecology Of German Nazism, Cassidy Glen Thomas

Theses - ALL

In recent years, the topic of ‘ecofascism’ has been increasingly engaged in both scholarly and popular contexts, but often with little clarity or consistency in how the term is defined—sometimes detaching the concept from historically-based understandings of ‘fascism’ altogether. This thesis intervenes on this front, thoroughly grounding the concept of ecofascism in fascism through an explication of the political ecology and economy of interwar and Nazi Germany. As this thesis shows, while it is inaccurate to speak of a cohesive ‘green-wing’ within the Nazi Party, the nascent German conservation movement played a key role in cultivating a range of ecologically-themed …

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Allegories In Fiction: Shaping Our Thoughts And Outcome Of Technological Advancements, Rick Li May 2025

Allegories In Fiction: Shaping Our Thoughts And Outcome Of Technological Advancements, Rick Li

Theses - ALL

This thesis investigates how fictional storytelling, particularly in science fiction films, games, and literature, influences real-world technological advancements and public perception of innovation. By examining recurring themes such as automation, technological overdependence, ethical dilemmas in AI, this study highlights how media functions as a cultural reflection to reality, and as a speculative tool. While drawing on popular examples like The Terminator (1984), Fahrenheit 451 (1953), I, Robot (2004), and The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021), this research also considers the importance of contemporary and minority voices like artist Kapwani Kiwanga in reimagining futures beyond dominant Western narratives. These stories reflect …

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Assessing Changes In Emissions And Atmospheric Deposition Of Sulfur Dioxide And Nitrogen Oxides Under Policies To Decarbonize The Electricity Sector In The Us, Qasim Mehdi May 2025

Assessing Changes In Emissions And Atmospheric Deposition Of Sulfur Dioxide And Nitrogen Oxides Under Policies To Decarbonize The Electricity Sector In The Us, Qasim Mehdi

Theses - ALL

In the United States, power generation significantly contributes to emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, two precursors to atmospheric reactive nitrogen and sulfur deposition. In this thesis, I explore the prospective changes associated with the decarbonization of the electricity sector in atmospheric emissions and deposition of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and ammonia (NH3), and the implications of these alterations for shifts in patterns of interstate air pollutant transport and exceedances of critical loads of nitrogen and sulfur deposition impacting the growth and mortality of tree species in the coterminous U.S. While existing research provides some understanding of …

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Harnessing Llms To Detect Hate Speech, Weibin Cai May 2025

Harnessing Llms To Detect Hate Speech, Weibin Cai

Theses - ALL

Hate is a sentiment, while hate speech refers to the expression of hate in a form that targets and attacks specific groups, such as race, religion, or gender. With the rise of the internet and social media, hate speech has spread rapidly, gaining wide exposure and posing threats to individual well-being, the profits of major tech companies, and social stability. As a result, both industry and academia have turned their attention to the study of hate speech. One of the most active areas is hate speech detection, which involves training models to predict whether a given piece of content is …

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In-Silico Investigation Of Claudin-16 Self Assembly In Tight Junctions, Baqi Ozomata Atimah May 2025

In-Silico Investigation Of Claudin-16 Self Assembly In Tight Junctions, Baqi Ozomata Atimah

Theses - ALL

Claudin-16 is a member of the Claudin family of proteins, which play a critical role in establishing paracellular permeability within tight junctions between cells. Claudin-16 exhibits diverse properties related to ion selectivity, tissue development, and barrier function. Depending on the context, claudins create channels that permit the passage of specific ions through the paracellular space or form barriers that restrict ion movement. This study focuses on the self-assembly of the human claudin-16 protein, which is essential for ion reabsorption and the proper functioning of the kidney. Molecular simulations were employed to investigate the interactions within dimerized claudin-16 and to elucidate …

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Reds Risk In Physically Active Females And Inflammation: Is There A Correlation?, Julia Galindo Sebe May 2025

Reds Risk In Physically Active Females And Inflammation: Is There A Correlation?, Julia Galindo Sebe

Theses - ALL

Background: Low Energy Availability (LEA) is a key factor in the Female Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), affecting performance, metabolism, and inflammation. Uric acid (UA), a byproduct of purine metabolism, has been proposed as a potential inflammatory marker. We hypothesize that EA will be inversely correlated with inflammation and that collegiate athletes will exhibit lower EA compared to recreational athletes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 51 physically active female college students (18–24 years), including 28 collegiate athletes. LEA risk was assessed using the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q), while energy availability (EA) …

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Understanding The Spatial Characteristics Of Urban Morphology And Its Application, Md Sohel Rana May 2025

Understanding The Spatial Characteristics Of Urban Morphology And Its Application, Md Sohel Rana

Theses - ALL

Rapid urbanization due to the population boom in urban areas changes the physical layout and structures of cities including buildings, streets, open spaces, and amenities, which are collectively defined as urban morphology. Microclimate dynamics of urban environments, such as airflow, heat retention, and pollution dispersion, are profoundly affected by urban morphology. Although the roles of urban morphology at small spatial scales (e.g., single buildings, building complexes, or buildings within a block) in microclimate dynamics have been extensively studied, the scale-up effect of buildings at the city scale on microclimate dynamics is still not fully understood. In this thesis, I examined …

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Plio-Pleistocene Hydroclimate In Southern Africa: Insights From Proxy Records And Climate Models, Claire B. Rubbelke May 2025

Plio-Pleistocene Hydroclimate In Southern Africa: Insights From Proxy Records And Climate Models, Claire B. Rubbelke

Dissertations - ALL

In the recent decade, a number of extreme weather events have highlighted the vulnerability and unpreparedness of communities in Southern Africa (SA) to anthropogenic climate-change related weather events. Such occurrences are only expected to increase in frequency, however projections of the future mean state of hydroclimate in SA are uncertain; there is broad agreement of earth system models that Africa as a whole will become hotter and drier by 2100, however, projected changes to regional hydroclimate are ambiguous. Insights from past intervals of warm climates, like the Pliocene, or intervals of rapid climate change, like the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, can reveal …

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Stranded In Transit: Migrants' Borderland Experiences En Route To Europe, Ibrahim Emre Yanik May 2025

Stranded In Transit: Migrants' Borderland Experiences En Route To Europe, Ibrahim Emre Yanik

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of migrants stranded in prolonged transit amid the intensifying securitization of the European border regime. While contemporary policy frameworks aim to deter unauthorized migration through externalized controls, digital surveillance, and restricted legal pathways, these measures have instead produced new forms of precarity, immobilization, and liminal existence. Focusing on Istanbul as a key site of transit and containment, the research examines how migrants navigate conditions of legal uncertainty, economic marginalization, and social isolation while resisting the structural constraints imposed upon them. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Istanbul—including semi-structured interviews and participant observation—this study adopts …

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Body Size Trends Of Late Devonian Dacryoconarid Tentaculitoids And Protocol Development For I/Ca Analysis In Corals By La-Icp-Ms, Ashley Prow-Fleischer May 2025

Body Size Trends Of Late Devonian Dacryoconarid Tentaculitoids And Protocol Development For I/Ca Analysis In Corals By La-Icp-Ms, Ashley Prow-Fleischer

Dissertations - ALL

Paleoclimatology provides context for understanding the timescales and animal responses to environmental change under modern climate change scenarios. The key drivers of climate variability are identified using proxies for environmental conditions. Biological archives are especially useful for linking changing conditions to ecosystem responses. This dissertation establishes the foundation for utilizing dacryoconarid microfossils as biostratigraphic indicators of environmental change in the Paleozoic. It also presents a protocol for measuring iodine-to-calcium (I/Ca) ratios—an established proxy for localized hypoxia—in coral skeletons using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Studying Paleozoic microfossils presents challenges due to the high degree of induration of …

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Anticipating The Adoption Of Quantum Computing Technology By Organizations, Kenneth Shui May 2025

Anticipating The Adoption Of Quantum Computing Technology By Organizations, Kenneth Shui

Dissertations - ALL

This study investigated the challenges that may influence the successful adoption of adiabatic quantum computers based on an analysis of three case studies of organizations that adopted technologies adjacent to adiabatic quantum computers. Through the lens of the affordance framework, a mixed methods approach identified common challenges and themes when adopting different forms of classical computing. The qualitative method involved analyzing pre-existing documentation on classical computing technologies through a reflexive narrative review of the case studies. For the quantitative aspect, an A/B testing approach was used to compare the performance of D-Wave adiabatic quantum computers in solving a well-established computer …

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Elucidating Climate Dynamics From Holocene Reconstructions In Alaska, Greenland, And The North Atlantic, Briana Edgerton May 2025

Elucidating Climate Dynamics From Holocene Reconstructions In Alaska, Greenland, And The North Atlantic, Briana Edgerton

Dissertations - ALL

Arctic amplification is a combination of ice-ocean-atmospheric feedbacks that causes the northern high latitudes to be extremely sensitive to climate change. These processes combined with anthropogenic warming are currently driving Arctic temperatures to increase at a rate almost four times faster than global average. However, it is unclear how current and future climate change in the Arctic compares to the natural variability of the climate system over longer timescales. The Holocene (11,700 years ago to present) provides abundant well-preserved, sub-millennial to centennial-scale records of climate, and encompasses periods of relatively rapid warming and cooling which can be compared to anthropogenic …

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Deformations Of Thin Membranes In Incompatible Geometries And Interactions In Mechanical Hysteron Systems, Zachariah Schrecengost May 2025

Deformations Of Thin Membranes In Incompatible Geometries And Interactions In Mechanical Hysteron Systems, Zachariah Schrecengost

Dissertations - ALL

Soft reconfigurable systems exhibit behaviors which are highly dependent on their geometries. Thin membranes can deform in a myriad of ways as they navigate geometries different from their own in an energy efficient manner. Behaviors in mechanical hysteron systems are influenced by the geometry of the interactions and global driving. This dissertation focuses on two different types of systems which are governed in part by their geometries: thin membranes in geometrically incompatible configurations and interacting mechanical hysterons. A thin membrane forced into a conflicting geometry with an incompatible metric will deform in highly non-trivial ways. These deformations are an attempt …

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