Digital Commons Network^™

Bounding The Average Kissing Number, Including New Bounds For Three-Dimensional Binary Sphere Packings, Mark William Bockhaus

Theses and Dissertations

The average kissing number is defined as the supremum over all sphere packings of the value: two times the number of tangencies divided by the number balls in the packing. In this paper, we present a survey of the literature about bounding the average kissing number, beginning with the first non-trivial results, through the most up-to-date bounds. We then turn our focus to binary sphere packings: those which contain spheres of two different radii. We improve upon known bounds for the average kissing number for binary sphere packings in three-dimensions and find exact bounds for many packings.

Elementary Teachers' Culturally Responsive Strategies For Fostering Critical Thinking In Science Instruction With Emergent Bilinguals, Lydia Stella Ratel

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESOL)-certified elementary teachers as they fostered critical thinking among emergent bilingual (EB) students in grades 3–5 science classrooms. Grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy, translanguaging, funds of knowledge, and critical thinking theory, the study examined how teachers made sense of instructional decision-making and EB students’ scientific reasoning within accountability-driven educational contexts.

Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with elementary teachers serving emergent bilingual students in South Texas public schools. Phenomenological analysis was used to identify shared meanings across participants’ descriptions of instructional practices, language use, …

Analyzing Criteria Air Pollutants And Meteorological Parameters In The Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, And Corpus Christi Region Of South Texas, Angela Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the Rio Grande Valley has experienced significant population growth due to economic opportunities, cross-border commerce, SpaceX, and the Rio Grande and Texas liquid natural export terminal presence. The Rio Grande Valley has an estimated population of 1,368,723. This region is largely understudied, along with nearby urban centers such as Laredo and Corpus Christi. The Rio Grande Valley and Laredo regions are a concern due to their population growth and heavy cross-border transportation. Data from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality Continuous Ambient Monitoring Sites was collected from January 1st , 2024, to December 31st, 2024. Statistical analysis, such as …

Academic Anxiety, Anxiety Sensitivity, And General Mental Health In Collegiate Student-Athletes, Finley Gabrielle Elkins Sims

Theses and Dissertations

Collegiate athletes’ mental health is on the decline, and they have unique experiences that can influence the prevalence of mental health struggles. This study examined academic anxiety, comorbid forms of anxiety, and predicting factors in 187 collegiate student-athletes across 29 U.S. colleges. Athletes had significantly higher levels of academic anxiety and general anxiety compared to a college nonathlete population. There were significant gender differences in athletes, with females having greater levels of anxiety sensitivity, academic anxiety, sport anxiety, general anxiety, depression, and a history of depression than male athletes. Gender, history of depression, anxiety sensitivity, and depression were significant predictors …

Intersecting Identities, Social Support, Multiple-Minority Stress, And Health Outcomes Among Latinx Lgbtq+ Adults, Amanda Lamas

Theses and Dissertations

Latinx LGBTQ+ adults experience poor health due to exposure to intersectional discrimination; however, they also possess protective factors to cope with these stressors. This study explored the associations and interactions of identity affirmation (ethnic, American, LGBTQ+), identity outness, perceived social support, LGBT-POC microaggressions, and health among LGBTQ+ Latinx adults. Correlational analyses and regression models controlling for covariates showed that American and ethnic identity affirmation, perceived social support, and identity outness were positively associated with health, and LGBT-POC microaggressions were negatively associated with health. LGBTQ+ identity affirmation was directly correlated with mental health, but not in the regression model. Identity affirmation …

Vision-Language Guided Quadruped Navigation With Reinforcement Learning Control, Chen Yuan Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models and their multimodal variants, Vision-Language Models (VLMs), can interpret natural language instructions and visual context. Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods such as Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) have been shown to successfully learn stable quadruped locomotion. This work investigates whether a VLM integrated with an RL controller can control a quadruped robot to perform instruction-following navigation to a predefined target using text instructions, egocentric vision, and proprioceptive state.

Most VLM-based robotics work directly target prediction of robot actions from multimodal inputs. This approach often depends on large amounts of expert demonstration data, generated by controllers such as trained RL …

Teacher Stories In A Place-Based Science Education Program In The Trans-Nueces Region, Brian Craig Gabrysch

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the emerging professional narratives of five educators involved in the Integrated Oceans Program at a coastal South Texas school district situated within the Trans-Nueces region. Guided by the central research question—What are the emerging teacher stories from a place-based science program in the Trans-Nueces region, and what do we learn about place-based science education from the narratives?—the study employs narrative inquiry methodology following Riessman (2008) and Bruner (1985) to investigate how educators construct meaning from their practice within a program anchored to the Laguna Madre wetlands ecosystem.

The theoretical framework integrates interpretivism (Benton & Craib, 2010), …

On The Structure Of The Homotopy Lie Algebra Of Local Rings, Dawson M. Strong

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the construction and homological properties of the homotopy Lie algebra π(R) of a commutative local ring (R,m,k). Drawing upon the theoretical framework of differential graded (DG) algebras, we first establish the theory of minimal free resolutions and other standard topics in homological algebra. The core of this work details the iterative construction of the acyclic closure R⟨Y⟩ of k over R, which is achieved by the systematic adjunction of exterior and divided power variables to eliminate cycles in homology. We demonstrate that this acyclic closure serves as a minimal free resolution and provides the means to define …

La Panza: Un Acto De Rebeldia Para Los Atravesados Y Los Que Siguen Despues / The Panza: An Act Of Rebellion For The Inbetweeners And Those Who Follow After, Abigail Guadalupe Cantu

Theses and Dissertations

Our ancestors, family members, and ourselves that live in the borderlands have embodied knowledge, and/or an innate intuition that comes from the pit of our soul, particularly from our “panza”; hence, the creation of a panza consciousness as the focus for my thesis. I’m trying to “rediscover” the embodied knowledge that has been taken from us and how we can learn to harness these forms of knowledge into a societal shift ( i.e. how we interact with others, how we see our bodies, how see the creation of knowledge, and how we see the world). Although, Eurocentric ideals sought to …

A Case Study Of One-To-One Mobile Teaching And Learning Environments Measuring Creativity In A Rural Elementary School In Deep South Texas, David Warren Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined how creativity is enacted within rural one-to-one mobile teaching and learning environments in Deep South Texas. Grounded in the frameworks of mobile learning affordances (Klopfer et al., 2002), the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, and the SAMR model, the study explored how instructional practices, student agency, and contextual conditions influenced creative learning experiences in an elementary school setting. Data were collected from five elementary teachers at a rural South Texas district and included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and samples of student-created artifacts. Data analysis followed a systematic process of first-cycle coding, second-cycle axial …

Accurate Polyp Segmentation With Visual Mamba, Diego Adame

Theses and Dissertations

Medical image segmentation is a fundamental task in computer-aided diagnosis because it enables precise delineation of anatomical structures and pathological regions from clinical images. While convolutional neural networks and Transformer-based models have achieved strong performance on many medical segmentation benchmarks, CNNs struggle to model long-range dependencies and Transformers often incur high computational complexity for high-resolution medical images. Recently, state space models have emerged as an efficient alternative for dense prediction tasks due to their ability to capture long-range dependencies with linear complexity. However, existing Mamba-based segmentation models still rely on pixel-wise raster scanning that disrupts spatial locality and use simple …

2nd Place Research Paper: Shaping The Ape: Storytelling, Cultural Reflection, And Boundary Negotiation In Human-Ape Zoo Encounters, Abigail Bond Halling

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

The typical Western zoo functions as a unique environment in which animals are frequently positioned as subjects of education and entertainment through the medium of storytelling. In this sense, the zoological institution can also be read as an extension of popular Western constructions surrounding nonhuman animals, particularly those who are symbolically charged characters in our collective imaginary– the great apes. Given the morphological, behavioral, and psychological similarities between humans and other great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans), nonhuman great ape enclosures at the Western zoo become spaces where humans are most radically confronted with navigating the boundaries of the “human-animal …

Student Engagement As A Predictor Of Stem Student Success, Mosab Shaher Abu Al Foul

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigates factors influencing engagement, persistence, and degree completion among underrepresented minority (URM) students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Guided by Tinto’s Interactionist Model (1975) and Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory(1977), it examines how institutional practices and socioeconomic conditions contribute to inequities in student outcomes. Using a non-experimental, correlational design, the study analyzes National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data and institutional records from a Midwestern Research 2 university (N = 620; URM subsample n = 52). Binary logistic regression, MANOVA, and t-tests were used to assess relationships among High-Impact Educational Practices (HIEPs), engagement indicators, faculty interaction, pre-college …

Towards Continuous Carbon Fibers From Corn Oil, Ismail Akanmu Adebayo

Theses and Dissertations

The global demand for carbon fibers has experienced exponential growth over the last decade, driven by the desire for materials with high strength and low density for applications in aerospace, automotive, wind energy, and specialty industrial markets. Currently, carbon fibers are almost exclusively produced from petroleum-based precursors, most commonly polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and petroleum-derived pitch. The high production costs associated with these fossil-based precursors limit the broader adoption of carbon fibers and represent a significant barrier to market expansion. The development of a bio-based carbon fiber precursor derived from renewable feedstocks would help transition this market away from fossil carbon sources …

Machine Learning Applications For Numerical Simulation Of Co2 Sequestration, Adeboye Kayode Adeyinka

Theses and Dissertations

Global CO2 emissions significantly exceed the capacity of planned sequestration projects. Among subsurface storage sites, deep saline aquifers offer the largest theoretical capacity because they occur naturally across most sedimentary basins. However, major geological uncertainties, such as permeability variations and sand continuity, complicate these projects due to sparse well data. Consequently, analyzing CO2 sequestration projects in saline aquifers require robust reservoir simulation which are unfortunately, computationally complex with long runtimes, presenting severe bottlenecks for extensive risk assessment.

Machine learning algorithms can overcome these limitations by drastically reducing computational runtimes, enabling rapid scenario testing and optimization. Despite this potential, existing literature …

Mechanistic Investigation Of Arsenic Removal From Drinking Water Using Metal–Organic Frameworks And Granular Activated Carbon, Mousa Almousa

Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic contamination in groundwater represents a critical environmental and public health challenge due to its high toxicity and widespread occurrence in natural aquifers. Chronic exposure to arsenic, even at trace levels, is associated with severe health effects, including skin lesions and increased cancer risk. Conventional treatment technologies, such as adsorption using activated carbon or metal oxides, often suffer from limited selectivity, regeneration difficulty, and reduced efficiency under varying pH conditions. Therefore, developing advanced sorbent materials with high capacity, selectivity, and structural stability is essential for addressing arsenic pollution in decentralized water systems.Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently emerged as promising materials …

Stigma Is Committing: Public Perceptions Of Race, Substance Use, And Civil Commitment, Meliyah Anderson-Tryon

Theses and Dissertations

Civil commitment in the United States is a legal process through which individuals experiencing severe mental illness may be involuntarily admitted for psychological treatment. Despite its far-reaching consequences, public knowledge and perceptions of civil commitment remain largely underexamined. These gaps may contribute to increased stigma toward individuals with severe mental illness or those who engage in substance use. This study used a vignette-based experimental design manipulating a hypothetical individual’s race and presence or absence of past substance use. The hypothetical individual was portraying symptoms related to schizophrenia, subsequently leading to being civilly committed. Participants (N = 208) evaluated perceived dangerousness …

Non-Terrestrial Colonial Security And Critical Contingency Operations, Augustine Gabriel Wesley Batten

Theses and Dissertations

Since the turn of the century, the dependence of state functionality and capability on cyber infrastructure has grown exponentially, resulting in an equally expanding list of means to exploit this dependency. Cyberattacks have demonstrated the ability to target the space industry and critical infrastructure beyond our atmosphere. The potential damage this growing threat can bring is what this research aims to prepare for and mitigate. The purpose of this research is to determine cyber-attack indicators and develop responses designed to mitigate the effects of worst-case scenarios. It is important to understand that this study included a theoretical scenario to address …

Additively Constructed Concrete Culverts (Acc), Eugene Kwabena Assuah-Damoah

Theses and Dissertations

Rural culvert systems in cold regions like North Dakota face rising replacement needs due to aging infrastructure, harsh deterioration, and limited precast supply. Additive construction with concrete (ACC) offers promise but is constrained by proprietary mix designs, limited validation for non-linear geometries such as ring-type pipes, and challenges in reinforcement integration. This study addresses these gaps through three efforts. First, a non-proprietary mix (MIX7, w/c = 0.37) using local materials achieved optimal printability (190–200 mm flow) and 28‑day strengths of 55–60 MPa; full-scale 18‑inch pipes met ASTM C76 Class II/III requirements. Second, literature shows ACC permanent formwork performance depends on …

Wifi-Based Teleoperation System For A 3d-Printed Rc Car, Manvel Beaver

Theses and Dissertations

In the field of autonomous vehicle (AV) research, developers often face a significant gap between low-power hobbyist kits and cost-prohibitive industrial platforms. This thesis presents the design, integration, and validation of "Das Mueller," a high-performance, 1/10th-scale unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designed to provide a transparent and cost-effective testbed for neural network development. By bridging the interoperability gap between the Donkey Car software framework and the 3D-printable Tarmo5 mechanical chassis, this project establishes a modular architecture centered on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX single-board computer.

The research utilizes a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach and rapid prototyping to address critical challenges …

Geochemical Modeling Of Co2 Sequestration In Saline Aquifer: Broom Creek Saline Aquifer, Lawrence Chima Asouzu

Theses and Dissertations

Geological carbon sequestration in deep saline aquifers is widely regarded as a critical technology for mitigating anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. This dissertation presents a formation-specific, kinetically constrained reactive transport modelling study of CO₂ storage performance in the Broom Creek Formation, a quartz- and feldspar-dominated saline aquifer in the Williston Basin, North Dakota.

A high-resolution geological model was constructed in Petrel using well logs, well tops, and Sorensen’s permeability correlation, then exported via RESCUE file into CMG GEM for dynamic reactive transport simulation. The base-case scenario involved injection of CO₂ at 15 MMScf/day for one year, followed by 199 years of post-injection …

Integrating Emotional Intelligence Into Interpreter Training: A Syllabi Analysis And Curriculum Review Framework, Caroline Lynn Becker

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how Interpreter Training Programs (ITPs) incorporate emotionalintelligence (EI) into their curricula. To examine how these competencies are addressed, this study analyzed course syllabi from accredited four-year interpreter education programs using a structured review protocol. Syllabi from Collegiate Commission on Interpreter Education- accredited programs at both public and private institutions were included. Findings indicate that EI is rarely named, explicitly taught, or formally assessed within course descriptions or assignments. While many programs include components aligned with EI domains, such as ethics instruction, supervision, cultural engagement, and reflective practice, these elements are embedded implicitly rather than framed as …

A Comparative Study Of Dsmc Codes For Rarefied Atmospheric Re-Entry Applications, Laina Behrenbrinker

Theses and Dissertations

Hypersonic atmospheric re-entry involves complex rarefied flow phenomena, including thermochemical non-equilibrium and plasma formation, which must be accurately predicted to assess vehicle performance and communication blackout. The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is applied to model these effects through code-to-code comparison and rarefied re-entry simulation. DSMC codes SPARTA and Comet are compared with a 2D cylinder test case to evaluate consistency in predicted flowfield quantities. This is followed by 2D and 3D axi-symmetric simulation of the Varda re-entry capsule at 78 km altitude to characterize plasma formation. 2D cylinder results show agreement in translational and rotational temperature and neutral …

Studying The Hidden Heat: A Theoretical Approach To Better Understanding The Thermal Conditions Of The Yellowstone Volcano In Wyoming, Usa, Daniel Burke Brunson

Theses and Dissertations

Using the spatiotemporal record of the 2.1–0 Ma ignimbrite flare-up of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) as a proxy for batholith formation at depth, this dissertation develops and applies the Finite Difference Heat Flow Simulation (FDHFS) program to model crustal thermal evolution beneath the supervolcano. FDHFS, a modular C++ numerical simulator, solves the transient heat equation incorporating variable thermal conductivity, radiogenic heat production, and directional advection in three-dimensional Cartesian grids. Validation against analytical benchmarks and seafloor-spreading analogs confirms its fidelity for combined conduction-advection processes in heterogeneous crustal settings.

High-resolution volume–time analysis of major ignimbrite pulses (Huckleberry Ridge, Mesa Falls, …

Modeling Melt Season Snow And Ice Albedo Based On Calibration With Climatological And Physiographic Data In The Wind River Range, Wyoming, Logan Dietrich

Theses and Dissertations

Glaciers in high mountain regions are the source of critical water supply for a large portion of the global population, providing freshwater for several uses such as agriculture, irrigation, drinking water, energy production, and the economy. Climate change is causing the increased melting of mountain glaciers, and in turn putting constraints on several of the aforementioned uses of freshwater that is sourced from high mountain regions as well as increasing the risk of natural disasters such as mudslides and glacial lake outburst floods. Understanding the factors that influence glacial melt is important when assessing the mass balance of glaciers and …

Safety Assurance In A Collegiate Flight Program With Safety Management Systems (Sms): A Mixed-Methods Approach To Evaluating Safety Risk Control Effectiveness, Erin Dunker

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined safety assurance and the effectiveness of safety risk controls within a collegiate flight training program operating under a Safety Management System (SMS). Using a mixed-methods approach, the research integrated quantitative survey data with organizational safety performance data to evaluate how safety risk controls function across operational domains. A survey instrument, the Collegiate Aviation Safety Risk Control Effectiveness Scale (CASRICES), was developed and validated to measure perceptions of safety risk control effectiveness among respondents using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Reliability, and Construct Validity Analyses.

The EFA supported a three-factor structure consisting of Pilot Training Risk Controls, Safety Reporting …

Strengthening Teacher Retention Through Strategic Onboarding, Stacey Eger-Converse

Theses and Dissertations

The United States education system is currently facing a critical staffing crisis characterized by dwindling enrollment in teacher preparation programs and alarming rates of voluntary attrition. Each school year, school districts report difficulties filling certified positions. This cycle of departure incurs staggering fiscal costs and creates a "recursive loop" where high turnover leads to lower student performance and community dissatisfaction, which further drives teacher exits. While most new teachers participate in induction programs, districts continue to lose approximately half of their new hires, suggesting that current support structures are insufficient. This research addresses a significant gap in the literature: the …

The Speech, Language, And Feeding Development Of One Child With Wiedemann–Steiner Syndrome, Alyssa Ann Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the longitudinal speech, language, and feeding development of a child with Wiedemann–Steiner syndrome (WSS) from birth to age 10. The study aimed to characterize developmental patterns, identify strengths and challenges, and evaluate changes over time within the context of ongoing speech-language intervention. A qualitative longitudinal case study design was used, combining retrospective review of medical, therapeutic, and educational records with direct clinical assessment at age 10. Measures included the Oral and Written Language Scales–Second Edition (OWLS-II)), a spontaneous language sample, a phonemic inventory, a Childhood Apraxia of Speech screening, a caregiver feeding questionnaire, and a clinical feeding …

Modeling Type 2 Diabetes Progression, Hereditary Risk, And Treatment Outcomes: Integrating Prevention, Lifestyle Modifications, And Pharmacological Interventions, Grace Ebunoluwa Fatoyinbo

Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains one of the most significant chronic health conditionsworldwide and continues to place pressure on healthcare systems through its long-term complications, treatment costs, and growing prevalence. The progression of T2D is influenced by multiple interacting factors, including hereditary predisposition, lifestyle behavior, treatment access, remission, relapse, and the development of complications. Because of this complexity, mathematical models can provide useful insight into disease dynamics and the possible effects of intervention strategies over time. This study develops a compartmental model for T2D progression using a system of ordinary differential equations. The population is divided into epidemiologically meaningful classes …

Numerical Verification Of A Gpu-Accelerated Particle-In-Cell Code For Low-Temperature Plasma Simulations, Wei Guo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the numerical verification of Comet, a GPU-accelerated Particle-in-Cell with Monte Carlo Collisions (PIC/MCC) code designed for low-temperature plasma simulations. To ensure efficient deployment across heterogeneous computing architectures, the framework leverages the Kokkos performance-portability layer for high-performance execution. Verification was conducted through a series of hierarchical stages with increasing physical complexity, benchmarking each component of the fundamental PIC/MCC simulation cycle. This structured approach establishes the numerical fidelity of the code's algorithmic building blocks prior to its application in predictive plasma research.

The first stage verifies field interpolation and particle pusher modules against canonical single-particle cases, focusing on ion …