Digital Commons Network^™

(Si17-02) Integrated Mathematical Modeling And Optimization Approaches In Contemporary Engineering And Economic Applications, D. Christo Stalin, Ilakkia S., A. Parameshwari, Sahaya Brainy J., Aman Jolly, Vikas Pandey

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper offers a calibrated synthesis of integrated modeling and optimization methods central to modern engineering and economic problems.We scrutinize the convergence of numerical methods, operations research, fuzzy-logical systems, and mathematical economics, demonstrating how these components conjointly illuminate complicated, real-world phenomena. Through an exhaustive review of prevailing frameworks, the investigation emphasizes the strategic role of stochastic modeling, queuing architecture, and optimization curricula within the twin arenas of system engineering design and economic construction. Empirical confrontation reveals that the synergistic coupling of distinct mathematical branches exponentially enhances our ability to resolve tightly-knit, largescale systems. Application re-routing is systematically demonstrated first on …

(Si17-16) Approximate Solution Of Fredholm Integral Equations Using Szász-Mirakyan Polynomials, Ruchi S. Rajawat, Shikha Pandey

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This manuscript examines a family of Szász-Mirakyan operators that approximate functions on the unbounded interval [0,∞). Furthermore, we examine the discretization method for Fredholm integral equations of the first and second kind based on Szász-Mirakyan operators.We offer numerical techniques and estimate the error bound of the solution in this direction. Finally, we demonstrate numerical analysis showing the effectiveness of the newly developed algorithm constructions in the domain of one-dimensional approximation.

Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicle Deterioration: Impact Of Vehicle Age And Emission Control Technology On Nox Emissions - Preprint, Amber L. Gurecki Allen, Andrew R. Colman, Max D. Sommer, William D. Waddoups, Darrell B. Sonntag

FEAT Publications

Pre-print manuscript.

Abstract

This study examines the effect of aging and deterioration on NO_x emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks (HDDTs) with different emission control technologies, including Engine Control only, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and selective catalytic reduction (SCR). In-use tailpipe emissions were measured from 12,023 HDDTs from 13 roadside measurement campaigns conducted in California and Utah between 2008 and 2024. Vehicle registration records and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) engine certification database were used to identify engine NO_x control technology. At younger ages, SCR-equipped HDDTs generally emitted significantly less NO_x than non-SCR-equipped HDDTs. However, after several years …

Domain Knowledge-Informed Machine Learning Model To Study Weather-Induced Flight Delays, Gurvir Bawa

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Weather-induced Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) occur rarely relative to normal air traffic operations. This scarcity produces severe class imbalance that limits predictive models of flight delay. To address it, this dissertation leverages a physics- and domain- knowledge informed Variational Autoencoder (VAE), conditioned on airport identity, that generates physically plausible synthetic weather events for underrepresented TMI categories. The fidelity of the model is assessed with a calibrated discrepancy measure disclosed along- side the results rather than described in free-form terms. A multitask Graph Neural Network (GNN) is then trained on the augmented dataset to jointly classify airport-level TMI status and predict …

Decoding Surface Chemistry Effects On Polystyrene Nanoplastic Fouling In Plasma-Grafted Pes Membranes With Distinct Functional Groups, Mohadeseh Najafi, Javad Farahbakhsh, Ebrahim Mahmoudi, Michael Johns, Masoumeh Zargar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Nanoplastic (NP) fouling remains a key challenge for ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, yet systematic, controlled comparisons of how membrane functional groups govern NP-membrane interactions are still limited. Here, the role of membrane surface chemistry was systematically investigated using a controlled comparative framework based on plasma-grafted polyethersulfone (PES) UF membranes tailored with structurally comparable methacrylate monomers bearing distinct terminal functionalities, including mono-2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl succinate (MMES, -COOH), N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl] methacrylamide (DMAPMA, -N(CH3)2), and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (SBMA, zwitterionic). Comprehensive characterisations supported successful surface grafting while preserving the membrane substructure. Fouling and separation were assessed using polystyrene (PS) NPs having different surface chemistries, i.e., PS, PS-COOH and …

Nanoparticle-Enabled Superplasticity In Extruded Az91 Magnesium Alloy With Elongation Exceeding 600%, Bai Xin Dong, Hong Yu Yang, Xin Zhang, Feng Qiu, Qi Chuan Jiang, Lai Chang Zhang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

No abstract provided.

Numerically Evaluating The Effect Of Pin Geometries On Interlayer Material Mixing And Thermo-Mechanical Characteristics During Additive Friction Stir Deposition (Afsd), Numan Habib, Ana Vafadar, Ferdinando Guzzomi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) is an additive manufacturing technique used to fabricate large-sized components layer-by-layer in a solid state, below the melting temperature. Poor interlayer mixing between subsequent layers results in a lack of mechanical interlocking, leading to low-strength components. The role of pin design plays a crucial role in fabricating high-strength components, requiring a comprehensive understanding of thermo-mechanical behaviour and flow pattern in the deposition zone. In this study, five different pin geometries are presented and investigated using a three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A user-defined function (UDF) was used to calculate strain- and temperature-dependent viscosity. …

Flourishing Childhood Frameworks: A Scoping Review, Jacqueline A. Davis, Zenobia Talati, Lisa Y. Gibson, Jack Kennare, Christina Bethell, Christina Hinton, Hannah Block, Tara D'Silva, Desiree Silva, Susan L. Prescott

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: Experiences in early life impact childhood, lifelong flourishing, and overall well-being. Yet a framework to guide promoting and measuring flourishing in early childhood has not emerged. The objective of this study was to identify frameworks and measures related to promoting and assessing early-childhood flourishing (0-5 years) to build on a preexisting, community-informed framework.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across electronic databases and the gray literature for articles published between 2014-2026. Of 13 902 total references, 8592 were eligible for screening. A machine learning-assisted tool (Research Screener) was used to streamline screening of the abstracts against the inclusion criteria. …

Performance Evaluation Of Header Pipe In Heat Pipe Evacuated Tube Solar Collector By Dimpled Condensers, Furqan Jamil, Mehdi Khiadani, Yasir M. Al-Abdeli, Abdellah Shafieian

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Among different solar water heaters, heat pipe-based solar water heaters foster potential solutions to alleviate water scarcity. However, a lower outlet temperature at the outlet section of their header pipe reveals low system efficiency due to limited heat transfer between the flowing fluid and the heat pipe condenser walls. The main aim of this study is to investigate a model manifold header pipe having five condenser sections with a dimple pattern to replicate internal features of heat pipe condensers within an evacuated tube solar collector, and its significance is to provide a comprehensive understanding of flow and thermal behaviour in …

Aiswa Stem Makerspace Action Research Project: Developing A Maker Mindset, Fiona Boylan, Lennie Barblett, Leanne Lavina

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This project was developed between the early childhood research team at Edith Cowan University and the Association of Independent Schools Western Australia. Six school teachers (across Kindergarten, Pre-primary and Year One) and five children in each class (with parental consent and child assent) in two schools participated. This project incorporated current thinking of best practice for the development of young children’s digital literacy and agency, as maker spaces provide excellent opportunities for multimodal learning. The project aimed to reinforce children's maker fund of knowledge through strengthening children’s maker mindset and to foster educators' maker fund of knowledge to support children's …

Models For Second Courses In Data Science: Insights From Five Different Institutions, Ben Baumer, Gillian D. Beltz-Mohrmann, Brianna C. Heggeseth, Nicholas J. Horton, Leslie Myint, Michael A. Posner, Paul Roback

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

As data science continues to mature as an academic discipline, curricular standardization remains elusive. While a number of groups have defined program-level learning outcomes for data science, there is no consensus surrounding course-level learning outcomes. We present five different models for a second course in data science, each of which comes with its own learning goals, coverage of topics, points of emphasis, prerequisites, and role in our respective (statistics and) data science curricula. We use the data science topic, subtopic, and competency/concept framework created by the MASDER project to analyze the content of our courses, and present areas of similarity …

Ph-Responsive Mixed-Charge Ultrafiltration Membranes For Adaptive Control Of Single And Mixed Nanoplastic Fouling, Mohadeseh Najafi, Javad Farahbakhsh, Roham Ghanbari, Ebrahim Mahmoudi, Michael Johns, Masoumeh Zargar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Nanoplastic (NP) fouling is an emerging barrier to the reliable application of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, particularly in chemically complex waters where NP surface functionality governs deposition, cake formation, and cleaning performance. Herein, pH-responsive mixed-charge UF membranes were fabricated by plasma-induced graft copolymerisation of mono-2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate (MMES) and N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl] methacrylamide (DMAPMA) onto poly(ethersulfone) (PES) to simultaneously regulate surface charge, hydration, and fouling reversibility. Unlike conventional single-charge or zwitterionic modifications, this approach enabled independent tuning of anionic and cationic moieties, generating composition-dependent and pH-switchable interfacial properties. ATR-FTIR, XPS, FESEM/EDX, AFM, WCA, streaming zeta potential, and MWCO analyses confirmed successful grafting, modified …

A Review Of Natural Hydrogen Generation From Iron-Rich Rocks: Mechanisms, Influencing Factors, Techniques, And Knowledge Gaps, Kaveh Moghanirahimi, Lionel Esteban, Marina Pervukhina, Muhammad Arif, Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Natural hydrogen has emerged as a promising clean energy resource with significant potential for large-scale subsurface production. Among the various geological sources, water–rock interactions involving iron-bearing rocks are among the most extensively studied pathways for natural hydrogen generation. This study provides a comprehensive review of hydrogen production from iron-rich lithologies, including mafic and ultramafic rocks, iron oxides, iron carbonates, and peralkaline granites. The fundamental mechanism involves the reduction of water coupled with the oxidation of ferrous iron to ferric iron under anoxic conditions. Key processes, including serpentinization, magnetite alteration, and siderite decomposition, are critically evaluated using experimental and modelling data. …

Clark Tailings Consolidated Waste Management Area Site Investigation Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Woodard & Curran

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

When Everything Moves Faster Than The Soul: Spirituality In A Fast-Paced World, Pablo Marzilli

Great Commission Research Journal

This article analyzes one of the main characteristics of the hypermodern era in which we live: social acceleration. We live in an extremely individualistic era that forces us to be highly efficient and productive in everything we do. This social phenomenon leads to a sense of being overwhelmed; our culture demands that we maximize the use of our time, to the point where we feel that we are less productive than we actually are, even though this is objectively impossible. This culture of acceleration, which makes us live at a dizzying pace, also influences the church and reshapes our daily …

A Graph Attention Network-Based Framework For Reconstructing Missing Lidar Beams, Khalfalla Awedat, Mohamed Abidalrekab, Mohammad El-Yabroudi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Vertical beam dropout in spinning LiDAR sensors -triggered by hardware aging, dust, snow, fog, or bright reflections - removes entire vertical slices from the point cloud and severely degrades 3D perception in autonomous vehicles. This paper proposes a Graph Attention Network (GAT)-based framework that reconstructs these missing vertical channels using only the current LiDAR frame, with no camera images or temporal information required. Each LiDAR sweep is represented as an unstructured spatial graph: points are nodes and edges connect nearby points while preserving the original beam-index ordering. A multi-layer GAT learns adaptive attention weights over local geometric neighborhoods and directly …

From Homes To Classrooms: Cultural Wisdom As A Guide For Stem Lesson Planning, Miriam Ortiz, Uma Ganesan, Angela Chapman, William Medina-Jerez, Ruby Lynch Arroyo, Mourat Tchoshanov

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This article describes innovative elementary science instructional approaches based on cultural wisdom developed by preservice teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a university in the U.S.-Mexico border region. As a part of a larger study, three Latina preservice elementary teachers were a part of a teacher residency in conducting community interviews and reflection activities to uncover cultural backgrounds that could inform culturally relevant STEM lesson planning, centering on family and home knowledge. This project began with family interviews during winter break and culminated in lesson planning and implementation during their science methods course in the spring semester. The …

Guided By Innovation: A Phenomenological Study Of Virtual Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Generative Artificial Intelligence Integration, Lisa M. Berry

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of elementary virtual teachers who integrate generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools in their pedagogical practices at a large elementary virtual school. Participants were purposively sampled because those in the specified virtual school program provided relevant, experience-based insights and allowed the researcher practical, feasible access (Creswell & Poth, 2018). The participant sample for this study consisted of virtual elementary teachers who taught students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers. The researcher followed Creswell and Poth’s (2018) data analysis spiral to systematically …

Unveiling Functional-Metabolic Synergy In The Healthy Brain: Multivariate Integration Of Dynamic [18f]Fdg-Pet And Resting-State Fmri, Claudia Tarricone, Giulia Vallini, Giorgia Baron, Massimiliano Facca, Erica Silvestri, Tommaso Volpi, Andrei G Vlassenko, Manu S Goyal, Alessandra Bertoldo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Despite accounting for only 2% of body weight, the human brain requires significant amounts of glucose, even at rest, underscoring the importance of functional-metabolic relationships. Previous studies revealed moderate associations between resting-state fMRI functional connectivity (FC) and local metabolism via [

Don’T Sweat Interaction Trees Proof-Guided Local Variable Lifting For Interaction Trees, Yiming Lin, Ian Kariniemi, Yao Li

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Verifying existing software is hard: Programs are developed in languages not amenable to verification, involve complicated optimizations that obscure the underlying logic, and are gigantic in size. In this paper, we propose a way to ease this pain via a simplification framework that employs interaction trees as a language-agnostic interface. We show that local variable lifting, the technique underlying AutoCorres for the Simpl language, can be generalized to interaction trees via an implementation in Rocq. A key challenge with simplifying interaction trees is that they are highly dynamic structures and we would like our approach to work with mostly uninterpreted …

Improving Prn Pain Medication Reassessment For Veterans In Acute Care, Safo Adu-Gyamfi

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Chronic pain is a significant health problem, and veterans experience higher pain severity than nonveterans. On an acute care unit of a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, pro re nata (PRN) pain medication reassessment was inconsistent and below the facility’s 92% benchmark. PRN pain reassessment compliance averaged 81.6% from November 2025 to January 2026. The Joint Commission requires timely pain assessments. The facility’s Medical Center Policy (MCP) mandates reassessing PRN pain medication within 120 minutes of administering it. The acute care unit leadership identified limited visual or electronic prompts as contributing factors to the practice gap.

Aim of the Project: …

Factors Influencing Enterprise Adoption Of Ai-Enabled Computers: An Expert Judgment Quantification Approach Across Multiple Sectors, Yu Shan Su, Tugrul Daim, Chia-Hao Hung, Leong Chan, Dana Bakry

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the key factors influencing the adoption of Artificial Intelligence Personal Computers (AIPCs) by enterprises, exploring both the benefits and challenges of their business applications. As enterprises increasingly require real-time computing, autonomous decision-making, and improved cybersecurity, AIPC—combining artificial intelligence and edge computing—has become a strategic technology for boosting competitiveness. Particularly in scenarios with less reliance on cloud services, businesses are more likely to adopt devices with local processing and standalone AI capabilities to meet the dual needs of operational efficiency and data privacy. Through an extensive review of the literature, this study identifies four main dimensions and sixteen …

Co2 Adsorption And Mechanical Performance Of Cement Mortars Incorporating Coconut-Shell-Derived Activated Carbon, Chatchawan Phuchanaphun, Gasidit Panomsuwan, Sureerat Polsilapa, Nuntaporn Kongkajun, Edward A. Laitila, Parinya Chakartnarodom

Michigan Tech Publications

Activated carbon (AC) derived from biomass has attracted increasing attention as a functional additive for developing cement-based materials with enhanced CO2 uptake. In this study, coconut-shell-derived AC was incorporated into a commercial dry premixed plaster mortar at replacement levels of 0–10 wt% to investigate the relationships among fresh-state behavior, mechanical and physical properties, and composite-level CO2 uptake. A constant-workability design was employed, with the mixing-water content adjusted to maintain a target flow range of 105 ± 5%. Under these conditions, mixtures containing 1–5 wt% AC exhibited higher 28-day compressive strengths than the control, reaching a maximum of 7.45 MPa for …

Salary Report, 2026 October, Eastern Michigan University

EMU Salary Reports

No abstract provided.

Chemnetworks: New Capabilities For High-Throughput, Real-Time Chemical Graph Construction And Analysis, Daniel J. Pope, Jackson Elowitt, Bo Zhang, Manish Parashar, Aurora E. Clark

Michigan Tech Publications

A major revision of the ChemNetworks software (originally published in the Journal of Computational Chemistry, 2014, 35, 495–505) is presented. While the original ChemNetworks provided foundational graph construction capabilities for chemical systems, it was limited to simple distance and 3-body angular edge criteria, was not designed for high-performance computing environments or real-time operation alongside running simulations. This release addresses these limitations through three core contributions. First, a recursive Z-matrix-based search algorithm is introduced that enables chemically intuitive, arbitrarily descriptive three-dimensional structure searches, supporting geometric, energetic, and logical criteria. Second, the DataSpaces data staging framework is incorporated as an optional I/O …

Ai-Driven Biomarker Discovery & Progression Modeling For Precision Diagnosis Of Glaucoma, Cheng Huang

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) for glaucoma diagnosis and retinal image analysis. Leveraging multimodal imaging data including fundus photography, Optical Coherence Tomography Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA), the research develops a suite of deep learning frameworks designed to detect early glaucomatous changes with high precision, robustness, and interpretability. A series of novel architectures are introduced, spanning vessel segmentation networks, biomarker discovery pipelines, and multimodal fusion models, all designed to enhance diagnostic accuracy and generalizability across diverse populations. To facilitate reproducible and scalable ophthalmic AI research, this work …

Enrollment Profile Report Fall 2026, Systems Intelligence And Data Analytics, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Enrollment Reports

No abstract provided.

2026 Fall - Veterans Upward Bound Newsletter, Veterans Upward Bound, East Tennessee State University

Veterans Upward Bound Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Uno Business: College Of Business Administration 2026-2027, Melissa Lindell Kozak, Jared Craig

CBA Dean's Office

No abstract provided.

A Response To How Ai Destroys Institutions, Andrew M. Perlman

SMU Law Review Forum

No abstract provided.