Digital Commons Network^™

A Tale Of Two Microbialities: Stromatolites And Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures, Nora Noffke, Stanley M. Awramik

OES Faculty Publications

Microbialites are biosedimentary structures built by microbial mats. Five microbialite groups are distinguished: stromatolites, thrombolites, dendrolites, leiloites and microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS). This contribution discusses the two most abundant microbialite groups in marine settings, stromatolites and MISS. Microbial interactions with clastic sediment are very similar in both stromatolite and MISS formation. However, in stromatolites, syngenetic carbonate production caused by photoautotrophic and heterotrophic metabolisms and by calcimicrobes also takes place. More so, carbonate may precipitate within the extracellular polymeric substances. Due to the various carbonate forming processes as well as recrystallisation, the microscopic mat fabrics within stromatolite laminae are rarely …

How-To: Academic Job Interviews (In The United States), Erin K. Peck, Kendall Valentine, Serina S. Wittyngham, Jessie S. Turner

OES Faculty Publications

[Introduction] "I (EKP) bombed my first interview on the tenure-track academic market. After I entered the Zoom room filled with search committee volunteers, the chair performed a quick round of introductions, and I was told that I would have strictly five minutes to answer each question. I smiled nervously, wringing my hands under the desk, and waited to be asked to derive a diagenetic equation or defend the methods I used in my recent manuscript.

“We'll start with something easy. Tell us about yourself,” began the chair.

I opened my mouth. I closed my mouth. My mind went blank. “Um …

Recirculated Submarine Groundwater Discharge Dominates Nutrient Inputs And Enhances Eutrophication Risk In A Coastal Lagoon, Júlia Rodriguez-Puig, Clara Ruiz-González, Marc Diego-Feliu, Irene Alorda-Montiel, Aaron Alorda-Kleinglass, Daniel Romano-Gude, Andrea G. Bravo, Júlia Dordal-Soriano, Javier Gilabert, Sophia Bergeler, Celine Lavergne, Gemma Casas, Marisol Manzano, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, Valentí Rodellas

OES Faculty Publications

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is a widely recognized pathway for nutrient transport to coastal systems. Prior studies overlook the unique biogeochemical signatures of different SGD pathways, neglecting their differences in biogeochemical transformations and spatiotemporal factors. Here, we present an integrated assessment of nutrient delivery through three SGD pathways (fresh SGD, long‐scale recirculated SGD, and short‐scale porewater exchange), alongside surface water inputs, to evaluate their seasonality and impact on nutrient dynamics in a coastal lagoon. We conducted five field surveys in March, July, and November 2021, July 2024, and March 2025 in the Mar Menor lagoon, an ecosystem facing severe ecological …

Aquatic Macrophytes As Nature-Based Solutions: Challenges And Opportunities Across Inland And Coastal Waters, Morgan Botrel, Roxane Maranger, Lindsay L. Trottier, Mathieu Cusson, Lars L. Iverson, Fanny Noisette, Christian Nozais, Katrine Turgeon, Andrea Bertolo, Thibaud André-Alphonse, Simon Bélanger, Arthur De Grandpré, Jean-Olivier Goyette, Sabine Hilt, Ladd Johnson, Valérie Langlois, Martin Laporte, Félix Lauzon, Brigitte Légaré, Anne Ola, Marie-Pomme Presne-Poissant, Matthieu Prugne, Caroline Susini, Richard Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

Macrophytes are foundation species whose use as nature-based solution (NbS) in aquatic ecosystems can help reduce climate change impacts while mitigating biodiversity loss. The discrepancy in research and application of macrophytes as NbS across inland and marine coastal ecosystems is an opportunity to expand the concept and learn from different approaches. We report on an initiative uniting marine and freshwater scientists that compared knowledge on macrophytes as NbS across realms, identified advances and gaps in their use, and synthesized challenges and opportunities for application. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and an expert participatory exercise around recent review papers. We reveal …

Revisiting The Life Cycle Of Margalefidinium Polykrikoides Group Iii, Eduardo Pérez-Vega, Kenneth N. Mertens, Pjotr Meyvisch, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

Dinoflagellates produce cysts as a strategy to withstand environmental stressors, with nutrient depletion generally considered a key trigger for cyst production. Resting cysts are thick-walled, typically composed of one to several layers, and characterized by a prolonged dormancy period. In contrast, pellicle cysts possess a thin, single wall and exhibit no dormancy or a markedly shorter dormancy than resting cysts of the same species. Margalefidinium polykrikoides produces pellicle and resting cysts, whereas its congener, M. fulvescens, has been shown to produce pumpkin-like structures. Using phase-contrast microscopy, time-lapse microscopy, FlowCam, and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (ATR μ-FTIR), …

Chicago, Milwaukee, And St. Paul Railway Company Collection, Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, widely known as the Milwaukee Road, was a major Midwestern rail carrier whose operations spanned from 1847 until its merger with the Soo Line Railroad in 1985–1986. Established originally as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad, the company evolved through successive name changes and expansions to become a vital transportation network linking the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. By the late nineteenth century, its lines stretched across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and beyond, shaping patterns of commerce and settlement. Although the corporation no longer exists as an independent entity, …

Academic Affairs Records, Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

Prior to 1960, the administration of academic programs at South Dakota State College was managed independently by departments and offices. As administrative responsibilities expanded, the position of Dean of Academic Affairs was established in 1960 to centralize oversight, later becoming the Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1973. This role, reporting directly to the university president, oversees college deans and plays a key role in curriculum development, faculty governance, accreditation, and institutional planning. The office has been instrumental in shaping academic policies, managing faculty development, and ensuring compliance with higher education standards.

The Academic Affairs Records Collection (1902–2018) documents the …

Karolevitz Papers, Robert F., Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

The Robert F. Karolevitz Papers document the life and career of South Dakota journalist, author and historian Robert F. Karolevitz (1922-2005). Born in Yankton, Karolevitz began writing as a student and later studied printing and journalism at South Dakota State College, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1948 and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. During World War II he served with the U.S. Army Infantry in the Pacific, rising to the rank of captain and serving as division historian for the 25th Infantry Division, which led to the publication of his first book in 1946. Over …

Goodale: Joann And Eugene Goodale Papers, Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

JoAnn Olson Goodale and Eugene C. Goodale were residents of Brookings, South Dakota, and alumni of South Dakota State University. Eugene C. Goodale (ca. 1935–2022) graduated from South Dakota State College in 1957 with a degree in civil engineering and pursued a career in engineering. JoAnn Goodale, originally from Huron, South Dakota, earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from South Dakota State College in 1959 and later completed a master’s degree in rehabilitation administration and management at DePaul University. She worked in nursing and remained active in community service. The Goodales were active supporters of South Dakota State University, …

South Dakota Resources Coalition Records, Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

The South Dakota Resources Coalition was established in the early 1970s amid expanding federal environmental regulation and growing grassroots activism. In 1972, Governor Richard Kneip encouraged coordination among citizen environmental groups, and Esther R. Edie helped connect organizations statewide. This effort culminated in a South Dakota Environmental Symposium on September 28, 1972, which brought together state officials, specialists, and community representatives to address issues including water management, forestry practices, air quality, recycling, and the creation of a formal statewide organization. The South Dakota Environmental Coalition emerged from this meeting and soon engaged in state and national issues such as the …

David F. Pearson Papers, Sdsu Archives And Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library

Archives Finding Aids

The David F. Pearson Papers document his career and administrative contributions to South Dakota State University from 1957 to 1980, as well as his broader involvement in higher education policy and institutional development in South Dakota. Pearson served as Assistant Professor of Economics, Special Assistant to the President, and later Vice President for Administration, playing a key role in university planning and governance. The collection consists primarily of correspondence (1976–1982) and subject files related to major initiatives and issues during his tenure. Notably, it includes extensive materials on the “Engineering Controversy,” which addressed the organization and funding of engineering education …

Cultivating Critical Consciousness: The Role Of Dialogic And Reflective Writing In An 8th-Grade Literacy Classroom, Lucijan Jovic

Theses & Dissertations

Developing critical consciousness is an integral component of literacy instruction in education. Using Freire’s Conscientização, or Critical Consciousness, Theory, I conducted a qualitative action research study to examine how engaging in the dialogic writing processes contributes to the development of critical consciousness among students in an 8th-grade literacy classroom. Additionally, this study seeks to unpack, further understand, and make meaning of the instructional practices and experiences in my writing course. Utilizing ethnographic methods such as reflective field notes and memos, critical observation, and inductive/deductive coding helped me trace class and dialogue group conversations for arising themes and examine student work …

Transformation Of Public Earth Datasets For 3d Narrative Visualization Of Disaster Events, Connor Bleisch

Theses

Communicating large datasets in ways that are appealing to non-scientific audiences has been a recent focus of big data visualization. Interest has grown for using 3D environments with game-like structures and immersive technology like AR and VR since they are more engaging. We introduce a method, based on the structure of the datasets and domain knowledge of the natural phenomena, for transforming public National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth datasets into 3D narrative data visualizations, specifically of disaster events. Two visualizations were created using this method: one of the KNP Complex Wildfire in 2021 and one of Hurricane Beryl …

Application Of A Scale-Resolving Turbulence Model To Supersonic Retropropulsion Flows In Earth And Martian Atmospheres, Rebecca Thompson

Theses

The Blended Partially-Averaged Navier-Stokes (BPANS) turbulence model was used to simulate complex turbulent compressible flows seen in supersonic retropropulsion (SRP). The model was incorporated in the OpenFOAM solver sonicFoam to investigate SRP flows in Earth and Martian atmospheres. The new sonicFoam with BPANS was first tested for subsonic flows using the shear flow benchmark case of flow around a cylinder. Results show good agreement of velocity profiles with experimental values. SonicFoam was then validated for compressible flows using an experimental SRP configuration. Pressure coefficient distribution along the forebody and aft body of the geometry show good agreement with experimental results. …

The Impact Of Stereotype Threat And Grit On The Experience Of Imposter Syndrome, Lindsey C. Davis

Theses

Imposter syndrome (IP) is a psychological phenomenon in which one has an internal experience of intellectual phoniness. Past researchers have found that overall females tend to report higher levels of IP than men, with Stereotype Threat (ST) being a cited explanation. A common denominator in much of the literature is how belongingness can activate ST in females. It has been found that individuals high in IP, especially females, tend to experience poor mental health outcomes. Past research has also established a link between IP and conscientiousness in females, a personality trait related to the facet of grit. The current study …

Nandworks : A Low-Cost Testbed For Interfacing Onfi-Compatible Nand Flash Memory Devices, Mark Scheidker

Theses

NAND flash memory is the basis for modern digital storage, but direct access to raw flash functionality remains difficult due to limitations in available interface tools. Industrial characterization systems can issue low-level commands but are prohibitively expensive for most researchers and students. USB-based bit-banging tools lack the timing fidelity needed for certain experiments. This thesis introduces NANDWorks, a testbed based on the Raspberry Pi 4 that provides direct access to ONFI-compatible NAND flash devices via GPIO bit-banging in Linux user space, building on prior work for the Terasic DE1-SoC platform. NANDWorks has a layered software stack that includes a hardware …

Observations Of Internal Boundary Layers And Near-Surface Wind Estimation During The Landfalls Of Hurricanes Ida (2021), Zeta (2020), And Laura (2020), Zebulon W. Leffler

Theses

Accurately estimating near-surface winds during hurricane landfalls is crucial for enhancing situational awareness and facilitating post-storm recovery efforts. Previous studies have used coastal radar Velocity Azimuth Display (VAD) winds to estimate 10-m winds during hurricane landfalls; however, a notable weak bias was observed. This work demonstrates that the significant weak bias results from neglecting the wind structure within a shallow internal boundary layer (IBL). Results from an operational radar VAD analysis during the landfalls of Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Zeta (2020) indicate that leveraging the IBL winds is essential for accurate 10-m wind estimates during hurricane landfalls. Additionally, a theoretical …

Impact Of Oxidative Stress On Mapk Signaling In Human Pancreatic Ductal Cell Line, Alexis Fink

Theses

The main processes linked to diabetes (type 1 or type 2) and obesity are impaired insulin production and glucose intolerance. The imbalance between antioxidant defense systems and oxygen-reactive species are known as oxidative stress. Understanding oxidative stress and its substantial effects on diabetes is crucial. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can activate mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). We hypothesize that altered MAPK phosphorylation and hence downstream signaling is associated with changes in oxidative stress in the human pancreatic duct epithelial cell line (H6C7). While H6C7 cells are often engineered to be cancerous precursors, the natural phenotype of these cells and their expression …

Development And Validation Of An Automated Image-Based Framework For Bubble Size And Velocity Measurement In Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket Experiments, Olivia Williams

Theses

Accurate measurement of bubble size and rise velocity is essential for characterizing multiphase flow behavior in Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket (CNTR) experiments, where dynamic imaging conditions complicate traditional analysis methods. This thesis presents the development and validation of an automated image-based framework for extracting bubble equivalent diameter and rise velocity from high-speed experimental videos of injected gas bubbles rising through controlled liquid-filled volumes. Representative datasets include air bubbles injected into water and Sodium Polytungstate (SPT-3). The framework employs a staged analysis workflow with instance-level bubble segmentation using a Mask R-CNN model, secondary classification for detection verification, multi-object tracking, and velocity …

Modeling And Characterization Of Pond And Fresh Ash Leaching In Citric Acid, Christina Fleming

Theses

Resourcing rare earth elements (REEs) from coal ash offers the opportunity to recycle industrial waste and reduce national dependence on foreign suppliers. In this research, the leaching behaviors of pond and fresh ash were studied to evaluate their suitability for REE recovery. Concentrations of REEs in leachates were measured and compared to kinetic models from literature, and the ash was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) to characterize the observed behaviors. The pond ash leachate exhibited lower REE concentrations with steady release patterns, likely due to the acid resistant, REE-bearing aluminosilicate glass phases. In contrast, the …

Experimental Characterization Of Gas-Injected Bubble Dynamics In Various Fluids And Injector Arrays For Centrifugal Nuclear Propulsion Applications, Julia Kondrat'yev

Theses

This study experimentally characterizes gas-injected bubble dynamics in analog fluids to establish baseline behavior for Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (CNTP) systems. Nitrogen was injected through mass flow ranges of 3.3E-05 to 9.6E-05 lbm/s through various injector arrays in a transparent tank apparatus using water or sodium polytungstate (SPT-3) to vary fluid properties. Four injector configuration cases were tested on a 4-in deep, clear-sided chamber at atmospheric surface pressure to examine the effects of fluid viscosity and density, circular injector diameter, injector location, and mass flow rate on bubble diameter, rise velocity, and plume structure. Bubble equivalent diameters, positions, and velocities …

Optical Turbulence Estimation From Numerical Weather Prediction Models: Methods And Error Analysis, Richard Minor

Theses

Optical turbulence plays a critical role in electromagnetic wave propagation through the atmosphere, directly affecting imaging systems, wireless communications, and high-energy laser (HEL) performance. Realistic three-dimensional characterization of atmospheric turbulence is essential for understanding these impacts, particularly within the atmospheric surface layer, where turbulence is often strongest. The refractive index structure parameter, Cn2, is used to quantify optical turbulence. This thesis evaluates the capability of the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model to characterize surface layer Cn2. As the highest resolution and most frequently updated numerical weather prediction model covering the continental US, HRRR offers strong potential for operational HEL …

High Strain Rate Behavior Of Soft Polymeric Materials : Polymer-Bonded Explosive Simulants And Polyimide Aerogels, Benjamin Jeffrey Solomon

Theses

Soft polymeric materials exhibit strain sensitive behaviors and are used in various applications where dynamic loading conditions may be present, making understanding the responses at high rates vital to safe application. Investigation of the mechanical response of soft materials at high strain rates has proven challenging due to low forces, mismatching impedances, and longer times to obtain dynamic force equilibrium limiting the quality and accuracy of data acquisition. Two polymeric materials were evaluated in this study. The first is polymer-bonded explosive (PBX) 9501, which experiences dynamic loading during use as solid propellant and warhead explosive material. It is found that …

What Correctness And Faithfulness Cannot Tell You : Counterfactual Behavioral Diagnosis Of Rag Systems, Saif Raza Khan

Theses

Correctness and faithfulness are standard metrics used for evaluating Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, but they only describe the outcomes and do not surface the underlying behaviors behind them. The same scores can hide a number of underlying behaviors. They can hide whether a system relied on retrieval, answered from parametric knowledge, followed a near-miss context, missed the gold source or failed to use the retrieved evidence. The same scores can hide all of these. This thesis introduces a counterfactual behavioral evaluation framework that tests each query under five controlled context conditions and uses a gold-source coverage gate to identify whether …

Design And Characterization Of A Low-Power Bulk-Driven Two-Stage Ota In 65nm, 90nm, And 130nm Cmos Technologies For 0.4v-0.6v Biomedical Applications, Raihan Khan Akash

Theses

Biomedical instrumentation requires low-power amplifiers to maximize battery life. Due to threshold voltage limitations, standard gate-driven operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) require higher supply voltages. To overcome this, a differential bulk-driven two-stage OTA is introduced for low-power applications. The proposed topology is implemented in 65nm, 90nm, and 130nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), with supply voltages ranging from 0.4V to 0.6V. Key metrics such as DC gain, gain-bandwidth product (GBWP), phase margin, common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR), slew rate, power, and noise are measured. The analysis confirms the robustness of the low-power solution provided by the proposed topology.

Drift Aware Continual Finetuning Of Encoder-Only Text Classifiers Under Temporal Distribution Shift, Simran Kc

Theses

The performance of encoder-only text classifiers degrades silently as their input distribution drifts over time. This thesis presents a closed-loop pipeline for drift-aware continual fine-tuning that combines a sample size invariant drift severity metric, an automated retraining loop on the most drifted samples, and a validation gate that rejects unsafe updates before deployment. We evaluate the pipeline on two datasets, Amazon Electronics Reviews and HuffPost News Category, and observe significant performance improvements over the initially trained model, along with a substantial reduction in compute and labelling costs compared to fresh-per-year and cumulative retraining baselines.

A Narrative Review Of The Central Neural Control Of Swallowing And Its Implications For Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Kuo-Chang Wei, Tyng-Guey Wang, Ming-Yen Hsiao

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

Swallowing is controlled by a distributed neural network spanning the brainstem central pattern generator, subcortical modulatory circuits, and cortical regions responsible for volitional planning and sensorimotor integration. Evidence from lesion studies, neuroimaging, and neurophysiology demonstrates that dysphagia arises from disruptions at different nodes of this network, producing lesion-specific impairment profiles rather than a uniform swallowing deficit. This network-based perspective has shifted rehabilitation from predominantly compensatory management toward mechanism-driven interventions aimed at restoring physiological function. Behavioral skill-training and resistance-based exercises harness motor learning and cortical plasticity, whereas neuromodulatory approaches—including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), pharyngeal electrical …

Evops: Evolutionary Patch Selection In The Embedding Space Of Whole Slide Images, Saya Hashemian

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Computational pathology increasingly relies on the analysis of Whole-Slide Images (WSIs), which capture tissue specimens at gigapixel resolution. Because a single slide is far too large to process directly, the

prevailing paradigm decomposes each WSI into thousands of small patches and encodes them as high- dimensional feature embeddings using deep learning backbones. While effective, this paradigm carries a

substantial cost: the resulting collections of patch embeddings are computationally expensive to store and process, and they are frequently dominated by redundant, homogeneous, or otherwise uninformative tissue regions that dilute the diagnostic signal. Existing patch selection methods largely depend on heuristic or …

Children's Peer Selection In Stem: The Influence Of Gender, Ethnicity, And Disability, Meagan Girard, Kim P. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study examined how children’s peer selection in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) may be influenced by gender, ethnicity, and physical disability. Sixty-four children (ages 6-12) from elementary schools in Southwestern Ontario completed three tasks: a simulated peer selection task, an attribution of ability task, and a stereotype belief questionnaire. In the peer selection task, participants were repeatedly asked to select one peer from a set of AI-generated photographs showing children who differed by gender (male, female), ethnicity (White, Black, East Asian), and physical disability status (able-bodied user vs. nondisabled). The Peer Selection Task was based on the …

Eeg Correlates Of Tactile Synchrony, Devon K. R. Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

New research on the tactile system has suggested that cortical representations of body parts are not fixed, as previously thought, and are instead dynamically maintained through constant sensorimotor information and feedback. Within the somatosensory cortex (S1), the capacity for both permanent and temporary changes have been the topic of ongoing research. The current study aimed to corroborate whether 24 hours of a finger adhesion manipulation is sufficient to elicit behavioural and electrophysiological correlates from cortical reorganization of digit representations in S1, using a behavioural paradigm outlined by Kolasinski et al. (2016). Through electroencephalography (EEG) recording during a tactile discrimination task, …