Digital Commons Network^™

Machine Learning For Asphaltene Polarizability: Evaluating Molecular Descriptors, Arun K. Sharma, Owen Mcmillan, Selsela Arsala, Supreet Gandhok, Rylend Young

Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Asphaltenes are complex polycyclic organic molecules in crude oil that readily aggregate and precipitate under varying thermodynamic conditions. Their structural heterogeneity influences key physicochemical properties, including solubility, stability, and reactivity. Molecular polarizability, a crucial property governing intermolecular interactions and electronic behavior, remains challenging to predict due to this structural diversity. This study employs machine learning models to predict isotropic polarizability using two sets of molecular descriptors: WHIM and GETAWAY. A dataset of 255 asphaltene structures was analyzed using stratified sampling, generating 10 independent training (80 %) and testing (20 %) splits. The Wolfram Language’s Predict function evaluated multiple machine learning …

Straddling Worlds: Culture, Disability, And The Myth Of Academic Perfection: The Experiences Of Asian Indian Students In U.S. Education, Kalpana Thatte

Social Justice in Educational Leadership EdD Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the educational experiences of Asian Indian students with disabilities through the lenses of Disability Studies (DS) and Critical Disability Theory (CDT). It addresses two research questions: (1) How do Asian Indian students with disabilities describe the way the model minority myth shaped their educational experiences? and (2) In what ways do K–12 educational experiences with self-advocacy shape their transition to four-year colleges?

Participants described intense academic and career pressures stemming from cultural expectations and the model minority myth, which portrays Asian Indian communities as innately high-achieving, hard-working, and academically-oriented. These pressures, combined with disability stigma …

Enhancing Sustainability In Dairy Industry: Blockchain-Based Waste Reduction, Diana Hawashin, Khaled Salah, Raja Jayaraman, Raja Wasim Ahmad, Salil Kanhere, Ernesto Damiani

Industrial Engineering: Faculty & Staff Publications

In recent years, the global demand for dairy products has reached unprecedented levels in the food and beverage market. Despite being produced in large quantities to meet daily needs, high organic content in milk causes it to expire quickly, leading to food waste. Current dairy supply chain management systems lack traceability, auditability, and trust relationships, contributing to the problem. To address this issue, we propose a private Ethereum blockchain-based solution that holds all participants accountable and assesses their actions in a decentralized, auditable, traceable, secure, private, and trustworthy manner. Our system consists of various phases managed by four smart contracts …

Comparison Of Gravity Waves Observed By Atmospheric Waves Experiment (Awe) And Simulated By High-Resolution Waccm-X, Jiarong Zhang, Han-Li Liu, Yucheng Zhao, Dominique Pautet, Ludger Scherliess, Michael Taylor

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Outline

Data: AWE and High-Resolution Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (HR-WACCMX) simulation

• Quantify gravity wave (GW) activity
• Compare GW activity observed by AWE and simulated by high-resolution WACCMX
• GW activity over Western Europe

Improvements To Cal Poly's Hybrid Ac/Dc House, Brandon Ng, Andrew Nguyen, Logan Tom

Electrical Engineering

This senior project details the improvements made to Cal Poly’s Hybrid AC/DC House project. The previous state of the house experienced issues with proper reading of the current power being drawn from the connected AC sources, as well as with the system’s multiple-input single-output converter, where thermal overheating of specific FETs prevented the system from reaching its maximum output power. The updates made to the AC/DC house include improved code to prevent faulty readings and display failure and a cleaned-up power monitoring board that removes noisy signals and allows for the correct power implementation to be displayed. In addition, the …

Compact Modular Photovoltaic System With Mppt Controller, Alain Ardash Kanadjian, Alex Aarnio, Christopher Arango

Electrical Engineering

Energy demands have been on the rise, as environmentally harmful power generation systems stay popular due to lower costs and compact designs compared to renewable energy infrastructure. We challenge this problem with a modular photovoltaic microgrid system for power generation in underutilized spaces. The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller employed is low-cost and power efficient. This controller monitors energy generation and usage in real time, with data logging through an online user-friendly interface. With support for a variety of solar panel and battery configurations, this scalable system helps provide a cost and space efficient solution to clean energy …

Development Of A Modular Dual-Phase And Single-Phase Buck Converter Laboratory Module, Maxwell John Kreizinger, Ethan David Robson

Electrical Engineering

This senior project entails the design, creation, and testing of a circuit board to exhibit the differences and advantages of the multiphase buck converter over the single-phase buck converter for use in a future power electronic laboratory experiment at Cal Poly State University. As energy demand requirements continually increase from more advanced and widespread use of technology, it is important to find a method of power delivery that maximizes efficiency while taking up as little area on a circuit board as possible. This is where the multiphase buck converter topology is desirable over the traditional single-phase buck converter topology. For …

A Battery Charging System From A Spinning Dc Generator, William L. Robey, Darcy A. Eliasi, Kalel Gadduang, Ella Blecher

Electrical Engineering

This project presents the design and construction of a battery charging system powered by a wind energy emulator. An adjustable-speed DC motor drive coupled to a DC generator was used to imitate a wind turbine rotating at different speeds, supplying a variable DC voltage to a custom PCB with an LTC4020, a four-switch buck-boost converter and battery charger. The converter steps up or down the input voltage, ranging from 12 to 24 volts, to safely charge a lithium-ion battery using a constant current constant voltage charging cycle (CC/CV). The system highlights the practicality and increasing use of renewable and wind-powered …

A Turtlebot3 Hardware Testbed For Distributed Kalman Filter Localization, Dmitri Dobrynin, Indigo T. Garcia

Electrical Engineering

This report presents the preliminary design for a distributed localization framework for a multi-robot system. Many robotics research papers provide simulations of proposed algorithms in regards to formation control and task allocation. However, it is often that these proposals are without hardware experiments, being limited only to simulation. The objective of this framework is to provide a hardware implementation of a distributed Kalman filtering algorithm for multi-agent localization, as well as provide grounds for future multi-agent experiments. The framework is implemented on a swarm of three Turtlebot3 mobile robots. The robots can accurately localize themselves with respect to other agents …

Field Deployable Mobile Manipulator For Autonomous Apple Harvesting, Gabriel K. Basus, Antonio Bowen, Andrew Daouda

Electrical Engineering

Increasing labor costs and agricultural demands have created a need for automated apple harvesting. However, automated apple harvesting via robotic manipulation must overcome certain challenges to be an effective and efficient method. First, the system must compete with or perform better than manual human labor. Second, it must safely and accurately navigate an apple orchard autonomously. Third, the robotic manipulator must be able to securely grasp and pick apples without causing damage. To address these challenges, this project utilizes a Husky UGV equipped with a 2D LiDAR sensor, an RGB-D camera, an IMU, an OpenManipulator-X robot arm, and a soft …

Studies On The Effects Of Cap Management On The Oxidation–Reduction Potential, Phenolic Composition, And Sensory Properties Of Red Wines, Dallas J. Parnigoni

Master's Theses

Cap management during alcoholic fermentation of red wines plays a critical role in modulating the phenolic and volatile extraction from grape solids, influencing the homogenization of chemical and temperature gradients, while imparting oxygen to the must. Different cap management alternatives are also thought to influence the evolution of the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). It is critical to understand how different cap management protocols affect these variables to design a cap management protocol tailored to wine style and varietal. This thesis investigated the effects common commercially applied cap management protocols, as well as the efficacy of novel, automated gas mixing protocols as …

Toward Integrated Urban Observatories: Synthesizing Remote And Social Sensing In Urban Science, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Urbanization is reshaping landscapes and posing unprecedented sustainability challenges, necessitating more integrative approaches to urban observation. This review synthesizes recent advancements in traditional remote sensing and emerging social sensing technologies, emphasizing their convergence within urban science. A systematic thematic analysis of 667 peer-reviewed articles highlights the methodological progress, practical applications, and theoretical innovations arising from this integration. Traditional remote sensing effectively captures urban physical features but lacks insights into human behaviors. Conversely, social sensing, leveraging digital traces from social media and mobile data, introduces essential human-centered dimensions into urban monitoring. The fusion of these complementary paradigms through advanced data analytics …

Influence Of Eichhornia Crassipes-Derived Cellulose Nanocrystals And Zno Nanoparticles On Moisture And Biological Properties Of Pva/Pvp Nanocomposites For Smart Agriculture, Mohamed Morsy

Nanotechnology Research Centre

No abstract provided.

The German Defense-Industrial Zeitenwende: Implications For Transatlantic Security, Brett Swaney

INSS Strategic Perspectives

The Zeitenwende, or “watershed moment”—announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—outlined a set of policy shifts, including the development of Germany’s first-ever National Security Strategy, that appeared to signal a greater role for Germany in the defense and security of Europe. The German National Security Strategy draws a clear connection between the need for a robust defense-industrial base and the foundation for the capabilities needed to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense and deterrence commitments, support Ukraine, and provide for the recapitalization of allies and partners. To date, however, there has been …

The Marketing Of Populism And The Political-Economy Of War: Learning From The Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Aras Ozgun, Deniz Atik

Marketing Faculty Publications

This conceptual study explores the social and political-economic conditions that spawn competing campaigns of democracy, populism, and autocracy from a macromarketing perspective. It delves into the less visible and deeper contexts that produce contemporary autocracies and international crises they provoke by analyzing the autocratic regime in Russia that resulted in its invasion of Ukraine. Instead of the reductive framing of this conflict as a contest between unsystematic notions of democracy and autocracy, this study offers a nuanced understanding of contemporary autocracies by investigating the links between populist political movements, neoliberal ideology, and state-sponsored capitalism as a growth oriented political-economic form. …

Am I A Scientist? Using Pláticas To Understand Stem Identity Development Among High School Latinx Students In Advanced Science Classes, Sara Sorto Carvalho

Social Justice in Educational Leadership EdD Dissertations

This qualitative study explores how Latinx students experience Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors science classes in high school, and how these experiences shape their STEM identity. Despite making up the largest demographic group at Solaris High School in Northern California, Latinx students are significantly underrepresented in advanced science courses. Using a pláticas methodology grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latinx Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), this study centers student voice to understand how systemic problems, such as tracking and deficit thinking, impact students’ access to and navigation of rigorous science classes. The study includes individual and …

Becoming A More Effective Instructor Using Primary Source Projects, Tricia Muldoon Brown

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Inquiry-based Learning (IBL) is a pedagogical practice with much supporting research for its effectiveness with all students, but especially among traditionally underrepresented student groups in mathematics. However, IBL classrooms are not easy to implement; in particular, instructors need to know how to write appropriate materials, lead effective class discussions, and deal with student expectations. Primary Source Projects (PSPs) helped me address my deficiencies in these areas and become a more effective instructor. In this narrative, I relate my experiences using PSPs to transform my lecture classroom into a fully student-centered class, starting modestly by utilizing IBL with only one PSP …

A Strand In The Web: My Amish Roots Among The Swiss Anabaptists, Duane Schlabach

Swiss American Historical Society Review

The early morning summer sun cuts through the murmuring leaves of the towering maple tree rooted deeply on the edge of the large common area in Interlaken, Switzerland. It’s 2018, and the pealing bells from the Schlosskirche [castle church] still cut through the ground fog hanging along the water’s edge, crescendo over the lakes, and reverberate off the cliff walls like it has for countless generations. The pull of ancestral voices from the misty northern shorelines of Lake Thun in Oberhofen settles deep into the marrow of my identity. I stand in my Heimatort [place of origin] the land where …

Leading With Narrative, Tanvi Gautam

Asian Management Insights

Storytelling as a catalyst for strategy execution.

Forging The Future, Kenneth Benoit

Asian Management Insights

How AI is rewriting the rules of knowledge, expertise, and practice.

Measurement And Process Relation For Cast Surface Defects, Nachiket Laxman Shinde

Masters Theses

This thesis presents an in-depth investigation into the classification and prediction of surface defects in aluminum sand castings using a combination of experimental trials and machine learning techniques. Key process variables such head height, pouring temperature, resin %, sand type and process were systematically varied to study their influence on defects like veining, and burn-on. Comparative analysis indicated superior performance of the deep learning model in handling nonlinear interactions between process parameters. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating data-driven models with foundry practices to enhance surface quality, reduce rework, and support intelligent decision-making in casting operations.

Custom Data Acquisition System For The Cal Poly Racing Baja Team, Joe Keenan

Computer Engineering

The Cal Poly Racing Baja team relies on data to analyze and improve upon various vehicle systems in an off-road style vehicle. In order to accomplish this, some data logging or data acquisition (DAQ) is required to collect the data. This project explores the use of a controller area network with flexible data rate (CAN FD) bus along with a custom file format to store data on an SD card that can be made easily acceptable to engineers on the team.

Open-Source Cubesat Flight Software And Simulation, James Gruber

Computer Engineering

An open-source FreeRTOS-based flight software framework for CubeSats, with an example flight software package and simulation demonstrating real-time attitude control.

Mecc Wave Energy Converter, Kenna N. Toohill, Samuel Rothstein, Ellie Abundo, Paige Dixon

Mechanical Engineering

The Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, hosted by the US Department of Energy, challenges teams to design, build, and test products for emerging markets in the blue economy. Our team has chosen to focus on the Argo program, which uses floats to collect marine-related data. Most Argo floats are purely powered by lithium batteries and have a lifespan of about 3-5 years. We aim to increase the lifetime of these floats by developing a system that harnesses wave, pressure, or thermal energy to recharge their batteries.

Efficient Thermal Design Of Data Centers, Keats M. Baggett, Andrew Ergood, Colin Brace, Jack Zilligen

Mechanical Engineering

Our sponsor needs a way to categorize and quantify the top 3 colocation center sites based on a series of criteria for given power specs. The sponsor also needs a single innovative cooling method to meet thermal and power requirements while also being manufacturable at scale. This device must also be able to interact with the given Colocation Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. This design will be tested to provide insight and data that will be applicable to further the development of colocation center cooling. This project will be executed by the Cal Poly senior project team and …

Aerospace Fastener Installation Tool, Anthony I. Berghout, Matthew K. Eggers, Liam Dunsmore, Jose Pardo

Mechanical Engineering

Contamination, particularly in aerospace manufacturing environments, is a significant concern, especially with fastener designs that incorporate torque-rated breakaway pieces for easier installation. These breakaway pieces are also known as pintails. Howmet has tooling that can collect loose pintails during installation, but they have small capacities and are not ergonomic for aerospace technicians. Their current need is for a light and ergonomic tool capable of installing a wide variety of Ergo-Tech® fasteners while having a large capacity to collect pintails and improve aerospace manufacturing methods. For this Critical Design Stage, we have finalized a design that allows Pintails to pass through …

2-Axis Solar Panel Tracker, Danica Wong, Oliver Barnaal, Anton Orme

Mechanical Engineering

Solar panels generate energy from sunlight. To do this it’s important that they remain pointed at the sun throughout the day. The Cal Poly Micro Grid Lab runs a class that uses a student made solar panel and tracking mount as an instructional tool. This project is beginning to show signs of wear from outdoor use and is unable to run without constant input due to some significant design flaws. The lab needs a new version of the mount to be made that is significantly more reliable and easier to use.

Edwards Lifesciences: Esheath+ Scoring Automation, Tony Lee Avina, Kirth Hirth, Charith Sunku, Humberto Salazar-Banuelos

Mechanical Engineering

Due to a non-disclosure agreement with our sponsor, Edwards Lifesciences, the contents of the report have been omitted.

Custom Low-Profile Vacuum Valve, Aiden A. Theocheung, Nate R. Greco, Gavin T. Weber, Nate A. Ferrari

Mechanical Engineering

In Autometrix’s proprietary gantry style cutting table, a vacuum pulled through a channel array creates suction to hold soft materials firmly in place. To provide modularity for their customers a unique valve must be designed to segment the transverse channels in two or more sections. The solution must use minimal fasteners, maximize longevity, prove affordable, and be easily manufacturable.

Cal Poly Battle Bot, Miguel Martinez, Andrew Jones, Lawrence Lam, Jedidiah Tzou, Robert Giacomini

Mechanical Engineering

Problem Statement: Create a competition ready, 250 lb combat robot for the Battle Bots Proving Grounds competition. The robot needs to be capable of withstanding and dealing significant damage in addition to being able to operate while inverted. It will also need to be visually unique compared to existing designs.