Digital Commons Network^™

Flowermd: A Flexible Library Of Organic Workflows And Extensible Recipes For Molecular Dynamics And Machine-Learned Coarse-Grained Simulations Of Isotropic And Anisotropic Systems, Marjan Albooyeh

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are essential tools for understanding and predicting material behavior at the atomic and molecular scale. While numerous open-source software packages exist for different stages of MD simulations, assembling a seamless, end-to-end workflow for complex multi-step simulations remains a significant challenge. In this work, we develop FlowerMD, a flexible and extensible Python-based software package that automates molecular simulation workflows, improving both reproducibility and ease of use.

FlowerMD provides modular components that simplify the end-to-end execution of MD workflows, from system initialization and force field application to simulation execution. It also automates multi-step simulation workflows through Recipes—predefined, modular …

From Cuny To Columbia: A Comparative Analysis Of Student Movements At Private And Public Institutions, Mirabel Sandler

Public Administration & Policy

In this paper, I will argue that while student movements at Columbia were often able to achieve short-term institutional changes, in part due to the University’s flexibility to cede to their demands due to their status as a private institution, these wins often do not hold in the long term. While they may impact broader social conditions, the long term impact on political conditions is somewhat limited by the institution’s insular and elite nature. In contrast, student movements at CUNY, though often less able to affect immediate institutional reform due to financial constraints and bureaucratic resistance, had a more profound …

Additively Manufactured Dic Patterns For Extreme Environments And The Emerging Technology Impact On The Licensing Of Nuclear Reactors, Kaelee Ann Novich

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

At the end of 2023, countries from the United Nations Climate Change Conference announced to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The United States makes up approximately 30% of the world’s nuclear capacity; however, only 19% of the energy generated in the Nation is from nuclear power plants. Majority of nuclear reactors are over 40 years old, resulting in reactor closures and no new ones being built. Accordingly, it will be impossible to triple nuclear capacity in the next 25 years by relying on only existing reactors. The nuclear fleet must expand to include advanced reactors to meet energy demand …

The Transformative Impact Of User-Created Mods Within Fallout: New Vegas, Tanner Webb

Theses

Video game modding is one of the fastest growing trends in the gaming industry and it is changing how players interact with games. Review of current literature and research shows that these modders are an integral part of the gaming market. Using the principles of participatory culture and digital aesthetics, this research investigates how modding practices serve as both a form of creative expression and an inspiration for technological innovation within the video game industry. Video game modifications serve as catalysts for creative expression, foster the development of innovative user communities, prolong the life of game titles, cultivate a pool …

Exploring Metal Additive Manufacturing In Martian Atmospheric Environments, Zane Mebruer

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

On-surface manufacturing is key to the success of a planetary colonization, especially that of Mars. However, traditional subtractive manufacturing processes are equipment, energy, and material intensive, meaning novel additive manufacturing (AM) processes must be pursued for this end. Selective laser melting, one of the most effective and versatile AM methods, would be incredibly beneficial to a Martian mission but requires an artificial argon atmosphere to create effective parts. The purpose of this study was to examine if carbon dioxide, the gas that makes up over 95% of Mars’ surface atmosphere, would be a sufficient substitute for argon in SLM fabrication. …

Causes And Contributing Factors In General Aviation Fixed-Wing Stall And Spin Accidents, Lauren Westfall

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

General Aviation operations are all civil aviation operations excluding commercial airline operations and cargo transport. General Aviation accidents comprise approximately 94% of all aviation accidents in the United States annually. Stall and spin accidents are the third most common causes of fatal General Aviation accidents, accounting for 7.28% of such accidents in 2013–2022. The National Transportation Safety Board investigates and records all General Aviation accidents in the United States. Using the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident database, I investigated stall and spin accidents between 2013 and 2022 to find (1) the most common phases of flight where stall and spin …

Characteristics Of Patterned Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Devices For Ionic Wind Propulsion, Ethan J. Graef

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Electroaerodynamic (EAD) or ionic wind propulsion is a growing area of research for small noiseless low speed aircraft. Previous flight demonstrations and experimentation have revealed that traditional methods of EAD propulsion utilizing corona discharge incur a large drag penalty due to their collector and emitter geometries. Recent publications detail flexible and geometrically conformable surface dielectric barrier discharge devices (SDBD) that could increase thrust and decrease drag as an ion source for an EAD propulsion system. This thesis explores the effects of different electrode sizes and geometries on total SDBD power consumption. SDBDs of a hexagonal, triangular, and square electrode geometry …

Agent-Based Modeling For Faulty System Analysis, Jayden G. Hamilton

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Numerous approaches exist for computational modeling of complex, dynamic systems. One particular option is the use of agent-based modeling, which simulates the behavior of numerous autonomous agents interacting with each other and with the system at large. Current agent-based modeling research has largely focused on studying the system level behavior of a model, as this is generally the main concern for any real world application. However, the characteristics and behaviors of agents deserves consideration as well. The issue with this area of interest lies in the fact that the agent data cannot be as quickly obtained and analyzed as system …

A Labview-Based Open-Source Data Acquisition Program For Acoustic Emission Sensing, Harrison Greene

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Acoustic emission sensing is a growing field of analysis and testing that benefits from its non-destructive nature, enabling operators to detect faults, the severity of impacts, the propagation of cracks, and much more without damaging the system being tested. However, the use of proprietary software to collect, analyze, and display data hinders the field, as access to this crucial information makes consistent and in-depth data analysis impossible. To this end, this paper details an open-source code made in the programming language LabVIEW for the express purpose of allowing the user to have full access to all data and fully customize …

Using Optical Dielectrophoresis For Microbead And Cell Manipulation, Leigh K. Smith

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dielectrophoresis is a common method used to manipulate particles on the microscopic scale. Optically Induced Dielectrophoresis or ODEP is the specific method used in this research. All experiments were conducted in Dr. Tung’s Micro and Nano Systems lab at the University of Arkansas’ ENRC. An ODEP system was created in the lab for manipulating microbeads (6-10 micrometers (μm) in diameter) and E. coli cells (1-2 μm in diameter).

Experiments were performed on the microbeads to see how changing the parameters of the device affects the force caused by ODEP on the beads. The parameters that could be changed in the …

Optimal Parameters For Electrode Free Local Anodic Oxidation Lithography, Maxwell C. Cleveland

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dr. Steve Tung’s research lab is developing a device for sequencing DNA strands. A key component of this device is a nano sensor fabricated using monolayer graphene. To create the sensor, the graphene must be precisely patterned. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, is an ideal material for detecting electrical signals from DNA bases due to its excellent conductivity.

The current fabrication method uses Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) in combination with Electrode-Free Local Anodic Oxidation (LAO) lithography. While AFM is typically employed for nanoscale imaging, pairing it with LAO lithography enables the patterning of graphene into nanoribbons capable of …

Synthesis And Characterization Of New Inorganic Materials In Different Length Scales; From Nanometer To Micrometer, Kirkland Sheriff

All Dissertations

In this dissertation there are a new series of Preyssler polyoxometalate (POM) crystalline solids created using electrochemical potential. It was found that using electrochemical potential, where nucleation and reduction occur simultaneously, was a convenient method for exploratory synthesis creating new crystalline solids in aqueous solution and at room temperature. The general structure feature reveals that Preyssler POM was covalently linked by various metals from the d and f block including Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, La³⁺, Nd³⁺, Gd³⁺ and Ho³⁺ where the POM was reduced by 2 to 4 electrons. The resulting solids …

Comparative Study Of Non-Iterative Seqential Method For Biot's Poroelasticity Model, Jeff Frimpong Amponsah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Linear poroelasticity theory describes the interaction between the motion of fluids and deformation of porous media. The theory serves various applications in a wide range of science and engineering fields, such as soil mechanics, oil reservoir modeling, and bio-medical applications. Partial differential equations are used to model the complex interaction between fluid flow and solid deformation in porous media. Since analytical solutions to these equations are rarely available for realistic problems, we resort to numerical solutions. One major advantage is their ability to provide accurate approximations of the solutions. Various numerical methods have been proposed to solve Biot's poroelasticity system. …

Sustainable Agriculture Through Data-Driven Land And Soil Management For Rural Farming Communities, Peggy Clareece Discenza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis aims to investigate sustainable farming practices by utilizing a database containing soil, weather, and water data. Additionally, it evaluates cropping strategies using a system that incorporates nutrient dynamics and environmental values. The objective is to monitor, develop predictive models, and assess the impact of both controlled and uncontrolled nutrient variables. This is achieved through the development of an algorithm that provides information on soil health based on datasets and land use, with a particular focus on residual values after harvesting for deeper analytical insights and interpretation. This study focuses on key nutrients, including pH levels, water availability, and …

Forecasting Load At Residential, Industrial, And Commercial Stations For Dubai Electricity And Water Authority: A Machine Learning Approach To Managing Generation During Peak And Off-Peak Times Over The Coming Years, Mohammad Anoohi

Theses

In Dubai, with the rapid growth of energy demand, efficient demand side management is necessary to optimize the distribution of electricity, reduce peak loads, and improve grid stability. Traditional DSM strategies are based on historical data and reactive control mechanisms that cannot adapt to evolving consumption patterns. This research uses Machine Learning techniques to enhance DSM in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors by developing predictive models that forecast energy demand based on seasonal variations. The dataset used was from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), covering the consumption patterns across Summer, Winter, Transition from Winter to Summer, and Transition from …

"Integrative" Vs "Integration": Stem Skills And Concept Development In 6th Grade Students, Kathryn Chain

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As a whole, interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools is on the rise at a national level, and it is widely recognized that the development of skills and concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math are not only beneficial to students, but are in fact necessities for future citizens of an increasingly global world (Kelley & Knowles, 2016.) Despite this increasing acceptance and awareness of the need for STEM literacy, there is a critical lack of guidelines on what STEM education actually entails and how to effectively integrate these concepts and skills into the educational …

Soft Substance Usage And Productivity In The Patrol Officer Population, Patrick Brady

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Consumable substances have long been used to enhance performance and ease nerves in first-responder populations. Among these substances, caffeine and nicotine products are some of the most frequently used by law enforcement. For the purposes of this study, these substances will be coded as “soft substances” (SSs). As opposed to hard substances (heroin, methamphetamines, crack-cocaine, etc.) SSs are non-criminalized substances that do not significantly change one’s state of consciousness; these substances are also commonly used during the workday (e.g. nicotine used on smoke breaks, caffeinated drinks consumed during the day). Usage rates of SSs in the law enforcement population surpass …

The Future Of Work: Examining New Graduate Sentiment On Remote Work And Return To Office Mandates, Ishani Adidam

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic dwindles, companies that had leveraged Work from Home (WFH) flexibility are now implementing Return to Office (RTO) mandates. While 70% of employees prefer a hybrid work model, 61.4% are expected to work full-time in-office due to these mandates, leading to widespread employee discontent. This study investigates whether such dissatisfaction extends to new graduates entering the workforce. A pilot survey revealed that 68% of new graduates prefer a hybrid work modality, yet 52% stated that work modality would not significantly impact their job decision-making process, and 46% said they would be unlikely to leave …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Intersection Between Sex Trafficking And Domestic Violence: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The United States And India, Rachel A. Napier

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Domestic violence survivors are affected by long-term trauma from abuse, which can lead to them being more vulnerable and susceptible to sex trafficking tactics. Sex trafficking survivors are also at risk of becoming involved in an abusive relationship because they may have been previously exposed or due to a normalization of abuse. Both domestic violence and sex trafficking are prevalent issues within the world that continue to be ongoing due to their hidden nature. This study highlights the connections between domestic violence and sex trafficking and how each can be portrayed differently based on the environment and cultural norms within …

Die Weltwettbewerbsvorteile Deutschlands, Theresa Isbilir

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Der Weltwettbewerb ist schärfer als immer. Im Jahr 2020 wurde China der Erste im Maschinenbau auf der Welt. Früher war das Deutschland. Die vier Branchen der Wirtschaft Deutschlands sind die Elektro- und Digitalindustrie, chemische Industrie, Maschinenbau und Kfz-Industrie (Automobilindustrie). China begann, Deutschland in all diesen Anteilen zu überholen. Der Staat hat fast keinen Plan darauf zu reagieren, und die technologische Infrastruktur Deutschlands liegt hinter anderen Ländern. Diese sind die ersten Zeichen einer sterbenden industriellen Ökonomie, besonders für ein Land, dessen Exportquote 48,9 Prozent ist.

Phoneme Recognition For Pronunciation Improvement, Matthew Heywood

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This project aims to improve English pronunciation by investigating speech errors and developing a tool to provide precise feedback. The study focuses on creating a new pronunciation tool that offers localized feedback, identifies specific errors, and suggests corrective measures. By addressing the shortcomings of current methods, this research seeks to enhance pronunciation refinement.

Utilizing cutting-edge technology, the tool leverages speech-to-phoneme AI models and modified lazy string matching algorithms to compare the user's spoken input with the intended pronunciation. This allows for a detailed analysis of discrepancies, providing users actionable insights into their phonetic errors. The speech-to-phoneme AI models mark a …

Diagnostic Categories And Epistemic Injustice In Clinical Psychology, Thomas Eilers

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This study investigated how clinical psychologists reasoned about and used diagnostic categories in practice. Diagnostic categories are limited and sometimes reductive systems of understanding people. They can also bring with them epistemic injustice, a type of wrong done to someone specifically in their capacity as a knower. In this case the concern is that a mental health diagnosis is a serious attack on a person’s credibility, wherein their experience is seen as less legitimate insofar as it is caused by an illness. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with clinical psychologists. Psychologists generally described using diagnosis as one of many tools …

Illinois’S Latent Disease Transformation: No More Harsh Rulings, Joseph R. Egan

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Recent amendments to Illinois statutes related to latent diseases have been the topic of current litigation. Traditionally, Illinois has placed a time limit on filing latent disease suits; however, after several self-described “harsh rulings,” the legislature amended this time-barring statute. Additionally, unlike before, plaintiffs are now allowed to go directly after employers. Employers have raised several issues concerning the constitutionality of the amendments to these statutes.

This Comment argues that the recent amendments by the Illinois legislature are constitutional because they do not violate ‘special legislation’ and are not applied retroactively. Trial judges and the Illinois Attorney General have all …

Adjustable Dynamometer Motor Mount, Garrett Carson Ng, Elijah Siegel Reuven, Ethan Fong, Daniel Larimer

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Electrical Engineering Department and sponsor Dr. Dolan needs a manufacturable motor fixture that securely aligns motors of various sizes with dynamometers. Previous lab motor fixtures could not accommodate motors of different sizes, making precise alignment between motors and dynamometers time-consuming and unreliable. Our team developed a modular, manufacturable fixture capable of aligning various motor sizes quickly, accurately, and securely, enhancing lab consistency and usability.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Curriculum Orientations Of High School Teachers, Matthew G. Howard

Education Doctorate Dissertations

Teacher beliefs, particularly about the aims of education, impact what they teach, how they teach, and how they assess learning. Understanding how those beliefs were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic offers insights about COVID’s long-term influence on education. This cross-sectional quantitative study utilized Eisner and Vallance’s (1974) curriculum orientations framework to examine the beliefs of high school teachers, as well as their perceived changes in belief after the pandemic. The study utilized the previously validated Survey of Curriculum Orientations (SCO) as an instrument. A total of 305 high school teachers from a large school district in a major metropolitan area …

Teaching The Arc Of Electric Spark: Igniting Curiosity, Creativity, And Innovation Throughout The Law School Curriculum, Jason G. Dykstra

Northern Illinois University Law Review

A heighted velocity of change enveloped the legal profession over the last three decades. From big law to rural practitioners, the traditional law firm model of billing time by the hour proved ripe for disruption. Technological advances automated many once-billable activities; enhanced client sophistication and cost-consciousness restricted law firm revenue by imposing billing guidelines and alternative fee arrangements; clients increasingly retain legal work in-house; and global competition allowed legal services to be disaggregated and outsourced to the lowest cost provider. The net effect of this disruption is reflected in the revenue of the legal services sector, which adjusted for inflation, …

Icylib: A Scalable Solution For Reproducible Image Classification Workflows, Leo Williams

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

With the rapid expansion of e-commerce over time, ensuring the diversity and quality of product images has become a critical challenge infeasible for human completion. In conjunction with Walmart Global Tech for the Team 1 Data Science Practicum Project, image classification models were trained to assess product image sets, but training and deploying such models often involves repetitive code and inefficient processes. This thesis presents a reusable modeling library, named IcyLib, designed to streamline the training, validation, and testing of image classification models as well as dataset importation using PyTorch. IcyLib provides a structured yet flexible approach for model implementation, …

Extending Simulation-Enhanced Bayesian Optimization Of System Designs: A Computational Study, Luke Kim

Data Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis builds off work initially accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 2025 IISE Annual Conference & Expo, which introduced “Simulation-Enhanced Bayesian Optimization” (SEBO)—a hybrid testing optimization approach that combined the usage of unbiased but costly physical experiments with the usage of cheaper but potentially biased computer experiments to optimize engineered systems. The original study established the SEBO methodology and demonstrated its effectiveness on a multimodal, two-dimensional benchmark function. Expanding on the work performed, we conduct a broader evaluation of the SEBO framework through parameter testing and experimentation under a variety of additional benchmark functions. This investigation …

Fabrination: Procedural Systems In Game Design, Jason Beal

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

Procedural and parametric methods have brought the automated creation of digital assets, with the assistance of tools made with procedural algorithms has allowed for a semi-automated and non-destructive workflow for the creation of finely detailed and high-quality assets in game design and more. This paper explores the important tools and methods that are used to create these assets and custom tools made for the creation of these assets, concerning three-dimensional models and game maps that can be generated at runtime. Tool creators can use rules, noise, modifiers, and generative algorithms to give users the ability to create massive content with …

Encouraging Engaging Gameplay Through Zoologically Based Creature Design, Lily Gresham

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

This culminating experience project showcases a full understanding of the process for making game ready creature models. By designing three creatures meant to provide unique challenges in their creation, the author demonstrates understanding and flexibility in the skills of 3D modelling, digital sculpting, UV unwrapping, and texturing. Each creature is meant to, in its own way, encourage engaging gameplay in the hypothetical video game they belong to.