Digital Commons Network^™

Wheel Slip Detection For An Electric Racecar, Aaryan Agrawal, Liam Cotter, Wyatt Ellison, Will Foox, Sasha Ries

ENGS 89/90 Reports

This project developed a reliable wheel slip detection system for Dartmouth Formula Racing's (DFR) electric racecar, the first step for implementing traction control. The existing wheel speed sensors on DFR's vehicle ("Cherri") were not producing reliable or readable data. This limits the team's ability to implement effective traction control. Our solution includes a comprehensive hardware and software package that accurately measures, filters, and processes wheel speed data to calculate slip ratio - a key parameter for implementing traction control. The system utilizes high-resolution rotary encoders mounted on the front wheels that sample at 5-20ms intervals, runs hardware based quadrature decoders …

Mahjouba Initiative Ebike Charging In Morocco, Margaret Atkins, Christian Hudanich, Justin Kim, Lane Myshrall

ENGS 89/90 Reports

The Mahjouba Initiative, led by artist Eric van Hove, merges Moroccan craftsmanship with modern engineering to develop locally sourced, sustainably produced e-bikes for rural communities. A team from Dartmouth College’s ENGS 90 conducted a feasibility analysis of a scalable, affordable e-bike charging station for deployment in Tissint, Tata, Morocco, where transportation infrastructure limitations hinder economic development. This analysis supports a battery-swapping pilot as a crucial step in advancing the Mahjouba Initiative’s mission to develop domestically powered transportation. The proposed charging station includes on-grid and off-grid (solar-powered) options, ensuring flexible deployment based on available energy infrastructure. Key design considerations include charging …

Rainwater Harvesting Instrumentation Design, Daysia Charles, Jacob Dresser, Margaret Frazier, Sophie Goldberg, Rubi Leon, Clare Mitchell

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Mexico City faces a severe water crisis, with millions of residents lacking reliable access to clean water. Isla Urbana, a non-profit organization that develops rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems to address this issue, has installed over 43,000 systems to provide essential water for underserved communities. However, a key challenge remains: there is no reliable way to measure the amount of water harvested by these systems. The current water meters in use are expensive, technically complex, and often require Wi-Fi for operation, making them inaccessible in many locations. To address this, the team found a cost-effective, simple, and accessible water meter and …

Pulse Electrothermal De-Icing Air Source Heat Pumps For More Efficient Residential Renewable Energy Systems, Madeleine Carr, Abby Hughes, Thea Kunzle, Justin Sapun

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) are increasingly being adopted as energy-efficient alternatives to traditional oil and gas furnaces for heating and cooling homes. However, in colder climates, these systems often face significant challenges due to frequent icing on the outdoor condenser fins during winter months. This icing condition drastically hinders performance by reducing efficiency, leading to higher energy consumption and increased operational costs. In the most common conventional defrosting method, the reversing valve sends refrigerant from the indoor space to the outdoor unit to melt the ice, effectively cooling the room. This defrosting process is both energy intensive and intermittently …

Modular Hvac Carbon Sequestration And Utilization Module, Brian Castanon Nunez, Maryori Maloney Lopez, Alan Ngouenet, Solenne Wolfe, Lukas Song

ENGS 89/90 Reports

This project presents a modular post-combustion carbon capture system designed to integrate with existing HVAC infrastructure. Buildings contribute 39% of global energy-related carbon emis- sions, with 28% from operational sources including heating and cooling systems. Our solution addresses this significant emission source through retrofittable technology. The system employs 3M Liqui-Cel EXF membrane technology in air sweep mode, selected for cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and minimal spatial requirements. This design choice accom- modates remote locations and buildings with limited resources, as demonstrated in our Dartmouth Skiway case study. The membrane technology achieves 90% carbon capture efficiency with minimal modification to existing systems. …

Investigation Of Molten Salt Electrolysis For Scalable Lunar Mining Applications, Matthew Anderson, Christopher Colsman, Trevor Gittes Taplin, Louis Latulippe, Jack Wright, Autumn Zhong

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Permanent lunar habitation faces considerable challenges, including the availability of consumable resources for fuel and construction. Sourcing these raw materials from Earth represents a significant cost to future missions, reducing the capacity for equipment and personnel. Toward the goal of permanent settlements on the Moon, it is not enough to simply produce materials from lunar regolith. We must achieve industrial-scale production of oxygen, iron, silicates, and other materials on the lunar surface, comparable to the terrestrial extraction industries. Molten Salt Electrolysis (MSE) has the potential to extract oxygen from lunar regolith at scale. The process of MSE has been experimentally …

Suspension And Wheel End Design For An Electric Race Car, Corinne Ahern, Joe Mcinnis, Michael Minieri, Elvio Polanco, Declan Unverferth

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Dartnouth Formula Racing placed 12th in the 2024 Formula Hybrid-Electric (FH+E) competition. An updated suspension system is required to improve the acceleration and handling for the 2025 car in order to place higher. To achieve this, the rim size will be reduced from 13’’ to 10’’, camber adjustability will be incorporated into the uprights, and a front anti-roll bar will be added. Using Susprog 3D and kinematic analysis, chassis pickup points and linkage geometry were optimized for the 10” wheels. The full vertical travel and steering behavior of the wheels was analyzed. Designs were developed for the uprights, brake rotors, …

Tracked Electric Vehicle To Access Backcountry Ski Trails, Adam Alto, Mccoy Buchsteiner, Remi Kauderer, Kolbe Shannon, Ryan Tanski

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Long, low-angle approaches in backcountry skiing substantially limit the terrain that can be accessed in a single day. Snowmobiles remain the primary motorized solution but are difficult to transport and pose needless risk to the user, other recreationists, and the environment. Other options fall short of the portability, cost-effectiveness, or flexibility necessary to solve this problem. To address this gap, we refined a compact, battery-powered electric vehicle to aid skiers in efficiently reaching backcountry trails. Our prototype keeps the backcountry skier on their skis as a wheel behind them propels them forward. The prototype previously developed by our sponsors encountered …

Simulated Respiration Model For 1-3 Month Old Infants, Alliya Parvez, Ose Izokun, Rafaella Camere, Soo Park, Sophia Kiernan

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Tracheal intubation in 4 - 12 week old infants is a highly risky procedure due to their immature, narrow and weak physiology that makes them less resilient to stress and more susceptible to complications. Currently, there is a lack of clinical models that adequately mimic an infant’s respiratory response. Hence, we developed a respiratory simulation model specifically trained for infants in this age range as an educational tool. DartLung, is a simulation model that represents the changes in alveolar pressure, lung volume, airflow rate, and muscle pressure during spontaneous breathing. Our work builds upon existing respiratory models and ventilation studies, …

Safe Charging Locker For E-Bike Batteries, Grace Connolly, Gannon Forsberg, Nathan Mcallister, Avery Moorhead

ENGS 89/90 Reports

As the e-Bike market continues to grow without effective standardization, fatal battery fires (especially among cheaper alternative products) have become increasingly common. Dartmouth College (and many universities nationally) prohibit unsupervised indoor charging of e-Bikes without offering suitable alternative charging solutions. Enter the Fire-Safe e-Bike Charging Locker, which provides a safe charging location for e-Bike batteries. Targeting academic institutions and shared housing communities as buyers, the locker provides peace of mind and reduced insurance rates due to decreased safety risks. The locker prevents these fires through use of a thermal infrared camera, which detects abnormal increases in battery temperature before they …

Designing A More Accessible Wheelock Street, Kevin Hogan, Olivia Mcfield, Evelyn Piech, Karson Smith

ENGS 89/90 Reports

This project proposes new designs of West Wheelock Street - a minor arterial road in Hanover, New Hampshire that experiences heavy pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic. The guiding objectives of the redesigns are improving the safety of and quality of the experience for‬ pedestrians and cyclists, whose needs have been neglected by traditional transportation‬ engineering design. Three alternative streetscape designs are proposed, guided by the‬ Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets ideology, recommendations from the Hanover‬ Bike Walk Committee, and user feedback from Dartmouth College students and Upper Valley‬ residents. The first alternative centers around pedestrians, the second on cyclists, and …

Small Scale Aluminum Anodizing, Neo Cai, Ava Jacques, Taneem Sayed, Gabby Walsh

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Anodization is a crucial process of the aluminum manufacturing process that makes aluminum products more durable while also enabling customization with colored anodized dyes. However, for small scale aluminum manufacturers, anodizing is largely inaccessible. Existing solutions either involve outsourcing to large automated warehouses or manually anodizing by hand, both of which suffer from prohibitive disadvantages. Large warehouses are automated but, because they require shipping products and require batches of parts far greater than normal for small scale manufacturers, they have long lead times and are prohibitively costly. Conversely, anodizing by hand is faster and cheaper, but the manual labor required …

Marine Power Vertical Axis Tidal Turbine, Daisy Granholm, Kieran Norton, Ulysses Brenzel, Emily Barosin, Elaine Sarazen

ENGS 89/90 Reports

As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, marine energy presents a key opportunity for a renewable future by harnessing the natural movement of water to generate clean, stable power. Our team is developing a vertical-axis tidal turbine designed specifically for oyster farmers and hatcheries in New England. This turbine attaches to dock pilings, providing a non-invasive and energy-efficient solution to support the high energy demands of aquaculture operations. Oyster hatcheries rely on consistent energy for water filtration, temperature regulation, and algae production, yet they often lack access to reliable and renewable power sources. By integrating tidal energy into their …

Subzero Systems Hyperlocal Weather Monitoring And Alert System, Evana Amok, Joshua Vorbrich, Erin Bae, Khanh Le, Chingpheng Phoun, Vuthy Vincent Vey

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Accurate, hyperlocal weather data is critical for effective winter weather management. However, the Dartmouth campus’s current solutions often lack the precision for optimal ice treatment. This results in excessive and uneven salting practices, leading to increased worker and student injuries, financial and laborious burdens, and environmental damage caused by runoff. To tackle these challenges, our team has developed a comprehensive system. The system integrates hyperlocal weather station data, a peer-reviewed ice prevention optimization formula, and a machine learning model to generate intuitive salt usage recommendations and precise ice formation forecasts. The deliverables include an integrated system featuring functional weather data …

Safer, More Useable 3d Printers For Schools, Maeve Conneely, Lauren Kidman, George Richards, Josh Meise, Suzan Eskalen

ENGS 89/90 Reports

With recent technological advances, 3D printing has become widely accessible. This has allowed for greater ease in producing and obtaining machine gun conversion devices (MCDs). MCDs have the capacity to turn semi-automatic rifles and handguns into fully automatic machine guns. Even though it is illegal to print, own, or sell MCDs, print files for these devices are freely available on file sharing websites and easy to produce via 3D printing. It naturally follows that this increase in access to MCDs increases the potential risk for mass shootings. Additionally, 3D printing technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent in educational settings, such as …

2025 Solar Decathlon Net Zero Design Challenge: Sharon Elementary School, Catherine Chen, Konstantin Spoerk, Emily Wangenheim, Courtney Sepucha, Colin Roche

ENGS 89/90 Reports

Our team participated in the 2025 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, an international collegiate competition where teams are tasked with designing sustainable, net-zero buildings to support innovation and communities. We partnered with Sharon Elementary School in Sharon, VT. This small K-6 school was looking to propose an upgrade and expansion to accommodate their growing class. They struggled to find a cost-friendly construction plan to address necessary maintenance, over-occupancy, security concerns, and poor energy efficiency. By collaborating with the administration, teachers, and students, along with the firm behind the previous expansion proposal (Banwell Architects), our team created a …

Thai Efl University Students’ Writing In The Digital Age : Error Analysis Revisited, Atthasith Chuanpipatpong

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Academic Article : Native Language Support In Enhancing English Learning For Chinese Postgraduate Students : Insights From Online Instruction At A Thai Technical University, Cheng-Chun Tsai

PASAA

No abstract provided.

Demonstrating Deservingness In College Tuition Crowdfunding Campaigns, Siqi Han

Journal of Student Financial Aid

College tuition creates a substantial financial burden for students and families in the United States. Exhausting their own financial resources to pay for their college tuition, some students seek to crowdfund their tuition – a new channel for higher education finance that may become more prevalent in the future. Distinctively, crowdfunding campaigns are not reviewed or approved in the same way as traditional funding applications, leaving space for students’ own justification for deservingness. This paper identifies the embedded semantic features in online college tuition campaigns that raised more money than the rest on a major crowdfunding platform and derives the …

Building Design - Bsc App Tools For Structural Systems, Jens G. Pohl

Architecture

Relationship to Building Science (BSc) App: In the domain of Building Science (BSc), this paper focuses on building design principles related to building loads and the conceptual analysis and approximate sizing of structural members and structural systems. It provides direct access to a BSc App that offers more than 420 calculation and information functions in the entire range of building science areas, comprising daylighting, artificial lighting, noise control, room acoustics, climate and thermal comfort, solar energy, and structural systems (https://research.chobugroup.com/buildingscience/analyzer/).

Information Content: The paper briefly explains the structural concepts and principles that underlie the selection and approximate sizing of structural …

Smart Qos-Aware Resource Management For Edge Intelligence Systems, Minoo Hosseinzadeh

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

There are several definitions for Smart Cities. One common key point of these definitions is that smart cities are technologically advanced cities which connect everything in a complex urban environment including infrastructure, information, and even people to cope with the crucial problems linked with the urban life such as traffic, pollution, city crowding, health, and poverty. Central to this vision are the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data, where interconnected devices with sensors collect vast amounts of data for informed decision-making. However, the rapid expansion of IoT devices challenges efficient data processing while meeting diverse Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements; for …

Tiered Coalition Formation Game Variants, Stability, And Simulation, Nathan Arnold

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Tiered coalition formation games (TCFGs) have been proposed for modeling the ordering of power in intransitive structures. Furthering our understanding of the usefulness of this concept requires a close examination of this game and its variants, as well as the delineation between stability concepts and methods of finding stable outcomes. Derived from a simulation of the performance of characters in the games Pokémon Red and Blue Versions, we present an approximation of its power structure found via machine learning. We compare our findings to the community consensus ranking presented on a fan-run website, and further comment on the stability of …

Temporal Team Formation Games With Dynamic Preferences, Cameron Egbert

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

In the professional world, it is imperative for management entities to allocate their human resources to a work schedule, and such models of coalition formation games are well-studied. However, most existing literature only considers coalition formation in the context of a single moment in time, without accounting for changing preferences among individuals as they work together. The primary contribution of this thesis is a new team formation game that incorporates skill-based team formation and a dynamic variant of Additively Separable Hedonic Games. These Temporal Team Formation Games with Dynamic Preferences (TTFG-DPs) allow for two psychologically common preference dynamics: a preference …

Optimization, Machine Learning, And Networking Solutions For Cyber-Physical Systems, Xu Tao

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) represent a transformative paradigm that integrates sensing, computation, and actuation through networked systems to enable intelligent, context-aware applications across various domains. Despite their growing potential, CPS still face critical challenges, particularly in maintaining reliable, low-latency communication and efficient data processing in resource-constrained and dynamic environments. These challenges are further magnified in rural or remote deployments, where traditional network infrastructure is often unavailable or unreliable. This dissertation addresses these challenges through the development of optimization and inference algorithms that enhance network performance in Software-Defined Networks (SDN), using techniques such as reinforcement learning and network tomography for efficient routing. …

Development Of Software For Genetic Distances, Genotyping, And Phylogenetics Using Rna-Seq Data, Andrew C. Tapia

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

This dissertation concerns a new application of RNA-seq data—computation of pairwise genetic distance matrices. RNA-seq captures sequences of RNA molecules in some cells or tissues of interest. RNA-seq provides data are well-suited to studies examining gene expression, and its use for this purpose is currently widespread. A pairwise genetic distance matrix, the main topic of this dissertation, quantifies differences in the genomes of every pair of samples (e.g., individuals) in a given set. Genetic distance matrices are versatile; they can be used for various kinds of downstream analyses, including genotyping, phylogenetics, and genetic diversity measurement. Although DNA sequence data are …

Information-Theoretic Methods For Efficient Training And Robust Evaluations In Self-Supervised Learning, Oscar Skean

Theses and Dissertations--Computer Science

Self-supervised learning (SSL) has become a cornerstone of modern machine learning, offering a scalable alternative to costly human annotation by constructing pretext tasks directly from raw data. While SSL has delivered strong results across vision, language, and multimodal domains, two major limitations persist: (1) SSL methods are often significantly slower to train than supervised counterparts, and (2) evaluation protocols remain narrow, with most studies relying on linear probing accuracy on the pretraining dataset. . These challenges are particularly acute for large language models (LLMs), where training costs and interpretability of intermediate representations are critical concerns.

In this work, we propose …

Communities Of Stone Toolmakers Along The Lower Cumberland And Tennessee Rivers, Vanessa N. Hanvey

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Concurrently occupied between circa 8,600-8,200 cal B.P., the Canton (15Tr1), Lawrence (15Tr33), Morrisroe (15Lv156), and Whalen (15Ly48) sites have similar stone tool assemblages. Though the sites are situated close to one another within the lower Tennessee and Cumberland River watersheds, the connection between the people who occupied each site remains unclear. Extensive lithic deposits representing all stages of tool manufacture were identified at both the Canton and Lawrence sites, and previous lithic analyses show that similar raw materials were being accessed by stone toolmakers at all four sites. To investigate the relationship between the people who occupied these sites, this …

Sigrid Undset: Nordic Catholic Apologist, Brendan Edward Arthur

Theses

This thesis explores the depth and breadth of Sigrid Undset’s non-fiction Catholic writing, a substantial body of work that has largely remained inaccessible to all but readers of Norwegian. Through original translations and analysis, it synthesises these texts into broad themes while situating them within their historical contexts of the intellectual and cultural debates in early twentieth-century Norway. The study addresses three research questions: (1) the general themes in Undset’s Catholic non-fiction; (2) the contemporary relevance of these writings; and (3) whether Undset merits the designation “Catholic apologist.” In its method, the thesis employs textual analysis of Undset’s essays, articles …

Photocatalytic Performance Of Ba₀.₈Ca₀.₂Tio₃ Composite For Norfloxacin Removal In Aqueous Solutions, Raj Mohanty, Swayam Aryam Behera, Asima Subhadarshini, Binita Nanda, P. Ganga Raju Achary

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

This study investigates the degradation of norfloxacin using a Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 (BCTO) perovskite composite synthesized via a simple solid-state method. Variety of characterization techniques, including photoluminescence spectra, powder X-Ray Diffraction, UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectra, FE-SEM and Fourier-Transform Infrared spectra confirm the structural and optical properties of BCTO. Electrical characterization further elucidates its conductive properties. The BCTO composite demonstrates an impressive 87% degradation rate of norfloxacin, attributed to its reduced electron-hole recombination, enhanced light harvestation, and improved charge carrier mobility. Kinetic studies indicate that the degradation process adheres to a pseudo-first-order model, with BCTO outperforming both pure BaTiO3 and conventional photocatalysts. These …

Improving The Mechanical Performance Of 45s5 3d Scaffolds Through The Particles Of Barium Titanate Ceramics, Surirat Yotthuan, Usanee Pantulap, Nuttawan Sawangboon, Ornuma Tungsanguan, Ekarat Meechoowas, Kansiree Kaewmorakot, Nathaporn Uthaichai, Theerachai Bongkarn

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Bioglass® 45S5 is widely used in bone tissue engineering due to its excellent bioactivity. However, its low mechanical strength remains a major limitation. In this study, 25 wt% barium titanate (BaTiO3; BT) was incorporated into 45S5 scaffolds to improve mechanical performance and modulate bioactivity. The 3D scaffolds were fabricated using the foam replication method and exhibited interconnected porosity, with average pore sizes of 471 ± 94 μm (45S5) and 598 ± 58 μm (45S5/BT25), closely resembling human bone. The addition of BT increased the density and compressive strength of the scaffolds to 2.89 ± 0.18 g∙cm‒3 and 2.0 ± 0.2 …