Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Nozzle Pressure Ratio On Thrust And Flow Behavior In A Supersonic De Laval Nozzle, Esha Jain

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Supersonic nozzles operate across a range of flow regimes. While an ideally expanded condition yields optimal thrust, practical propulsion systems rarely operate at this design point due to variations in altitude and engine operating conditions. As a result, nozzles frequently operate in off-design conditions. In overexpanded regime, where the exit pressure is lower than the ambient pressure, shock-induced separation may occur within the divergent section of the nozzle, potentially degrading nozzle performance. Understanding the aerodynamic behavior of nozzles operating under off-design conditions is therefore important for improving propulsion system performance and stability. In particular, direct thrust measurements provide a key …

Intelligent Flight Control Systems Using Adaptive Deep Neural Networks And Concurrent Learning-Based Design Methods, Maddox C. Morrison

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis investigates deep neural network (DNN)-based adaptive control strategies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating under aerodynamic uncertainty and complex actuator dynamics.

The first contribution presents a control strategy employing a concurrent learning (CL)-based DNN training algorithm, which combines online adaptive DNN weight adaptation with offline batch-like training updates using a recorded data stack. The analysis focuses on the closed-loop performance improvements resulting from the use of optimum CL data-selection algorithms, which ensure that the recorded data stack maintains sufficient data diversity to provide a statistically meaningful representation of the operating conditions using a reduced data set. Specifically, this …

Study Of Output And Behavior Of Llms Using Confidence Framing In Prompt Engineering, Micah Parrilla

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

While prompt engineering is pivotal for shaping Large Language Model (LLM) outputs, the impact of confidence framing on behavioral calibration remains underexplored. This study investigates the ways in which psychological framing, utilizing techniques such as capability praise, role amplification, and doubt induction, affects linguistic tone, objective accuracy, and internal calibration. A 1,080-trial experimental matrix evaluated six diverse models across factual, logical, coding, and cyber security domains. Analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis H-test revealed highly significant behavioral shifts across all measured dimensions, providing conclusive evidence that the applied frames exert a substantial influence on model performance.

The findings identify a distinct cognitive …

Low-Complexity Structured Neural Networks And Their Usage In Image And Signal Processing, Adam Kuzmicki

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Conventional neural networks face significant challenges due to high computational costs, large parameter counts, and reliance on backpropagation, which restricts their application in resource-constrained and real-time settings. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes three structured neural network (NN) architectures grounded in the theories of sparse and self-contained factorizations of transforms, with applications to image compression, reconstruction, classification, encryption, and also adaptive wideband multi-beam beamforming. The first neural network architecture, named DCTrix-Net, replaces conventional spatial con- volution with highly sparse factorization of the discrete Cosine transform (DCT) complemented by Toeplitz-structured weight initialization, achieving at least 97% FLOP reduction over CNNs, …

Optimizing Virtual Scrolling Performance In Angular: A Comparative Study Of Cdk And Custom Implementation, Guri Sokoli

Theses

Modern web applications often display large datasets with tens of thousands of items, such as e-commerce catalogs, data tables, and social media feeds. Rendering all items in the Document Object Model (DOM) at once causes browser freezing, high memory use, and slow interfaces. Virtual scrolling solves this problem. It is widely adopted but rarely studied through direct performance comparison. Few empirical studies measure how different implementations behave under varying dataset sizes, devices, or browsers. This research conducts a comparative analysis of Angular CDK Virtual Scroll as an industry-standard baseline and develops an optimized implementation incorporating framework-specific enhancements: OnPush change detection …

Dissent By Design: Graphic Communication And The Continuity Of Resistance As A Civic Practice In The United States, Ryan "Rain" Milligan

Theses

Graphic communication has played a role in shaping civic life in the United States throughout much of its history, influencing how individuals recognize injustice, understand systems of power, and participate in collective action. Typically associated with moments of protest or political upheaval, printed materials such as pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, and posters have also functioned as everyday tools that structure public engagement. This project examines these materials through the framework of agitation, education, and organization, considering how graphic communication operates across different historical contexts to provoke recognition, make complex ideas accessible, and coordinate collective effort. Drawing from a range of historical …

In-Context Retrieval For Molecules And Chemical Synthesis Pathways, Abhisek Dey

Theses

Contrastive learning methods require well-defined positive pairs, limiting their applicability to domains where complete, high-fidelity pairings are available. In practice, large-scale scientific corpora --including patents, publications, and web-scale data -- contain vast quantities of contextually relevant but incompletely paired samples that are discarded under standard training paradigms. In this work, we demonstrate that hard negative mining can be leveraged to construct pseudo-positive supervision signals from unpaired or partially paired data, enabling contrastive learning to exploit the full breadth of available corpora without sacrificing representational quality. Using a large-scale chemical drug patent corpus as a testbed, we train a cross-modal contrastive …

Effect Of Geometry, Cell Size, And Carbon Fiber Reinforcement On The Charpy Impact Strength Of Additively Manufactured Tpms Lattice Structures, Ahmed Yousuf Mohammad Bin Yaroof (Alsuwaidi)

Theses

Scientific research indicates a growing utilization of lightweight, high-performance materials across various disciplines, including engineering, driven by the demands of modern technological advancements. Recent developments within these fields include the creation of advanced lattice structures through additive manufacturing (AM) processes. One such lattice structure is the triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structure. TPMS structures possess unique mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics that distinguish them from conventional AM lattice structures. However, published research to date has largely focused on the quasi-static behavior of TPMS structures, with limited attention given to the impact performance of composite- reinforced TPMS structures. The purpose …

Information Theory Analysis Of The Solar Wind Magnetic Structures For Space Weather Prediction, Katherine Holland

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Forecasting space weather at Earth is highly complicated, because of the limited measurements of the dynamic processes in the Sun that span multiple temporal, spatial, and energy-scales. The solar wind is a highly structured, multi-scale, evolving plasma and consists of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), stream interaction regions (SIRs), expanding flux tubes (Borovsky, 2008), and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) discontinuities and fluctuations. The aim of this research is to improve our understanding of the evolution and dissipation of different scale-size solar wind magnetic structures as they move from the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 (L1) to Earth's bow shock and, ultimately, to …

Computational Analysis Of Immigration Discourse And Political Polarization: Evidence From U.S. Political Podcasts During The 2024 Presidential Election, Reishiro Kawakami , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This study examines how immigration is discussed across the U.S. political podcast ecosystem during the 2024 presidential election cycle, with a focus on differences across the political spectrum. While prior research on immigration attitudes has relied heavily on survey data, this study shifts attention to naturally occurring political communication by analyzing large-scale podcast transcripts. Drawing on a novel dataset of over 48,500 episodes (approximately 40,000 hours of audio) from the top 100 political podcasts ranked on Election Day, this paper combines keyword search, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis to investigate both the thematic structure and emotional tone of immigration discourse. …

Disputing Geographies Of Sanctuaries: Legal Manifestations And Re-Imagined Practices In Adverse State Conditions For Migrants In Philadelphia County And Miami Dade County, Clara Ximena Villalba , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Time-Correlated Photons From Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion (Spdc), Aaron Dubois , ‘26, Tanvir Islam , ‘26, Prashan Thapa Magar , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Time-correlated photons can be used to demonstrate emerging technical applications such as ghost imaging, and they can demonstrate quantum-based phenomena in order to interest undergraduate students in engineering applications involving optics and quantum mechanics. In this work, we use spontaneous parametric down-conversion to generate time-correlated photons. To achieve this, we simulated laboratory parameters with MATLAB and designed optical and electrical setups. Specifically, we used a 405 nm diode laser, various common optical components, and a nonlinear crystal designed to generate time-correlated photons, and we used single-photon detectors, time-to-amplitude converters, custom flash-conversion analog-to-digital converters, a Teensy 4.1 microcontroller, and the Arduino …

Soil Erosion In The Crum Woods: Testing And Mitigation, Andrew Narain , ‘26, Sabina Karabin , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

This project aimed to determine the optimal erosion mitigation method for a specific site in the Crum Woods in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Inexpensive and bench-scale laboratory testing protocol was designed to measure the efficiency of retaining walls and of planting native grasses against a baseline, using rainfall simulations over a smaller version of the site slope. Erosion mitigation was measured through increased water infiltration through soil and decreased sediment runoff. It was found that the retaining wall increased infiltration of water into the soil from 2% (control) to 14.7% (retaining wall), but was outperformed by the plant infiltration of 27.5%. While …

Modeling And Constraining Beyond Standard Model Neutrino Self-Interactions, Sabrina Hanning , ‘26

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

Neutrinos are the ideal subject for theories of Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics. This is because small neutrino interaction cross-sections make them incredibly difficult to detect and result in many open questions regarding neutrino properties, particularly those that do not fit nicely into the Standard Model of particle physics, such as the existence of neutrino masses. BSM neutrino self-interactions are an interesting possibility with connections to dark matter candidates, neutrino mass generation, and in general any measurement that relies on accurate modeling of incident astrophysical neutrino flux.

These self-interactions may take various forms, with different mediator particles; we present a …

A Comparative Analysis Of State Legislation Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Care For Missouri Minors: A Policy Review, Hayley Lange, Benjamin Grin, Kaitlyn Crosby

Missouri Policy Journal

The Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act is a law enacted in August 2023 that banned gender-affirming medical care for individuals under 18 in Missouri. It states that any medical provider who provides medical gender-affirming care to a minor will have their professional medical license revoked. The purpose of this policy review is to evaluate and compare the content of the Missouri SAFE Act with similar legislation enacted in other states to provide an evaluative model.        

This policy assessment used a modified assessment tool that was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The assessment included a …

Racing To Safety: Tax Policy For Ai Safety-By-Design, Mirit Eyal, Yonathan Arbel

Articles

The White House recently announced its vision of artificial intelligence (AI) policy: AI development is a race and America must win it. To that end, a new America's AI Action Plan directs federal agencies and states to remove regulatory barriers to AI development and accelerate innovation. This approach leaves limited room for regulatory measures that would address the safety risks of powerful AI systems: their behavior in novel domains remains unpredictable, their decision-making opaqueness, and their alignment with human values is uncertain. While experts warn of large-scale accidents, policymakers find themselves in a bind: Regulate AI and cede ground to …

An Analysis Of Global And Regional Human Rights Standards On Gender-Based Violence, Tamar Ezer, Denisse R. Cordova Montes

Articles

No abstract provided.

Leadership Communication Newsletter Spring 2026, Leadership Communication-Winona State University, Andrew Peine, Russell Zwiers, Miah Graczyk, Dorothy Moore, Robert Whisler

Leadership Education Newsletters

This is the newsletter created by the graduate students in the Leadership Communication 615 spring 2026 course.

Weather Rescue At Sea: Recovering Historical Weather Observations From 19th Century British Naval Ships, Praveen Teleti, Ed Hawkins, Clive Wilkinson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Ship logbooks represent a critical source of historical meteorological data, providing valuable observations of barometric pressure, air temperature, sea surface temperature, wind force and direction, and other variables. Substantial quantities of these records are unavailable to climate science as they have not yet been transcribed. We present ‘Weather Rescue at Sea’, a citizen-science project which transcribed millions of weather observations contained in 19th Century UK Royal Navy ship logbooks. We describe the logbook structure and weather observation-taking instructions and discuss significant challenges with the translation of handwritten text into accurate data due to errors arising from ambiguous handwriting, historical terminology, …

Unraveling The Intractable Trilemma In Urban Weather And Climate Modeling, Peiyuan Li, Ashish Sharma, Rao Kotamarthi, Alberto Martilli, Subimal Ghosh, Cristina Negri, Scott Collis, Lee Chapman, Fei Chen, Luis M. A. Bettencourt, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Urban weather and climate modeling is constrained by the highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of cities. It exhibits a persistent trilemma between spatial granularity, spatiotemporal coverage, and physical interpretability. We articulate this challenge and propose a hybrid framework that integrates physics -based models, urban observations, and machine learning. Framing urban modeling as an integration problem across methods and scales, we provide a structured guide for next -generation, decision -relevant urban climate capabilities.

Negotiating At A Distance: The Impact Of Communication Media And Negotiator Traits, Dorcas Quek Anderson, Tra My Ngo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Purpose – Prior research has yet to provide a coherent theoretical framework explaining how communication media hinder or advance negotiation success, and many dated studies are unlikely to be relevant. This study aims to examine the impact of four communication media on negotiation outcomes. It also examines the potential moderating effects of the following negotiator characteristics: conflict management style, personality traits and indirect communication style.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 400 participants formed 200 dyads to negotiate a mixed- motive relational conflict through face-to-face (FTF) interaction, videoconferencing, audio call or synchronous text messaging. Linear mixed regression was used to assess the …

Functional Annotation Of Gordonia Phage Minor Tail Proteins Using Alphafold And Structural Homology Searches, Harani Athwale, Mitchell Thenor

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. The basic phage structure consists of a DNA or RNA genome encased in a capsid protein shell. Some may also have a tail, important for attachment and genome delivery into the bacterial host. Recently, the structure of mycobacteriophage Bxb1 was characterized and determined to have 10 minor tail proteins, each assigned a unique function. The genomes of Gordonia rubripertincta phages Fribs8, Genamy16, Alyssamiracle, and NovaSharks were annotated, depicting several minor tai proteins. However, the specific functions were not determined. Therefore, the goal of this research was to assign a specific function to the minor …

Exercise As An Intervention Against Neuroinflammation During Binge Drinking Withdrawal, Shaina Binu, Ellie Wind, Ariana Hernandez, Iliana Uribe, Victoria Pulido-Correa

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Binge drinking, a public health concern in the United States, is associated with negative emotional and cognitive effects during alcohol withdrawal. These effects are believed to result from changes in brain regions involved in stress regulation, emotion, and decision-making, including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus. Alcohol exposure has been shown to increase neuroinflammation in these regions, which may contribute to anxiety-like behaviors and difficulty regulating emotions during withdrawal. In contrast, aerobic exercise is a promising non-pharmacological intervention that has been shown to reduce anxiety and support brain health. This project investigates how exercise can reduce withdrawal-related anxiety-like behaviors, following …

Evaluating Item Discrimination And Gender-Based Differential Item Functioning In Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire (Ssbq), Prarthana Harikrishnan, Xinlei Zhang, Hannah Scheffer

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Risky sexual behavior can increase rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), posing a danger to the health of young adults. The Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire (SSBQ; Dilorio et al., 1992) is a widely used measure to assess risky sexual behaviors among young adults. However, few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the SSBQ, such as how well the survey items discriminate between individuals who engage in safer versus riskier sexual behaviors (discrimination), and whether the items function equivalently for men versus women (differential item functioning). In the current study, we applied psychometric modeling to a dataset of 1,094 young …

Investigating Epigenetic Dysregulation Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In Glioblastoma And Glioma Stem Cells, Pujita Kellampalli, Mansi Gandhi, Dhruv Patel, Nehal Pant, Mihika Mishra, Shehr Bano, Aaron Basnyet

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or Grade IV glioma is a very aggressive form of brain tumor with an overall survival rate of 15 months. The tumor contains glioma stem cells (GSCs) that are resistant to existing therapies. Long non-coding RNAs such as DNA methylation are implicated in epigenetic dysregulation of GBM and GSCs. In this study, we screened lncRNAs with altered DNA methylation in both tumor cells and GSCs compared to normal neural cells using 450K methylation array data. We identified 508 methylation sites (320 lncRNAs) that were either hypermethylated (or gained methylation) or hypomethylated (lost methylation) in GBM and GSCs. …

Creatine In Dementia And The Aging Brain, Dylan Kuni

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Dementia is a syndrome that interferes with cognitive functions and an individual's ability to function independently. Dementia includes several subtypes caused by different neuropathologies, with Alzheimer's disease (AD) being the most common form. AD is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles in the brain, associated with neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and deficits in energy metabolism. While treatments for AD exist, the efficacy, safety, and cost are a concern, highlighting the need for additional prevention and treatment strategies. This literature review examines the role of creatine in brain health and disease, including AD and related dementias. …

An Analysis Of Jump Performance Using Wearable Devices In Collegiate Volleyball Attacking Players, Caiden Largent

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Vertical jump height in volleyball, a key performance measure, may be assessed in a laboratory and measured on the court. Baseline lab measurements are conducted in a controlled environment using a Vertec, while on the court, measurements utilize VERT wearable devices as these measurements. VERT estimates jump height indirectly through inertial measurements when compared to Vertec testing. The purpose of this study is to analyze jump height performance in collegiate volleyball attacking players. Four National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II female volleyball attackers were assessed across five separate matches. Results showed differences shown between jump heights across sets and matches …

Effects Of Bhb(Beta-Hydroxybutyrate) Of Mood, Memory, And Handgrip, Christianna Needham, Sahanj Joshi, Jairaj Bajaj

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of acute beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) on handgrip, mood states and memory of healthy men and women. The subjects were exercise science students from Nova Southeastern University between 18-22 years of age. Subjects performed Handgrip strength, Profile of Mood States (POMS), and Memtrax the tests prior to consuming BHB, as well as 30 minutes, and 60 minutes post consumption. A total of 136 healthy participants (20.5±1.4 years) were randomized into three groups: D-BHB (n=47), L-BHB (n=46), or placebo (n=43). A Two-Way ANOVA test revealed no significant …

Understanding Ice Age Climate In Buffalo Gap National Grasslands Through Heavy Mineral Analysis, Chancellor Rockwell Marks, Jenna Church

Undergraduate Student Symposium

More information about ice age climate change during Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2), the last glacial maximum, is known from ice cores and marine sediments than from continental geology. For scientists to construct climate models, they need climate information about continental areas for comparison. Marine and ice sediments are deposited in layers, year after year, with relatively little disturbance after deposition. Changes in isotopic composition of these sediments reflect profound changes in Earth's climate. The equivalent continental sediment record is loess (windblown dust), which is deposited in fine layers without subsequent disturbance. Here, we studied loess to determine paleowind …

Modeling The Binding Of Salinosporamide A (Mzb) To The Human 20s Proteasome For Potential Cancer Treatment, Jayden Ross, Jayant Ari, Audrey Anand, Giezel Medina

Undergraduate Student Symposium

This project aims to model and observe the binding of the drug Marizomib (MZB) and compare its binding affinity other similar drugs to the proteosome using the PDB ID 9HMN and bioinformatics tools. MZB is an anti-cancer drug that was derived from the marine bacterium, Salinosporamide A. Its function is to inhibit the human 20S proteasome from breaking down excess proteins, causing the cell to trigger apoptosis. Additionally, MZB has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and utilize three catalytically active amino acid sites. The existing PDB ID (9HMN) of a 20S proteasome with MZB bound was 3D printed. …