Digital Commons Network^™

High-Torque Reaction Wheels For Agile Small Satellites, Thomas Brunsgaard, Matt Carton, Kearney Lackas

Small Satellite Conference

Blue Canyon Technologies has developed a high-torque reaction wheel (RW) product line to meet the growing attitude control demands of next-generation small spacecraft. As small satellites expand into missions requiring rapid retargeting and precise pointing, spacecraft agility is foundational to mission performance. More targets equal more data collection, translating to greater mission insight and revenue generation. 

This paper describes Blue Canyon’s approach to product line architecture that enabled rapid development and deployment of high-torque reaction wheels across multiple size classes. The high-torque variants deliver 0.5 Nm of torque, representing a 2X increase over standard configurations with 60% of the baseline …

Development Of Piezo Fast Steering Mirrors For Fso Inter-Satellite Communication, Frank Claeyssen, Arnaud Gilson, Thomas Maillard, David Ferris, Xavier De Lepine, Oliver Sosnicki, Jocelyn Rebufa, Clément Cote, Francis Bortolaso, Pascal Mexe

Small Satellite Conference

To allow faster communication between satellites, Radio Frequency (RF) links are being replaced by laser optical links, often called Free-Space Optical Communication (FSO). Each satellite embeds several optical communication terminals (OCT), each one needing two Fast Steering Mirrors (FSM) for laser beam fine and fast steering. Thus, for some giant constellations, the total number of FSM can reach up to 100 000 FSM. This New Space market induces not only technical challenges, such as good SWaP, but also industrial challenges, in particular reproducibility, cost-effectiveness and low cost of ownership vs Orbit segment. To address these various FSM needs, CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES …

Cubesat Led Transmitter For Optical Communication Downlink, David Hinkley, Sam Pedrotty

Small Satellite Conference

The CubeSat radio frequency (RF) spectrum licensing step has always been long and therefore stressful to developers. With more satellites entering orbit, spectral congestion in the available RF frequency bands has become a problem. An optical-only solution eliminates this problem and provides a path for a lower power and higher throughput data link. The risk of a weather outage drives a solution that requires enough geographically diverse optical ground locations that a clear line-of-sight is always available. The Aerospace Corporation, with funding from NASA, has developed a CubeSat light emitting diode (LED) transmitter and an inexpensive commercial portable optical telescope …

Radiation-Resilient Ai For Small Satellites: A Universal Multi-Bit Edac Architecture For Protecting On-Board Neural Network Models In Memory And Storage, Yin Sun, Nauman Wazir, Joseph Chang, Kwen-Siong Chong, Wei Shu, Hocklai They

Small Satellite Conference

The deployment of onboard artificial intelligence (AI) on small satellites enables real-time Earth-observation triage, object detection, and event-driven tasking with reduced dependence on downlink. These capabilities rely on the integrity of neural network parameters (weights and biases) stored across both volatile memory and non-volatile storage (e.g., DRAM/SRAM and SSD/SD/UFS/eMMC). In low-Earth orbit (LEO), radiation-induced upsets can flip bits in commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) memory and storage, corrupting model parameters and degrading inference accuracy. Such degradation can manifest as persistent misclassification or missed detections. Existing mitigation options are often difficult to scale within small-satellite constraints: Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) incurs substantial mass and …

Nasa's Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems: Development And Demonstration Of Technologies Enabling Swarms And New Spacecraft Platforms With Ai And Edge Computing, Jan Stupl, Rodolphe De Rosee, Samson Phan, Michael Gaunce, Bruce Yost, Craig Burkhard, Edward Tagalicud, Roger Hunter, Christopher Baker, Justin Treptow-Miller, Sasha Weston, Luke Idziak, Julianna Fishman, Dorothy Santos

Small Satellite Conference

NASA’s Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems (SSDS) within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD) expands U.S. capability to execute unique missions through targeted investment, rapid development, and flight demonstration of small spacecraft technologies applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. SSDS strategically invests in technology development and on-orbit demonstrations executed across NASA, other government agencies, industry, and academia. The program’s University SmallSat Technology Partnerships initiative awards academic researchers with the opportunity to collaborate with NASA to mature innovative technology. Capabilities aligned with RTMD’s technology shortfalls and interests - power, processing, propulsion, sensors, communications, autonomous navigation, architectures, and …

Back From The Dead: Using Stellar Psf Calibration To Recover Operational Value From A Defocused Skysat Telescope, Phillip Linden, Hira Nadeem, Ross Losher, Venkataraman Krishnaswami

Small Satellite Conference

For large-scale Earth observation constellations, such as Planet’s SkySat fleet, a major challenge is mitigating the effects of post-launch optical aberrations, which can render an asset unusable. This paper presents a novel approach to recover operational value from SkySat-C5, which remained excluded from production for 8 years due to significant, uncorrectable focus deficit at launch. Our method leverages stars to calibrate a reliable Point Spread Function (PSF) used in a deconvolution process that restored the camera’s images to a usable level of quality.

Because there is no on-orbit focus mechanism, the only path to restoration is post-processing deconvolution using a …

Modeling Of Supersonic Wave And Shock Propagation Using The Lattice Boltzmann Method, Timothy P. Schroeder

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has emerged as a mesoscopic alternative to traditional Navier-Stokes solvers for modeling fluid dynamics offering advantages in computational efficiency, parallelization, and handling of complex boundaries. Despite these strengths, accurately reproducing compressible, shock-driven phenomena remains challenging. This study investigates the performance of LBM in simulating the Sod shock tube problem, a classical benchmark for compressible flow-using both single and double distribution function formulations across one- and two-dimensional lattice stencils. A MATLAB-based solver was developed to model the flow under isothermal conditions and compared to the analytical solution using the L2 norm error. The one-dimensional models achieved …

Paragliding The Cliff Edge: Introducing Open Mic Studies. A Creative Response To Navigating The Post-18 Landscape For Young Adults With Send., James Tarling, Charlie Robinson, Nick Hall, Sammy Shepherd

Plymouth Interdisciplinary Education Open Journal

This conceptual article investigates novel ways of thinking about Open Mic Nights (OMN) – performance spaces understood as free, community arts and performance opportunities where the members of the public are welcome to perform music, poetry and comedy in front of an audience. For the purposes of this article, music-related OMN that take place in pubs or community centres are discussed.

The article is intended to be a primer for OMN studies that offers new and emerging trailheads for future research and discussion. Its central focus is how OMN may benefit the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) community with …

Late-Stage Semantic Disambiguation Of Multi-Hypothesis Automatic Speech Recognition In Digital Voice Platforms, Mubaraq Mishra

Defensive Publications Series

This publication describes a system and methodology for improving speech recognition accuracy in smart home devices by transitioning from early-stage transcription biasing to late-stage semantic disambiguation. Conventional automatic speech recognition architectures prematurely resolve phonetic ambiguities by selecting only the single highest-ranked transcript, which often fails when processing niche media requests, regional dialects, or voice commands in noisy environments. The described framework preserves a complete set of alternative transcript hypotheses, packages them with their respective confidence metrics into a contextual container, and forwards them to a downstream semantic processing engine. By analyzing the phonetic relationships among these hypotheses alongside contextual signals …

Sensor Fusion Method For In-Cabin Zonal Solar Load Estimation And Hvac Mode Control, Anonymous

Defensive Publications Series

Vehicle HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems rely on solar load sensing to bias cabin cooling and maintain occupant thermal comfort. Conventional implementations use a single dash-mounted sunload sensor to estimate an aggregate solar heat load across the entire cabin, applying a uniform or, at best, a fixed left/right cooling bias. This approach does not account for the vehicle's actual heading relative to the sun, transient shading events, or differences in glass geometry and tint across occupant zones. This publication discloses a sensor fusion method that combines GPS-derived solar position geometry, vehicle heading, the existing single sunload sensor, and …

Development Of Quantum Cryptographic Algorithm For Next Generation Secure Systems, Gururaja Ts Mr

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid advancement of digital communication and quantum technologies are developing at an accelerated pace makes cybersecurity and data protection a big challenge. The traditional cryptographic methods are increasingly under attack by phishing, brute force, cryptanalytic attack and threats of quantum computing. This research presents a quantum-secure communication based on Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG), Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), Quantum Image Encryption (QIE) and secure quantum key access using a dongle-based hardware.

QRNG models were designed in the quantum simulator and hardware. The sequences produce high entropy and they passed the statistical randomness tests with p-values higher than 0.01 indicates …

Table Of Contents, The Editors

Coal Geology & Exploration

No abstract provided.

Resilience-Oriented Geological Safeguards For Damage Mitigation In Coal Resource Exploitation, Wang Shuangming, Sun Qiang, Yan Meixin, Miao Lintian, Liu Lang, Qiao Junwei, Niu Chao, Geng Jishi, Fang Chenxi, Zhang He, Xiao Lele, Li Shibo

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Coal remains a fundamental component of China’s energy security system. With the westward shift of coal development and continuous expansion into deeper strata, coal mining is confronted with increasingly complex geological conditions and growing ecological constraints. Geological damage induced by mining disturbance has evolved from isolated geological issues into a coupled Earth-system problem involving the lithosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, characterized by uncertainty, hysteresis, concealment, and cross-scale accumulation. Resilience-based damage mitigation emphasizes reducing the probability, intensity, and recovery costs of geological damage through proactive identification, dynamic regulation, damage suppression, and post-disturbance restoration under mining disturbance and external environmental …

Mechanisms And Implications Of The Novel Cast Model Of Coal Graphitization, Wang Shaoqing, Zhang Jingzhe, Zhang Xiaomei, Wang Xiaoshuai, Chen Hao, Wang Xiaoling, Li Wu, Tang Yuegang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Methods Coal graphitization is a multi-stage process with abrupt changes rather than linear evolution. So far, its inherent driving mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Notably, twisted graphene was observed in the process of coal graphitization in 2025, providing a new opportunity to reveal the essence of this structural transformation. Results and Conclusions By combining previous research results, this study proposes a novel coal graphitization model that consists of condensation, alignment, stacking, and twisting (CAST). The four parts of the CAST model are organically integrated, collectively forming a continuous and dynamic evolutionary process. Most especially, no absolute …

Spatial Topological Configurations Of Cleats And Geometrical Quantitative Characterization Of Matrix Blocks In Deep Coal Seams, Shen Jian, Li Wei, Tian Yongjing, Ma Tianyu, Zhang Hewei, Dong Jiying, Zhu Peipei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Cleats in deep coal seams are characterized by strong heterogeneity, and their topological configurations, as well as their topological relationships with matrix blocks, remain poorly understood. On the other hand, the assumptions regarding the size and geometry of matrix blocks adopted in representative reservoir structure models and numerical simulations do not fully reflect actual reservoir conditions. Methods Deep coal cores collected from the northeastern Ordos Basin were investigated in this study. Using CT scanning and topological theory, a multi-dimensional topological parameter system was established to characterize cleats in deep coal seams. Furthermore, four topological configurations of cleats in deep …

Stable Isotope-Based Origin Identification And Enrichment Zone Division Of Medium- To Low-Rank Coalbed Methane, Wang Qiong, Xu Fengyin, Ren Pengfei, Xu Hao, Lu Pengda, Hu Han, Zhou Siyuan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Medium-to low-rank coalbed methane (CBM) exhibits complex origins with significant vertical differentiation, leading to unclear origin identification and enrichment patterns. This study aims to determine the genetic mechanisms, enrichment patterns, and efficient exploitation pathways of medium- to low-rank CBM. This will help improve the theoretical system for the exploration and exploitation of such CBM. Methods CBM data from 14 typical low- to medium-rank coalfields and coal-bearing basins across the world were comprehensively analyzed, including CBM compositions C₁/(C₂+C₃), carbon and hydrogen isotopes of CH₄ (δ¹³C-CH₄ and δD-CH_{4 …}

Dynamic-To-Static Elastic Parameter Conversion Models For Coals Under Temperature-Pressure Coupling: A Case Study Of The No. 8 Coal Seam In The Daning-Jixian Block, Zhang Wei, Wu Peng, Liu Conghui, Zhang Sidun, Sun Xuedong, Yang Haixing, Ma Zhuang, Shi Rui, Shen Jian

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Existing dynamic-to-static elastic parameter conversion models for coals fail to fully account for the actual in situ pressure and temperature conditions of deep reservoirs. This leads to significant deviations in directly evaluating the mechanical properties of reservoirs using log-derived dynamic parameters. To address this challenge, this study investigated dynamic-to-static elastic parameter conversion under the in situ stress and geotemperature conditions of strata. Accordingly, high-precision parameter conversion models were established. Methods This study examined coal samples from the No. 8 coal seam at a burial depth of approximately 1200 m in the Daning-Jixian block along the eastern margin of the …

A Geochemical Evaluation Method For Geological Sweet Spots Of Marine-Continental Transitional Shale Gas: A Case Study Of The Shan$^3_2 $ Sub-Member, Eastern Margin Of The Ordos Basin, Zhu Xingcheng, Li Yong, Lu Jungang, He Qingbo, Li Shuxin, Xiao Zhenglu, Li Xiang, Jiang Qijun

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background China boasts abundant marine-continental transitional shale gas resources. However, marine-continental transitional shales in the country exhibit complex geological conditions characterized by rapid lateral facies transition, vertical superimposition of multiple lithologies, and small single-layer thickness. These characteristics pose a challenge to shale gas sweet spot prediction. Therefore, establishing a sweet spot grading and evaluation system tailored to these shales is of great significance for guiding decision-making in hydrocarbon exploration and supporting large-scale production. Methods Based on core observations, this study systematically evaluated the geochemical characteristics of marine-continental transitional shales in the 3rd submember of the 2nd member of the Permian …

An Integrated Automated Parameter Optimization Method Based On Fdem And Isight For Rock Mass Engineering: A Case Study Of Pillar Stability Design, Zhu Defu, Gao Bolong, Xu Jiabo, Wang Deyu, Gao Peng, Li Yalin, Hu Wenshuo

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background Conventional rock mass engineering design largely relies on empirical equations or numerical simulation schemes selected from a limited number of comparable cases, making it difficult to effectively balance multiple constraints such as safety, economic viability, and resource recovery. The finite-discrete element method (FDEM) based on the intrinsic cohesive zone model (ICZM) can effectively simulate the evolution of quasi-brittle materials from continuous to discontinuous behavior, rendering it particularly suitable for engineering issues involving highly discontinuous rock masses. Therefore, FDEM has become an important numerical analysis method in rock mass engineering. However, there remains an urgent need for a high-precision, integrated, …

Selection And Verification Of Optimal Key Parameters Of Ultra-Wideband Radars For Life Detection In Coal-Rock Shielding Environments In Coal Mines, Huang Yuan, Zheng Xuezhao, Wen Hu, Jin Feiyang, Xu Chengyu, Liu Yin, Ding Wen

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Methods Ultra-wideband (UWB) radars can transmit electromagnetic waves that penetrate coal and rock media, thereby addressing the challenge of detecting and localizing personnel trapped in shielding environments during mine collapse. However, key parameters for UWB radar detection are difficult to determine due to complex mine environments, diverse media, and unclear dispersion characteristics. To deal with this issue, this study determined the frequency-dependent dielectric properties of various coal and rock media, as well as human tissues, through experiments and fitting. In combination with actual rescue scenarios, this study established the electromagnetic equivalent model of shielding environments in coal mines. …

Factors Influencing The Build-Up Rate Of Small-Diameter Rotary Steerable Systems In Underground Coal Mines, Yang Dongdong, Li Quanxin, Zhang Youzhen, Chen Long, Chu Zhiwei, Jiang Bici, Wang Bo, Yan Wenchao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Intelligent drilling represents an important part of intelligent coal mine construction. However, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) directional drilling, the core of underground intelligent drilling operations, currently suffers from several limitations, including the high dogleg severity of wellbore trajectories, low drilling efficiency, and poor hard-rock penetration. Rotary steerable system (RSS) technology has emerged as a key approach to addressing these limitations owing to its high-precision control on drilling trajectories. Methods This study systematically analyzed the factors influencing the build-up rate of small-diameter, push-the-bit RSSs using a modified 3-point circle method and the longitudinal beam bending method. Through theoretical modeling, the coupled impacts …

Machine Learning-Based Diagnosis Of Fracture-Induced Lost Circulation And Intelligent Selection Of Lost Circulation Control Fluids, Sun Huan, Zhu Mingming, Wang Jinshu, Yao Lu, Zhou Fangfang, Tan Xuebin, Sun Yan, Qu Yanping, Chen Ning

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Method Drilling operations in the Changqing area face several challenges in lost circulation, including complex types, significantly different characteristics, and difficulty in designing plugging formulations. To address these issues, this study proposes a DSX-Hybrid coupled intelligent decision-making framework, which serves as an integrated scheme to identify lost circulation channels, perform intelligent selection of plugging formulations, and offer recommendations on construction process. In this framework, given the scarcity of labeled log data, the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) is employed to mine latent geological characteristics of unlabeled data. Then, the self-attention convolutional neural network (SACNN) is …

August 25, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Fast-Track Ode: A Student-Centered, Game-Based Summer Differential Equations Course, Chamila D. Malagoda Gamage

CODEE Journal

This article describes a student-centered and game-based redesign of an Elementary Differential Equations course taught during a six-week summer session. In this compressed setting, students had to move through the standard course content quickly while still developing procedural fluency, conceptual understanding, and confidence with applications. To support these goals, the course used real-time feedback tools, collaborative problem solving, applications connected to students' fields, and mathematical games. The paper describes the course context, major activities, implementation details, and student feedback. Student responses suggest that the activities were well received and helped students stay engaged, participate regularly, prepare for exams, and see …

2026 Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

Insufficiently Reclaimed sites exist within the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (BPSOU) that could pose a threat to human health or surface water quality due to the exposure of historical mine waste. Although many source areas have been previously reclaimed, areas exist where reclamation was completed prior to the establishment of the Butte Hill Revegetation Specifications (BHRS) or reclaimed areas that have failed consecutive Butte Reclamation Evaluation System (BRES) inspections and now fall into either the Insufficiently Reclaimed or Reclamation Improvement category. In all these cases, additional work is required to comply with the BHRS to ensure the cap remains …

Experiences Of Nurses Managing Traumatic Hemorrhagic Shock At A Tertiary Hospital In Ghana, Gloria Achempim-Ansong, Princilla Mensah

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Traumatic hemorrhagic shock is a life-threatening condition requiring immediate and effective management by emergency department nurses. Globally, trauma accounts for approximately 5.8 million deaths annually, with hemorrhagic shock contributing to 30-40% of these fatalities. The management of traumatic hemorrhagic shock in the emergency department is a complex and challenging task that requires a multidisciplinary approach and specialized nursing care. Nurses play a critical role in the early recognition, assessment, and stabilization of patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock, as they are often the first healthcare professionals to encounter these patients in the emergency department.

The incidence of traumatic injuries and …

Redesigning Women’S Health Nurse Practitioner Curricula: Defining Population-Specific Competencies, Mary T. Hickey, Mary Fischer

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: In 2019, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) introduced a new vision for nursing education emphasizing competency-based education (CBE) to enhance preparation of a practice-ready Nurse Practitioner (NP) workforce¹. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) developed NP Role Core Competencies based on the new AACN Essentials. For Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNPs), defining population-specific competencies is essential to preparing practitioners who can meet the complex needs of women and gender-related health populations⁴.

Purpose: This initiative sought to identify NP core and population-specific behaviors to equip faculty with the tools for redesigning …

Advancing Paternal Perinatal Mental Health: Integrating Qualitative Evidence, Theory, And Measurement Science, Rachael Elizabeth Schmitz

Nursing and Health Sciences

Aim: To advance understanding of paternal perinatal mental health through the integration of qualitative evidence, mid-range theory, and conceptual framework development.

Background: Existing scholarship largely emphasizes prevalence and symptom identification of paternal post partum depression, with limited integration of fathers lived experiences into theory development and assessment frameworks, and mental health nursing practice. Greater integration of qualitative evidence, theory, and measurement science may strengthen the recognition and assessment of paternal distress.

Methods & results: This integrative paper synthesizes findings from a phenomenological study of fathers with postpartum depression, the Reciprocal Adaptation in Postpartum Fathers mid-range nursing theory, and the P- …

Welcome To Nontechnically Speaking, Aubrey R. Paris

Nontechnically Speaking Substack

This first issue of the Nontechnically Speaking Substack features an article written by Parlee Center Director Aubrey R. Paris entitled “Modeling Scientific Thought Leadership Through the Lens of Liberal Arts.” It also announces the fall 2026 speaker series and other upcoming events and programs.

Information Literacy Through Open Pedagogy: What’S The Role Of Ai Tools?, Virginia Clinton-Lisell

Education, Health & Behavior Studies Faculty Publications

Student engagement in developing open educational resources (OER; openly licensed materials without fees to access) may be critically important for sustainable higher education and for developing important skills. There has been substantial debate about the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for the sustainability of OER, but little empirical inquiry. In this quasi-experimental study in the United States, two sections of college students (N = 113) collaborated with their instructor to improve the sources cited in an OER textbook. In one section, students only used traditional library databases to find suitable sources (traditional; n = 55). In another section, students …