Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Carotid Artery Using Wavelet-Based Analysis Of The Pulse Wave Signal, Sameh El-Sharo, Amani Al-Ghraibah, Jamal Al-Nabulsi, Mustafa Muhammad Matalgah

Faculty and Student Publications

The use of pulse wave analysis may assist cardiologists in diagnosing patients with vascular diseases. However, it is not common in clinical practice to interpret and analyze pulse wave data and utilize them to detect the abnormalities of the signal. This paper presents a novel approach to the clinical application of pulse waveform analysis using the wavelet technique by decomposing the normal and pathology signal into many levels. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) decomposes the carotid arterial pulse wave (CAPW) signal, and the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) creates images of the decomposed signal. The wavelet analysis technique in this work …

A Low-Cost, Long-Range, And Solar-Based Iot Soil Quality Monitor, Salvador Garcia, Trina Nguyen, Julian Wong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

The project objective is to create a low-cost, long-range, and solar-based IoT soil quality monitoring system. The system must transmit packages of data gathered from separate nodes, consisting of two different types of sensors, to a centralized gateway receiver to be displayed to the user in an elegant and readable manner. The end goal of the project is to supplement produce grown by large agricultural bodies around the United States without the misuse of water resources. This report presents the need for this system, details the components of the system, and the rationale behind design choices. It serves as a …

Remote Crop Disease Detection Using Deep Learning With Iot, Ivy Chung, Anoushka Gupta

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Agriculture is such a vital part of our society, and according to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), plant diseases are considered one of the two main causes of decreasing food availability. This paper explores not only the methods and findings of building a CNN-based disease detection model, but that of building a deployable remote crop disease detection system incorporating IoT technology. By using transfer learning with AlexNet, we were able to predict with 89.8% accuracy tomato plant images into one of the ten pre-defined disease classes. Our proposed system tracks plant health throughout the day by using …

Cost Efficient Radio Telescope, Nick Arroyo, Brian Benedicto, Tyler Ikehara

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

This project aims to construct a smaller and less expensive radio telescope compared to traditional radio telescope designs by utilizing a Software Defined Radio (SDR). This is the first stage of a multi-year effort to bring radio astronomy capabilities to Santa Clara University. The implementation of this project includes designing and building a pyramidal horn antenna centered around the hydrogen line frequency of 1420 MHz. The project will also be comparing specifications of low noise amplifiers (LNA) and designing band-pass filters. Lastly, this project implements an SDR to process the signals received by the telescope to recreate a map of …

Foam-Based Floatovoltaics: A Potential Solution To Disappearing Terminal Natural Lakes, Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Joshua M. Pearce

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Terminal lakes are disappearing worldwide because of direct and indirect human activities. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) are a synergistic system with increased energy output because of water cooling, while the FPV reduces water evaporation. This study explores how low-cost foam-based floatovoltaic systems can mitigate the disappearance of natural lakes. A case study is performed on 10%–50% FPV coverage of terminal and disappearing Walker Lake. Water conservation is investigated with a modified Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration method and energy generation is calculated with an operating temperature model experimentally determined from foam-based FPV. Results show FPV saves 52,000,000 m3/year of water and US$6,000,000 at 50% …

A Low-Cost, Long-Range, And Solar-Based Iot Soil Quality Monitor, Salvador Garcia, Trina Nguyen, Julian Wong

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

The project objective is to create a low-cost, long-range, and solar-based IoT soil quality monitoring system. The system must transmit packages of data gathered from separate nodes, consisting of two dierent types of sensors, to a centralized gateway receiver to be displayed to the user in an elegant and readable manner. The end goal of the project is to supplement produce grown by large agricultural bodies around the United States without the misuse of water resources. This report presents the need for this system, details the components of the system, and the rationale behind design choices. It serves as a …

Healthy Hive: A Beehive Health Management Tool, Kwadwo Amoako

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Honeybees are important pollinators and are essential in the preservation of ecosystems as well as agricultural production. They are crucial to the pollination of 85% of the world’s food crops. However, honeybee populations have been in decline over the past decade, due to external environmental conditions such as diseases and pests (invasive varroa mite), pollution (insecticide), or inadequate forage/poor nutrition. These conditions can have a severe impact on the health of hives. This project will serve as a tool for the monitoring system of tracking the activities of honeybees entering and exiting their beehive. The health condition of the bee …

Impulse, Spring 2022, University Marketing And Communications, Jerome J. Lohr College Of Engineering

Impulse (Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering Publication)

2 | Ahmed Leads Construction and Operations Management
4 | Faculty News
8 | Kelley Steps Aside After 44 Years
12 | Boggs Retires From Mechanical Engineering
14 | Looking At Covid-19 Numbers
16 | Students Help College of Nursing
18 | Midwest Applied Materials Symposium Debuts
20 | Fourth Data Science Event Takes Place
24 | College Achievements
26 | Hard Work Pays Off
28 | Spotlight Shines on Students
30 | Mentoring Program Takes Off
32 | Robotics Club Busy With Activities
34 | The Numbers
36 | Brown, Sieve Honored
38 | Alumna Leads NASA Division
40 …

A Parallelizable Algorithm For Stabilizing Large Sparse Linear Systems With Uncertain Interconnections, Aleksandar Zečević, Maryam Khanbaghi

Electrical and Computer Engineering

This paper proposes a new method for permuting sparse matrices into an upper block triangular from. The algorithm is highly parallelizable, which makes it suitable for large-scale systems with uncertain interconnection patterns. In such cases, the proposed decomposition can be used to develop flexible decentralized control strategies that produce a different gain matrix whenever the configuration changes. Applications to interconnected microgrids and supply and demand networks are provided to illustrate the versatility of the proposed approach.

Towards Improved Inertial Navigation By Reducing Errors Using Deep Learning Methodology, Hua Chen, Tarek M. Taha, Vamsy P. Chodavarapu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Autonomous vehicles make use of an Inertial Navigation System (INS) as part of vehicular sensor fusion in many situations including GPS-denied environments such as dense urban places, multi-level parking structures, and areas with thick tree-coverage. The INS unit incorporates an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to process the linear acceleration and angular velocity data to obtain orientation, position, and velocity information using mechanization equations. In this work, we describe a novel deep-learning-based methodology, using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), to reduce errors from MEMS IMU sensors. We develop a CNN-based approach that can learn from the responses of a particular inertial sensor …

Forecast Of Community Total Electric Load And Hvac Component Disaggregation Through A New Lstm-Based Method, Huangjie Gong, Rosemary E. Alden, Aron Patrick, Dan Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

The forecast and estimation of total electric power demand of a residential community, its baseload, and its heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) power component, which represents a very large portion of a community electricity usage, are important enablers for optimal energy controls and utility planning. This paper proposes a method that employs machine learning in a multi-step integrated approach. An LSTM model for total electric power at the main circuit feeder is trained using historic multi-year hourly data, outdoor temperature, and solar irradiance. New key temperature indicators, TmHAVC, corresponding to the standby zero-power operation for HVAC systems for summer cooling …

Frequency Domain Modeling And Optimal Parameter Tuning Of Power Converters For Dynamic Analysis Of The Grid Integration Of Photovoltaic Systems, Hussein Abdulrazzaq Lafta Alameri

Dissertations

Power electronic converters are essential devices for the effective interconnection of renewable energy sources to the power grid, such as DC-DC, DC-AC, and AC-DC converters. Therefore, power converter models that provide an accurate mathematical representation of their interconnection with other grid components are crucial for reliable transient and steady state analyses during normal or abnormal grid operating conditions.

This dissertation introduces a Laplace domain-based modeling approach for the study of transient converter-grid interactions. The proposed approach is based on the development of two-port admittance models of converters and other components, combined with the use of numerical Laplace transforms (NLT). The …

Microgrid For Scu With Vehicle-To-Grid, Kurt Williams, Cameron Refaee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Theses

Santa Clara University is a large loads in Santa Clara needed two finders and a maximum of over 8MW peak demand; however, this consumption will only increase as the student body and electric vehicles on campus continue to grow. To meet this rising demand in both a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, we proposed and simulated a complete energy management system with cost analysis of energy savings of a microgrid capable of reducing the power supplied to Santa Clara University’s campus from the grid by 40% using renewable energy, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality, and real SCU energy data. The project further …

Bioai For Anti-Infective Drug Discovery, Maria Esquivel, Johann Fernando, Anna Fisher, Cameron Leong, Adam Weaver

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Modern antibacterial drugs are quickly becoming insufficient for medical, agricultural and veterinary use, and the drug design techniques used to supplement the supply are not able to adequately and quickly produce enough effective candidates. We took a multi-pronged approach to remedying this problem, including shifting the target mechanism from antibiotic drugs in favor of anti-infective drugs, developing an AI which aimed to predict the interactions of small molecule fragments with the target protein, and refining wet lab testing protocols in order to make the drug design process holistically more efficient and effective. We have shown that there is potential in …

Marine Robot Sample Retrieving System, Valeriya Chulyukina, Noah Villar, Kekoa Blair, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Burke

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

The exploration of our underwater ecosystems is critical. The aquatic ecosystem has a significant effect on human life, yet our understanding of the oceanic environment is severely lacking. Santa Clara University’s Robotic Systems Lab contributes to subsea exploration through its investment in remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology. This project was done with the guidance of not only professors in the Robotics Systems Lab, but also stakeholders from the US Geological Survey scientists and researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Our team goal was to further advance SCU’s efforts by creating a sediment sample collection system consisting of …

First Order Enhanced Coupling Strength (Ecs) Gratings For Laser-Electro Absorption Modulator (Eam) Transmitters, Freddie Castillo Ii

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Conventional first-order DBR gratings in III-V waveguides often require hundreds of microns to achieve near 100% reflected power and provide narrow spectral reflectivity width for a single wavelength, limiting temperature performance of devices. Narrow reflectivity spectral width is desired for spectroscopy and wavelength division multiplexing applications where device temperature is regulated. However, Enhanced Coupling Strength (ECS) gratings provide in-plane reflectors with significantly higher reflected power per unit length, broad spectral reflectivities, and reduced losses at the waveguide-grating interface in III-V waveguides. These properties of ECS gratings allow integration of optical components such as high-speed modulators with short horizontal cavity lasers …

Growth, Characterization And Evaluation Of Cdzntese Single Crystals For Room Temperature Radiation Detectors, Ritwik Nag

Theses and Dissertations

In this research work Cd_0.9Zn_0.1Te_0.03Se_0.97 (CZTS) single crystals were grown using in-house zone refined 7N (99.99999%) purity elements through vertical Bridgman (VBM) method and vertical gradient freeze (VGF) method. The morphological, compositional, and structural characteristics were then performed on the grown CZTS crystals. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis on the grown crystals showed sharp diffraction peaks indicating a highly crystalline nature, with a lattice constant of ~6.45 Å. The elemental and stoichiometric ratio of the grown CZTS crystals were examined by using energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), which confirmed the formation of the quaternary …

A Low Jitter And Low Power Electronic Interface For Time-Of-Flight Positron Emission Tomography Silicon Photomultiplier Detectors, Matthew Romer

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A time-of-flight (TOF) detection system for a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) is designed for the purpose of improving on existing technology for applications in positron emission tomography, with an emphasis on low power and low timing jitter. A reconstruction algorithm is implemented in Matlab to demonstrate the effect of TOF on the image quality per number of source events, as compared to systems restricted to line-of-response (LOR) data only. A case study is performed on SiPM functionality, behavioral modeling, and contemporary front-end amplification designs for a SiPM detector. A charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) circuit is modified for simultaneous collection of timing …

Learning Domain Invariant Information To Enhance Presentation Attack Detection In Visible Face Recognition Systems, Jennifer Hamblin

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Face signatures, including size, shape, texture, skin tone, eye color, appearance, and scars/marks, are widely used as discriminative, biometric information for access control. Despite recent advancements in facial recognition systems, presentation attacks on facial recognition systems have become increasingly sophisticated. The ability to detect presentation attacks or spoofing attempts is a pressing concern for the integrity, security, and trust of facial recognition systems. Multi-spectral imaging has been previously introduced as a way to improve presentation attack detection by utilizing sensors that are sensitive to different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., visible, near infrared, long-wave infrared). Although multi-spectral presentation attack …

Understanding The Mechanism Of Deep Learning Frameworks In Lesion Detection For Pathological Images With Breast Cancer, Wei-Wen Hsu, Chung-Hao Chen, Chang Hao, Yu-Ling Hou, Xiang Gao, Yun Shao, Xueli Zhang, Jingjing Wang, Tao He, Yanhong Tai

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

With the advances of scanning sensors and deep learning algorithms, computational pathology has drawn much attention in recent years and started to play an important role in the clinical workflow. Computer-aided detection (CADe) systems have been developed to assist pathologists in slide assessment, increasing diagnosis efficiency and reducing misdetections. In this study, we conducted four experiments to demonstrate that the features learned by deep learning models are interpretable from a pathological perspective. In addition, classifiers such as the support vector machine (SVM) and random forests (RF) were used in experiments to replace the fully connected layers and decompose the end-to-end …

Assessing Security Risks With The Internet Of Things, Faith Mosemann

Senior Honors Theses

For my honors thesis I have decided to study the security risks associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) and possible ways to secure them. I will focus on how corporate, and individuals use IoT devices and the security risks that come with their implementation. In my research, I found out that IoT gadgets tend to go unnoticed as a checkpoint for vulnerability. For example, often personal IoT devices tend to have the default username and password issued from the factory that a hacker could easily find through Google. IoT devices need security just as much as computers or servers …

Neurogen: Eeg And Near-Infrared Light Stimulation Control System, Karina Sanchez, Sruthi Sakthivel, Michael Bose, Evan Jennings

Interdisciplinary Design Senior Theses

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are widespread, affecting millions of people worldwide. These diseases occur when neurons in the brain or peripheral nervous system progressively lose function and deteriorate. Current pharmacological treatments manage some of the neurological symptoms, but there is no cure yet. Interventions that mitigate or restore loss of function can fill the void until that goal is met. Light stimulation, or transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) therapy, can help treat people with neurodegenerative diseases, as it has been shown to improve sleep, attention, memory, and cognitive function.

The objective of this project is to develop …

The Music Bluetooth Controller: An Intersection Between Technology And Music, Lydia Wu

Senior Honors Theses

The modern musician faces a new challenge: how can technology be used to enhance a performance? This thesis documents the development of a Bluetooth remote controller that will aid today’s performing musicians by interacting with a digital display (e.g., an iPad) to flip musical score pages remotely. At its core, while mimicking a Bluetooth pedal (the current industry standard), this device attaches to the musician’s hand. In its pilot stages, the device has been referred to “MBC” (Music Bluetooth Controller).

Development And Testing Of Braking And Acceleration Features For Vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance System, Johann Carlo Marasigan, Gian Paolo Mayuga, Elmer R. Magsino

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Traffic congestion is a constant problem for cities worldwide. The human driving inefficiency and poor urban planning and development contribute to traffic buildup and travel discomfort. An example of human inefficiency is the phantom traffic jam, which is caused by unnecessary braking, causing traffic to slow down, and eventually coming to a stop. In this study, a brake and acceleration feature (BAF) for the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is proposed to mitigate the effects of the phantom traffic phenomenon. In its initial stage, the BAF provides a heads-up display that gives information on how much braking and acceleration input …

Design Report Of The 2022 High Voltage Battery Pack And System For Fsae Tigerracing Electric Vehicle, Clay Knight

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Ux/U-Eye: Designing Graphical User Interfaces For Exclusive Eye Gaze Control, Timothy Curol

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Led Enhancements To The Mimir Animatronic Figure, Collin J. Devillier

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Privacy-Preserving Information Security For The Energy Grid Of Things, Mohammed Alsaid, Nirupama Bulusu, Abdullah Barghouti, N. Sonali Fernando, John M. Acken, Tylor E. Slay, Robert B. Bass

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Smart grid infrastructure relies on information exchange between multiple actors in order to ensure system reliability. These actors include but are not limited to smart loads, grid control, and energy management technologies. As information exchange between these actors is susceptible to cyber-attacks, security and privacy issues are indispensable to ensure a reliable and stable grid. This position paper proposes a privacy-preserving, trust-augmented secure scheme for a smart grid implementation.

Epitaxial 4h-Sic Radiation Detectors For Harsh Environment Applications, Joshua W. Kleppinger

Theses and Dissertations

Epitaxial 4H-silicon carbide (4H-SiC) is an essential semiconductor material for the development of harsh environment radiation detectors due to its excellent electrical and thermal properties and resistance to radiation damage, opening the door for a wide variety of applications in NASA space missions, nuclear safeguards, and nuclear energy. However, the low atomic numbers of its constituent atoms Si (Z = 14) and C (Z = 6) make 4H-SiC nearly transparent to most neutrally charged radiation which can only be compensated using thicker active volumes.

In this dissertation, Ni/n-4H-SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) radiation detectors are fabricated for the first time …

In Vitro And In Vivo Studies Of Mediator Kinase, Lili Wang

Theses and Dissertations

This project addresses the molecular and in vivo activities of transcriptionregulating module CKM, comprised of CDK8 (or CDK19) kinases, Cyclin C, MED12 and MED13. Our lab has found that CDK8/19 potentiates NFkB-induced transcription. In this study, we confirmed that both CDK8 and CDK19 regulate gene expression in kinasedependent manner. CDK8 and CDK19 are not required for NFkB-induced transcription, which also occurs in HEK293-dKO (CDK8 and CDK19 double knockout) cells, but such transcription becomes CDK8/19-dependent upon re-expression of CDK8 or CDK19 in dKO. Surprisingly. pre-treatment with a CDK8/19 inhibitor decreases the effect of CDK8/19 on NFkB-induced transcription.

In another set of …