Engineering Commons^™

Prediction Of Carbonation Capacity Of Scms Using Ensemble Learning Method, Kangyi Cai, Jian Liu, Edward Mwanza, Mahelet G. Fikru, Hongyan Ma, Donald C. Wunsch

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The utilization of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) subjected to carbonation processing represents a viable strategy to mitigate anthropogenic CO₂ emissions associated with concrete production, potentially contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality. However, existing studies have limitations in effectively predicting the varying carbonation capacities of different SCMs, a gap that this research aims to address. Recent research efforts focused on the carbonation of waste-material-sourced SCMs are reviewed, along with a comparative discussion on diverse carbonation methods. A detailed data set encapsulating the properties of SCMs, and carbonation configurations was compiled. At the same time, six ensemble learning models were …

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2024

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

The report's highlights updates including ongoing research, know your well, and the Nebraska master irrigator launch.

Would Self-Supported Fracture Contribute To The Hydrocarbon Production In Shale Reservoir Besides Proppant-Supported Fracture, Y. Sun, G. Li, S. Zeng, J. Wu, J. Liu, M. Xu, C. Dai, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

During hydraulic fracturing in deep shale gas reservoirs, it is difficult to pump proppants long distances, and self-supported fractures are formed at the far and upper ends of the fractures. The self-supported fracture could hold the fracture space by its surface structure again fracture closure. However, it faces various aspects of impairment during shale gas reservoir development, which affect its conductivity. Among the impairment, long-term production results in a decline of bottom hole pressure, which will compact the fracture space, and self-supported fractures without proppant are more sensitive than those with proppant. In this paper, we conducted a series of …

Dung Dkar Cloak: Exploring Soft Interfaces For Sonic Interactions, Judit Eszter Kárpáti, Esteban De La Torre

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The importance of crossmodal interaction within the contemporary cultural, technological and scientific panorama has evidently gained significant attention due to its remarkable advantages in creating a meaningful, interwoven, and integrated experience. The use and recontextualization of textiles in such exploratory quest into the human senses has proven to be critical. Computational science, algorithmic logic and digital devices have always been rooted and closely interwoven with textile crafts and practices. Recent technological advancements have further combined technology and textile, generating interactive textile surfaces, constructing endless possibilities for multisensorial experiences. In this presentation we will examine how we can weave a sensitive …

Environmental Metrics In Action: Exploring U.S. Superfund Sites Affiliated With The Fashion Industry, Nidia K. Trejo

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Little is known of Superfund sites, long-term clean up sites, affiliated with the apparel and footwear supply chain in the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) manages the clean up of contaminated sites that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment under the Superfund program. A site can become contaminated if hazardous waste from industrial operations are mismanaged or dumped into the environment, in an uncontrolled manner. In this study, a proposed Superfund site (Mohawk Tannery in Nashua, New Hampshire), an active Superfund site (Ciba-Geigy Corp. in Toms River, New Jersery), and a …

A Smart Energy-Efficient Hybrid Gait Monitoring System, Elsa Joy Harris

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Triboelectric nanogenerators are devices that harvest mechanical energy from the environment and turn it into electricity. By coupling the effect of contact electrification and electrostatic induction between two materials that come into contact and then separate they can convert the irregular, low frequency, waste biomechanical energy of human motion into useful electrical energy to run small body-worn electronics. This has shown promising results in multiple applications such as self-powered motion and haptic sensing, self-charging micro-storage devices, neuromorphic computing, and designing batteryless circuits to power small wearables. This work will investigate a smart energy-efficient hybrid gait monitoring system that is powered …

Development Of Advanced Instrumentation For High-Enthalpy Flow Characterization For The Onr-Uta Arc-Jet ”Leste” Facility, Ian Raybon

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Sustained hypersonic flight is an exceedingly challenging task comprised of a myriad of complex physical processes. At hypersonic speeds, which is defined by the presence of unique phenomena like high-temperature nonequilibrium flow, viscous and vorticity interactions, and thin shock layers, which are not seen in supersonic, transonic, or subsonic vehicles, the vehicle design is principally driven by the high levels of aerodynamic heating caused by the conversion of kinetic energy to internal energy. Gaining an understanding of how these physical processes interact with each other is required to develop a design methodology for this class of vehicles. Arc-jet wind tunnels …

Human System Composite Performance Measures: General Systems Performance Theory Insights, Lawrence Disalvi

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Composite Performance Measures (CPMs) of human performance are widely employed in applications that range from mundane to life-changing, yet they are frequently presented without explanation or reference to theoretical underpinnings. The conceptual soundness of a widely used CPM approach, based on additive combination of constituent components, has been called into question by Kondraske. He argues the relevance of General Systems Performance Theory (GSPT) and performance capacity envelope concepts when applied to multidimensional CPM measures.

To obtain evidence-based answers to assertions regarding CPM types and rationale employed in medical and non-medical contexts, a Systematic Descriptive Review was conducted. Separately, the GSPT-based …

Special Issue Editorial: Business Innovation For The Sustainable Development Goals, Mohamed Saleem Nazmudeen, Fadzliwati Mohiddin, Stephen Singaraju, Seyed M Buhari

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Welcome to this special issue of the ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development (AJSTD), focused on “Business Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." This collection features a robust ensemble of 30 papers that not only highlight innovative business practices across the ASEAN region but also align these innovations with the Sustainable Development Goals. These contributions span a diverse range of disciplines, grouped into five broad categories: Management and Strategy, Financial Innovations, Marketing and Consumer Behavior, Information Technology and Systems, and Environmental and Social Impact.

Entrepreneurship Education In The Lens Of The Senior High School Students, Calvin J. Caliat, Nehmar J. Dalhadi, Kathleen M. Ishmael

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This study uncovers the perspective on the entrepreneurship education of senior high school students on the university campus. This paper is employed a descriptive research design using a survey ques-tionnaire for the respondents. The survey found that respondents are willing to engage in business be-tween one to 10 years after college. The willingness is due to the encouragement from their parents, independent decision-making, building self-confidence and knowledge, and chasing their dreams. However, there are two significant factors that hinder this, including a need for more business investment and experience. The principal attitudes of an entrepreneur include self-control and creativity. Gaining …

Reinforcement Learning For Optimal Kicking Actions In Humanoid Robotics: Advancing Robotic Autonomy And Versatility, Suresh Dodda, Sathish Kumar Chintala, Sukender Reddy Mallreddy, Sharath Chandra Macha, Yashwanth Vasa, Sapan Bharadwaj Bonala, Navin Kamuni, Sujatha Alla

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Acquiring the necessary skills to perform a work effectively and efficiently requires a significant investment of time and computing power. Previous applications of Reinforcement Learning (RL) for action optimization in humanoid robotics have shown how promising this technology is for moving robotics towards true autonomy and versatility. Therefore, this study offers the first use of RL to create an entirely optimal kicking action for the Alderbaran Nao robot. Kicking motions that were steady, precise, quick, and able to kick farther than any existing RoboCup squad were generated by optimizing for a multi-objective reward function. We demonstrate that the ideal kicking …

Data Driven Trade-Off Analysis For Cybersecurity, Goskel Kucukkaya, Murat Ozer, Murat Balci, Emrah Ugurlu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Trade-off analysis, a specialization of systems engineering, addresses design criteria like security, cost, performance, and compliance. Monte Carlo simulations are commonly employed to generate impact scenarios for trade-off analysis combined with solution alternatives that accommodate industry-specific considerations and uncertainties. In the cyber domain, this paper proposes a methodology for data-driven trade-off analysis in cybersecurity, leveraging industry reports as primary data sources using confidentiality, integrity, and availability as trade-off analysis objectives. Distribution functions are derived to manage and model uncertainties for various industries. The approach given in this study aims to facilitate informed choices and to enhance cybersecurity decision making and …

Enhancing Scanning Tunneling Microscopy With Automation And Machine Learning, Darian Smalley

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is one of the most advanced surface science tools capable of atomic resolution imaging and atomic manipulation. Unfortunately, STM has many time-consuming bottlenecks, like probe conditioning, tip instability, and noise artificing, which causes the technique to have low experimental throughput. This dissertation describes my efforts to address these challenges through automation and machine learning. It consists of two main sections each describing four projects for a total of eight studies.

The first section details two studies on nanoscale sample fabrication and two studies on STM tip preparation. The first two studies describe the fabrication of …

Sustainable Additive Manufacturing Of Polysulfone Membranes For Liquid Separations, Brian Leonard, Harrison Loh, David Lu, Ebuka A. Ogbuoji, Isabel Escobar, Konstantinos Sierros, Oishi Sanyal

UK CARES Faculty Publications

Membranes serve as important components for modern manufacturing and purification processes but are conventionally associated with excessive solvent usage. Here, for the first time, a procedure for fabricating large area polysulfone membranes is demonstrated via the combination of direct ink writing (DIW) with non-solvent induced phase inversion (NIPS). The superior control and precision of this process allows for complete utilization of the polymer dope solution during membrane fabrication, thus enabling a significant reduction in material usage. Compared to doctor blade fabrication, a 63% reduction in dope solution volume was achieved using the DIW technique for fabricating similarly sized membranes. Cross …

Probable Extirpation Of The Jackrabbit (Lepus Californicus) From Arkansas, D.B. Sasse

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) was first documented in Arkansas during the modern era in Franklin County in 1927. Over the next few decades records were reported from multiple counties in northwest Arkansas and the species was locally common in Benton, Crawford, and Washington counties in the 1950s. The last Arkansas record documented in the scientific literature was from 1968 and since then there have only been three credible reports, with the last being from the late 1980s. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission solicited reports of jackrabbits from the public and failed to find evidence of them from a …

Ultrastructure Of The Biflagellated Spermatozoon In The Western Siren, Siren Nettingi (Caudata: Sirenidae), Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, S.E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

I investigated the ultrastructure of the biflagellated spermatozoon of the Western Siren, Siren nettingi, using scanning electron microscopy from salamanders collected in northeastern Arkansas. My primary goal in this study was to reveal the general morphology of the distinctive sperm cell components (two axonemes, two undulating membranes, and two axial fibers), which run nearly the entire length of the spermatozoon. These remarkable gamete structures are found in members of the salamander family Sirenidae and do not conform to spermatozoal ultrastructure of any other salamander species. Moreover, the biflagellated sperm are the end product of an extraordinary assemblage of complex maturation …

History And Distribution Of The Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana) In Arkansas, R. Tumlison, L. Serviss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) were thought to be common visitors to Arkansas in the early 1900s, but observations declined mid-century. Surveys of citizen science data and other online sources indicate that numbers of unique observations and total counts of birds have increased since 2000. Storks do not breed here, but have been reported in 34 of 75 counties, and appear mostly in August and September. Birds apparently originate from Mexico. Number of observations have increased since 2016, but many of those observations include only a few birds rather than larger flocks.

An Annotated Checklist Of The Camel Crickets (Insecta: Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) Of Arkansas, H.W. Robison, C.T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A total of 14 native species of camel crickets and one introduced taxon representing three genera (Ceuthophilus, Phrixocnemis, and Diestrammena) of the orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae, are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse genus was Ceuthophilus, with 13 native species, while Phrixocnemis had one native species, and Diestrammena, formerly Tachycines, was represented by one introduced species. This updated checklist is intended to be of use to entomologists, naturalists, professional biologists, and resource managers in evaluating the biodiversity of Arkansas. State distributional maps are provided for each species listed by county, and habitats are discussed in which each species was taken …

Fish Leeches Of Arkansas, D.J. Richardson, W.E. Moser, C.T. Mcallister, S.P. Lawson, H.W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Recent collection within Arkansas greatly enlarges the knowledge concerning hosts and distributions of fish leeches within the state. The natural history of the 6 species of fish leeches known from Arkansas (Placobdella montifera, Placobdella pediculata, Cystobranchus klemmi, Cystobranchus verrilli, Myzobdella lugubris, and Myzobdella reducta) is reviewed and updated and molecular data are provided.

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2024, 144th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-Fourth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Aeronautics and Space Science Poster Session

Anthropology: Humans Past and Present

Maiben Lecture: "Platte Basin Timelapse: A Watershed in Motion," Grant Reiner

Applied Science and Technology

Biological Sciences

Biomedical Sciences

Chemistry

Earh Sciences

Environmental Sciences

Physics

Science Education

Exploratory Prompting Of Large Language Models To Act As Co-Pilots For Augmenting Business Process Work In Document Classification, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Joseph Benjamin R. Ilagan, Claire Louisse Basallo, Zachary Matthew Alabastro

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Businesses deal with different types of documents containing unstructured documents. The data in these documents must be converted into digital forms other automated systems could only process. One generic use case is document classification, which usually involves manual transformation due to human understanding needed in the process. These documents go beyond those generated through regular business transactions and operations and also include web-based content such as online news, blogs, e-mails, and various digital libraries. Recent developments in robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) aim to automate the otherwise expensive, time-consuming, and repetitive manual steps. Through more powerful natural …

Compton Scattering Of Mammographic Soft X-Ray Beams By Alkali And Transition Metal Salt Filters Produce X-Ray Interference Zones That May Have Treatment Potential For Localized Cancer Lesions, Subhendra N. Sarkar, Eric Lobel, Sabina Rakhmatova, Derbie Desir, Somdat Kissoon, Daler Djuraev, Katie Tam

Publications and Research

In breast x-ray imaging scattered radiation adds 50% of harmful radiation dose from anisotropic Compton scattering mechanism. We have been working with double layered inorganic salt materials that can induce Compton scattering to the incident mammographic x ray beams (in 20-30 kVp range) with adequate isotropy (angular control). Typically metal nitrates and alkali halide salt layers are shown here to cause low energy radiation interference zones with high and low photon intensities and local flux heterogeneity in terms of flux covariance. Spatial variation of low energy photon flux creates concentrated and sparse radiation zones that may be used to induce …

Deepwhalenet: A Climate Change-Aware Fft-Based Neural Network For Underwater Passive Acoustic Monitoring, Nicholas Ryan Rasmussen

Dissertations and Theses

In the face of escalating climate threats, the conservation of whale species has become increasingly critical. Traditional acoustic monitoring methods, burdened by extensive pre-processing and post-processing, need more adaptability and efficiency for effective marine mammal surveillance. This study introduces DeepWhaleNet, a novel deep-learning framework tailored for Underwater Passive Acoustic Monitoring (UPAM). DeepWhaleNet is designed to streamline whale detection by directly analyzing raw log-power spectrograms, thus extracting essential acoustic features to conserve these endangered species. The framework employs an extensive short-time Fourier transform (STFT) for input processing and a customized ResNet-18 architecture for classification, distinguishing whale vocalizations from ambient noise and …

Mivt: Medical-Informed Vision Transformer For Early Epilepsy Diagnosis, Md Masum Rana

Dissertations and Theses

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures, and early diagnosis is crucial for effective management and treatment. However, the diagnosis of epilepsy, particularly in its early stages, remains challenging due to the subtle nature of seizures and the complexity of brain activity patterns. In this research, we introduce the Medical-Informed Vision Transformer (MIVT), a deep learning architecture specifically designed to improve early epilepsy diagnosis from multimodal neuroimaging data. Our model integrates insights from both medical knowledge and state-of-the-art Vision Transformers (ViTs) to enhance the accuracy and interpretability of seizure detection and localization. The MIVT leverages the rich …

Development Of A Modular Lab Automation System With Applications To Animal And Bacteria Cell Culture, Timothy William Hartman

Dissertations and Theses

The challenges faced while executing wet lab protocols encourage the development of automation systems to come alongside human scientists. Today’s cutting-edge experiments involve complex protocols with precise measurements usually performed manually. Even simpler biological protocols can be tedious and prone to error, as was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and society’s demand for high-volume, rapid sample analysis. Moreover, reproducibility suffers when there is excessive variability and insufficient data. Here, we leveraged the Stanford Biodesign process to develop a modular lab automation system and image analysis workflow to address challenges like these. This flagship automation platform at The University of South …

Geodatabase And Automation Code Used For Past And Real-Time Dynamic Landslide Hazard Maps In Eastern Kentucky, Nathaniel O'Leary, L. Sebastian Bryson, Jason M. Dortch

Earth and Environmental Sciences Research Data

We developed spatiotemporal landslide hazard maps (LHMs) using soil, hydrologic, and geomorphic parameters from the subaerial infinite slope factor of safety (FS) equation under unsaturated conditions. Soil properties were sourced from the NRCS WSS, while geomorphic variables were derived from a 1.5 m LiDAR-based DEM and ArcGIS Online. Soil moisture from Hydrus-1D, driven by precipitation and evapotranspiration (ET) data from Irrigation Manager, introduced temporal variability. Validation against known landslide sites demonstrated FS accuracy both spatially and temporally, despite some false positives. To reduce false positives and enhance slope stability representation, novel depth-to-bedrock (DTB) and soil root cohesion maps were incorporated …

Crowdsourced Geospatial Data Is Reshaping Urban Sciences, Xiao Huang, Siqin Wang, Tianjun Lu, Yisi Liu, Leticia Serrano-Estrada

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

For many years, urban sciences relied heavily on traditional, authoritative data sources. However, a paradigm shift has occurred recently with the advent of citizen-driven data contribution. This evolution in data acquisition for urban science is attributable to advancements in positioning and navigation technologies, widespread use of digital devices, the rise of Web 2.0, enhanced broadband communications, and refined data management techniques. The significance of crowdsourced geospatial data in the realm of urban sciences is now widely acknowledged. A diverse array of novel data sources has been increasingly gaining prominence. These include, but are not limited to, social media platforms, street …

The Impact Of Dissolved Organic Matter On Photodegradation Rates, Byproduct Formations, And Degradation Pathways For Two Neonicotinoid Insecticides In Simulated River Waters, Josephus F. Borsuah, Tiffany L. Messer, Daniel D. Snow, Steven D. Comfort, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt

UK CARES Faculty Publications

The influences of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on neonicotinoid photochemical degradation and product formation in natural waters remain unclear, potentially impacting the sustainability of river systems. Therefore, our overall objective was to investigate the photodegradation mechanisms and phototransformation byproducts of two neonicotinoid pesticides, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, under simulated sunlight at the microcosm scale, to assess the implications of DOM for insecticide degradation in rivers. Direct and indirect photolysis were investigated using twelve water matrices to identify possible reaction pathways with two DOM sources and three quenching agents. Imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and potential degradants were measured, and reaction pathways identified. The photodegradation …

A 3-Step, Open-Data, Ride-Hailing Ridership Model With Pricing Applications, Richard A. Mucci

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Researchers and practitioners studied the effects ride-hailing had in cities before the covid-19 pandemic. Previous research found ride-hailing to produce negative externalities, such as reducing transit ridership and increasing congestion in various cities. Since the pandemic, ride-hailing ridership has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels in Chicago. Ride-hailing ridership has grown steadily since the pandemic while a rider’s willingness to share their trip stagnated. Ride-hailing ridership nearly recovering to pre-covid levels in Chicago suggests that transportation planners, and policy makers, will need to continue assessing the impacts ride-hailing trips have in their cities.

Pickup and drop off locations in the Chicago …

Manifold Learning In Robotics: A Tutorial And Survey, Marcus Hawkins

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

In this article, we hope to represent the current state of the art of manifold learning in an understandable and approachable way. The authors will present a general overview core algorithms associated with linear and nonlinear dimensionality reduction techniques, give rudimentary definitions from differential geometry, and tenets of robotic perception, manipulation and path planning. Some of the historical applications of these algorithms will be presented, as well as conjectures about future uses, through examples from peer-reviewed journals.