Engineering Commons^™

Generation Of Dna Oligomers With Similar Chemical Kinetics Via In-Silico Optimization, Michael Tobiason, Bernard Yurke, William L. Hughes

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Networks of interacting DNA oligomers are useful for applications such as biomarker detection, targeted drug delivery, information storage, and photonic information processing. However, differences in the chemical kinetics of hybridization reactions, referred to as kinetic dispersion, can be problematic for some applications. Here, it is found that limiting unnecessary stretches of Watson-Crick base pairing, referred to as unnecessary duplexes, can yield exceptionally low kinetic dispersions. Hybridization kinetics can be affected by unnecessary intra-oligomer duplexes containing only 2 base-pairs, and such duplexes explain up to 94% of previously reported kinetic dispersion. As a general design rule, it is recommended that unnecessary …

Machine Learning-Enabled Regional Multi-Hazards Risk Assessment Considering Social Vulnerability, Tianjie Zhang, Donglei Wang, Yang Lu

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The regional multi-hazards risk assessment poses difficulties due to data access challenges, and the potential interactions between multi-hazards and social vulnerability. For better natural hazards risk perception and preparedness, it is important to study the nature-hazards risk distribution in different areas, specifically a major priority in the areas of high hazards level and social vulnerability. We propose a multi-hazards risk assessment method which considers social vulnerability into the analyzing and utilize machine learning-enabled models to solve this issue. The proposed methodology integrates three aspects as follows: (1) characterization and mapping of multi-hazards (Flooding, Wildfires, and Seismic) using five machine learning …

Thermomechanical Properties Of Neutron Irradiated Al3Hf-Al Thermal Neutron Absorber Materials, Donna Post Guillen, Mychailo B. Toloczko, Ramprashad Prabhakaran, Yuanyuan Zhu, Yu Lu, Yaqiao Wu

CAES Energy Policy Institute Faculty Publications and Presentations

A thermal neutron absorber material composed of Al₃Hf particles in an aluminum matrix is under development for the Advanced Test Reactor. This metal matrix composite was fabricated via hot pressing of high-purity aluminum and micrometer-size Al₃Hf powders at volume fractions of 20.0, 28.4, and 36.5%. Room temperature tensile and hardness testing of unirradiated specimens revealed a linear relationship between volume fraction and strength, while the tensile data showed a strong decrease in elongation between the 20 and 36.5% volume fraction materials. Tensile tests conducted at 200 °C on unirradiated material revealed similar trends. Evaluations were then …

Strategies For Controlling The Spatial Orientation Of Single Molecules Tethered On Dna Origami Templates Physisorbed On Glass Substrates: Intercalation And Stretching, Keitel Cervantes-Salguero, Austin Biaggne, John M. Youngsman, Brett M. Ward, Young C. Kim, Lan Li, John A. Hall, William B. Knowlton, Elton Graugnard, Wan Kuang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nanoarchitectural control of matter is crucial for next-generation technologies. DNA origami templates are harnessed to accurately position single molecules; however, direct single molecule evidence is lacking regarding how well DNA origami can control the orientation of such molecules in three-dimensional space, as well as the factors affecting control. Here, we present two strategies for controlling the polar (θ) and in-plane azimuthal (ϕ) angular orientations of cyanine Cy5 single molecules tethered on rationally-designed DNA origami templates that are physically adsorbed (physisorbed) on glass substrates. By using dipolar imaging to evaluate Cy5′s orientation and super-resolution microscopy, the absolute …

Processing Time, Temperature, And Initial Chemical Composition Prediction From Materials Microstructure By Deep Network For Multiple Inputs And Fused Data, Amir Abbas Kazemzadeh Farizhandi, Mahmood Mamivand

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prediction of the chemical composition and processing history from microstructure morphology can help in material inverse design. In this work, we propose a fused-data deep learning framework that can predict the processing history of a microstructure. We used the Fe-Cr-Co alloys as a model material. The developed framework is able to predict the heat treatment time, temperature, and initial chemical compositions by reading the morphology of Fe distribution and its concentration. The results show that the trained deep neural network has the highest accuracy for chemistry and then time and temperature. We identified two scenarios for inaccurate predictions; 1) There …

Novel Damage Index-Based Rapid Evaluation Of Civil Infrastructure Subsurface Defects Using Thermography Analytics, Tianjie Zhang, Md Asif Rahman, Alex Peterson, Yang Lu

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The qualitative measurement is a common practice in infrastructure condition inspection when using Infrared Thermography (IRT), as it can effectively locate the defected area non-destructively and non-contact. However, a quantitative evaluation becomes more significant because it can help decision makers figure out specific compensation plans to deal with defects. In this work, an IRT-based novel damage index, damage density, was proposed to quantify the significance of subsurface defects. This index is extracted from IR images using our thermography analytics framework. The proposed framework includes thermal image processing, defect edge detection, and thermal gradient map calculations. A modified root mean square …

Deep Learning Approach For Chemistry And Processing History Prediction From Materials Microstructure, Amir Abbas Kazemzadeh Farizhandi, Omar Betancourt, Mahmood Mamivand

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Finding the chemical composition and processing history from a microstructure morphology for heterogeneous materials is desired in many applications. While the simulation methods based on physical concepts such as the phase-field method can predict the spatio-temporal evolution of the materials’ microstructure, they are not efficient techniques for predicting processing and chemistry if a specific morphology is desired. In this study, we propose a framework based on a deep learning approach that enables us to predict the chemistry and processing history just by reading the morphological distribution of one element. As a case study, we used a dataset from spinodal decomposition …

Exciton Delocalization And Scaffold Stability In Bridged Nucleotide-Substituted, Dna Duplex-Templated Cyanine Aggregates, Simon K. Roy, Olga A. Mass, Donald L. Kellis, Christopher K. Wilson, John A. Hall, Bernard Yurke, William B. Knowlton

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Molecular excitons play a foundational role in chromophore aggregates found in light-harvesting systems and offer potential applications in engineered excitonic systems. Controlled aggregation of chromophores to promote exciton delocalization has been achieved by covalently tethering chromophores to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) scaffolds. Although many studies have documented changes in the optical properties of chromophores upon aggregation using DNA scaffolds, more limited work has investigated how structural modifications of DNA via bridged nucleotides and chromophore covalent attachment impact scaffold stability as well as the configuration and optical behavior of attached aggregates. Here we investigated the impact of two types of bridged nucleotides, …

Nuclear Envelope Mechanobiology: Linking The Nuclear Structure And Function, Matthew Goelzer, Julianna Goelzer, Matthew L. Ferguson, Corey P. Neu, Gunes Uzer

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The nucleus, central to cellular activity, relies on both direct mechanical input as well as its molecular transducers to sense external stimuli and respond by regulating intra-nuclear chromatin organization that determines cell function and fate. In mesenchymal stem cells of musculoskeletal tissues, changes in nuclear structures are emerging as a key modulator of their differentiation and proliferation programs. In this review we will first introduce the structural elements of the nucleoskeleton and discuss the current literature on how nuclear structure and signaling are altered in relation to environmental and tissue level mechanical cues. We will focus on state-of-the-art techniques to …

Integration Of Neural Architecture Within A Finite Element Framework For Improved Neuromusculoskeletal Modeling, Victoria L. Volk, Landon D. Hamilton, Donald R. Hume, Kevin B. Shelburne, Clare K. Fitzpatrick

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) models can aid in studying the impacts of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems on one another. These computational models facilitate studies investigating mechanisms and treatment of musculoskeletal and neurodegenerative conditions. In this study, we present a predictive NMS model that uses an embedded neural architecture within a finite element (FE) framework to simulate muscle activation. A previously developed neuromuscular model of a motor neuron was embedded into a simple FE musculoskeletal model. Input stimulation profiles from literature were simulated in the FE NMS model to verify effective integration of the software platforms. Motor unit recruitment and rate coding …

Three-Dimensional Phase Field Modeling Of Fracture In Shape Memory Ceramics, Ehsan Moshkelgosha, Mahmood Mamivand

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite the vast applications of transformable ceramics, such as zirconia-based ceramics, in different areas from biomedical to aerospace, the fundamental knowledge about their mechanical degradation procedure is limited. The interaction of the phase transformation and crack growth is crucial as the essential underlying mechanism in fracture of these transformable ceramics, also known as shape memory ceramics. This study develops a three-dimensional (3D) multiphysics model that couples the variational formulation of brittle crack growth to the Ginzburg-Landau equations of martensitic transformation. We parameterized the model for the 3D single crystal zirconia, which experienced stress- and thermal-induced tetragonal to monoclinic transformation. The …

Demonstration Of Three True Random Number Generator Circuits Using Memristor Created Entropy And Commercial Off-The-Shelf Components, Scott Stoller, Kristy A. Campbell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this work, we build and test three memristor-based true random number generator (TRNG) circuits: two previously presented in the literature and one which is our own design. The functionality of each circuit is assessed using the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Statistical Test Suite (STS). The TRNG circuits were built using commercially available off-the-shelf parts, including the memristor. The results of this work confirm the usefulness of memristors for successful implementation of TRNG circuits, as well as the ease with which a TRNG can be built using simple circuit designs and off-the-shelf breadboard circuit components.

Developing And Applying Knowledge And Skills In Ethics And Professional Morality: An Evidence-Based Practice Paper, Donald Winiecki, Lynn Catlin, Harold Ackler

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Even without a focused interest in the topic, as we enter the third decade of the 21st Century one would have a difficult time ignoring the steady flow of stories reporting tragic consequences arising from engineering decisions that appear to have omitted ethical components, and of ethical dilemmas arising from contemporary engineering and computer science. Similarly, one would have to be willful to miss an equally steady drumbeat of calls for improved ethics in engineering and computer science education.

However, one can make the argument that simply offering new or more content related to ethics in engineering education is not …

Comparison Of The Electrical Response Of Cu And Ag Ion-Conducting Sdc Memristors Over The Temperature Range 6 K To 300 K, Kolton Drake, Tonglin Lu, Md. Kamrul H. Majumdar, Kristy A. Campbell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Electrical performance of self-directed channel (SDC) ion-conducting memristors which use Ag and Cu as the mobile ion source are compared over the temperature range of 6 K to 300 K. The Cu-based SDC memristors operate at temperatures as low as 6 K, whereas Ag-based SDC memristors are damaged if operated below 125 K. It is also observed that Cu reversibly diffuses into the active Ge₂Se₃ layer during normal device shelf-life, thus changing the state of a Cu-based memristor over time. This was not observed for the Ag-based SDC devices. The response of each device type to sinusoidal …

Using Reflection To Facilitate Writing Knowledge Transfer In Upper-Level Materials Science Courses, Jennifer C. Mallette, Harold Ackler

English Literature Faculty Publications and Presentations

When students enter upper-level engineering courses, they may bring with them unclear or inconsistent approaches to writing in engineering. Influenced by their past experiences with writing, students encountering engineering genres such as reports and proposals may struggle to write successfully. They may struggle in part because of the messiness inherent in writing knowledge transfer: a student who successfully completed freshman composition may still be unable to transfer skills, habits of mind, and approaches to writing from that setting to engineering because the rhetorical situations look drastically different. Yancey, Robertson, and Taczak define transfer as a “dynamic rather than a static …

Investigating The Pavement Vibration Response For Roadway Service Condition Evaluation, Zhoujing Ye, Yang Lu, Linbing Wang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dynamic response of pavement provides service condition information and helps with damage prediction, while limited research is available with the simulation of pavement vibration response for evaluating roadway service condition. +is paper presents a numerical model for the analysis of the pavement vibration due to the dynamic load created by a passing vehicle. A quarter vehicle model was used for the determination of the vehicle moving load. Both random and spatial characteristics of the load were considered. The random nonuniform moving load was then introduced in a 3D finite element model for the determination of the traffic-induced pavement vibration. The …

Development And Assessment Of A Combined Reu/Ret Program In Materials Science, Noah Salzman, Rick Ubic

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we present an evaluation and lessons learned from a joint Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program focused on energy and sustainability topics within a Materials Science and Engineering program at a public university. This program brought eleven undergraduate science and engineering students with diverse educational and institutional backgrounds and four local middle and high school teachers on campus for an 8-week research experience working in established lab groups at the university.

Using the Qualtrics online survey software, we conducted pre-experience and post-experience surveys of the participants to assess the effects of …

Calculus Reform: Increasing Stem Retention And Post-Requisite Course Success While Closing The Retention Gap For Women And Underrepresented Minority Students, Doug Bullock, Janet Callahan, Jocelyn B. S. Cullers

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Boise State University (BSU) implemented an across-the-board reform of calculus instruction during the 2014 calendar year. The details of the reform, described elsewhere (Bullock, 2015), (Bullock 2016), involve both pedagogical and curricular reform. Gains from the project have included a jump in Calculus I pass rate, greater student engagement, greater instructor satisfaction, a shift toward active learning pedagogies, and the emergence of a strong collaborative teaching community. This paper examines the effects of the reform on student retention. Since the curricular reform involved pruning some content and altering course outcomes, which could conceivably have negative downstream impacts, we report on …

Self-Directed Channel Memristor For High Temperature Operation, Kristy A. Campbell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ion-conducting memristors comprised of the layered chalcogenide materials Ge₂Se₃/SnSe/Ag are described. The memristor, termed a self-directed channel (SDC) device, can be classified as a generic memristor and can tolerate continuous high temperature operation (at least 150 °C). Unlike other chalcogenide-based ion conducting device types, the SDC device does not require complicated fabrication steps, such as photodoping or thermal annealing, making these devices faster and more reliable to fabricate. Device pulsed response shows fast state switching in the 10⁻⁹ s range. Device cycling at both room temperature and 140 °C show write endurance of at least …

Concrete Pavement Service Condition Assessment Using Infrared Thermography, Yang Lu, Aidin J. Golrokh, M.D. Aminul Islam

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Infrared thermography (IRT), an effective nondestructive testing method, is used to obtain an initial evaluation of the concrete pavement surface and near surface in a time effective manner. In this paper, the effect of the depth of delamination inside concrete pavement on infrared thermography technique is studied for bridge decks inspection. To be able to mimic the delamination in subsurface, two Styrofoam cubes have been inserted in different depth near the surface of the concrete cylinder. After heating up the specimen, thermal images were taken from the surface using an infrared thermal camera to evaluate the effect of subsurface defects …

Pulse Shape And Timing Dependence On The Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity Response Of Ion-Conducting Memristors As Synapses, Kris A. Campbell, Kolton T. Drake, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ion-conducting memristors comprised of the layered materials Ge₂Se₃/SnSe/Ag are promising candidates for neuromorphic computing applications. Here, the spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) application is demonstrated for the first time with a single memristor type operating as a synapse over a timescale of 10 orders of magnitude, from nanoseconds through seconds. This large dynamic range allows the memristors to be useful in applications that require slow biological times, as well as fast times such as needed in neuromorphic computing, thus allowing multiple functions in one design for one memristor type—a “one size fits all” approach. This work also …

Longitudinal Success Of Calculus I Reform, Doug Bullock, Kathrine E. Johnson, Janet Callahan

Mathematics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes the second year of an ongoing project to transform calculus instruction at Boise State University. Over the past several years, Calculus I has undergone a complete overhaul that has involved a movement from a collection of independent, uncoordinated, personalized, lecture-based sections, into a single coherent multi-section course with an activelearning pedagogical approach. The overhaul also significantly impacted the course content and learning objectives. The project is now in its fifth semester and has reached a steady state where the reformed practices are normative within the subset of instructors who might be called upon to teach Calculus I. …

Evolution Of A First-Year Engineering Course, Noah Salzman, Janet Callahan, Gary Leroy Hunt, Carol Sevier, Amy J. Moll

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The first-year engineering course at Boise State University has evolved significantly over the past decade as a result of continuous improvement with a particular focus on student retention. The course was originally created in 1999-2001 as an “Introduction to Engineering” course in order to recruit students to one of the fields of engineering, by introducing those fields of engineering as topics across the semester. Over the first ten years, the course continued that introductory-to-field focus while also introducing a significant design element solving openended engineering problems. As a result of a five-year grant aimed toward improving first-year retention, the first-year …

Energy-Efficient Stdp-Based Learning Circuits With Memristor Synapses, Xinyu Wu, Vishal Saxena, Kristy A. Campbell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is now accepted that the traditional von Neumann architecture, with processor and memory separation, is ill suited to process parallel data streams which a mammalian brain can efficiently handle. Moreover, researchers now envision computing architectures which enable cognitive processing of massive amounts of data by identifying spatio-temporal relationships in real-time and solving complex pattern recognition problems. Memristor cross-point arrays, integrated with standard CMOS technology, are expected to result in massively parallel and low-power Neuromorphic computing architectures. Recently, significant progress has been made in spiking neural networks (SNN) which emulate data processing in the cortical brain. These architectures comprise of …

Multiscaffold Dna Origami Nanoparticle Waveguides, William P. Klein, Charles N. Schmidt, Blake Rapp, Sadao Takabayashi, William B. Knowlton, Jeunghoon Lee, Bernard Yurke, William L. Hughes, Elton Graugnard, Wan Kuang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

DNA origami templated self-assembly has shown its potential in creating rationally designed nanophotonic devices in a parallel and repeatable manner. In this investigation, we employ a multiscaffold DNA origami approach to fabricate linear waveguides of 10 nm diameter gold nanoparticles. This approach provides independent control over nanoparticle separation and spatial arrangement. The waveguides were characterized using atomic force microscopy and far-field polarization spectroscopy. This work provides a path toward large-scale plasmonic circuitry.

Reconfigurable Threshold Logic Gates Using Memristive Devices, Adrian Rothenbuhler, Thanh Tran, Elisa H. Barney Smith, Vishal Saxena, Kristy A. Campbell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present our design exploration of reconfigurable Threshold Logic Gates (TLG) implemented using silver–chalcogenide memristive devices combined with CMOS circuits. Results from simulations and physical circuits are shown. A variety of linearly separable logic functions including AND, OR, NAND, NOR have been realized in discrete hardware using a single-layer TLG. The functionality can be changed between these operations by reprogramming the resistance of the memristive devices.

Compositional Tuning Of Structural Stability Of Lithiated Cubic Titania Via A Vacancy-Filling Mechanism Under High Pressure, Hui Xiong

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Experimental and theoretical studies on the compositional dependence of stability and compressibility in lithiated cubic titania are presented. The crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition pressure increases monotonically with Li concentration (from ∼17.5  GPa for delithiated to no phase transition for fully lithiated cubic titania up to 60 GPa). The associated enhancement in structural stability is postulated to arise from a vacancy filling mechanism in which an applied pressure drives interstitial Li ions to vacancy sites in the oxide interior. The results are of significance for understanding mechanisms of structural response of metal oxide electrode materials at high pressures as well as emerging …

Electron Self-Trapping In Ge2 Se3 And Its Role In Ag And Sn Incorporation, Arthur H. Edwards, Kristy A. Campbell, Andrew C. Pineda

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a set of density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the electronic structure of Ag and Sn in Ge₂ Se₃ in a periodic model. We show that electron self-trapping is a persistent feature in the presence of many defects. Ag and Sn autoionize upon entering Ge₂ Se₃ becoming Ag₊ and Sn₂₊ , respectively, and the freed electrons self trap at the lowest energy site. Both Ag and Sn can substitute for Ge, and we present formation energies as a function of Fermi level that show that Sn can substantially alter the incorporation of …

What Value Does Service Learning Have On Introductory Engineering Students' Motivation And Abet Program Outcomes?, Carol Sevier, Seung Youn Chyung, Janet Callahan, Cheryl Schrader

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using a service learning (SL) method on influencing introductory engineering students' motivation and ABET program outcomes, compared to the effectiveness of using a conventional, non-service-learning (NSL) method. The sample used in the study was 214 students enrolled in an Introduction to Engineering course at a medium-size university in the northwestern region of the U.S. during the fall semester of 2009 and the spring semester of 2010. Sixty-nine students completed SL projects while 145 students completed NSL projects. Both SL and NSL projects were team-based. Using the ARCS model as a …

Application Of Image Processing To Track Twin Boundary Motion In Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys, Adrian Rothenbuhler, Elisa Barney Smith, Peter Müllner

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Materials scientists make use of image processing tools more and more as technology advances and the data volume that needs to be analyzed increases. We propose a method to optically measure magnetic eld induced strain (MFIS) as well as twin boundary movement in Ni₂MnGa single crystal shape memory alloys to facilitate spatially resolved tracking of deformation. Current magneto-mechanical experiments used to measure MFIS can measure strain only in one direction and do not provide information about the movement of individual twin boundaries. A sequence of images captured from a high resolution camera is analyzed by a boundary detection …