Engineering Commons^™

Understanding The Demands And Resources For Academic Success Of Second-Career Undergraduate Engineering Students As Compared To Traditional Undergraduate And Graduate Engineering Students, Oleksandr Kravchenko, Konstantin Cigularov, Phillip J. Dillulio

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Environmental and personal demands and resources can significantly affect the academic success and degree persistence rates of engineering students. The present study adopted a demands and resources conceptual framework to identify and compare the most critical demands and resources, both internal and external, for academic success and well-being of traditional and second career undergraduate students, as well as graduate engineering students. Participants in the current study were 342 engineering students, who completed an anonymous, online survey with 57 items for a 17.1% response rate. They were predominantly white (63.4%) and male (73.4%), with an average age of 25.85 years old …

Minding Morality: Ethical Artificial Societies For Public Policy Modeling, Saikou Y. Diallo, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

Public policies are designed to have an impact on particular societies, yet policy-oriented computer models and simulations often focus more on articulating the policies to be applied than on realistically rendering the cultural dynamics of the target society. This approach can lead to policy assessments that ignore crucial social contextual factors. For example, by leaving out distinctive moral and normative dimensions of cultural contexts in artificial societies, estimations of downstream policy effectiveness fail to account for dynamics that are fundamental in human life and central to many public policy challenges. In this paper, we supply evidence that incorporating morally salient …

Defects Analysis Of Seat Belt Tensioner Cast Body, Artur Soroczński, Piotr Czyżewski, Krzysztof Rechowicz

VMASC Publications

The article presents an analysis of the implementation of a selected element of the traveler safety system used in road transport. The results of metallographic tests were presented, and the state of stress introduced to the casting by means of forming the element by means of plastic forming was analyzed. An analysis of the manufacturing process was carried out indicating the risks that may lead to cracks in the material structure. Possible causes of founding defects were pointed out and possible technological solutions were pointed out in order to avoid them.

Arsenic Exposure And Methylation Efficiency In Relation To Oxidative Stress In Semiconductor Workers, Chih-Hong Pan, Ching-Yu Lin, Ching-Huang Lai, Hueiwang Anna Jeng

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

This study examined associations between oxidative stress and arsenic (As) exposure and methylation efficiency in semiconductor workers. An As-exposed group (n = 427) and a control group (n = 91) were included. The As-exposure group (n = 427) included 149 maintenance staff members and 278 production staff members representing high As exposure and low As exposure, respectively. The control group included 91 administrative staff members with no or minimal As exposure. An occupational exposure assessment was conducted to assess personal As exposure by measuring As concentrations in urine, hair, and fingernails of the subjects. Urinary As(III), As(V), monomethylarsonic (MMA), and …

Evaluation Of Lead (Pb(Ii)) Removal Potential Of Biochar In A Fixed-Bed Continuous Flow Adsorption System, Pushpita Kumkum, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background. Lead (Pb(II)) exposure from drinking water consumption is a serious concern due to its negative health effect on human physiology. A commercially available filter uses the adsorption potential of activated carbon for removing heavy metals like Pb(II). However, it has some constraints since it uses only surface area for the adsorption of these contaminants. Biochar produced via slow pyrolysis of biomass shows the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on its surface that take part in the adsorption process, with higher removal potential compared to activated carbon.

Objectives. The current study examined the adsorption kinetics and mechanisms of Pb(II) removing …

Tire-Chip Reinforced Foundation As Liquefaction Countermeasure For Residential Buildings, Hemanta Hazarika, Siavash Manafi Khajeh Pasha, Isao Ishibashi, Norimasa Yoshimoto, Tota Kinoshita, Shigeki Endo, Ashoke Kumar Karmokar, Takuto Hitosugi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

To prevent vibration-induced and liquefaction-induced damage to residential buildings during earthquakes, a low-cost technique has been developed and described here. It utilizes a mixture of tire chips and gravel as the horizontal reinforcing inclusion under the foundation of residential houses. The horizontal reinforcing inclusion refers to a layer of tire chips and gravel which is placed horizontally beneath the foundation. This mixture of tire chips and gravel provides sufficient bearing capacity to the foundation. In this research, a series of small-scale 1 g model shaking table tests was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique. In addition, cyclic undrained …

Influence Of Bracing On Buckling Strength Of Pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Frames, Mojtaba B. Sirjani, Zia Razzaq

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A numerical study of the influence of structural bracing on the buckling strength of pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) frames is presented. Although the influence of bracing on frames made from other materials such as steel have been studied in the past, this paper investigates the performance of pultruded GFRP portal frames with pinned or fixed column bases. Each frame is constructed with pultruded GFRP I-section members. The influence of I-section column major and minor axis orientation is also investigated. The results demonstrate the practical significance of bracing pultruded GFRP frames. The results show that the buckling loads for …

Nonhydrostatic Modeling Of Flow Interactions With Highly Flexible Vegetation, Navid Tahvildari, Ramin Familkhalili, Gangfeng Ma

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Improving our understanding of the interactions between gravity waves, currents, and coastal vegetation, which are nonlinear in nature, enables coastal engineers and managers to better estimate hydrodynamic forces on coastal infrastructure and utilize natural elements to mitigate their impacts. Aquatic vegetation is ubiquitous in coastal waters and it is well-known that flow loses energy over vegetation. Computational modeling of wave-vegetation interaction has been the subject of numerous recent studies and many improvements have been achieved in reducing limitations applied on wave and vegetation behavior in these models. Mechanisms for highly flexible vegetation have been incorporated in a Boussinesq-type model and …

Multi-Modal Natural Frequency Response Of Utility Transmission Tapered Wood Poles Under Various Soil Foundation Conditions: Natural Frequency Response Under Various Soil Conditions, Ramani Ayakannu, Zia Razzaq

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Studied herein is the multi-modal natural frequency response of utility transmission tapered wood poles under various soil foundation conditions. Strong winds and hurricanes in various parts of the world have resulted in collapse of such utility poles and have resulted in the disruption of electrical distribution systems in addition to creating hazardous conditions for the public. To avoid the development of resonance under such dynamic loading, the multi-modal natural vibration of the utility poles first needs to be understood in the presence of practical soil foundation conditions. To capture the soil-structure interaction effects on the multi-modal frequencies, a SAP2000 dynamic …

Cybersecurity Education Through Technological And Engineering Literacy Standards, Philip A. Reed, Steven A. Barbato

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Tutorial And Future Research For Building A Blockchain-Based Secure Communication Scheme For Internet Of Intelligent Things, Mohammad Wazid, Ashok Kumar Das, Sachin Shetty, Minho Jo

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

The Internet of Intelligent Things (IoIT) communication environment can be utilized in various types of applications (for example, intelligent battlefields, smart healthcare systems, the industrial internet, home automation, and many more). Communications that happen in such environments can have different types of security and privacy issues, which can be resolved through the utilization of blockchain. In this paper, we propose a tutorial that aims in desiging a generalized blockchain-based secure authentication key management scheme for the IoIT environment. Moreover, some issues with using blockchain for a communication environment are discussed as future research directions. The details of different types of …

Recent Developments In The Pyscf Program Package, Qiming Sun, Xing Zhang, Samragni Banerjee, Peng Bao, Marc Barbry, Nick S. Blunt, Nikolay A. Bogdanov, George H. Booth, Jia Chen, Zhi-Hao Cui, Janus J. Eriksen, Yang Gao, Sheng Gun, Jan Hermann, Matthew R. Hermes, Kevin Koh, Peter Koval, Susi Lehtola, Zhendong Li, Junzi Liu, Narbe Mardirossian, James D. Mcclain, Mario Motta, Bastien Mussard, Hung Q. Pham, Artem Pulkin, Wirawan Purwanto, Paul J. Robinson, Enrico Ronca, Elvira R. Sayfutyarova, Maximillian Scheurer, Henry F. Schurkus, James E.T. Smith, Chong Sun, Shi-Ning Sun, Shiv Upadhyay, Lucas K. Wagner, Xiao Wang, Alec White, James Daniel Whitfield, Mark J. Williamson, Sebastian Wouters, Jun Yang, Jason M. Yu, Tianyu Zhu, Timothy C. Berkelbach, Sandeep Sharma, Alexander Yu Sokolov, Garnet Kin-Lic Chan

University Administration Publications

PySCF is a Python-based general-purpose electronic structure platform that supports first-principles simulations of molecules and solids as well as accelerates the development of new methodology and complex computational workflows. This paper explains the design and philosophy behind PySCF that enables it to meet these twin objectives. With several case studies, we show how users can easily implement their own methods using PySCF as a development environment. We then summarize the capabilities of PySCF for molecular and solid-state simulations. Finally, we describe the growing ecosystem of projects that use PySCF across the domains of quantum chemistry, materials science, machine learning, and …

An Initial Look Into The Computer Science And Cybersecurity Pathways Project For Career And Technical Education Curricula, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Murat Kuzlu, Otilia Popescu, Abdul Rahman Badawi, Deborah Kay Marshall, Salih Sarp, Spyridoula Tsouganatou, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Linda Vahala, Hongyi Wu

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Computer science and cybersecurity have gained the attention of various stakeholders, industry representatives, educators, parents and students who are thinking about their future careers. Teaching computer science courses has moved into K-12 education, no longer introduced in the college classroom. There are various reasons for this trend. One is that in this way more children have access to the curriculum that integrates computer science principles, not just those undergraduate students in specific STEM majors. Other industries need different levels of computer science and cybersecurity education. There are various programs across the nation that are focusing on introducing these topics as …

Degrader Analysis For Diagnostic And Predictive Capabilities: A Demonstration Of Progress In Dod Cbm+ Initiatives, William Baker, Steven Nixon, Jeffrey Banks, Karl Reichard, Kaitlynn Castelle

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a modified reliability centered maintenance (RCM) methodology developed by The Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University (ARL Penn State) to meet challenges in decreasing life cycle sustainment costs for critical Naval assets. The focus of this paper is on the requirements for the development of the on-board Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) system with a discussion on the implementation progress for two systems: the high pressure air compressor (HPAC), and the advanced carbon dioxide removal unit (ACRU). Recent Department of Defense (DoD) guidance calls for implementing Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) as an alternative to traditional …

Design For Sustainment: Governance Engineering In Major Acquisition Programs, William Baker, Kaitlynn M. Castelle, Joseph M. Bradley, Lucas C. Marino

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

During acquisition for a sustainment-dominated, major capital asset, decision-making and action to develop the sustainment system must begin early in the acquisition process to sufficiently align the necessary integrated logistics support demanded by these systems. Effective governance improves the likelihood of success for delivery of the asset and accompanying sustainment system to ensure the asset meets expected performance and remains functional over its planned decades-long service life. The service life of a Navy vessel can range from 25 to 50 years. In this case study, we examine the operation of the governance system for major maritime acquisitions, wherein a fleet …

Partnering Undergraduate Engineering Students With Preservice Teachers To Design And Teach An Elementary Engineering Lesson Through Ed+Gineering, Kristie Gutierrez, Stacie I. Ringleb, Jennifer Jill Kidd, Orlando M. Ayala, Pilar Pazos, Krishnanand Kaipa

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Major challenges in engineering education include retention of undergraduate engineering students (UESs) and continued engagement after the first year when concepts increase in difficulty. Additionally, employers, as well as ABET, look for students to demonstrate non-technical skills, including the ability to work successfully in groups, the ability to communicate both within and outside their discipline, and the ability to find information that will help them solve problems and contribute to lifelong learning. Teacher education is also facing challenges given the recent incorporation of engineering practices and core ideas into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and state level standards of …

A Review Of Problem Structuring Methods For Consideration In Prognostics And Smart Manufacturing, Patrick T. Hester, Andrew J. Collins, Barry Ezell, John Horst

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Successful use of prognostics involves the prediction of future system behaviors in an effort to maintain system availability and reduce the cost of maintenance and repairs. Recent work by the National Institute of Standards and Technology indicates that the field of prognostics and health management is vital for remaining competitive in today’s manufacturing environment. While prognostics-based maintenance involves many traditional operations research-centric challenges for successful deployment such as limited availability of information and concerns regarding computational efficiency, the authors argue in this paper that the field of prognostics and health management, still in its embryonic development stage, could benefit greatly …

Hsp90 Inhibition And Modulation Of The Proteome: Therapeutical Implications For Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (Ipf), Ruben Manuel Luciano Colunga Biancatelli, Pavel Solopov, Betsy Gregory, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

Idiopathic Pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a catastrophic disease with poor outcomes and limited pharmacological approaches. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) has been recently involved in the wound-healing pathological response that leads to collagen deposition in patients with IPF and its inhibition represents an exciting drug target against the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Under physiological conditions, HSP90 guarantees proteostasis through the refolding of damaged proteins and the degradation of irreversibly damaged ones. Additionally, its inhibition, by specific HSP90 inhibitors (e.g., 17 AAG, 17 DAG, and AUY-922) has proven beneficial in different preclinical models of human disease. HSP90 inhibition modulates a complex …

Observation Of Reduced Thermal Conductivity In A Metal-Organic Framework Due To The Presence Of Adsorbates, Hasan Babaei, Mallory E. Decoster, Minyoung Jeong, Zeinab M. Hassan, Timur Islamoglu, Helmut Baumgart, Alan J.H. Mcgaughey, Engelbert Redel, Omar K. Farha, Patrick E. Hopkins, Jonathan A. Malen, Christopher E. Wilmer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Whether the presence of adsorbates increases or decreases thermal conductivity in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been an open question. Here we report observations of thermal transport in the metal-organic framework HKUST-1 in the presence of various liquid adsorbates: water, methanol, and ethanol. Experimental thermoreflectance measurements were performed on single crystals and thin films, and theoretical predictions were made using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the thermal conductivity of HKUST-1 decreases by 40 – 80% depending on the adsorbate, a result that cannot be explained by effective medium approximations. Our findings demonstrate that adsorbates introduce additional phonon scattering in HKUST-1, …

Mitochondrial Utilization Of Competing Fuels Is Altered In Insulin Resistant Skeletal Muscle Of Non-Obese Rats (Goto-Kakizaki), Nicola Lai, Ciarán E. Fealy, Chinna M. Kummitha, Silvia Cabras, John P. Kirwan, Charles L. Hoppel

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Aim: Insulin-resistant skeletal muscle is characterized by metabolic inflexibility with associated alterations in substrate selection, mediated by peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor 𝜹 (PPAR𝜹). Although it is established that PPAR𝜹 contributes to the alteration of energy metabolism, it is not clear whether it plays a role in mitochondrial fuel competition. While nutrient overload may impair metabolic flexibility by fuel congestion within mitochondria, in absence of obesity defects at a mitochondrial level have not yet been excluded. We sought to determine whether reduced PPAR𝜹 content in insulin-resistant rat skeletal muscle of a non-obese rat model of T2DM (Goto-Kakizaki, GK) ameliorate the inhibitory effect …

Broadening Participation Research Project: Charting A Path To Transdisciplinary Collaborative Design, Mason Andrews, Mujde Erten-Unal, Carol L. Considine

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The National Climate Assessment has identified foundational cross-cutting research capabilities that need to be developed for climate and global change assessment that include the integration of disciplines across approaches and building capacity for climate assessment that includes training, education and workforce development. The NSF HBCU Research Project, Broadening Participation Research Project: Charting a Path to Transdisciplinary Collaborative Design builds on the work of the Coastal Community Design Collaborative, a partnership between Hampton University, and Old Dominion University, which is a cross-university, cross-disciplinary program, in which architecture and civil engineering and technology students develop real world interventions for communities impacted by …

Electron Tunneling And X-Ray Photoelectron Spectoscopy Studies Of The Superconductiong Properties Of Nitrogen-Doped Niobium Resonator Cavities, Eric M. Lechner, Basu Dev Oli, Junki Makita, Gianluigi Ciovati, Alex Gurevich, Maria Iavarone

Physics Faculty Publications

We use scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to investigate the effect of nitrogen doping on the surface electronic and chemical structures of cutouts from superconducting Nb radio-frequency cavities. The goal of this work is to get insights into the fundamental physics and materials mechanisms behind the striking decrease of the surface resistance with the radio-frequency magnetic field, which has been observed on N-doped Nb cavities. Our XPS measurements reveal significantly more oxidized Nb 3d states and a thinner metallic suboxide layer on the N-doped Nb surfaces, which is also confirmed by tunneling spectroscopy …

Superconductivity In La₂Ni₂In, Jannis Maiwald, Igor I. Mazin, Alex Gurevich, Meigan Aronson

Physics Faculty Publications

We report here the properties of single crystals of La₂Ni₂In. Electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements concur with the results of density functional theory calculations, finding that La₂Ni₂In is a weakly correlated metal, where the Ni magnetism is almost completely quenched, leaving only a weak Stoner enhancement of the density of states. Superconductivity is observed at temperatures below 0.9 K. A detailed analysis of the field and temperature dependencies of the resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat at the lowest temperatures reveals that La₂Ni₂In is a dirty type-II …

Flux Expulsion In Niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency Cavities Of Different Purity And Essential Contributions To The Flux Sensitivity, P. Dhakal, Gianluigi Ciovati, Alex Gurevich

Physics Faculty Publications

Magnetic flux trapped during the cooldown of superconducting radio-frequency cavities through the transition temperature due to incomplete Meissner state is known to be a significant source of radio-frequency losses. The sensitivity of flux trapping depends on the distribution and the type of defects and impurities which pin vortices, as well as the cooldown dynamics when the cavity transitions from a normal to superconducting state. Here we present the results of measurements of the flux trapping sensitivity on 1.3 GHz elliptical cavities made from large-grain niobium with different purity for different cooldown dynamics and surface treatments. The results show that lower …

A Blockchain Simulator For Evaluating Consensus Algorithms In Diverse Networking Environments, Peter Foytik, Sachin Shetty, Sarada Prasad Gochhayat, Eranga Herath, Deepak Tosh, Laurent Njilla

VMASC Publications

The massive scale, heterogeneity and distributed nature of Internet-of-Things (IoT) presents challenges in realizing a practical and effective security solution. Blockchain empowered platforms and technologies have been proposed to address aspects of this challenge. In order to realize a practical Blockchain deployment for IoT, there is a need for a testing and evaluation platform to evaluate performance and security of Blockchain applications and systems. In this paper, we present a Blockchain simulator that evaluates the consensus algorithms in a realistic and configurable network environment. Though, there are several Blockchain evaluation platforms, they are either wedded to a specific consensus protocol …

Measuring Decentrality In Blockchain Based Systems, Sarada Prasad Gochhayat, Sachin Shetty, Ravi Mukkamala, Peter Foytik, Georges A. Kamhoua, Laurent Njilla

VMASC Publications

Blockchain promises to provide a distributed and decentralized means of trust among untrusted users. However, in recent years, a shift from decentrality to centrality has been observed in the most accepted Blockchain system, i.e., Bitcoin. This shift has motivated researchers to identify the cause of decentrality, quantify decentrality and analyze the impact of decentrality. In this work, we take a holistic approach to identify and quantify decentrality in Blockchain based systems. First, we identify the emergence of centrality in three layers of Blockchain based systems, namely governance layer, network layer and storage layer. Then, we quantify decentrality in these layers …

Exploring The Relationship Between Teamwork Skills And Team Members' Centrality, Francisco Cima, Pilar Pazos, Ana Maria Canto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper describes an exploratory study of small teams working on a four-month project as part of a graduate engineering program. The research had two primary goals. The first was to utilize the log files from shared repositories used for team collaboration to describe the network structure of the teams. The second was to determine whether the network centrality of any individual team member is associated with their teamwork skills and attitudes towards the collaboration platform. The relationship between teamwork skills, attitudes towards the collaboration technology, and the centrality index was explored using Pearson correlations. A total of 35 …

Reliability Estimation Of Rotary Lip Seal In Aircraft Utility System Based On Time-Varying Dependence Degradation Model And Its Experimental Validation, Chao Zhang, Rentong Chen, Guanghan Bai, Shaoping Wang, Mileta M. Tomovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

With several attractive properties, rotary lip seals are widely used in aircraft utility system, and their reliability estimation has drawn more and more attention. This work proposes a reliability estimation approach based on time-varying dependence analysis. The dependence between the two performance indicators of rotary lip seals, namely leakage rate and friction torque, is modeled by time-varying copula function with polynomial to denote the time-varying parameters, and an efficient copula selection approach is utilized to select the optimal copula function. Parameter estimation is carried out based on a Bayesian method and the reliability during the whole lifetime is calculated based …

Attainment Of Rigorous Thermodynamic Consistency And Surface Tension In Single-Component Pseudopotential Lattice Boltzmann Models Via A Customized Equation Of State, Cheng Peng, Luis F. Ayala, Zhicheng Wang, Orlando M. Ayala

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The lack of thermodynamic consistency is a well-recognized problem in the single-component pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann models which prevents them from replicating accurate liquid and vapor phase densities; i.e., current models remain unable to exactly match coexisting density values predicted by the associated thermodynamic model. Most of the previous efforts had attempted to solve this problem by introducing tuning parameters, whose determination required empirical trial and error until acceptable thermodynamic consistency was achieved. In this study, we show that the problem can be alternatively solved by properly designing customized equations of state (EOSs) that replace any cubic EOS of choice during …

Nsf S-Stem Project Update: A Pathway To Completion For Pursuing Engineering And Engineering Technology Degrees, Kim Bullington, Cynthia Tomovic, Vukica M. Jovanović, Anthony W. Dean, Rafael Landaeta

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This poster showcases the progress of students who are receiving scholarships from the National Science Foundation S-STEM project: A Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees. Thus far, 20 academically high-achieving students who demonstrate financial need have participated in the project. Thirty-six scholarships have been awarded to date, in which a maximum of twelve scholarships are awarded per semester; some students have received scholarships multiple times. Students are from electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, civil engineering technology, and modeling and simulation majors. As part of this S-STEM project, students also receive academic support, mentorship …