Engineering Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Quiz-Based Interventions In Virtual Reality Lectures On Learning, Mason T. Prather

Master's Theses

This thesis examined whether quiz-based interventions affect learning during an immersive virtual reality (VR) lecture and whether quiz timing strategy matters when prompts are delivered on a fixed timer or through gaze/Region of Interest (ROI)-based attention timing. The study used an eye-tracking virtual reality headset and a game engine-based classroom application. The final completed cohort included 29 participants assigned to three between-subjects conditions: No Intervention (n = 10), Timer-Based Intervention (n = 9), and Attention-Based Intervention (n = 10). All participants viewed the same virtual reality lecture and completed the same 15-item post-lecture assessment. Mean learning scores were 44.00% for …

A Novel Approach To Creativity Assessment: Forced Pairwise Ranking With Large Language Models, Phillip R. Gregory Jr

Master's Theses

Assessing creativity at scale remains a persistent challenge in cognitive science, as human raters are costly, slow, and often inconsistent in their judgments. This thesis introduced a novel framework for automated scientific creativity assessment using forced pairwise ranking, in which fine-tuned large language models compared response pairs and determined which was more creative. Five empirical studies were conducted using Llama-2-7B and Llama-2-13B models adapted via LoRA fine-tuning and benchmarked against human scored responses from the Scientific Creative Thinking Test. A regression baseline achieved Pearson �� = .74 on the test set, matching the human inter-rater ceiling reported in the literature. …

Culturally Inclusive Usability Engineering (Ciue): A Framework For Evaluating Cultural Inclusion In Study Abroad Platforms, Louis Muhammad

Master's Theses

Study abroad programs provide students with opportunities to develop global com- petence and intercultural understanding. However, the digital platforms that support these programs often fail to communicate information that reflects the cultural and faith-based needs of diverse student populations. While prior research in Human-Computer Interac- tion (HCI) and usability engineering has explored cross-cultural and accessible design, cultural and religious considerations are rarely integrated into usability engineering pro- cesses. This thesis introduces the Culturally Inclusive Usability Engineering (CIUE) frame- work, which extends traditional usability engineering by integrating culturally informed con- siderations into the system development lifecycle. CIUE begins by identifying the …

An Investigation Of Data Granularity In Rag Pipelines For Personalized Medicine, Paritosh Pandey

Master's Theses

Generative AI, exemplified by large language models like the OpenAI GPT and Meta LLaMA families, can produce diverse content in response to prompts. This capability offers a promising solution to challenges in precision medicine, which seeks to tailor treatments to individual clinical profiles but often struggles with data collection, cost, and privacy concerns. By generating realistic, privacy-preserving patient data, generative AI has the potential to transform patient-centric healthcare. With such motivation, this research develops a comprehensive Generative AI pipeline emphasizing data granularity for accurate prediction of personalized treatments. The pipeline features a central Large Language Model interacting with a Machine …

Simulation Of A Buried Hydrogen Pipeline In Kansas State Soil, Sidney Hines

Master's Theses

Underground pipelines can be used to transport large amounts of pressurized hydrogen gas over several hundred kilometers. The design will be sensitive to the pipe material, diameter, and trench construction, and traffic loads above the pipe. The purpose of this paper is to conduct various geotechnical engineering analyses (seepage, stress, and slope stability) using the software program GeoStudio (version 2025.2.0) on a buried steel or FRP pipe section in a specific soil type, Harney Soil. Harney soil is of particular interest, because it is the Kansas State Soil and the analysis is for a buried gas pipe to run through …

Design And Validation Of A Wearable Respiratory Protection System For Wildland Firefighters, Oliver Pilon

Master's Theses

Wildland and Wildland–Urban Interface firefighters are routinely exposed to hazardous smoke with fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and other toxic combustion products. Existing protective gear has significant limitations and shortcomings for these conditions. Respirators with tight-fitting facepieces make it difficult to breathe and speak. On the other hand, self-contained breathing apparatuses are too heavy, have a limited duration of use, and do not work well with long wildland fire scenes, while smaller protective equipment like N-95’s and gaiters provide very little protection. These constraints contribute to low adoption rates and prolonged occupational exposure.

This thesis presents the …

Design And Development Of A 12-Degree-Of-Freedom Quadruped Robot, Kai De La Cruz

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a 12-degree-of-freedom (DOF) quadruped robot developed as a research platform for legged locomotion and control. The system builds upon the Cal Poly Legged Robotics Group’s prior 8-DOF quadruped, addressing key limitations in manipulability, load distribution, and mechanical robustness by introducing a 3-DOF leg architecture.

The mechanical design emphasizes lightweight construction, structural integrity, and modularity to support future research extensions. Static and dynamic loading models were developed to inform component sizing and material selection. A carbon-fiber chassis and redesigned leg assemblies were fabricated and validated through finite element analysis and physical …

Mechanistic Framework Of Wood Decomposition In Post-Storm Vegetative Debris Piles Using Continuous Quality Theory, Thomas T. Lee

Master's Theses

Storm events generate significant quantities of vegetative debris composed of wood, branches, twigs, and other organic materials. Efficient post-storm resource recovery and carbon accounting depend on reliable predictions of decomposition within these large, heterogeneous debris piles. While small-scale wood decay is well studied, decomposition dynamics within multi-layer debris piles remain poorly characterized, limiting municipalities' ability to estimate material longevity and resource recovery potential.

To address this gap, this study develops the WOOD_DK (Wood Organic Oxidation and DegraDation Kinetics) model, a preliminary, exploratory one-dimensional multilayer decomposition framework simulating coupled temperature, moisture, oxygen, and carbon dynamics in MATLAB. Microbial decomposition follows Continuous …

A Simulation Framework For Edge Lane Roads And Bicycle Shared Roadways, Nick Sauciur

Master's Theses

Edge Lane Roads, also referred to as Advisory Bike Lanes, are a shared roadway treatment that designates space for cyclists while allowing flexible use of the roadway by motorists. They are commonly applied on lower speed corridors and can be used both where roadway width is limited and where agencies seek to manage vehicle speeds, clarify cyclist positioning, or improve shared roadway operations. The configuration provides visually designated space for cyclists while allowing motorists to encroach into that space when yielding to opposing traffic. Although interest in these facilities is growing in North America, quantitative tools for evaluating their operational …

A Scalable Iteration Of The Horizon Simulation Framework Using Multithreading Techniques, Jason E. Beals

Master's Theses

The Horizon Simulation Framework (HSF) occupies a unique space in the modern aerospace modeling landscape, enabling flexible, modular modeling of mission-level agent behavior through an object-oriented, hierarchical design. HSF's hallmark breadth-first search scheduling algorithm explores a "multiverse" of possible mission execution pathways, enabling exhaustive evaluation of schedule combinations against user-defined heuristics.

As aerospace systems become increasingly complex, HSF faces critical challenges in establishing verifiable, deterministic behavior. The framework's core scheduling algorithm had not undergone systematic validation, leaving questions about temporal consistency, state management correctness, and reproducibility across different program executions. Furthermore, the exponential growth of schedule combinations creates computational bottlenecks …

Sea Level Trends Near Critical Levees In The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Reyna Sanchez Gomez

Master's Theses

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) levee system faces threats from rising sea levels, land subsidence, and deteriorating levees, all of which pose risks to California’s primary surface water supply. The purpose of this thesis is to assess relative sea level rise (RSLR) and estimate the spatially varying factors that influence water levels in the Delta. This thesis extends the work of Baranes et al. (2023) to the period 1975-2022 by appending recently acquired water-level records (1975-1982) to modern datasets (1982-2022) from 10 water-level stations. These water level datasets were digitized, quality-assured, and referenced to a common geodetic datum, as described …

Demystifying Hardware Formal Verification For Undergraduate Education: A Risc-V Processor Case Study With Coursework Implementation, Riley A. Peters

Master's Theses

Hardware verification engineers apply formal methods to prove that a digital device always behaves according to its specification. This differs from traditional functional verification, in which engineers establish correctness by repeatedly sending test inputs to the device and comparing the outputs against a reference model. With the growing complexity of integrated circuits, the demand for digital verification engineers with formal methods experience has continued to increase. However, California Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo's current curriculum lacks dedicated material to prepare students for these roles.

This thesis seeks to address the lack of formal methods material through two efforts. First, …

Exploring Math Word Problem Generation With Llms, Trung Hieu Vuong

Master's Theses

Math Word Problem (MWP) is an important building block for learning math. This type of problem is particularly useful for younger audiences because solving it involves two simultaneous skill sets: reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning. With publicly available large language models (LLMs), generating additional MWPs is readily achievable. While researchers have started using LLMs as MWP facilitators, there still exists a gap in studies about the diversity of MWPs generated by unmodified, publicly accessible LLMs. For that reason, our study focused on two goals: (1) to evaluate the diversity of MWPs generated by publicly available LLMs when provided with examples …

Developing A Vietnamese Text Summarization Large Language Model On Limited Hardware, Tin Pho

Master's Theses

Text summarization models have achieved significant growth during the last few years because of major Large Language Model (LLM) technological advancements. The application of LLMs are widely used in news distribution (TL;DR news), translation tools (DeepL Translate), or virtual assistants (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude, etc.). However, the progress has not yet reached all languages equally. The Vietnamese language is used by more than 90 million people, but the language is not as highly developed for LLM as it has many homophones, five different tones that affect meaning of words, and irregular grammar compared to other languages (e.g. English, Spanish, etc.). Also, …

Automatic Guitar Transcription Of Polyphonic Music, Ritwik Patil

Master's Theses

Transcribing guitar music automatically is a complex task due to polyphonic overlap, tuning variations, and diverse playing techniques. Current transcription systems focus on identifying note pitches and timing while ignoring performance techniques that describe how the notes are played, treating guitar recordings as generic polyphonic audio and producing MIDI-like outputs that lose important information about articulation and style. To address these challenges, we propose an end-to-end transformer model for automatic guitar transcription. The system uses a T5-based encoder-decoder architecture that processes the Constant-Q Transform (CQT) of stereo audio input. The stereo representation helps separate individual guitar parts within a mix …

Latent Action Trajectory Optimization, Rahul Milind Kandekar

Master's Theses

Learning from demonstrations offers a path to bypass the sample inefficiency of reinforcement learning, but obtaining action-labeled expert demonstrations remains expensive and often impractical. Learning from Observations (LFO) addresses this by learning policies from observation-only demonstrations. Recent LFO work relies heavily on behavior cloning: VPT and LAPO use observation-only data combined with limited action labels to train BC policies, while AIME offers an alternative policy inference approach but requires the majority of its training data to have action labels. Through systematic experiments in the Lunar Lander environment, we investigate whether latent action methods can function when state and action dimensionalities …

Parameter-Efficient Multimodal Adaptation: Ocr-Integrated Lora For Textvqa And Captioning, Karthik Ganesh Malini

Master's Theses

Vision-Language Models (VLMs) have emerged as transformative technologies for multimodal AI, yet they face significant hurdles in processing text-rich images required for enterprise applications like document understanding, medical imaging, and industrial inspection. Current VLMs struggle with accurate text extraction and reasoning, often exhibiting high hallucination rates and poor Optical Character Recognition (OCR) token utilization. To address these limitations, this research presents a comprehensive framework for optimizing parameter-efficient Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) fine-tuning strategies on state-of-the-art architectures, including LLaVA-1.5 and BLIVA-FlanT5. Our methodology integrates enhanced OCR token utilization, faithful caption generation, and specific hallucination mitigation techniques. We employ a multi-dimensional evaluation protocol …

Building A Data-Driven Security Ai Framework Using Machine Learning Models, Christopher Chan Vi

Master's Theses

This research project explores a modern approach to Intrusion Detection System (IDS) anomaly detection by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Large Language Models (LLM), and Explainable AI (XAI). The purpose is to assess the effectiveness of these technologies in enhancing the understanding of intrusion events. This research study addresses the challenges of threshold determination and the interpretability of anomaly detection results. The proposed solution involves an LLM-based framework with XAI capabilities, integrated with a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture, to provide clear explanations for detected anomalies, utilizing both custom and pre-trained datasets. The study navigated inherent challenges, including …

Fully Integrated Slippage Detection System For Lower Limb Amputees, Christopher E. Miglio

Master's Theses

Lower limb amputees face significant challenges in maintaining a proper prosthetic fit, as improper fit can lead to slippage at the limb-socket interface, resulting in discomfort, pressure sores, and long-term musculoskeletal complications. To address this issue, a fully integrated slippage detection system was developed to monitor an amputee’s daily activities and slippage occurrences to understand their prosthetic fit over time. The system consists of a prosthetic sock embedded with Interlink 406 flexible piezoresistive force-sensing resistors (FSRs). The sock, worn directly on the residual limb, continuously measures pressure at the limb-socket interface. Sensor data from six FSRs is sampled at approximately …

A Novel Microfluidic Device For Preclinical Testing Of Chemotherapeutics, Kaija Saleh Ogan

Master's Theses

This work demonstrates the feasibility of a novel microfluidic tumor model that reproduces physiologically relevant nutrient gradients and endothelium–tumor interactions, validating its potential as a preclinical test platform. Finite element simulations of glutamine diffusion and fluid dynamics aligned with experimental tracer studies, and co-cultures supported directed endothelial migration toward tumor spheroids, confirming the device’s ability to mimic in vivo–like behavior.

Current preclinical models often fail to capture the complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME), limiting their predictive value for therapeutic testing. Nutrient availability and angiogenic signaling are critical drivers of tumor progression, yet they are poorly represented in traditional …

Muscle Impulse Transducer: Research, Pre-Pilot Experiments, And The Design Of A Pilot Study For Quadriplegic Spinal Cord Injured Subjects For The Development Of A Novel Device, Marta Oreglia

Master's Theses

Paralysis due to spinal cord injury is a challenging condition that affects millions of people around the world. The Muscle Impulse Transducer (MIT) is a novel, wearable device that can be used to improve grip strength in the hand by using functional muscle impulses as a trigger for stimulus delivery to weakened or paralyzed nerves, to induce contraction of a paralyzed or paretic muscle. The MIT is still in development, with proof of concept [1], and functional prototypes [2] achieved. In this thesis, research was conducted on the best methods for functional electrical stimulation, EMG data collection, and nerve stimulus …

Using Noninvasive Calibrated Cuff Plethysmography To Observe The Effects Of Lifestyle Habits On Arterial Compliance, Joshua M. Whitaker

Master's Theses

Cardiovascular disease remains as a leading cause of death for both sexes and across all racial backgrounds. Continuing to research causes, early predictors, and preventative actions are paramount to ensuring that cardiovascular disease starts to decrease in its activity. Endothelial dysfunction is the earliest known predictor of cardiovascular disease, therefore investigating early detection methods of endothelial dysfunction can improve health outcomes. This study revolves around a non-invasive calibrated cuff device that uses the principles of segmental plethysmography and oscilliometry to measure arterial compliance of baseline and induced hyperemic conditions in human subjects to determine how well arteries vasodilate in response …

Dynamic Modeling And Simulation Of A Power Generation Steam Rankine Cycle For A Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor Nuclear Power Plant, William R. Ton

Master's Theses

Nuclear Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors (FHRs) have the potential to greatly improve nuclear technology in terms of safety and cost. By combining molten salt coolant technology from the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) and TRISO fuel technology from the Very High Temperature Gas Reactor (VHTR), FHRs may operate at significantly lower pressures than Light Water Reactors (LWRs) and with a more robust fuel source that is excellent at containing fission products. However, as no FHR has been built, there are still many design questions to address. This thesis uses transient computer modeling and simulation to investigate how an FHR could potentially …

Reverse Design Of Solid Rocket Grain Geometry, Yechan Kang

Master's Theses

The reverse design of solid rocket motors remains a challenging process due to the nonlinear relationship between the grain geometry and the internal ballistics. The reverse design process involves obtaining an optimal grain geometry given a target performance curve set by mission requirements, which is the inverse problem of the forward design. The purpose of this study is to assess the validity and implementation of neural network and simulated annealing algorithms to perform the reverse design process. A modified phase field model of the eikonal equation is derived to simulate the evolution of combustion surfaces over time, enabling burn back …

Using Scenario-Based Design Activities To Explore Sociotechnical Thinking In Engineering Professionals, James M. Whealan

Master's Theses

Sociotechnical thinking is the ability to recognize the interconnectedness of both technical and non-technical dimensions such as environmental, economic, social, cultural, and political factors. Although traditional engineering curriculum often emphasizes technical knowledge and skills, research suggests that engineering work is inherently sociotechnical. While sociotechnical thinking is a critical engineering skill, relatively little is understood about the nature of it or the different aspects comprised within it. To that end, this study addresses the following research question: What sociotechnical factors do engineering professionals consider in a collaborative scenario-based design activity? To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative study of engineering …

Hallucination Techniques For Self-Supervised Synthetic Datasets For Mobile Robots, Wyatt D. Colburn

Master's Theses

Classical techniques in autonomous navigation struggle in tightly constrained spaces. Machine learning has been shown to perform better in these difficult environments but most techniques require large amounts of navigation experience for training. Using a new machine learning paradigm learning from hallucination (LfH), training data can be collected in a safe environment and not require supervision. Data is collected in real time while an agent performs a random walk in free space, supervision is not required as there are no obstacles for the robot to run into. After a random walk a post processing pipeline will hallucinate a safety corridor …

Time-Domain Symmetrical Components For Detection And Analysis Of Unbalanced Faults In Three-Phase Systems, Ryan Pospichal

Master's Theses

Unbalanced faults in three-phase power systems degrade performance, increase losses, and threaten equipment reliability. Traditional frequency-domain approaches using phasor analysis and symmetrical components offer valuable steady-state insights but respond too slowly for transient or rapidly changing conditions. This thesis investigates time-domain symmetrical components (ISCs) as a faster, physically interpretable method for detecting and analyzing unbalanced faults directly from instantaneous voltages and currents. Two ISC computation techniques were developed and compared: a polar-form method, applying one-third and two-thirds cycle time delays, and a rectangular-form method, which achieves equivalent phase shifts using only a quarter-cycle delay. Simulations in Microsoft Excel verified both …

Deterministic Methods To Improve The Field-Of-View For Direction Finding Using Sparse Digital Arrays, Nolan J. Egging

Master's Theses

Direction finding algorithms are used with digital phased arrays to determine the incoming angle of arrival (AoA) of an incident signal. These algorithms, and direction finding as a whole, have a wide range of civilian and military applications from radar, electronic reconnaissance, mobile communication, et cetera. However, for situations where the spacing between antenna elements needs to be large, gating lobes appear in the radiation pattern of analog arrays. This work demonstrates that for digital beamforming algorithms, the field of view (FoV) of a uniform linear digital array matches the grating lobe free range of a similarly spaced analog array. …

Development And Test Of An Automatic Mass Balancing System For Cal Poly's Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator, Cameron B. Zorio

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator (SADS) is an ongoing project to develop an air-bearing platform capable of recreating on-orbit rotational dynamics with near frictionless and torque-free rotations. However, any offset between the platform's center of rotation and its center of mass will introduce a torque due to gravity.

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of a low-cost, automatic mass balancing system for the SADS to address this challenge. A new modular sliding mass system was developed that overcomes issues faced in previous iterations of the SADS, providing real-time positional control of the masses and a …

Using Hydraulic And Hydrologic Modeling To Determine Scour At Toro Creek Under Climate Change Conditions, Gabriel E. Alaniz

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

This study evaluates bridge scour at the Toro Creek crossing of Highway 1 in Morro Bay, California, under present conditions and future climate conditions with more frequent extreme rainfall events. California infrastructure is becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme storm events and increased intense precipitation events brought by climate change. This analysis focuses on the calculation of scour for both the northbound and southbound spans. Highway 1 plays a vital role in California’s coastal transportation infrastructure by carrying more than 20,000 vehicles daily (Caltrans, 2017). In this thesis, a hydrological model (HEC-HMS) is used to simulate runoff under present-day and …