Engineering Commons^™

An Empirical Comparison Of Widely Adopted Hash Functions In Digital Forensics: Does The Programming Language And Operating System Make A Difference?, Satyendra Gurjar, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger, Alice Fischer

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Hash functions are widespread in computer sciences and have a wide range of applications such as ensuring integrity in cryptographic protocols, structuring database entries (hash tables) or identifying known files in forensic investigations. Besides their cryptographic requirements, a fundamental property of hash functions is efficient and easy computation which is especially important in digital forensics due to the large amount of data that needs to be processed when working on cases. In this paper, we correlate the runtime efficiency of common hashing algorithms (MD5, SHA-family) and their implementation. Our empirical comparison focuses on C-OpenSSL, Python, Ruby, Java on Windows and …

Two Challenges Of Stealthy Hypervisors Detection: Time Cheating And Data Fluctuations, Igor Korkin

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Hardware virtualization technologies play a significant role in cyber security. On the one hand these technologies enhance security levels, by designing a trusted operating system. On the other hand these technologies can be taken up into modern malware which is rather hard to detect. None of the existing methods is able to efficiently detect a hypervisor in the face of countermeasures such as time cheating, temporary self-uninstalling, memory hiding etc. New hypervisor detection methods which will be described in this paper can detect a hypervisor under these countermeasures and even count several nested ones. These novel approaches rely on the …

Practitioner Interview, Guillermo Martinez Baquero

All ECSTATIC Materials

Phone interview with Guillermo Martinez Baquero from Interra by David Watkins, Jr. Interview questions asked inquired about (i) practitioner’s professional background, (ii) practitioner’s personal experience with systems analysis techniques and software in their job, (iii) role, benefits, and challenges in using systems analysis concepts in the water resources engineering profession, and (iv) recommendations for improving education of environmental and water resources systems analysis in universities.

Evaluating The Creation And Preservation Challenges Of Photogrammetry-Based 3d Models, Michael J. Bennett

Published Works

Though the roots of photogrammetry can be traced back to photography’s earliest days, only recent advances in both digital technology and software applications have put the possibilities of 3D modeling from 2D source images in the hands of the greater cultural heritage community. The possibilities of such 3D digital rendering are many. With these possibilities come unique digital preservation challenges. This study explores basic close-range photogrammetry as applied to sample archival objects. Additionally, the latest BagIt and ZIP-based bundling formats along with repository-based solutions are also surveyed as potential 3D data management and archiving aggregators for resulting 3D models.

Ceas E-News 05.19.2015, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• WMU Students Win at Prestigious Lemelson-MIT “Cure it!” Competition
• WMU Ts’ai Lun Chapter Takes the Grand Prize at International Video Competition
• WMU Grand Rapids Open House - May 19, 20
• More events and news

Practitioner Interview, Abhishek Singh

All ECSTATIC Materials

Phone interview with Abhishek Singh from Interra by David Watkins, Jr. Interview questions asked inquired about (i) practitioner’s professional background, (ii) practitioner’s personal experience with systems analysis techniques and software in their job, (iii) role, benefits, and challenges in using systems analysis concepts in the water resources engineering profession, and (iv) recommendations for improving education of environmental and water resources systems analysis in universities.

Design And Development Of Personal Geoservices For Universities, James Carswell, Andrea Ballatore, Thoa Pham, Junjun Yin, Linh Truonghong

Books/Book chapters

Personal GeoServices are emerging as an interaction paradigm linking users to information rich environments like a university campus or to Big Data sources like the Internet of Things by delivering spatially intelligent web-services. OpenStreetMap (OSM) constitutes a valuable source of spatial base-data that can be extracted, integrated, and utilised with such heterogeneous data sources for free. In this paper, we present a Personal GeoServices application built on OSM spatial data and university-specific business data for staff, faculty, and students. While generic products such as Google Maps and Google Earth enable basic forms of spatial exploration, the domain of a university …

Intrinsic Physical Layer Authentication Of Integrated Circuits, William E. Cobb, Michael A. Temple, Rusty O. Baldwin, Eric W. Garcia, Eric D. Lapse

AFIT Patents

A system and method of generating and comparing a fingerprint for an integrated circuit is provided. A sensor module captures electromagnetic emissions from the integrated circuit. A feature extraction module extracts discriminating features from the captured electromagnetic emissions. A classifier training module generates a plurality of authentication fingerprints of the integrated circuit from the extracted discriminating features creating a reference fingerprint template for the integrated circuit. The reference template for the integrated circuit is stored in a database. For authentication, the reference fingerprint template from the database is compared to the generated authentication fingerprint.

Small Swap 3d Imaging Flash Ladar For Small Tactical Unmanned Air Systems, Alan Bird, Scott A. Anderson, Michael Wojcik, Scott E. Budge

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), working with Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and industry leaders Advanced Scientific Concepts (ASC) and Hood Technology Corporation, has developed a small SWAP (size, weight, and power) 3D imaging flash ladar (LAser Detection And Ranging) sensor system concept design for small tactical unmanned air systems (STUAS). The design utilizes an ASC 3D flash ladar camera and laser in a Hood Technology gyro-stabilized gimbal system. The design is an autonomous, intelligent, geo-aware sensor system that supplies real-time 3D terrain and target images. Flash ladar and visible camera data are processed at the sensor using a custom digitizer/frame …

River-Tide Dynamics: Exploration Of Nonstationary And Nonlinear Tidal Behavior In The Yangtze River Estuary, Leicheng Guo, Mick Van Der Wegen, David A. Jay, Pascal Matte, Zheng Bing Wang, Dano Roelvink, Qing He

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

River-tide dynamics remain poorly understood, in part because conventional harmonic analysis (HA) does not cope effectively with nonstationary signals. To explore nonstationary behavior of river tides and the modulation effects of river discharge, this work analyzes tidal signals in the Yangtze River estuary using both HA in a nonstationary mode and continuous wavelet transforms (CWT). The Yangtze is an excellent natural laboratory to analyze river tides because of its high and variable flow, its length, and the fact that there are do dams or reflecting barriers within the tidal part of the system. Analysis of tidal frequencies by CWT and …

Single Wavelength Lidar Retrieval Algorithm Of Particulate Matter Concentration Using Celis (Compact Eyesafe Lidar System), A 1.5 Μm Elastic Lidar System, Alan W. Bird, Kori D. Moore, Michael Wojcik, Robert Lemon

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

CELiS (Compact Eyesafe Lidar System) is an elastic backscatter light detection and ranging (lidar) system developed for monitoring air quality environmental compliance regarding particulate matter (PM_k) generated from off-road use of wheeled and tracked vehicles as part of the SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program) Measurement and Modeling of Fugitive Dust Emission from Off-Road DoD Activities program.

CELiS is small, lightweight and easily transportable for quick setup and measurement of PM_k concentration and emissions. CELiS operates in a biaxial configuration at the 1.5μm eyesafe wavelength with a working range of better than 6 km and range …

Gradient Projection For Interrupted Sar Using The Polar Format Algorithm, Ross Deming, Chad Knight, Jake Gunther

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

We present an efficient and computationally simple approach for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging in cases when the radar data have gaps, due to missing pulses and/or notches in the frequency band. Our method is a simple variation of gradient projection, in which the search path in each iteration is obtained by projecting the negative-gradient of the L1 norm onto a hyper-plane defining solutions which are consistent with the data. The computations are not complicated since the L1 gradient is simply equal to the sign() of the pixels in the image. Computational efficiency is obtained by incorporating the polar format …

Evaluating The Effects Of A Congestion And Weather Responsive Advisory Variable Speed Limit System In Portland, Oregon, Matthew Blake Downey

Dissertations and Theses

Safety and congestion are ever present and increasingly severe transportation problems in urban areas throughout the nation and world. These phenomena can have wide-ranging consequences relating to safety, the economy, and the environment. Adverse weather conditions represent another significant challenge to safety and mobility on highways. Oregon is not immune from either of these global issues. Oregon Route (OR) 217, to the southwest of the downtown Portland, is one of the worst freeways for congestion in the state and is also subject to the Pacific Northwest's frequently inclement and unpredictable climate. High crash rates, severe recurrent bottlenecks and highly unreliable …

Laser Scanning Aggregates For Real-Time Property Identification, Andrew Branin

Theses and Dissertations

The strength of concrete and asphalt is provided by the aggregate stone within it, and as such maintaining a high standard for these materials is crucial in ensuring that these materials meet their projected design lives. One key factor to consider for an aggregate's long-term strength is its mineralogy, which can affect the strength and long-term performance of these materials. Conventional chemical testing techniques and petrographic examination methods presently exist which can be used to identify and/or quantify problematic minerals, however these tests are typically costly, time consuming, and/or require significant sample preparation and a controlled lab environment. The purpose …

Insole Antenna For On-Body Telemetry, Domenico Gaetano, Patrick Mcevoy, Max Ammann, Matthias John, Colm Brannigan, Louise Keating, Frances Horgan

Articles

A 433 MHz antenna is proposed for integration with the insole of footwear for a body area network. The folded dipole design with an asymmetric groundplane radiates from its edges and considers the close proximity of the human foot and ground surfaces. It functions for different ground conductivity conditions and an on-body communication link with an Inverted F Antenna in the upper body area was evaluated on a static and dynamic human subject. The antenna solution was compliant with Specific Absorption Rate requirements, remains matched and links with upper-body nodes regardless of the body posture and node location.

Warpage And Shape Distortion In Laser Metal Sintering, Xuan Wang

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is the primary method to fabricate metal and ceramic components in additive manufacturing. Due to the anisotropy of powder material, the sintering rate difference will inevitably causes shape change, distortion , and other defects of sintered parts. In this paper, a continuum model was developed to simulate the SLS process. The developed model has been successful to predict sintering kinetics. The impact of processing parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, hatching distance, and particle size has been studied . The proposed method provides an innovative tool to optimize SLS process parameters.

Image Segmentation Using Fuzzy-Spatial Taxon Cut, Lauren Barghout

MODVIS Workshop

Images convey multiple meanings that depend on the context in which the viewer perceptually organizes the scene. This presents a problem for automated image segmentation, because it adds uncertainty to the process of selecting which objects to include or not include within a segment. I’ll discuss the implementation of a fuzzy-logic-natural-vision-processing engine that solves this problem by assuming the scene architecture prior to processing. The scene architecture, a standardized natural-scene-perception-taxonomy comprised of a hierarchy of nested spatial-taxons. Spatial-taxons are regions (pixel-sets) that are figure-like, in that they are perceived as having a contour, are either `thing-like', or a `group of …

Cindy Hanson, Phd Student Received An Education Scholarship From Spie | Biological Engineering | Biological Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Cindy Hanson PhD Student has been awarded an SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA – 15 May 2015 – Cindy Hanson has been awarded a 2015 Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics for her potential contributions to the field of optics, photonics or related field.

Estimation Of Earthquake Input Energy, Hysteretic Energy And Its Distribution In Mdof Structures, Mebrahtom Gebrekirstos Mezgebo

Dissertations - ALL

Current seismic codes for building design often utilize a force or a displacement-based approach in their implementation. In a force-based approach, a structure is designed to ensure it possesses sufficient strength to resist the maximum forces imparted to it by an earthquake. In a displacement-based approach, a target displacement is calculated or identified and the structure is proportioned to achieve a specified performance level, defined by strain or drift limits, under a specified level of seismic intensity. A third approach, which has gained momentum in the earthquake engineering community, is the energy-based approach. In this approach, a design is considered …

Gold Nanostructures For Sensing And Functional Bioimaging, Maximilian Y. Fei

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Gold nanostructures offer an extremely promising path forward in the fields of imaging and sensing because of their unique optical and chemical properties. Here, we demonstrate that plasmonic nanostructures can be employed as nanoscale transducers to monitor the growth and phase transitions in ultrathin polymer films. In particular, gold nanorods with high refractive index sensitivity (~150 nm / refractive index unit (RIU)) were employed to probe the growth and swelling of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM). By comparing the wavelength shift and extinction intensity of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the gold nanorods coated with PEM in air and water, …

Polarization Sensor Design For Biomedical Applications, Timothy York

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Advances in fabrication technology have enabled the development of compact, rigid polarization image sensors by integrating pixelated polarization filters with standard image sensing arrays. These compact sensors have the capability for allowing new applications across a variety of disciplines, however their design and use may be influenced by many factors. The underlying image sensor, the pixelated polarization filters, and the incident lighting conditions all directly impact how the sensor performs.

In this research endeavor, I illustrate how a complete understanding of these factors can lead to both new technologies and applications in polarization sensing. To investigate the performance of the …

Strategies For Increasing The Applicability Of Biological Network Inference, Ezekiel John Maier

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The manipulation of cellular state has many promising applications, including stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, biofuel production, and stress resistant crop development. The construction of interaction maps promises to enhance our ability to engineer cellular behavior. Within the last 15 years, many methods have been developed to infer the structure of the gene regulatory interaction map from gene abundance snapshots provided by high-throughput experimental data. However, relatively little research has focused on using gene regulatory network models for the prediction and manipulation of cellular behavior. This dissertation examines and applies strategies to utilize the predictive power of gene network …

Photonic Molecules Formed By Ultra High Quality Factor Microresonator For Light Control, Bo Peng

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical microresonators with micro-scale mode volumes and high quality factors have been widely used in different areas ranging from sensing, quantum electrodynamics (QED), to lasing and optomechanics. Due to the ultra-high Q and the tight spatial confinement, the cavity provides high intra-cavity field intensity and long interaction time, which enhances the interaction between light and materials. This feature makes WGM microresonator a great candidate for low-threshold nonlinear processes, cavity optomechanics, signal processing, and sensor with ultra-high sensitivity. Also, modification of the modes in these resonators has been of considerable interest for their potential applications and underlying physics. Two …

Discrete And Continuous Sparse Recovery Methods And Their Applications, Zhao Tan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Low dimensional signal processing has drawn an increasingly broad amount of attention in the past decade, because prior information about a low-dimensional space can be exploited to aid in the recovery of the signal of interest. Among all the different forms of low di- mensionality, in this dissertation we focus on the synthesis and analysis models of sparse recovery. This dissertation comprises two major topics. For the first topic, we discuss the synthesis model of sparse recovery and consider the dictionary mismatches in the model. We further introduce a continuous sparse recovery to eliminate the existing off-grid mismatches for DOA …

Statistical Nested Sensor Array Signal Processing, Keyong Han

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Source number detection and direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation are two major applications of sensor arrays. Both applications are often confined to the use of uniform linear arrays (ULAs), which is expensive and difficult to yield wide aperture. Besides, a ULA with N scalar sensors can resolve at most N − 1 sources. On the other hand, a systematic approach was recently proposed to achieve O(N 2 ) degrees of freedom (DOFs) using O(N) sensors based on a nested array, which is obtained by combining two or more ULAs with successively increased spacing.

This dissertation will focus on a fundamental study of …

Development Of 13c Fingerprint Tool And Its Application For Exploring Carbon And Energy Metabolism In Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. Pcc 6803, Le You

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are important microbial cell factories that are widely used in the biotechnology filed nowadays. They can use light as the sole energy source to fix CO2, accumulate biomass, and produce various valuable bio-products. Engineered cyanobacterial species can uptake nutrients from wastes to further reduce the cost. Recently, it is reported that cyanobacteria will provide much higher carbon yield than heterotrophs by co-utilizing organic carbons and CO2. However, the quantitative information of such `photo-fermentation' process is still limited. Decoding the carbon metabolism of cyanobacteria during the photo-fermentation process can reveal the functional pathways, carbon distribution, and the energy requirement, all …

Human Ipsilateral Motor Physiology And Neuroprosthetic Applications In Chronic Stroke, David Thomas Bundy

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Improving the recovery of lost motor function in hemiplegic chronic stroke survivors is a critical need to improve the lives of these patients. Over the last several decades, neuroprosthetic systems have emerged as novel tools with the potential to restore function in a variety of patient populations. While traditional neuroprosthetics have focused on using neural activity contralateral to a moving limb for device control, an alternative control signal may be necessary to develop brain-computer interface (BCI) systems in stroke survivors that suffer damage to the cortical hemisphere contralateral to the affected limb. While movement-related neural activity also occurs in the …

A Unified And Green Platform For Smartphone Sensing, Xiang Sheng

Dissertations - ALL

Smartphones have become key communication and entertainment devices in people's daily life. Sensors on (or attached to) smartphones can enable attractive sensing applications in different domains, including environmental monitoring, social networking, healthcare, transportation, etc. Most existing smartphone sensing systems are application-specific. How to leverage smartphones' sensing capability to make them become unified information providers for various applications has not yet been fully explored. This dissertation presents a unified and green platform for smartphone sensing, which has the following desirable features: 1) It can support various smartphone sensing applications; 2) It is personalizable; 2) It is energy-efficient; and 3) It can …

A Study Of Certain Electromagnetic Interactions Among High Optical Conductivity Nanospheres And Dielectric Half-Spaces, Satvik Navin Wani

Dissertations - ALL

Electromagnetic coupling between a sphere and a semi-infinite substrate, and among several spheres present in the form of a composite were studied in this dissertation. Specifically, spheres made of noble metals such as Ag, Au and Cu and relatively high refractive index substrates and composite matrices. Such interactions need to be studied in order to understand and be able to design better devices such as plasmonic light devices as well as composites and fluids that have suspended plasmonic nanoparticles that have recently been shown to be technologically relevant in the context of device processing technologies and fluidic devices. For a …

Capacity Analysis For Gaussian And Discrete Memoryless Interference Networks, Fangfang Zhu

Dissertations - ALL

Interference is an important issue for wireless communication systems where multiple

uncoordinated users try to access to a common medium. The problem is even more

crucial for next-generation cellular networks where frequency reuse becomes ever more

intense, leading to more closely placed co-channel cells. This thesis describes our attempt to understand the impact of interference on communication performance as well as optimal ways to handle interference. From the theoretical point of view, we examine how interference affects the fundamental performance limits, and provide insights on how interference should be treated for various channel models under different operating

conditions. From the …